The Novels I've Read, Ranked

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The Novels I've Read, Ranked

Ranked from best to worst, in my opinion.

Rating:

10/10 - Complete masterpiece, personal favorite. Not flawless but as close to perfection as possible.

9/10 - Masterpiece. Slight flaws here and there, but a fantastic novel.

8/10 - Very good. Not quite a masterpiece, but close.

7/10 - Good. Has flaws but they don't drag the novel down too much.

6/10 - Decent. Somewhat significant issues or poor writing but still overall not bad.

5/10 - Average. Satisfactory story but likely not particularly innovative, pretty generic, and has plenty of problems.

4/10 - Somewhat bad. Slightly poor story, large flaws and low innovation. Still readable.

3/10 - Bad. The story is bad, or the characters are bad, it is very generic, or there are very big issues. Or all four.

2/10 - Terrible. Almost unreadable, the story is completely riddled with issues and is deeply frustrating.

1/10 - Unreadable.

X - Unfinished, will probably never finish. The novel is probably too boring or has fallen off to an extreme degree, to the point where I can't even bring myself to finish it. Some of these novels might pick up later and become really good, but currently, they're terrible.

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Braindean

Created: Apr 30th, 2021, Updated: Mar 17th, 2024

Created Apr 30th, 2021

Updated Mar 17th, 2024

KR (4.4)

#1The Second Coming of Gluttony

20 Chapters Every 119.5 Day(s) 23476 Readers 463 Reviews 07-09-2019

Completed Action Adventure Comedy Drama Fantasy Harem Mature Psychological Seinen

S-Tier: 10 / 10... more>>

KR (4.6)

#2Kidnapped Dragons

434 Chapters Every 37.2 Day(s) 11369 Readers 168 Reviews 11-23-2022

Completed Action Drama Fantasy Mature Psychological Romance School Life Slice of Life Supernatural

9.5 / 10... more>>

I waited over a year for this novel to finish translating, and it was worth it. It is a true masterpiece. I really like what it does with the regressor archetype. The majority of Korean regressor novels don't focus on the psychological impact regression should have on a person, especially if they do it multiple times (luckily the main characters in those novels only have to regress once). Yu Jitae reminds me a lot of Yu Jonghyuk from ORV, and honestly that's a great thing since ORV was also a great work. The difference is that ORV spent much more time dealing with Kim Dokja instead of Yoo Jonghyuk since Dokja is the principal main character and Jonghyuk is not. Kidnapped Dragons can focus all of its attention on Jitae and his growth and interactions with the dragons.

This novel is different from most other fantasy Korean novels in that it is mostly character driven, rather than plot driven. In other novels, the main characters grow stronger and do the things they do to fulfill a goal, usually revenge, saving the world, or surviving. Things happen because of the outer forces in the world. The MC goes to war since another country invaded, a dungeon break occurs which forces the MC to go somewhere, a secret organization plots against the MC, etc... In KD, events in the story happen due to the interactions between characters, rather than the influence of outside forces.

This is a pretty good solution to the superman problem that a lot of OP MC novels encounter. I mean, if your main character is so strong that nobody can pose a challenge to him, then there is no tension or stakes. This is a boring story. One of my favorite ways to solve this problem is to make the MC extraordinarily more powerful than his peers, but is forced into constantly taking fights above his weight class and therefore still struggles. The Second Coming of Gluttony does this, and it's my personal favorite novel. Another solution is to simply make the novel not primarily about fighting. No matter how powerful Jitae is, his strength will not fix his interpersonal issues and broken mentality. He may be able to slay dragons, but he's incapable of comforting a crying child.

The baby dragons were all very excellent and diverse. They were cute, lovable, finnicky, picky, difficult, rebellious, and very, very charming. They were written like actual children and teenagers. They had problems that Yu Jitae had to navigate, which was very interesting to read about. Jitae plays a different role for each of them, which causes him to grow and redevelop his emotions.

I must commend the translators. They have done a masterful job translating the prose into English. It flows well and is amazingly emotional when it needs to be. I teared up at several points in this novel. Overall, I'd say this is one of the best web novels of all time. Truly, one of the greats.

