Recommend Me Something

5/28/2021

I'm always in an awkward position at this point in the writing process, because the book isn't far enough along for me to mention, and I can't talk about my many secret projects lest I lose my government contracts.

So since I can't discuss work, I turn to you: how should I waste my non-work time nowadays?

I haven't read a new book in a while, so I'm open to suggestions on that front. I have books piling up on my Kindle waiting to read, but I'm always willing to make that list longer.

I've also heard good things about Resident Evil: Village and Returnal, but I haven't checked them out myself yet. Subnautica: Below Zero was so good that I kept playing it after beating the story, which by the way had a fantastic ending. In case I hadn't recommended that enough recently.

I also watched through Ted Lasso, which I enjoyed despite knowing literally nothing about soccer. I was pretty sure it was played in a rink.

I'll let you know next week what I end up consuming in the limited amount of time I'm allowed to stop typing. Whoever makes the winning recommendation will have earned my undying respect.

Second place gets an actual dragon egg.

Third? A half-punched Krispy Kreme frequent customer card.

If that's not enough motivation, I don't know what is.

-Will

336 Comments

Nick Maharaj

5/28/2021 05:33:47 am

The Snyder cut

Will link

5/28/2021 06:03:48 am

I was told I'm not permitted to watch that yet. You'll have to check with my handler.

Mike

5/30/2021 10:48:05 am

Bernard Cornwell's The Last Kingdom series is really enjoyable.

Nick Maharaj

6/3/2021 10:12:32 am

10-4 boss

shantanu

5/28/2021 05:38:46 am

I’ve been reading SPFBO finalists. I really Lost War from last year’s competition. Red Rising has been solid too (I’m reading Iron Gold now) and I’m loving Malazan (just starting House of Chains).

Will link

5/28/2021 05:51:56 am

Red Rising is amazing, and I enjoy the series too!

Malazan isn't a favorite of mine, but I have great respect for it and for the author.

shantanu

5/28/2021 05:59:27 am

Have you read Paternus? I read the whole trilogy over Christmas break last year. It was about as epic as it can get for urban fantasy. I loved the idea of gods walking the world and all of the history and culture woven in.

TedM

5/28/2021 05:08:22 pm

I love and hate Malazan. The world alone would be enough for me to get lost in for a few weeks. I just can't read total downers. Even when the good guys win it's usually pyrrhic. I wish they'd gone ahead and made the game though. I think it would have been amazing.

Patrick

5/29/2021 08:38:09 am

Authors*

Obviously if you're not into it there's no reason you should know this, but fun fact time! The world was developed by two friends, and even though only one of was publishing books initially, the second friend eventually started writing as well and his books are considered canon. Pretty cool, huh!

Mark Vaupel

5/29/2021 11:34:35 am

You should try reading the cradle series it's really good

Ethan

5/29/2021 01:27:47 pm

Don’t know if you’ve read it but there is this obscure series called Cradle that I think you would love. It follows the adventures of a mind spirit named Dross and his trusty body slave London as they traverse the world of cradle looking for points.

Cole

5/28/2021 05:38:51 am

The Magicians Brother series on kindle is one of my favorites (besides cradle)

Lloyd

5/29/2021 09:16:58 pm

I also loved this series so far, I feel it needs more love!!!

William Weller

6/7/2021 04:57:56 pm

Good series just wish he had better girl luck

Davin

5/28/2021 05:38:54 am

Ever learned Magic: the Gathering? There are some sweet new sets coming out soon, and with things opening back up its a great time to play. You can play Mtg Arena on mobile/PC too, but it pales in comparison to paper :)

Will link

5/28/2021 05:56:05 am

I was into Magic for many years, but the last event I played was a National Qualifier in 2014. I just don't have time to drive somewhere to play regularly anymore. When I could play FNM every week it was great, but that's not super conducive to writing.

I picked up Arena when it first came out and played for a couple of months, but the problem came again that I can't necessarily commit to such long games over a long period of time, but you have to stay current with the sets and with the meta to pick it up again...

And I played with friends recently, and I forgot how satisfying it was to play with a real physical deck! It's a feeling I really missed.

Although in every single other way, Arena is far superior. I do not miss arguing with people over their interpretation of the rules, or having a judge mis-rule something at a prerelease leading to a game loss I should have won, or hearing a passive-aggressive "Well I would have had you there except..."

Online is the way.

Wade

5/28/2021 06:47:33 am

Commander is the best way to play magic casually in my experience, if you haven't tried it, you really should, assuming you're ok with ~4 player politics rather than a straightforward match. Spelltable and tabletop simulator make playing online easier than ever.

Ned

6/9/2021 07:01:04 pm

The League of legends card game, Legends of runterra is very good and low investment. Faster games than magic arena, more complex than hearthstone, and a solid mana system that avoids mana screw. I’ve played at nationals once and love magic, but can’t invest weekends To qualifiers anymore. Loving Cradle.

RedRick42

5/28/2021 05:39:26 am

Do you have an Oculus Quest? Amazing way to lose time. I'm addicted to In Death:Unchained at the moment. In fact, I think I'll skip this work call that's happening in 20 minutes to go play again...

Will link

5/28/2021 05:56:38 am

I have an Oculus, but not a Quest. Haven't played it in a while, either. I should boot it up...

Collin Blumenthal

5/28/2021 03:57:57 pm

You should try Blade and Sorcery, someone’s made a surgebinding mod for it that is big time addicting.

Daniel Larman

5/28/2021 05:42:06 am

Watch 86 eighty six on Crunchyroll.

Will link

5/28/2021 05:58:26 am

You know, I always ignored this novel because the premise didn't look interesting to me, but I just watched the trailer for the anime on your recommendation, and it actually does look cool. I'll check this out.

shantanu

5/28/2021 06:55:54 am

If you're a fan of shounen anime, Kekkaishi has finally made it over to the States. It was one of my favorite coming of age stories in anime though it's a bit older. It's on crunchyroll. I'm not sure about other services.

Billy Elliott

5/28/2021 09:07:05 am

Been through Attack on Titan or Mushishi yet? My go-to suggestions (though very different genres).

Maybe get a plant, name it, then anthromorphotize it and tell us about how [plant name] is doing?

Will link

5/28/2021 08:44:09 pm

Re:Kekkaishi

Kekkaishi is one of my all-time favorites!

Battlecake

5/28/2021 05:44:16 am

I’ve recently read “He who fights with monsters” 1&2 in case you don’t know that yet. I could barely put that one down.

Fredrik Tonn

5/28/2021 06:48:48 am

Came to say this, i have been LOLing to them for a few weeks now. I was so lucky that it was only 3 weeks from finishing 1 until 2 came out!

Matt

5/28/2021 07:51:56 am

The rest of the story to date is still on Royal Road.
Author puts out four chapters a week.

Malachi

5/28/2021 09:14:43 am

Yeah, I just finished the second book, definitely agree with the recommendations.

From the Internet

5/28/2021 08:20:03 am

I read the first book a couple weeks before the second one came out. After I crushed that one Cradle style I realized there was so much more story on Royal Road. Like 3-4 more books worth. I caught up with that in like a week and am now sad. Though I am doing Forge of Destiny now since I fished the first book a while back now reading the rest on RR.

Fragrant Bacon

6/8/2021 01:34:10 pm

I did the exact same thing. Book 2 was so good, it made me hit Royal Road for the second time ever. Its the first web serial I've caught up to since Mother of Learning. Super worth the read. Will didn't say anything about it, so you know he likely has some criticisms for it. Will usually takes the approach to others in his own genre: if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.

Ettit

5/28/2021 02:39:48 pm

I second this. When the rest of the residents in your house starts complaining about random Lols throughout the day. Nuff said

Patrick Dol

5/29/2021 08:40:18 am

I'll bump this post! I've been reading this on patreon for a long time now. Shirtaloon (the author) is a machine, and we get a kickass new chapter like clockwork almost ever weekday, and I love it!

Ben Heggem link

5/28/2021 05:45:44 am

Iron Prince is a fantastic new LitRPG series, hands down second best in the genre after Cradle of course. Assassins Creed Odyssey and Valhalla, God of War, and Destiny are so fun to game

Will link

5/28/2021 06:00:25 am

>Iron Prince

Hey, I've heard of that one!

>Destiny

I played quite a lot of Destiny 2. Too much. I'm not very good at shooters and Destiny was never my cup of tea, but one of my best friends is super into it. He was trying to lure me back last night. He almost caught me in one of those oversized dog-catcher nets, but I managed to chew my way free.

Ben Heggem

5/28/2021 10:45:37 am

Destiny and Destiny 2 are probably my favorite games I will ever play, so I’m glad to hear you play! And the progression pace in Iron Prince is addictive like Cradle so you will not regret it.

