Book picks similar to
Shadows of the Limelight by Alexander Wales
fantasy
fiction
rational-fic
rational-fiction
The Waves Arisen
Wertifloke
No prior knowledge of the Naruto universe is necessary to follow along.A young Naruto found refuge in the village library, and grew up smart, but by blood he is Ninja, and what place is there for curiosity and calculation in this brutal world of warring states?
It Was You Who Made My Blue Eyes Blue
Scott Alexander - 2015
This plant is used exclusively to comply with the extremely complicated ritual laws set down in the Tablets of Enku.
The Gods are Bastards
D.D. Webb - 2014
The world is rent by strife. The gods have turned away from us. In times past, heroes of sword and sorcery have always risen to turn back the tide of darkness… But what will become of us all, now that swords are obsolete, sorcery is industrialized, and heroism itself is considered a relic of the past?The times are changing…Incorporating elements of a Western, a Victorian romance, hints of steampunk and inspiration from the early novels of H. Rider Haggard and Arthur Conan Doyle, all set in a world of classic sword and sorcery, The Gods are Bastards is a genre-blending fantasy epic.Set in a familiar high-fantasy universe of wizards, dragons and elves, the action takes place roughly fifteen hundred years after the medieval stasis in which most high fantasy is set, during an era much like Earth’s Industrial Revolution. Mass production of enchanted goods has revolutionized all aspects of life, energy weapons have made blades and armor all but obsolete, and the world is connected and illuminated by magical analogues of trains, telegraphs and electric lights. With progress has come social and political upheaval: the scattered feudal kingdoms of yore have been consolidated into a now-precarious Empire, the clerics of various gods have organized themselves into a mighty Universal Church, and the first stirrings of modern education and an Enlightenment ethos have taken root in a young University. On the other hand, dragons are nearly extinct, elves have been herded onto reservations, and the days when a person could make a living as a wandering adventurer are long since over.It’s a new world, and the people of the Empire must learn to live in it, or fall to ancient threats they have tried to forget…https://tiraas.wordpress.com/about/
Pokemon: The Origin of Species
Daystar Eld
Instead of starting his journey in ignorance, Red has spent his years studying the creatures so central to his world... and he doesn't quite agree with all the information in his books. No time for rookie mistakes here: he's on a quest to discover the true nature of Pokémon, and maybe even find out where they really come from.
The Zombie Knight Saga - Volume One: Elegy for an Immortal
George M. Frost - 2014
Responsibilities include saving other people’s lives and occasionally fighting unspeakable horrors. But this particular young man already has a few problems of his own, such as crippling shyness. No, seriously. He can barely even speak to people. It's really bad. Takes place in the modern fantasy world of Eleg. This book includes the first three story arcs of the ongoing serial novel. You can read the entire story (as much as has been written) for free at http://thezombieknight.blogspot.com Word count: ~88,000
Three Worlds Collide
Eliezer Yudkowsky - 2009
It grew, as such things do, into a small novella. On publication, it proved widely popular and widely criticized. Be warned that the story, as it wrote itself, ended up containing some profanity and PG-13 content.
Luminosity
Alicorn - 2010
She maintains many of the traits and dispositions of canon - and Luminosity is a Bella/Edward story - but she's a distinctly different character.Luminosity is a work of fanfiction. It is set in the universe of Stephenie Meyer's novel Twilight (and its sequels and companion works). The first several sections of Luminosity are very similar to canon in terms of the events that occur, although aspects of Bella's character, and her internal monologue, differ strikingly.A few thousand words in, the plot is unrecognizeable.http://luminous.elcenia.com/
So You Want to Be a Villain?
ErraticErrata - 2015
Yet after a night gone from bad to worse she is offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity by the right hand of the Empress, the infamous Black Knight: to become his apprentice and learn the business of villainy from one of the most dangerous men in Creation. It’s probably a trap, but when has that ever stopped her? For the sake of the land of her birth, she is more than willing to get her hands dirty. They say the first step on the path to the Tower is the hardest.Considering the amount of people already trying to kill her, ‘they’ might have a point.-------------------------------------------------------A Practical Guide to Evil is a fantasy series about a young girl named Catherine Foundling making her way through the world – though, in a departure from the norm, not on the side of the heroes. Is there such a thing as doing bad things for good reasons, or is she just rationalizing her desire for control? Good and Evil are tricky concepts, and the more power you get the blurrier the lines between them become.