I also read Mother of Learning (MoL) and The Perfect Run (TPR).

MoL would be right under Kidnapped Dragons if it were on NU.
TPR would be under Lord of the Mysteries. The first and second best time loop stories respectively. 9 / 10 <<less

KR (4.6)

#3Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint

0 Chapters Every 1959 Day(s) 21399 Readers 440 Reviews 12-18-2018

Action Adventure Comedy Drama Fantasy Mature Mystery Psychological Sci-fi Seinen Supernatural Tragedy

9.5 / 10... more>>

CN (4.7)

#4Lord of the Mysteries

113 Chapters Every 531.7 Day(s) 13451 Readers 357 Reviews 02-06-2019

Completed Horror Mature Mystery Psychological Supernatural

9 / 10... more>>

KR (4.3)

#5The Main Heroines are Trying to Kill Me

273 Chapters Every 2.4 Day(s) 7343 Readers 116 Reviews 04-28-2024

Adventure Fantasy Harem Psychological Romance School Life Tragedy

9 / 10... more>>

KR (4.2)

#6The Demon Prince Goes to the Academy

812 Chapters Every 25.5 Day(s) 7742 Readers 182 Reviews 06-25-2023

Completed Action Adventure Drama Fantasy Harem Romance School Life Shounen

8.5 / 10

KR (4.3)

#7The Regressed Demon Lord is Kind

20 Chapters Every 71.9 Day(s) 10418 Readers 114 Reviews 06-13-2021

Completed Action Adventure Comedy Fantasy Mystery Romance

8.5 / 10... more>>

A very good novel. It felt structured, the pacing was good, and the author has a good understanding of setup and payoff (which sounds like a low bar but honestly you never know). I found all the characters to be likable, especially Zich Moore. This novel does a good job of really hammering home the idea that Zich used to be the demon lord and was indeed a sadistic slaughterer. A lot of other novels like to have a setting where the MC is some evil guy who regresses, but they often don't properly handle the baggage that comes with being evil. Zich's character development feels believable. Based on who he is as a person, it is realistic that he would respect Glen Zenard's request for him to live kindly because Zich respects Glen's strength. In addition, it feels good to watch Zich change and struggle against who he used to be. Besides that, I did enjoy the admittedly ridiculous level of conspiracy and scheming that happened in every arc between Zich and the robed figures. Despite the fact that Zich is overpowered, he wasn't overpowered enough to never be challenged.

Glen Zenard is a good antagonist and it always feels good to see him lose, I just wish he could've been a bit more of a threat at times. Glen possesses the extremely overpowered ability of regression, which should make him theoretically unbeatable to Zich. However, Glen's character and total obsession with being a hero and controlling variables makes it very believable that Glen would hold off on regressing until the last possible moment. Speaking of regression, I really like that it's a man-made function in this novel. Usually regression is a divine power that is performed by some godly entity like a system, but this time regression is made possible by humans themselves.

I did still have a few issues with the novel. For one thing, Zich is very clever, sure, but he should not be omniscient. Zich knows or can figure out any scheme instantly and at some point that does take the tension out of things. He really should have at least failed or been at risk of failing sometimes. Earlier, I said that the novel was structured. This is both a strength and a weakness, because the structure keeps the story grounded but a the same time makes it feel formulaic. Every arc can roughly be summarized as "Zich goes somewhere new, meets an important character, gets embroiled in a conspiracy with the robed figures, outsmarts them, then leaves". I also wish the novel focused a little more on character interactions between Zich's party. I would've loved to read more about Hans or Snoc or Lyla without Zich. At the end of the novel, I could feel the pacing pick up fairly considerably. One could argue that you shouldn't spend too much time on trivial tasks because at that point the heroes are dealing with such grandiose threats, but still... Either way, a very good novel. <<less

CN (4.5)

#8Release that Witch

689 Chapters Every 493.4 Day(s) 24730 Readers 359 Reviews 09-25-2017

Completed Action Adventure Comedy Fantasy Harem Mature Mystery Seinen Slice of Life Supernatural

8.5 / 10 ... more>>

KR (4.5)