Brian Lindauer

5/28/2021 12:50:53 pm

Sigh...well there goes my secret daydream about playing D2 with you. 😭

As for books, try Patch 17. It's LitRPG and was pretty fun in an "op mc" sort of way.

Will link

5/28/2021 08:46:03 pm

@Ben

Hahaha I was joking about Iron Prince; I wrote a blog post recommending it a couple months ago. I definitely agree with you though!

Dario Ronzone

5/29/2021 07:47:27 pm

Iron Prince starts off slow but really great read as it gets ramped up. Series not complete so it's going to need to simmer a bit after you finish it.

Patrick

5/28/2021 05:47:33 am

I recommend Reaper by this really weird guy named Will Wight.

Will link

5/28/2021 06:01:00 am

Eh, I don't know, I thought it was weird how every character in that book was steadily replaced by a talking dog.

Nako

5/31/2021 01:05:40 am

It was when they were all sat around a table playing poker is when I lost it!

David Zywiec

5/28/2021 05:53:29 am

I’ve been reading He Who Fights Monsters on Kindle and would recommend. Also big fan of disco Asylum if you have the time.

Kris

5/28/2021 05:55:55 am

I like the Chronicles of Amicae series. It was an interesting magic system and I liked the characters. The story telling isn't as strong as yours, but still a fun read.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078X1X4GN/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_XRWM9DKB78BDGY186ADD

I'm not sure if you game on just a computer or an Xbox or Playstation, but I like The Outer Worlds game quite a bit. Snarky characters, different choices that ACTUALLY impact the narrative of the game. A couple of decent expansion packs. Overall I found it fun.

I'd like to recommend No Man's Sky, but while I like the game, and the pretty much endless open world aspects of it, the storyline just isn't strong enough for me. It's fun, but after a while it just feels like Minecraft in Space.

I started learning how to draw in order to take a break from my very left brained analytical work. As a fantasy writer, you're probably a lot more balanced, but maybe try something outside your comfort zone? Unity has some great free tools and tutorials for learning the basics of 3D modeling and building computer games. They have a fun tutorial on building a Lego mini-game that I'm going to do with my son over the summer. Great thing about the tutorial is that you actually build/program the game as it walks you through it. I had a lot of fun doing the first couple of modules when I checked it out.

https://learn.unity.com/project/lego-template

Ley

5/28/2021 07:08:27 am

I really liked Outerworlds. Definitely seconded.

Jonas

5/28/2021 05:56:04 am

Video games: Spiritfarer, is a delightful game about expanding the boat you use to ferry spirits around as they prep themselves for whatever comes next.

If you have access to a gamecube Eternal Darkness is an amazing adventure game with a horror setting (but not really scary).

Satisfactory if you like not having any free time for the next 60-200+ hours
Tv Shows:
Batman Brave and the bold - a fun campy rendition of batman, and other superheroes.
Primal - made by Genndy Tartakovsky is a wordless show about a caveman who befriends a t-rex and their adventures. It is touching, dark, brutal, and amazing.
Queens Gambit - a mini series about a woman growing up and her love for chess

Books:
Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames is about a retired group of adventurers and their former leader trying to get the band back together. It is not part of a new series, so you don't have to commit to much.

Ley

5/28/2021 07:09:05 am

Queen's Gambit was good. I've been looking to try Primal.

Citizen link

5/28/2021 05:57:48 am

Beware of Chicken is one of the most absolutely fun things I've read lately. It's about a guy that nopes right out of an 'arrogant young master' xianxia situation and decides to farm instead. The first volume is complete on Royal Road and being prepped for publishing.

Stephen link

5/28/2021 06:02:27 am

If you haven’t checked out the web novel Mother of Learning I highly recommend it. I read it on royal road over the time it was released. Very fun take on magic with a ground hogs day twist thrown in there for good measure.

VincentD

5/29/2021 12:46:21 am

I second this very much, very extensive magic system

Rixte

5/31/2021 07:03:37 am

I was just about to say that

Termit

6/2/2021 06:03:06 am

Nonononono
You don't recommend Mother of Learning to Will now, otherwise he might delay Reaper by at least a few weeks ;)

For those interested, Mother of Learning is a really good book, a combination of fantasy with a very well developed magic system and Groundhog Day. Starts a bit slow, but once it picks up it doesn't let go. Free and completed on RoyalRoad, but fair warning - it's quite long.

Brian

5/28/2021 06:10:09 am

I highly recommend The Spellmonger’s Series. The character’s wit and progression as well as the world building is amazing.

josh

5/28/2021 06:44:20 am

Yeah, The Spellmonger Series by Terry Mancour is one of my favorite epic series. Good magic system and time actually matters.

Loiosh

5/30/2021 01:59:23 am

I second this. The Spellmonger series is fantastic, and a personal favorite.
The story starts with a local village spellmonger (a guy who sells spells) getting caught in the middle of a massive goblin invasion. Not something the local medieval lords would be worried about, but theres a lot more than the usual raiding parties, and their magic users are augmented with disturbingly potent resources. It does sound a bit standard at first, but even early on theres hints its not actually a standard fantasy world. Goblins and elves, for example are just names human use, they call themselves “gurvani” and “alka alon”. Theres also a few early throwaway lines that indicate that humans aren’t local, and were “spawned from the void.” Life is catagorized into generally more magical natavia or more familiar (and edible) importasta. Theres a bunch of stories on how a great deal of human knowledge and history was lost, ect. You might be seeing where this is going. I could go on a lot longer, but this post seems kinda long already...

Alexander Darwin link

5/28/2021 06:18:17 am

If you are in the mood for a fun, dystopian MMA gladiator-style read, would love to have you read Combat Codes. Keep up the fantastic work Will 🙏

shantanu

5/28/2021 06:52:28 am

Loved the first 2 books in Combat Codes. Looking forward to the third!

Alexander Darwin link

5/28/2021 08:59:59 am

Thank you 🙏

Mike

5/28/2021 07:25:29 am

I show up here to recommend Combat Codes and see the actual author has beaten me to it. Way to steal all the thunder. Seriously, everyone should read this. I'm looking forward to the third installment.

Alexander Darwin link

5/28/2021 09:01:53 am

Haha,Thank you for thinking of me!

Lithrandil

5/28/2021 06:18:46 am

I would recommend A Practical Guide to Evil.

It's a rather well written webnovel, featuring a really interesting world, fun characters, in which you will even enjoy the antagonists, and a super cool power system that is based on narrative.

Ben

5/28/2021 07:08:36 am

I would strongly second this. It's my favourite web serial. The only reason I'm not comfortable calling it my favourite currently updating series is because this Sanderson chap and that Wight fellow are doing good work, and it's a tight competition.

VincentD

5/29/2021 12:51:05 am

Seconded, also great character development, unexpected twists on the good vs evil story (as you follow the practical evil MC that wants a better world), big battles, fleshed out world, etc.

Seif

5/28/2021 06:22:26 am

If you're in the mood for a good read I would highly recommend reading either Slash of the Titans, an in-depth look into the 10 year prossess of making Freddy vs Jason. Or Taking Shape, a very impressive look at the history behind the Halloween movie franchise.

Anomander Rake

5/28/2021 06:28:52 am

I am going to suggest something different for you to watch. If you have even a tiny bit of interest in the game of chess, check out the "Paul Morphy Saga' by Agadmator on YouTube.

It is a series focusing on the life of Paul Morphy the great American chess player of 1800s, also called the "The Pride and Sorrow of Chess."

The host more specifically goes through Morphy's chess games with occasional tidbits about Morphy's life and and everything else. The series is still ongoing and you can watch at your leisure as every video focuses on one game.

Cheers

Ian

5/28/2021 06:30:20 am

Pierce Brown’s series. I can’t write red rising just because of how insanely its evolved since that first book. Dark Age was simply the most epic read and broke my 1-10 scale.

Ley

5/28/2021 07:28:41 am

That's interesting. I really didn't like Dark Age too much. Was too dark without enough light moments to keep me hooked. I expect that will change with the next book, but I couldn't recommend Dark Age on it's own. I guess that's why things are so subjective!

Bryan

5/28/2021 06:31:06 am

I stumbled on the infinite world series by jt wright. 3 books only so far with book 4 coming soon and I'm hooked. It's like reading a final fantasy game.

Kolai

5/28/2021 06:35:19 am

I heard of good things from Aching God recently

If you still want to read something in the realms of progressional fantasy then Codex Alera by Jim Butcher. It is alot closer to big epic fantasy than progressional fantasy but it has a decent aspect of progression

Book of the Ancestors by Mark Lawrence is fantastic too. I mean it has Murder Ninja Nuns what's not to like

Duzl

5/28/2021 06:35:37 am

Maybe try reading Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (The Martian and Artemis).