Worth the Candle
cthulhuraejepsen - 2021
Over the course of eight years, he shared these worlds with his friends through twice-weekly sessions of tabletop gaming. Now at the age of seventeen, he finds himself in Aerb, a world that appears to be an amalgam of those many notebooks, stuck trying to find the answers to why he's there and what this world is trying to say. The most terrifying answer might be that this world is an expression of the person he was back on Earth.Words:1654265 complete
Delve
SenescentSoul
He wasn’t summoned to defeat the demon lord or to save the world or anything like that, at least as far as he can tell. The only creature there to greet him was a regular old squirrel.Soon enough, he meets other people, only to discover that he can’t speak the language, and that not everybody immediately trusts random pajama-wearing strangers they met in the middle of the wilderness. Things generally go downhill from there, at least until the blue boxes start appearing.Delve is a story about finding your way in a new, strange, and dangerous world. It’s about avoiding death, figuring out what the heck is going on, and trying to make some friends along the way. It’s not about getting home, so much as finding a new one.Did I mention that there will be math? Summary – Level 2: Okay, but what are you in for, really?Well, this story is supposed to be realistic, or at least, as realistic as a fantasy litrpg can be. The main character doesn’t instantly become an all-powerful god and murder-hobo his way across the universe. Delve is, at its heart, a progression fantasy, but that progression is meant to feel earned. The numbers in this story actually mean something. Everything is calculated, and if you find a rounding error, I expect you to tell me about it. That said, if math isn’t your cup of tea, there is plenty more that the story has to offer. Characters are meant to feel real, and progression isn’t only about personal power; it’s also about allies, connections, and above all, knowledge. Figuring out how the system works is a significant theme. ... What, you want more details? Okay, fine, but this is going to get a bit spoiler-y. Are you sure? Yes! Really sure? I mean, this summary is practically half as long as the first chap– Now! Okay, okay!The main character becomes a magic user, but he takes a route that is not very popular in adventurer culture, namely that of a support. There is a full magic system with various spells, skills, and abilities, but our MC decides that aura magic is the way to go, and that the only stat worth investing in is mana regeneration. Most people at the Adventurer’s Guild think that this makes him a bit of a dumbass, but he’s playing the long game. We’ll see how that works out for him, won’t we?Because of his build, the MC levels up fast, at least compared to normal people. There are no cheats, though, and he is limited in other ways. There are some clear and pretty obvious downsides to his build. That’s what makes it fun, no?Morals? Our MC has them. Again, we’ll see how that works out for him. Realism, remember? Would you be okay with killing someone and looting their body? I sure hope not.POV? The focus is on the main character, but there will be occasional varying perspectives from people around him, or involved in the events related to the main plot. It isn’t going to jump all over the place.Tech is standard medieval stasis. No smartphones, but the MC does have a technical background. Computers and their programming might be involved. There might even be a bit of uplifting down the road, who knows? Anyway, it isn’t the focus. He isn’t going to invent the gun in chapter 1 and change the face of warfare.Romance is not a major focus. Friendships are more the name of the game, though there will be some characters in romantic relationships.There is exploration, though not as much of the geographical nature as you might expect. It is more about exploration of the system and the culture.The pace is slow and detailed, sometimes verging on slice-of-life. The action is meant to be realistic and grounded in the numbers, and it is intended to have meaning beyond simply punching things until they stop moving.The general tone of the story is grey, and some parts can get quite dark. People die. Sometimes, people with names, but not anywhere near GoT level. There is plenty of light, too, though, to balance the darkness. The world is dangerous, but overcoming that danger is why we’re all here, isn’t it?Anyway, if you’ve made it this far through the summary, you clearly like words. I hope you enjoy the story! Cover by Miha BrumecSummary Updated: 2020-06-14
Worm
Wildbow - 2013
Her first attempt at taking down a supervillain sees her mistaken for one, thrusting her into the midst of the local ‘cape’ scene’s politics, unwritten rules, and ambiguous morals. As she risks life and limb, Taylor faces the dilemma of having to do the wrong things for the right reasons.The story, titled Worm, takes the form of a web serial, posted in bite-sized reads in much the same way that authors such as Mark Twain would release their works one chapter at a time in the days before full-fledged novels. Worm started in June 2011, updating twice a week, and finished in late November, 2013. It totals roughly 1,750,000 words; roughly 26 typical novels in length (or 10-11 very thick novels).
Seventh Horcrux
Emerald Ashes - 2015
I am Lord Volde...Harry Potter. I'm Harry Potter. In which Harry is insane, Hermione is a Dark Lady-in-training, Ginny is a minion, and Ron is confused.
The Arithmancer
White Squirrel - 2015
With the help of her friends and Professor Vector, she puts her superhuman spellcrafting skills to good use in the fight against Voldemort.