Book picks similar to
Bastion by Phil Tucker


fantasy
progression-fantasy
cultivation
progression

Forever Fantasy Online


Rachel Aaron - 2018
    Her brother, James Anderson, is a college drop-out struggling under debt, but in FFO he's famous—an explorer known all over the world for doing every quest and collecting the rarest items.Both Tina and James need the game more than they'd like to admit, but their favorite escape turns into a trap when FFO becomes real. Suddenly, wounds aren’t virtual, the stupid monsters have turned cunning, NPCs start acting like actual people, and death might be forever.In the real world, everyone said being good at video games was a waste of time. Now, separated across a much larger and more deadly world, their skill at FFO is the only thing keeping them alive. It’s going to take every bit of their expertise (and hoarded loot) to find each other and get back home, but as the harshness of their new reality sets in, Tina and James soon realize that being the best in the game might no longer be good enough.

The Wandering Inn: Book 1


Pirateaba - 2018
    She serves pasta with sausage, blue fruit juice, and dead acid flies on request. And she comes from another world. Ours. It’s a bad day when Erin finds herself transported to a fantastical world and nearly gets eaten by a Dragon. She doesn’t belong in a place where monster attacks are a fact of life, and where Humans are one species among many. But she must adapt to her new life. Or die. In a dangerous world where magic is real and people can level up and gain classes, Erin Solstice must battle somewhat evil Goblins, deadly Rock Crabs, and hungry [Necromancers]. She is no warrior, no mage. Erin Solstice runs an inn. She’s an [Innkeeper].

Blood of Heirs


Alicia Wanstall-Burke - 2018
    But caught between her warring parents, Lidan’s world begins to unravel when another of her father’s wives falls pregnant. Before she has time to consider the threat of a brother, a bloody swathe is cut through the heart of the clan and Lidan must fight, not only to prove her worth, but simply to survive. Ranoth Olseta wants nothing more than to be a worthy successor to his father’s throne. When his home is threatened by the aggressive Woaden Empire, Ran becomes his city’s saviour, but powers within him are revealed by the enemy and he is condemned to death. Confused and betrayed, Ran is forced to flee his homeland, vowing to reclaim what he has lost, even if it kills him.Facing an unknown future, and battling forces both familiar and foreign, can Lidan and Ran overcome the odds threatening to drag them into inescapable darkness?

The Last Physicist


Dominic Stal - 2021
    Especially when you’ve witnessed the end of the world and the demise of all you’ve ever loved.As a particle physicist, William Jenkins is as unsuited to survival on an alien world as any normal thirty-something post-doc could be. Thankfully, he’s not alone. With an A.I., magic, scientific curiosity and most improbably, a deity on his side, Will must come to terms with his new reality before otherworldly terrors forever extinguish the light of hope on this new world.Meanwhile, as the forces of darkness amass to invade her home, Effni Naridia, Qaseri Ranger and Guardian of her peoples, must face her own demons. By undertaking a trial, Effni could determine not only the fate of her city, but unravel a mystery aeons in the making.The Last Physicist features elements of progression fantasy and Gamelit, and is perfect for those who enjoy stories by Andrew Rowe, Will Wight and Andy Weir.Warning. This novel contains questionable quantum mechanics, general relativity and magic.Note: this book also features profanity, vivid depictions of violence, pain and gore, along with depictions of mental health issues (including PTSD, generalised anxiety and depression) some readers may find distressing.

Divine Blood


Beck Michaels - 2020
    A destiny they didn't expect.The Shadow demon nearly took everything from Dynalya Astron, and it would soon return for more. When she discovers a way to fight back, she must go on a perilous journey and risk it all for those she holds dear.Along the way, she meets Cassiel, a Celestial Prince with magic blood and wings as black as his heart. He wants nothing to do with Dyna until he learns she could lead him to a place he has been searching for all his life. But reaching their destination is not as easy as they thought, nor are they the only ones who search for it. With danger at every turn and harrowing secrets between them, the quest will require much more than determination. They must fight for what they desire—or die trying.For fans of Throne of Glass, The Cruel Prince, and The Lord of the Rings comes Beck Michael's debut novel with remarkable characters, a budding romance, and gripping action. Divine Blood is the first book of an Epic Dark Fantasy series that explores the depths of loss, acceptance, and the true meaning of courage.

Range of Ghosts


Elizabeth Bear - 2012
    All around lie the fallen armies of his cousin and his brother, who made war to rule the Khaganate. Temur is now the legitimate heir by blood to his grandfather's throne, but he is not the strongest. Going into exile is the only way to survive his ruthless cousin.Once-Princess Samarkar is climbing the thousand steps of the Citadel of the Wizards of Tsarepheth. She was heir to the Rasan Empire until her father got a son on a new wife. Then she was sent to be the wife of a Prince in Song, but that marriage ended in battle and blood. Now she has renounced her worldly power to seek the magical power of the wizards.These two will come together to stand against the hidden cult that has so carefully brought all the empires of the Celadon Highway to strife and civil war through guile and deceit and sorcerous power.

Priest


Matthew Colville - 2010
    Nothing is what it seems. Why was Heden chosen for this mission? Who killed the knight and why? Why won't anyone talk to him? As the Green Order awaits Heden's final judgement, he finds his morality, perspective, and sense of self are each challenged and then destroyed. Perhaps nothing, even right and wrong, can survive in the haunted wood.