The Dresden files by Jim Butcher is a great urban fantasy series, I cannot recommend this enough.

Another great book I found was the Sandman on Audible. The voice cast was amazing and it includes many stars like Riz Ahmed and James McAvoy to mention a few.

There’s also this book called Reaper by this guy called Will Wight. We don’t know when or if it’s coming out, but it might be worth waiting for.

Scooter McGee

5/28/2021 08:11:43 am

The audible performance of Project Hail Mary was fantastic. I would recommend it. And double down on The Sandman from Audible. Looking forward to the second part of that, coming soon.

Notaraccoon

5/28/2021 06:36:26 am

I would recommend watching Invincible on Amazon

Ley

5/28/2021 07:09:45 am

Invincible was great!

Mudd

5/28/2021 11:07:33 am

This should be the winner. I can't to recommend it if he hasn't seen. Even if he read the comics.

John C

5/28/2021 06:36:31 am

Skul the Hero Slayer is a great time on steam - rogue-lite with enough challenge and novel movesets / items to keep you playing.

Ariel

5/28/2021 06:37:17 am

Have you ever read The legend of Drizzt book series. One of my favorite of all time next you cradle. Based on dungeons amd dragons so if you like that type if stuff give it a run

Christopher

5/28/2021 06:38:33 am

It's a bit of a throwback, but if you haven't already, the Eli Monpress books remain one of the most fun series to read. Such a cool magic system, and a very fun premise. The audiobook is also good.

A very different recommendation, if you are at all interested in non fiction, is Veritas. It's essentially a detective novel.

josh

5/28/2021 06:39:14 am

for Books my top 2 series are Cradle and The System Apocalypse by Tao Wong. If you want a more fantasy setting the "Schooled in Magic" series by Christopher Nuttal is pretty good, though it starts dragging a bit around book 16.

Josh

5/28/2021 06:39:45 am

King’s dark tidings is a great series to read.
For Video games, I highly recommend Total war. I enjoy Rome 2, but there are a ton of them and it’s a great way to pass time and isn’t a king term commitment.

Josh

5/28/2021 06:41:39 am

Long**

Frank Mathura

6/4/2021 10:06:09 am

When does book 4 of KDT come out? Been waiting forever.

Me :)

5/28/2021 06:40:24 am

Not sure if it's totally up your alley but Crusader Kings 3 is a blast, and way easier to learn than other titles in the grand strategy genre.

Phil Thomas

5/28/2021 06:40:57 am

Drew Hayes supervillain series - he also does the super powered series as well.

Martha Wells MurderBot diaries are very good as well and quite short.

Board game wise I can recommend Seasons and of course Terraforming Mars - added bonus handlers can keep an eye on you while you crush them :)

Phil Thomas

5/28/2021 06:44:52 am

Kate Daniels series and others like sweep of the broom by Ilona Andrew’s are excellent as well

shantanu

5/28/2021 06:51:01 am

Oh I love Ilona Andrews. I think I like Innkeeper Chronicles the most but it's so hard to choose. Kate Daniels was where I started and I love Hidden Legacy and the Edge too.

Aaron

5/28/2021 11:47:01 am

I will also second the Murderbot series. From the title I thought it was going to be some cheeky contemporary sci-fi pulp but it has a lot of depth and character development AND a killer Robocop that blows stuff up

Timberonian

5/30/2021 06:42:42 am

I was about to recommend the same: Drew Hayes is an author, who specializes in characters. His stories are great, too, but mostly I enjoy staying with his characters. Besides the Villain‘s Code series, I like The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant.

As for board games: Everdell is the most beautiful worker-placement game I’ve ever played. If you like it dark and cooperative, try Arkham Horror LCG (it’s unlike most LCGs). Great storytelling and the LCG part is mostly about playing new adventures. The campaign of the starter box sucks, though. Start with the Dunwich cycle.

Jon Renshaw

5/28/2021 06:41:43 am

I have a soft spot for romance in my scifi and/or fantasy. If you do also, then Laini Taylor's novels deserve your attention. They hold a disproportionate place in my very small "I'd give it 5 stars" list (half of them get 5 stars, the rest are also great).

The somewhat older "A Conflict of Honors" is perhaps my favorite slice of the Liaden Universe novels. Or maybe "Scout's Progress"? Totally fine to read either alone.

CosmereCradleChris

5/28/2021 10:05:35 am

Jon Renshaw? Is this same Jonathan Renshaw who wrote Dawn of Wonder? I literally was coming to recommend that book to Will. If you wrote it, you're awesome and the book is phenomenal!

coogsh

5/28/2021 11:29:13 am

+1 on this one

Jon

5/29/2021 05:17:43 pm

Different dude. I let Google auto fill, shame on me.
One of my friends did point out that someone with my name published stuff, though.
I thought I should read it for funzies, but the reviews scared me off.

Danny

5/28/2021 06:45:08 am

If you haven't read it, you absolutely must read all the Dune series by Frank Herbert.

Mark

5/28/2021 06:46:01 am

Tropico 6, Penultimo is a treasure. Or Stellaris just had a new DLC to help you exterminate the xeno scum. Or mate with them, whatever.

Charles o

5/28/2021 06:47:24 am

Dark Operator, a Galaxy's Edge series is what I'm on until any new Cradle comes out. Idk... Wash your motor vehicle?

Nick

5/28/2021 06:47:40 am

I greatly enjoyed Skullsworn audio book written by Brian Staveley and narrated really well by not Brian Staveley!

Sarah K

5/28/2021 06:49:13 am

Linesman trilogy by SK Dunstall - spaceships run on lines to traverse the void. One man sings to them.

Shantasy

5/28/2021 07:33:12 am

Thank you for the reminder that this series exists! It's a really great read, kind of like the Starship's Mage series by Glynn Stewart.

Shantanu

5/28/2021 07:44:04 am

I really enjoyed Starship’s Mage. I just have the last 2 in the series left.

Sarah K

5/28/2021 06:14:30 pm

I'm going to check out Starship's Mage! Thanks! I can't believe I hadn't read it.

Ley

5/28/2021 06:49:38 am

What a great opportunity of people asking for recommendations!

TV Shows

Jujitsu Kaizen - the best anime I've seen. Great characters, great action, avoids some of the annoying aspects of anime. One of the characters reminds me so much of Eithan.

Demon Slayer - a great anime but with beautiful art. One super annoying character though.

Altered Carbon - incredible visuals in a sci-fi world.

Barry - a weird mix of actors/hitman. Bill Hader dark comedy.

What we do in the shadows (movie and TV show) mocumentary style mundane vampire comedy.

Wellington Paranormal: A lower budget comedy by Jemaine Clement about NZ cops facing supernatural concerns. Again that great mix of mundane and supernatural for comedic effect. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApxbN3Bp6f4

Patriot - a action/comedy/spy show about a very depressed folk singing spy. Some similarities to Barry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HW6usoJXCPY

Movies

Rider of Justice - a Danish film starring Mads Mikkelsen about a hard arse teaming with some nerds to get some revenge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l09T87hEstI

Palm Springs - Groundhog day for a new generation.

Books:

This feels like a crazy and you would be across anything here.

Dylan

5/28/2021 06:51:10 am

Hey Will, try The Land of the Undying Lord (The Infinite World Book 1) by J.T Wright or play Valheim on pc.

Kandra

5/28/2021 06:51:14 am

You should read my book (wait, that isn't published...but a draft is done)...

I'm going to try the Bones Ships books, soon. I've heard from numerous people that it has a lot of good worldbuilding and character development...so, if you haven't read that, maybe give it a try!

SilentEmrys

5/28/2021 06:51:22 am

For a good book I'd recommend the Demons of Astlan series. It's not complete yet, but first 3 are out. The first book is Into the Abyss. Book 2 has some not so great writing at points, but the overall premise of the series works great and ends up being really funny and completely different to a lot of books I've read previously.

Levi

5/28/2021 06:52:55 am

If you like light novels overgeared/legendary moonlight sculptor are really good books.

As for games astroneer/no man's sky (its fun now)/satisfsctory or if you want to be addicted Deep Rock Galactic.

Yevgeny Fridlyand

5/28/2021 06:53:42 am

Beginning After the End by TurtleMe. Also performed by Travis Baldree :)

Ben

5/28/2021 06:54:27 am

If you haven't picked it up yet Ghost of Tsushima is an amazing game, from game play to story that include a inner personal conflict for the main character. It's just all around an amazing experience. I highly recommend this game.

Clancy

5/28/2021 06:56:15 am

The Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks is pretty good. I’m rereading it right now.