#9Ending Maker

0 Chapters Every 1312 Day(s) 11333 Readers 172 Reviews 09-25-2020

Action Adventure Comedy Fantasy Romance Shounen

8 / 10... more>>

KR (4.5)

#10Trash of the Count’s Family

978 Chapters Every 3.4 Day(s) 37779 Readers 584 Reviews 04-27-2024

Action Adventure Fantasy Supernatural

A-Tier: 7.5 / 10... more>>

Before I read it, I heard a lot of good things about tr*sh of the Count's Family. I can vaguely remember that it was said to be part of the holy trinity of Korean action fantasy web novels alongside ORV and one other that I can't remember exactly (either SSS-Class su*cide Hunter or The S Classes I Raised). I don't know if there actually exists a holy trinity as such, but the point is that TCF is held in high regard.

Now that I've read it, honestly, I don't know how this novel has a 4.5/5 rating. It's really overrated. I mean, it's pretty decent sure, but it's nowhere near that good. I would say this deserves more of like, a 4.2/5 or maybe 4.3/5 if I'm really generous, but NU doesn't let you put decimal ratings. I would never compare this to ORV, ORV is a masterpiece while TCF is just good.

I liked the characters a lot. Cale Henituse is a likable protagonist, and it's entertaining to see him interact with all of the other characters which is a good thing. There is definitely a noticeable lack of character development. Nobody really seems to change very much long term. The only characters I can think of that change perceptibly are Alberu and Eruhaben. The rest stay the same for the entirety of part 1, more or less. This is a tolerable flaw since none of the characters are initially unlikable, but it's still a flaw.

I find the idea of a weaker MC somewhat refreshing even if it has been done before. I know it's not for everyone, but so many other novels have their MCs be action heroes that surpass everybody else and it's nice to see something different every now and then. Cale being forced to sacrifice himself is something I like, but I think it happens so often that it gets a little old. As for the other characters, it doesn't feel like they grow stronger at all. Similar to character development, power progression is practically imperceptible. We don't have a benchmark to measure a character's strength. The only time a character grows visibly stronger is when they obtain a new power, such as a new ancient power or a different ability. Otherwise, it might as well not happen. Even at the end of part 1, I can hardly tell you how much stronger Choi Han is than when he started besides the new ability he gains. For example, the necromancer Mary is said to grow stronger in the novel, but never performs any feats of strength that would impress upon the reader that she has really grown. This is the same for Ron, Beacrox, Choi Han, Raon Miru, Toonka, Witira, Archie, On, Hong, Hannah, literally everybody besides Rosalyn and Lock. Only those two display growths in strength that don't come from obtaining some new power like Choi Han's inherited black yong or a new ancient power.

The antagonist of part 1 is a spoiler so, unless you want to hear about it, don't spoil yourself. The White Star is a creative antagonist. The idea of a man willingly embracing a curse of reincarnation in order to gain power and ascend to godhood is novel. He's also really intimidating in the beginning. TCF does a good job of showing off the power of the White Star the first time he appears. He overpowers everyone including Choi Han and the ancient dragon Eruhaben all at once. However, over time he just becomes way less of a threat since he loses almost every time. It almost seems like he gets weaker, even as he canonically grows stronger. In the end of part 1, as the White Star becomes complete, Cale still 1v1s him and wins, TWICE. The White Star literally gets nerfed.

I really feel like this story could have just ended with part 1. Part 2 is pretty unnecessary and kind of feels like when the MC of a cultivation novel ascends to a new realm and just does it all again or when the MC of a shounen manga defeats an enemy that they've been fighting for a long time and it gets revealed that that enemy was part of some unknown organization and they were actually one of the weaker members. If part 1 just didn't bother introducing some of the new stuff to tie into part 2 and finished up the last of its plot threads, it would have been a perfectly acceptable ending. All that stuff about hunters and single-lifers could have been left out of the novel entirely. There wasn't really a reason to introduce those new concepts. The story could've been self-contained and ended with the defeat of the White Star. It didn't need to be a story about Gods and Demons.

Overall, I'd still recommend the story even though it has problems. It's still a fun, pretty light hearted novel to skim over the course of 3 days and immediately forget all the details. <<less