Ink Mage


Victor Gischler - 2013
    Kindle Serials are stories published in episodes, with future episodes delivered every two weeks (to be complete January, 2014).The city of Klaar has never fallen. No enemy has ever made it across the Long Bridge or penetrated the city’s mighty walls. Even when a powerful invading army shows up at the gates, the duke and his daughter, Rina Veraiin, are certain that it poses little threat.But they are cruelly betrayed from within and, in a horrific spasm of violence, the city is brought to its knees.With the help of her bodyguard, Kork, the battle-trained young Rina narrowly escapes the slaughter and makes her way to the lair of an ancient sorcerer—the Ink Mage—who gifts her with a strange, beautiful set of magical tattoos.Now a duchess in exile, Rina sets out on a quest to reclaim what is rightfully hers, aided by a motley assortment of followers who will help her in her cause—some for noble reasons and others for their own dark purposes.With the enemy’s agents nipping at her heels, Rina must learn to harness her new and startling magical powers if she is to assert her rightful place as ruler of Klaar.Episode ListAn additional episode will be delivered every two weeks until the book is complete. New episodes will be added to the same book on your Kindle, keeping your place and retaining your notes and highlights. You'll be notified via email when a new episode has been delivered.

First Orbit


Nathan A.Thompson - 2019
    Jasper Cloud is the final non-person on Earth, the orphan son of the last two executed citizens in the Global Republic. He struggles daily to survive in a world where old knowledge is now illegal. When a new light appears in the night sky, his only friend suddenly becomes a young woman with the power to undo the current reign of tyranny. But hidden enemies are already waiting, both for her and the ship empowering her. Jasper slips through the cracks of their trap, empowered as well. If he is careful, he can refine his newfound strength further, repair the damaged ship, and rescue the woman now determined to tear down the corrupt Republic with her bare hands. Provided he can survive, that is. Will Wight's Cradle cultivation series meets George Orwell's 1984. Hope you enjoy.

Beware of Chicken


CasualFarmer
    

Shadow of a Dead God


Patrick Samphire - 2020
    But then it all blew up in his face. Now he’s been framed for a murder he didn’t commit.So how is a second-rate mage, broke, traumatized, and with a habit of annoying the wrong people, supposed to prove his innocence when everyone believes he’s guilty?Mennik has no choice if he wants to get out of this: he is going to have to throw himself into the corrupt world of the city’s high mages, a world he fled years ago. Faced by supernatural beasts, the mage-killing Ash Guard, and a ruthless, unknown adversary, it’s going to take every trick Mennik can summon just to keep him and his friend alive.But a new, dark power is rising in Agatos, and all that stands in its way is one damaged mage…Third place in the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off 2020 (SPFBO6)Finalist in the Book Bloggers' Book of the Year Award (BBNYA) 2021Shortlisted for the Booknest Fantasy Award Best Self-published Novel 2020

The Sun's Blood: A Progression Sci-Fi Adventure (Heirs of Sun and Storm Book 1)


Jeremy Bai - 2021
    The Counter-Cultivation division investigates, the elite Black Corpses are sent in for the kill. None are spared. Mercy does not exist.But did the cultivators really bring the War of Tribulation? Are they actually responsible for the Heavenly Curse? Are they truly the bloodthirsty psychopaths the government paints them to be?Wang Fan, a homicide detective, believes that officers like himself are tasked with championing the rights of the common citizens. But when a seemingly routine case goes awry, he finds himself dragged into the darkness of the cultivation world. By the time he realizes the Black Corpses have their sniper rifles aimed at the back of his head, Wang Fan has no choice.He has to fight the system to survive.

The Rage of Dragons


Evan Winter - 2017
    Their society has been built around war and only war. The lucky ones are born gifted. One in every two thousand women has the power to call down dragons. One in every hundred men is able to magically transform himself into a bigger, stronger, faster killing machine.Everyone else is fodder, destined to fight and die in the endless war. Young, gift-less Tau knows all this, but he has a plan of escape. He's going to get himself injured, get out early, and settle down to marriage, children, and land. Only, he doesn't get the chance. Those closest to him are brutally murdered, and his grief swiftly turns to anger. Fixated on revenge, Tau dedicates himself to an unthinkable path. He'll become the greatest swordsman to ever live, a man willing to die a hundred thousand times for the chance to kill the three who betrayed him.

Blade & Rose


Miranda Honfleur - 2017
    Which one will she save? Elementalist Rielle hasn't heard from her best friend in far too long. Yet no one at the Tower of Magic seems to care about Olivia’s silence, or the curtain of secrecy surrounding the distant capital. Before Rielle can investigate, she's assigned a strange new mission: escort a paladin named Jon across the kingdom. When whispers reveal mercenaries have killed the king, taken the capital, and that no one is coming to help, Rielle can’t leave Olivia in peril. But as infamous mages and deadly assassins hunt Jon, she can’t leave him unprotected either—especially as she finds herself falling for his strength, his passion, and his uncompromising goodness. Her past returns to haunt her, a werewolf stalks their steps, and an ancient evil is gathering, yet the restraints forbidding their love strain and snap one by one. Saving Olivia and the kingdom means defying orders and sacrificing her every ambition, and could mean losing the man who's become so much more to her than a mission. Which will she choose: her best friend and the kingdom, or the love of her life? Dive into a medieval world sensual and dark, full of magic and greed, love and blades, where factions vie for influence and there are no easy choices.

Traitor's Blade


Sebastien de Castell - 2014
    Trained in the fighting arts and the laws of Tristia, the Greatcoats are travelling Magisters upholding King’s Law. They are heroes. Or at least they were, until they stood aside while the Dukes took the kingdom, and impaled their King’s head on a spike.Now Tristia is on the verge of collapse and the barbarians are sniffing at the borders. The Dukes bring chaos to the land, while the Greatcoats are scattered far and wide, reviled as traitors, their legendary coats in tatters. All they have left are the promises they made to King Paelis, to carry out one final mission.But if they have any hope of fulfilling the King’s dream, the divided Greatcoats must reunite, or they will also have to stand aside as they watch their world burn…