Wesperado

5/28/2021 06:56:15 am

I'm probably behind on this, but I just discovered Ghost of Tsushima, and I'm blown away. It's beautiful and engaging.

StephenS

5/28/2021 06:56:47 am

Psych. Full of fantastic cameos and a good running gag that is right up there with Keenan and Kel's "aw here it goes"

RobY

5/28/2021 02:09:39 pm

You know that's right.

Wiskeyjac

5/28/2021 06:57:45 am

If you're a fan of Fritz Leiber-style fantasy ("Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser"/Lankhmar), P.C. Hodgell's Kencyrath series is a favorite of mine. It's pretty traditional western fantasy, but has some nice worldbuilding in it. The first book, God Stalk, grew out of Pat's (IIRC) dissertation project in grad school.

For something weightier, J.C. McCrae's web serial Worm is an amazing story. It follows Taylor, a higschooler who desperately wants to be a "cape" (superhero,) the emergence of her powers, and how to exist in a world that's more "gradient" than "four-color comic book." Worm is a deconstruction of the superhero genre, but done well enough that it's ruined most other deconstructions (Umbrella Academy and Jupiter's Legacy to name two).
Worm clocks in at 1,000,000 plus words, so it's not a short read. If you prefer audio, there's a fan-produced audio book that's about 300 hours long.

Paul Stiles

5/28/2021 06:58:43 am

I would recommend the audiobook Rage of Dragons, by Evan Winter. The book is great and Prentice Onayemi does a really great performance. There is also a second book in the series.

John M

5/28/2021 07:00:33 am

I just finished Empire of Ashes (The Augmented) by Ben Hale. While it could use another pass with an editor, I thought it was a good SciFi universe with engaging characters.

hajakuja

5/28/2021 07:01:39 am

Read Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. The same Susanna Clarke that wrote the amazing Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell. I’m convinced at this point that Clarke is a genius.

Piranesi is very different so I don’t know how to compare it with something else to give you a reference point. It has almost no action, and by the end you will be left with wonder, longing and a bit of sadness, but also you’ll be very glad you read it.

Jonny D

5/28/2021 07:11:11 am

SNOWPIERCER on Netflix. Great TV series that is 2 seasons in and still ongoing.

Seven years after the world has become a frozen wasteland, the remnants of humanity inhabit a perpetually-moving train that circles the globe, where class warfare, social injustice and the politics of survival play out.

Tim M

5/28/2021 07:12:45 am

Returnal was amazing!! My favorite PS5 experience thus far.

I would recommend the book series We Are Legion (We Are Bob) ... book series is called Bobiverse. Amazing sci fi read about AI and interstellar exploration.

Leo

5/28/2021 07:13:15 am

Book recommandations :

-> Never Die by Rob J Hayes. It's probably already in your TBR but it has not been mentioned here yet !

-> Orconomics of The Dark profit Saga by J. Zachary Pike

Chinese Anime : Fog Hill of the Five Elements. Incredibly well animated

Gabriel

5/28/2021 07:16:26 am

Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie, it would be a crime not to read that series. I also really enjoy listening to The Cycle of Glaland/Arawn series by Edward W. Robertson, don’t miss those.

Signspace

5/28/2021 07:18:36 am

I will recommend you a series in your own Genre that I have come across recently, Memories of the Fall by Rith on Royal Road. For a long while, Cradle and Forge of Destiny have been the only Xianxia/Xuanhuan series that I would ever recommend to the average fantasy fan, they are great examples of the Genre, in to almost diametrically opposite ways. Cradle (as I am sure you know) being an exemplary example of the action and progression aspects of the story, with that looming sense of scale and door that is constantly escalating. Forge being an example of the deep character and personality aspects that can be integrated into a cultivation systems progression if done correctly, with every step of Ling Qi's journey and inch of her progress being as much about understanding herself as about gobbling spirit stones or winning tournaments.

Memories of the fall is a series focused on two aspects from this two stories, and includes a new one that they lack. It has the oever increasing scope and scale that Cradle does so well, and the integration of character into progression that Forge has achieved. It adds in that Xianxia Classic progression path that both have escewed, foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Spirit Severing, Dao seeking, Immortal. Adding in setting specific extras to make it its own, and it does so excellently.

Did I mention that it has multiple Female protagonists? All incredibly well executed. And also explores the genre of cosmic horror in a fantastically Xianxia way, one that I think would greatly benefit you in your continued writing of chaos for cradle? Well it does.

I hope you check it out, though I'm sure you have more to do than read an almost 7000 page WebNovel on RR. The early chapters are currently getting an Overhaul from the authors so there is no hurry for you to check it out. I do hope you keep on your Radar at least.

-Signspace.

NLimit

5/28/2021 07:19:13 am

He who fights with monsters is a really fun progression novel. It's nominally a litrpg but the actual litrpg mechanics take backseat to snark

Eduardo Schimitt

5/28/2021 07:19:33 am

Have you ever played the Nier games? The remake of the first one (Replicant) was released last month. My opinion is that the narrative in these games are top notch, maybe ones of the best ever made.

Ben

5/28/2021 07:20:31 am

The book side of this has been thoroughly covered, so I'm going to go in a different direction.

Final Fantasy XIV.

Someone recently recommended it to me, and it's eaten a decent chunk of my time for the last month or two. The core game and the first expansion are available in the free trial, with no time limit, and the storytelling (especially in the expansion) is really good.

It's also modern in a way that I didn't know MMOs had ever managed. I've skipped out on about a decade of development there, and they've smoothed off all of the awful edges.

The group content is introduced early, requires almost no talking to people, and is low stress - You just click the Duty Finder button and jump in. I've had no bad experiences with people, and that's never happened to me in an online game before. I'm actually looking forward to queuing for dungeons and raids.

The crafting and gathering stuff is easy to get into, but surprisingly enjoyable.

Being able to do everything on one character takes a lot of pressure off - You're never making the wrong choice. You're not going to look back on the twenty hours you spent levelling Black Mage and think "If only I'd played a Healer". Instead, you do a quest to unlock a Healer class and now you're a Healer who happens to have twenty hours of experience as a Black Mage.

I never bothered with FFXIV because it's an MMO (and because I saw just how awful 1.0 was). But unless you want to do the really high-end content, it's not got all of the downsides I associate with MMOs. It's worth playing just for the solo content (As long as you're willing to do the occasional group fight where DPS characters just need to know not to stand in the bad and to hit the other guy. It's only a little more complicated for healers, who add "need to know to heal people who look like they're dying" to the list).

Ian Pape

5/28/2021 07:22:34 am

If you haven't played Mass Effect, the newly released legendary edition is a great collection. It's had a huge impact on how story telling in video games is done, in addition to being a set of generally very well made games. A lot of people found the ending disappointing, but I still really enjoyed the series as a whole and found it very creatively inspiring while i was still working in the industry.

B F

5/28/2021 07:22:36 am

Try the book A Deadly Education, by Naomi Novik. The main character is a teenager in a magic school, with no teachers, that's constantly trying to kill her and her classmates. She's very deadpan about the whole thing, and amusingly angry at the boy who has saved her life multiple times.

coogsh

5/28/2021 11:30:39 am

Actually just read everything by Naomi Novik (esp Uprooted and Spinning Silver)

Ian

5/28/2021 12:25:49 pm

I strongly recommend Deadly Education (or really any book by Naomi Novik). This book, though, is as if Harry Potter was written by M. Night Shyamalan and Steven King.

If you’re looking for something wildly different, I’d recommend the Zone War series by John Conroe.

Lola

5/29/2021 11:36:27 am

I was going to recommend that book too! I’m desperately waiting for the sequel to come out later this year. As for other recommendations, I like the mangas Assasination Classroom and Neuro: Supernatural Detective by Yūsei Matsu, as well as Full Metal Alchemist. If you like cooking/watching someone make delicious things you wish you could eat, I recommend Joshua Weissman’s YouTube channel.

Heidi

5/28/2021 07:25:33 am

Warriors Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold. An intelligent teenager with bad health problems becomes the scariest cog in an interplanetary war. It's a fairly zippy read and super fun.

Adam

5/28/2021 07:27:25 am

For manga, Tower of God is really good and free on the Webtoons app. Books you've already read most of my favorites but the Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks is really good. If you want something that will last a while but it's in manageable sized chunks check out the Bad Magic Productions YouTube channel. The different podcasts with very different feels but all very well done. The oldest is Timesuck, a deep dive into a random different topic every week by a stand-up comedian. Second is Scared to Death, campfire tales style stories presented by Dan and his wife Lynze. Last is the pure comedy installment of Is We Dumb with Dan and Joe. It's hilarious

Daniel

5/28/2021 07:28:06 am

I'd highly recommend the Spellwright trilogy by by Blake Charlton.

Matt m

5/28/2021 07:28:23 am

Book recommendations;

-Assassin's apprentice - Robin Hobb
-Iron druid chronicles - kevin hearn
-Any series in the cosmere by Brandon sanderson.
-the day my Butt went psycho

Zeussaxis link

5/28/2021 07:32:39 am

I'm not sure whether to be surprised or not, but nobody has yet mentioned the scariest option: go outside and play! Bocce ball in a park...drive to the beach just to say you were there...walk around a mall people-watching (good source of ideas for scenes with fun body language).

Mostly I say this because it seems like I've got a little easier when I started getting a little sunshine to replace all of that screen time.

Brianthas

5/28/2021 07:39:12 am

I’m a big fan of rogue-like games because I have the attention span of a gnat... So I recommend Neon Abyss!

Mads

5/28/2021 07:39:36 am

Here are a couple of non-AAA games that I have wasted my time on:

Grim Dawn - Action RPG set in a post-apocalyptic Victorian era. It was released in 2016, but is still updated with free content.

Mindustry - Factorial meets tower defense. So addictive!

David

5/28/2021 07:40:15 am

Paleocene trilogy and Galactic Milieu Trilogy by Julian May are excellent.

Golden Shadow

5/28/2021 07:44:08 am

You can check out Peculiar Soul on Royal Road (.com). It's by a xianxia author, although It hasn't quite gotten there yet. It's pretty good Victorian fantasy and has like really long, well written chapters, released chapter by chapter in the customary style of xianxia.

Fore

5/28/2021 07:44:25 am

If you're interested in memoirs I'd suggest Becoming Superman by JMS, the guy who wrote Babylon 5 and had a sweeping life prior to that writing for He-Man, She-Ra, and that Ghostbusters cartoon.

Children of Time is about what happens when an forced evolution virus meant for chimps to be lifted on alien planets runs wild on a population off dog sized alien spiders instead. It's a bit technical at points, but it's a compelling sci-fi book that spans generations of spider culture.

I don't have a lot of fantasy recommendations but The Last Smile in Sundercity and it's sequel by Luke Arnold is a good time if you're looking for noir private eye in a world where magic has been extinguished and the medical trauma of vampires who can no longer revitalize themselves or banshees who lose their voices is just as compelling as the case the main character is charged with.

I'd also recommend my own but it's hard as heck to finish the darn thing.

Retsam

5/28/2021 07:46:43 am

Outer Wilds (note, NOT Outer Worlds, the RPG) is fantastic.

It's got that feeling of exploration from Subnautica, but instead of exploring the dark depths of the ocean, you're exploring a clockwork solar system and figuring out what happened to the previous species that lived there and trying to solve the game's central puzzle.

The story genuinely surprised me with the way it goes and had me thinking about it weeks (and I guess, judging by this comment, months) later. And it has impressive attention to detail with how every thing fits together.

James Stewart

5/28/2021 07:47:11 am

You should start playing disc golf! Great way to become one with nature and enjoy the physics of flight

Steve

5/28/2021 07:48:04 am

The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. Quick novellas and a ton of fun.

Way

5/28/2021 07:48:55 am

Two story-based video games:
1. To the Moon
2. Steins;gate

Shouldn't take up too much time, but it'll hit you in the feels. Graphics aren't the best, but story is amazing.

Sean

5/28/2021 07:49:19 am

RE: Village is an excellent game, plays a lot like RE4 and has a good amount of replayability. For books, The House in the Cerulean Sea is a really good read and it’s a feel good story. For a show I always recommend Orphan Black. It’s an incredible mystery sci-fi show. Definitely in monarch tier of shows for me.

C'tri

5/28/2021 07:50:30 am

If you enjoyed survival / exploration / construction that Subnautica offered, I recommend Valheim - especially if you've got 1 or 2 others to play with.

If you're a fan of construction and survival at a more abstract level, Oxygen Not Included by the creators of Don't Starve puts you in charge of a small collection of (frankly suicidally dumb) workers on an asteroid with finite resources.

Valheim is gorgeously atmospheric, and ONI is oddly moreish, and will involve several failures and restarts as you figure everything out :)

Liam

5/28/2021 07:54:12 am

Will,
I wholeheartedly endorse See These Bones by Chris Tullbane. He's great and needs a shout out from someone like you. I don't usually say that. It's a really great book. It's a trilogy called Murder of Crows and it's two books in at this point.
It's a book about super heroes in a post-apocalyptic world. Here's a blurb that I hope catches your eye and consumes some of your time.

"Some superheroes want to save the world. Damian is just hoping to save himself.

In the post-Break world of superpowers, necromancy is the one gift nobody wants. Everyone knows what happens to Crows; they go mad and they go bad. That's the story of infamous mass murderers like Crimson Death, Gravedigger, and Sally Cemetery. It's also the story of David Jameson, an otherwise unremarkable man who came home one day and killed his wife, orphaning their five-year-old son, Damian.

Thirteen years later, Damian has inherited more than just grey eyes and a beak of a nose from his father. He too is a Crow, doomed to become a killer unless he can find a way to avoid the violent madness endemic to his powers. When a Finder offers enrollment at Los Angeles' Academy of Superheroes, he jumps at the chance, believing training could be the key to changing his fate. His classmates despise him, the majority of his teachers want him expelled, and his mom's ghost hasn't said a word since reappearing when he was nine, but Damian isn't the kind to give up. He's going to take control of his destiny or die in the process.

It's that or end up like his father"

Space'r

5/28/2021 07:56:09 am

I highly recommend the anime series, Dr.Stone. Just gets progressively better and a great series to just binge.

Hopson

5/28/2021 07:57:31 am

Painting the Mists is really good if you haven't read it (I'm sure you have but book 11 came out fairly recently).

I'm really excited for Tao Wong's next book in A Thousand Li which comes out on 6/1, the whole series is generally good for a reread.

The Mage Errant series is another good one with a recent book published.

Sometimes a good Dark Souls or Dark Souls 3 run is good to clear your head, but it can definitely backfire and drive you up a wall.

Michael Good link

5/28/2021 07:59:46 am

Hi Will!

A few years ago, I posted on /r/fantasy saying that Cradle reminded me of Xenogears for the Playstation. I stand by this, it still does. However, I'm not recommending Xenogears!

More recently, I've been playing the Trails series. I actually have no idea if JRPGs are your jam, but I think that you might dig these from a story perspective. Trails is some of the best storytelling in gaming and it hits a lot of notes that you hit in your writing.

https://www.gog.com/game/the_legend_of_heroes_trails_in_the_sky

Best,
Michael

Alec

5/28/2021 08:05:21 am

Not sure if you read any sci-fi, but js Morin's black ocean mobius missions are a lot of fun.

Basically any questions or issues with technology, like how do we travel so far so fast, artificial gravity, or terraforming are addressed by wizards who were in hiding throughout human history. It's a great mix of fantasy and scifi.

Djo

5/28/2021 08:13:30 am

Try the castlevania series on Netflix. The final season just released and it's sooooo good.

Leonardo

5/28/2021 08:17:49 am

How about the Castlevania series? And how do you feel about the Dark Souls games Will? Nowdays I want to name all my Dark Souls chars Northstrider.

Riley

5/28/2021 08:18:35 am

I'm sure you've had a great many people recommend Invincible on Amazon Prime to you as its kind of blowing up in the meme markets but it's worthy of the hype in my opinion. It is unfortunately only 8 episodes so far but it'll take up at least a few afternoons. I've been reading a Webnovel series called Birth of the Demonic Sword, its another cultivation fantasy genre like Cradle but a bit more traditional with its system. I personally really enjoy it and it's got just over 1600 chapters posted so plenty to binge if you find yourself hooked.

Michael Ruurds

5/28/2021 08:19:56 am

It's a little out of left field, but consider checking out Mr. Inbetween on Hulu (FX). 'Slice of life' show all about An Aussie enforcer/hitman who is also trying to raise a teenager and look after his Ill brother.

Short 25 minute episodes - all killer no filler (pun intended). Very dry humor and visceral action. Frankly, I love it. They're currently 2 episodes into the 3rd and final season. It's a masterpiece.

Actually

5/28/2021 08:20:53 am

The Rampart trilogy. I really enjoyed the audible version but Mike Carey is good in any form. It’s a really good mix of fantasy and sci-fi so I think you would dig it. ✨

Steve

5/28/2021 08:27:15 am

You yourself recommended Mike Shel's The Aching God a couple years ago. The conclusion to that trilogy just came out in late April, called Idols Fall. It's quite a ride. Obviously you'd want to read book 2 (entitled Sin Eater) first, if you haven't already.

Also, if you haven't kept up with Mage Errant yet (or haven't read it at all), the latest book in that series is a tour de force, bringing a much heavier, more serious tone to the series. Highly recommend that as well.

Other great recommendations:

- The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter, and its sequel, The Fires of Vengeance. Setting is inspired by Bronze-Age Africa rather than medieval Europe, which is a refreshing change of pace, and it's very compelling
- Licanius Trilogy by James Islington. If you haven't given this a read, it's well worth your time.
- Red Sister and it's sequels by Mark Lawrence. I remember you didn't like the Thorns trilogy of Lawrence's on account of the grimdark tone, but I would say the tone of this trilogy is completely different, so I think it's worth giving it a chance. The books feature almost exclusively female characters (I get the feeling Lawrence was a bit stung by reviews that labeled Thorns as doing poorly with female characters), and it's set in a completely different world from Thorns and its follow-on trilogy that starts with Prince of Fools.

Jewbaacca

5/28/2021 08:30:34 am

So there’s this one series called Kingkiller Chronicles, dunno if you’ve heard about it. It’s by this guy Patrick Rothfuss. Anyway it’s really going awesome, I’m on the second book now. It’s so great. I’m almost down with it though so I hope I don’t have to wait so long for the next book.

There’s also this other series I’ve been meaning to check out called A Song of Ice and Fire. I’ve heard good things.

5/28/2021 08:31:10 am

I recommend the The Physician by Noah Gordon. It is not fantasy, but it has a little magic in it. And the storytelling is amazing.

hlh_shadow

5/28/2021 08:34:41 am

The Licanius Trilogy is a really amazing epic fantasy work. Mind-blowing.

Thomas

5/28/2021 08:36:31 am

Id reccomend the Chivalry 2 open beta happening atm

Travis Baldree

5/28/2021 08:39:58 am

I recently reread The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins, and I never reread anything. I still love it. It's not easily describable, but it's great.

Also rereading Robin Hobb's Assassin series - which is great in a very different way.

Michael Good

5/28/2021 09:10:04 am

The Library at Mount Char is haunting, but excellent. Definitely worth reading!

This Travis fellow has fine taste.

Christian

5/28/2021 12:35:40 pm

Library at Mount Char is insane. I've never read anything like it. Really good.

Tim

5/28/2021 08:41:24 am

Books:
- Treason by Orson Scott Card
What a world Orson has built with this one. Talks about how mind and body can interact with the world in ways we hadn't thought possible in the far future on a planet where people were exiled.

- Skyward by Brandon Sanderson
Just real good solid sci-fi

- The Beekeeper's Lament by Hannah Nordhaus
Talks about the causes of the bees dying off, absolutely fascinating read.

Movies:
- Train to Busan
I finally set some time aside to watch it and it lives up to the hype. Korean zombie movie

Games:
- Yakuza: Like a Dragon
I went in expecting a silly jrpg set in Tokyo, which it is, but the story is SO GOOD.

Real Life:
- Go boogie boarding!

Steven

5/28/2021 08:48:11 am

The Xenocide Mission by Ben Jeapes or the Children of Time and its sequel by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I don't usually read sci-fi books compared to fantasy but these are my favorite.

Taylor R

5/28/2021 08:48:23 am

How about getting out of the house for some fun. Have you been axe throwing yet? It's pretty easy to pick up, and the endorphin boosts are frequent and satisfying. I don't know where you're located but at this point there's almost a guaranteed location no matter where you are.

iloverugs

5/28/2021 08:49:34 am

I really enjoyed Andy Weir’s new book, Hail Mary. For a show, I think Invincible was done quite well. For a video game, Outer Wilds was fantastic if you haven’t played it already (Not Outer Worlds).

Clay

5/28/2021 09:06:37 am

RE: Village is fantastic. If you liked re4 and re7 you'll love it. I may be biased as thats my intro into console gaming. Though, the story is fun, actually creepy, anf full of suspense. Great mix of shootem up and survival horror. Play in the dark, and loud!

Tim

5/28/2021 09:14:49 am

Hey if you want to nerd out and empty your head at the same time I recommend gunpla building.
You can go as far as you want with it.
I just do straight builds with small touch ups but it is a great way to totally focus on one thing.

Shady

5/28/2021 09:21:46 am

Mythic Quest on Apple TV - short episodes about a game studio in Montreal and is made in partnership with Ubisoft. It’s hilarious.

terrorblade link

5/28/2021 09:28:12 am

Dragon Heart series by Kirill Klevanski

Overlord Light Novels by Kugane Maruyama

Connor

5/28/2021 09:31:38 am

I binged invincible super hard
For games I’ve been playing monster hunter rise and hades

will

5/28/2021 09:33:03 am

If you haven't already, Daniel Suarez's Daemon books are great.

I know it's been around for more than a decade now, but StarCraft 2 has been my thing lately. Not sure why, but got back into it and have been hitting the ladder tournaments. I'll never be able to stick in the master ranks (made it there briefly) but lodes of fun.

Josh S

5/28/2021 09:36:49 am

The Black Company by Glen Cook
Chronicles a mercenary company that takes a contract with an evil sorceress.

The Expanse by James S A Corey
Audiobook is very high quality. Amazon prime series based on the books is hands down the best book-to-video conversion I've ever seen.

Mike

5/30/2021 10:44:30 am

I second Glen Cook The Black Company and all of that series.

John Holliday

5/28/2021 09:41:09 am

Have you read The Arinthian Line by Sever Bronny? Love this book series. Imagine Harry Potter but instead of starting with school, the young heros are thrown right into the saving the world. Amazing story with great character development.

TridenT

5/28/2021 09:44:27 am

They're old, and they're small and made for youngsters, but one of my very favorite book series growing up were the Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C Wrede. They take a hard left at basically every single fantasy trope out there. But in a good way!

Sam

5/28/2021 09:52:21 am

There are a lot of good book and webnovel recommendations here, and I'm both pleased and disappointed to know that I've read almost all of them.

I'll stress He Who Fights with Monsters and Practical Guide to Evil, which are the two best webnovels I'm currently reading. Practical Guide has blown me away with sheer character growth as the series nears the end of it's run, and is definitely in my top 3 or 5 of all time.

I'm not great at convincing people to read stuff, so I'll list a bunch of webnovels I enjoyed, most of which are ongoing. I know you've heard of at least half of these and most are fairly common recommendations. They are in a very rough of order of how much I think you might get hooked in the first few chapters. The bottom of the list contains some stuff like Azarinth Healer which starts off very rough and is very long but still one of my favorites. It's very light reading that I enjoy a dose of every week.

Virtuous Sons: A Greco Roman Xianxia
Worm
Metaworld Chronicles
Threads of Destiny

Beware of Chicken
A Journey of Black and Red
Azarinth Healer
Somebody stop her
Inexorable Chaos

But if you only read one thing from my list make it (ideally the first two books of) The Practical Guide to Evil. Everyone says their favorite series only gets better, but this is the truest expression of that I have found.

Michael

5/28/2021 10:00:26 am

If you haven't read Harry Connolly's Twenty Palaces series they are really good. Somewhere in between urban fantasy and horror. I just re-read them because sometime before too long he is coming out with a new one. I recommend starting with the prequel "Twenty Palaces" which was actually written last (I think). Then the rest of them in publication order.

5/28/2021 10:04:57 am

I just got into dauntless, its a pretty fun monster beat em up. A little more casual, faster paced and approachable than monster hunter for sure.

Joe

5/28/2021 10:09:34 am

Have you read Practical Guide to Evil?

It's a webnovel you can read for free, just google the title and it'll bring up the author's blog he writes on.

It's about this girl who grew up in the Good KingdomTM after it had conquered by the Evil EmpireTM. She decides she wants to change how the Empire is running her kingdom and that a rebellion is unfeasible so she joins up with the Empire to try to change things from the other side.

I really love the magic system. It's all based on fantasy stories, the idea is that if an event is repeated enough or an idea becomes ingraned enough then it sort of gets carved into the fabric of creation and it gets more and more weight, metaphysically, and easier to repeat. Basically, people can take on Roles in the stories that play out across the world. Like Black Knight, Shining Prince, Lone Swordsman, or Dread Empress and they get abilities that reflect their personal interpretation of that Role. I think it's super cool.

Something to note is that there's pretty much at least a few major typos per chapter. I really like the Author's style but they really need an editor. Or to at least run the chapters through grammerly before they post them.

Some notable events in the story include (Spoilers, but no context): Someone turning aside a calvary charge by themselves by sheer reputation and nerve, an old man calling down a star on his enemies, the theft of the Sun, lots of arson, the murder of a lesser god and usurpation of their power, and Robber the goblin, the best goblin to ever shank someone in a dark alley for shits and giggles.

Sam

5/28/2021 10:38:26 am

"Sheer reputation" should just be the title of the last book. I've never seen a character amass such "soft power" before, all completely earned. It doesn't matter what her current situation is, everyone on the continent knows you don't fucking bet against her by the end.

CosmereCradleChris

5/28/2021 10:12:20 am

If you happen to read this far through the comments, first off, you're amazing and I love your books! Thanks for writing!
1) Mother of Learning by Domagoj Kurmaic (Nobody103) is phenomenal, I found it on Royal Road and it's in my list of top 3 Progression Fantasy novels.
2) Perfect Run by Void Herald on Royal Road has been a crazy fun adventure thus far
3) Virtuous Sons by Ya Boy on Royal Road is a really fun buddy-adventure, cultivation novel focused on an Ancient Greek viewpoint instead of a more classical take on cultivation.

Sam

5/28/2021 10:39:15 am

This is the comment that finally makes me read Perfect Run. Thank you (I hope).

CosmereCradleChris

5/28/2021 12:50:07 pm

I'm glad I can be that person to help give you that final push! Have a blast, it's a really well done take on Time Travel, but a lot funnier than Mother of Learning.

Abbie

5/28/2021 10:14:40 am

If you're into MMO Guild Wars 2 is my absolute favorite. I've been playing it for around 10 years now and there is still constantly new content and more to do!

Fishman550

5/28/2021 10:24:33 am

If you haven't played it, play through Hollow Knight, one of the best Metroidvania's ever made in my opinion.

If you have, how about Firewatch, it's what some people term a walking simulator. You play a guy in 1989 in the wilderness of Wyoming, you've just been hired as a Firewatcher, you sit in one of those big wooden towers watching for signs of wildfires and generally keeping the national park in good order. You keep in touch with your colleagues via a radio.

It's one of the most beautiful games I've ever played.

JSRGN

5/28/2021 10:39:41 am

Seconding shantanu's recommendation that you check out SPFBO finalists.

chairman meow

5/28/2021 10:42:36 am

Game: Mass Effect Legendary Edition. Probably the rpg that stuck with me the most

Book: 'He who fights with monsters' by Shirtaloon. Recently picked it up and it's the most fun I had with a series in a while

Catherine

5/28/2021 10:46:07 am

I really liked The Last Sun by K.D. Edwards and The City Between series by W.R. Gingell.

Jacob S.

5/28/2021 10:47:22 am

Love Exposure is an insanely weird movie that I love.

Cali

5/28/2021 10:59:27 am

If you enjoy puzzle games and philosophy then I’d highly recommend The Talos Principle!
https://youtu.be/Vu9QFBWb7WQ

https://store.steampowered.com/app/257510/The_Talos_Principle/

The DLC (Road to Gehenna) is just as fantastic and adds incredible depth to the overall story and has even more difficult puzzles.

Josh heeg

5/28/2021 11:00:59 am

SK8 the infinity is really good! Watching it reminded me of playing Tony hawks pro skater on the Playstation. Its only 12 episodes and it is complete so thats a nice rare treat of an anime.

Kalyani

5/28/2021 11:02:20 am

I love Licanius Trilogy by James Islington. Shadow of what was lost, An Echo of things to come, The light all that falls.

Tiberius Arelius

5/28/2021 11:04:55 am

The Second Coming of Gluttony

SpeculativeFantasm

5/28/2021 11:05:07 am

There's this great series called Cradle you might enjoy....

There's an Urban Fantasy series that doesn't get nearly enough love that I think you might like called Daniel Faust (part of a larger universe, but that's my favorite part).

Juan C. A.

5/28/2021 11:07:31 am

Poison River by Josh Reynolds

In short, it's a very Sherlock-esque book in a more fantastical setting. I'd never read or played anything in the Legend of the Five Rings setting and the book does a great job bringing you into the world.

Piotr

5/28/2021 11:13:53 am

From a different angle, I recommend “Seal Team” tv show. It’s on paramount+. It’s the first tv series I have really enjoyed since “Generation Kill” and “Band of Brothers”.

You can also try playing “Detroit become human” if you haven’t alread

Andu

5/28/2021 11:19:12 am

RE Village is cool but I just discovered Ghost of Tsushima and have fallen in love with this game. Everything about it is amazing, great story, great graphics.

Basically takes place on the Japanese Island of Tsushima when the Mongols attempt to invade Japan. When all the samurai are slain but one. Our hero Jin must give up his identity as a samurai to fight dirty against the overwhelming odds becoming a type of proto ninja known as the Ghost.

Nick

5/28/2021 11:39:14 am

Wings of War by Bryce O’Connor is a good series, if a little slow to start out

Pedro

5/28/2021 11:39:15 am

The Zombie Knight Saga by George M. Frost is a pretty good webnovel to read, its free to read both on the website royalroad and in the author's own blog.

Unfortunately the author is known for putting the story on hiatuses and being hard to get in contact with, as is the case at the time this comment is being written.

Aaron

5/28/2021 11:44:18 am

Cage of Souls by Adrian Tchaikovsky. A very interesting stand-alone non-traditional fantasy/sci-fi novel. Imagine Shawshank Redemption, but also the sun is kind of dying. I finished this up right before Bloodline was released and I was worried I wouldn't be done in time because this was one of the few books that might have actually kept me from reading Cradle on release day. The audiobook is also phenomenal.

TimmyVulcain

5/28/2021 11:45:11 am

Try Lord of The Mysteries if you haven't, it's one of the best Chinese web novel out there, it has one of the thing I think Chinese web novel lack and it's world building. It is heavily inspired by Lovecraft, so dark theme like in Berserk, Dark souls and Bloodborne. Try it you won't be disappointed !

James Houglin

5/28/2021 11:45:57 am

I reccomend my hero academia!!! I can rewatch that series over and over just like the cradle series!!!

Karl

5/28/2021 11:52:19 am

Have you read sword of kaigen?

LegacyElite84

5/28/2021 11:55:14 am

Outer Wilds is hands down the best recommendation I can give. Incredible story, semi-Subnautica feel, and the gameplay is so uniquely refreshing.

Tell

5/28/2021 11:56:54 am

The first fifteen lives of Harry August by Claire North and Human Kind by Rutger Bregman! Also the manwhas - Solo Leveling, Tower of God, Kubera! And some animes not mentioned above - That time i got reincarnated as a slime, So I'm a Spider, So what?

Zxero88

5/28/2021 11:58:37 am

Watch Tenet.
Play Valheim.

Will link

5/28/2021 09:31:59 pm

Love Valheim! Hate Tenet.

Zxero88

5/29/2021 04:26:02 am

Read Night Angel Trilogy.

Will link

5/29/2021 10:50:45 am

Love Night Angel Trilogy!

If I had the time right now, I'd scroll back through the blog and find the picture of me with Brent Weeks from 2014.

Oscar

5/28/2021 12:07:18 pm

Games: Skyrim, Dark Souls, Divinity 2 Developers Cut, Dragon Age Origins and it's sequels.

Books: -The Seven Virtues by Jacob Peppers.
-The Traitor Son Cycle by Miles Cameron.
-Benjamin Ashwood by A.C. Cobble.
-The Broken Empire by Mark Lawrence.
-Battlemage by Peter Flannery.
-The Faithful and the Fallen by John Gwynne.
-The Trysmoon Saga by Brian Fuller
-The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb
-The Raveling by Alec Hutson.
-Greatcoats by Sebastien de Castell
-Lightbringer by Brent Weeks.
-Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne by Brian Staveley.
-Wolf of the North by Duncan M. Hamilton.
-The Dragonslayer by Duncan M. Hamilton.
-The Silvan Chronicles by Peter Wacht.
-The Fatemarked Epic by David Estes.
-Chronicles of Black Gate by Phil Tucker.

Oscar

5/28/2021 12:11:19 pm

Ah and I forgot. For Novels:
- Everyone Else is a Returnee (Korean)
- I am the Monarch (Korean)
- Trash of the Count's Family (Korean)
- Great Demon King (Chinese)
- Martial World (Chinese)

David J Blood

5/28/2021 12:11:08 pm

It's obvious: you need to start writing the Cradle tabletop RPG.

An Annoyance With A Wallet

5/28/2021 12:21:58 pm

I’d recommend Atomicrops. It’s this switch game that’s a farming/bullet-hell/rouge-lit.

I know that description sounds odd, but it really works. You are the last farmer in the apocalypse and need to farm and harvest mutant plants to feed the population.

You plant said plants, then go out into the wasteland biomes to kill things to get more seeds and items for your run.

Back in town you can buy and upgrade guns, romance some of the residents, which gets you more items, and buy some more seeds.

Then after three days you fight a boss and move on to the next season.

The game has a lot of problems, like enemies who bun rush you borderline faster than you can react, and stuff like that. But despite some frustrations I’ve put an unreasonable amount of hours into the game.

Alex

5/28/2021 12:24:32 pm

Some books I love:

Red Rising Series by Pierce Brown. For some reason it got categorized as YA but it is very much NOT. Amazing series, highly recommend the audiobook version as Tim Gerald Reynolds does an outstanding narration job.

Prince of Thorns, Mark Lawrence, great grimdark fantasy book. Main character is an asshole, but he's got style. Unique Setting and just really well done.

The Red Knight (The Traitor Son Cycle Book 1) by Miles Cameron. Excellent series, well written, historical realistic fantasy(?) I know it sounds odd, but it's refreshing to bring a dose of realism into the world while still being fun. Series is done, so no waiting.

Jon

5/28/2021 12:27:30 pm

I've seen it a couple times in here, but He Who Fights with Monsters is a fantastic series and the second book just recently came out.

S.A. Klopfenstein link

5/28/2021 12:32:18 pm

Read or listen to Dungeon Crawler Carl! It is absurd and ridiculously funny escapism.

Ian

5/28/2021 12:34:17 pm

In terms of video games, I love(!!) Battletech by Hairbrained Schemes.

I don’t do multiplayer, but their single player campaign is a lot of fun. Who doesn’t like 100T mechs stomping each other?

Christian

5/28/2021 12:36:42 pm

I didn't see this mentioned but The Mitchell's vs The Machines on Netflix is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen.

Indreq

5/28/2021 12:46:27 pm

Try discgolf :) I know every proper nerd considers excessive physical activity waste of precious time that could have been used reading, playing, or doing other nerdy things, but actually it does wonders to mental stamina as well. Fun fact - you can order custom design discs which look like Oreo cookies. Or Dross.

Aaron

5/28/2021 12:47:37 pm

You should sink some time into watching Dr. Stone if you haven't already. Good show.

Adam

5/28/2021 01:02:14 pm

The Godsfall Chronicles is a really good read although very long. It is an epic that spans over the course of many years about the story of a scavenger named Cloudhawk in a post-apocalyptic world with the goal of reaching the Elysian lands, a land believed to be a paradise.. As the reader, you get to watch Cloudhawk grow throughout the books and meet really interesting and unique characters. I strongly reccomend this series.

Carver

5/28/2021 01:04:17 pm

Just gave john steakley's Armor a re-read after many years. Gotta say it still holds up.

Hardik

5/28/2021 01:06:29 pm

Ima leave the more well known stuff to everyone else. As an ulterior motive I want cradle to be more brutal and realistic so here are some books in that vien:

Kings of Paradise

Prince of Nothing

Sword of Kaigen

Also, watch invincible.

Drew

5/28/2021 01:09:49 pm

I recommend the Foul Mouth series by Richard Raley. It's funny, irreverent, and has a fantastic story arc.

Grant

5/28/2021 01:13:42 pm

Mass Effect Legendary Edition

Aaron

5/28/2021 01:22:15 pm

If you didn't play the Mass Effect series when it came out the Legendary Edition is a great time to jump in and give it a go! OR if you did play it and enjoyed it then (like I did) it's amazing to be able to replay that bad boy with the pretty pretty graphics! ME one feel a little clunky but is still worth it :)

And thanks for all the books Will, I love them and they've meant a lot to me!

5/28/2021 01:22:33 pm

I'm a spider so what - Okina Baba is pretty enjoyable for an isekai. Light novel is well translates, but it has some litrpg elements so you might not like it.

Benjamin

5/28/2021 02:03:54 pm

Blood song, a ravens shadow series by Anthony Ryan.

Michael

5/28/2021 03:02:08 pm

I recommend the Kings dark tiding by Kel kade

Ford

5/28/2021 03:11:27 pm

Groundhog’s day + wizards = mother of learning

Awesome stand-alone book over on royal road. One of the few really original plots I’ve seen in years.

Naturebread

5/28/2021 03:32:18 pm

Will I have a dragons egg of my own you might be interested in.

Dragon's egg-by Robert L. Forward.( Sci-Fi ) Its the best allien story I've ever read .( don't read the good read description its very spoilery). Also the author is a real life physicist.

I have linked it on a few of the twitch cradle pre release streams.

This is my number one favorite book and im more into fantasy. I'm telling you its right up your alley.

I would recommend it on audiobook it really felt like it made the story better somehow.

Michael

5/28/2021 03:35:50 pm

Just rewatched a playthrough of Until Dawn, if you recall that PS4 launch title. Horror game, plays on the tropes, and is a fantastic watch all throughout since there are 256 endings. It's also really nice to just sit back and still think about the twists and choices, but not overly much that you're tired after watching it. Good for a break after thinking a lot.

Something to binge: If you want a novel you can binge on your free time, I've been reading Primal Hunter lately. LitRPG apocalypse, but it goes through a really weird process from a literary point of view: Unlike the typical apocalypse fantasy, the beginning is quite weak but it only gets stronger as it goes on until it becomes cohesive and quite well executed. The powers are interesting, the characters are believable, and the system/world is quite well thought out.

Comedy: Maybe Cultivation Chat Group? Normal guy accidently joins the cultivation world and just skyrockets through the stages, but it's incredibly funny and even has a plot. The characters are just the best as well.

Sci-Fi: Beginning few hundred chaps of Swallowed Star are good and can be considered a complete novel that you can drop after that point. Really fun underdog in an interesting post-apocalyptic world that's rebounded with advanced tech decades after the apocalypse.

Collin Blumenthal

5/28/2021 03:54:47 pm

Jujutsu Kaisen. Gojo is Eithen.

Collin Blumenthal

5/28/2021 04:00:03 pm

Eithan*. My iPhone is very partial to it’s name spellings.

Ley

5/29/2021 08:53:19 am

I said the same thing above. He really is.

Langham

5/28/2021 04:09:56 pm

So hear me out here. The Fan Showdown by Major Hardware on YouTube. I know it seems odd, but I freaking love watching these videos! He just makes and tests computer fans. Don't know why it is so fun to watch.

Logan

5/28/2021 04:15:58 pm

Not a book recommendation but have you watched Invincible on Amazon Prime? It’s amazing!

Grant

5/28/2021 04:32:58 pm

You should give EU4 a chance if you haven’t played it. You should also read force cultivation. It’s basically dragon heart but with inter dimensional travel and guns mixed in. Ps tanks are magical item the same as swords and bows.

Chris

5/28/2021 04:36:03 pm

I haven't seen you mention it on you blog, so if you haven't, you should play Hades. If the gameplay isn't in your wheelhouse, you should watch someone play Hades. The writing is superb, the acting is superb, the art is superb, and even 70+ hours in I'm seeing new things.

Also superb is a weird word. It only took three uses for me to doubt it was a real word and google it to be sure.

Logan

5/28/2021 04:40:53 pm

Have you tried ark survival evolved? It scratches alot of the same itches as subnautica but it's an MMO.

Carson

5/28/2021 05:39:03 pm

Check out Scarlet Odyssey by C.T.Rwizi. I picked it up one day as a kindle daily deal and loved it.

Ben

5/28/2021 06:25:56 pm

There's this really cool series called Traveler's Gate I've read recently, you might like it.

On a serious recommendation, if you have an hour and a half free free I highly recommend Dungeon Dynamite on youtube. It's a comedy series that's very witty in its take on D&D and yet surprisingly clean (seriously, only like one off-color joke in the whole thing).

Speaking of D&D, tabletop campaigns are pretty fun.

I'll second the EU4 recommendation I saw earlier- that or picking up XCOM2. While a comparatively older game, it's still pretty good.

Ben

5/29/2021 09:24:37 am

For another recommendation I forgot earlier:

Have you ever wanted to read about a detective in post-WW1 England that's pseudo-haunted by the sometimes helpful, sometimes malevolent pseudo-ghost of the guy he really didn't want to shoot for refusing orders but had to? Then go read Ian Rutledge by Charles Todd!

boring translator

5/28/2021 06:42:42 pm

There's the post Break series by Chris Tullbane - which is sort of a mix between Brandon Sanderson's Reckoner series with slice of life in a magical college. Probably not a genre that you'd especially love, but I thought the writing is well done.

I also see Alexander Darwin chimed in with Combat Codes - very solid and very enjoyable story similar in vein to Iron Prince in a post apocalyptic event world

Scott

5/28/2021 08:15:06 pm

Why not something physical, ax throwing, knife throwing? Maybe some golf/driving range? Heck, get some friends together and go to a batting cage, put some wagers on who, if any, hit the balls the best.

Joe

5/28/2021 08:38:22 pm

I was going to say He who fights monsters for recent reads, but I saw you already read that. My favorite ongoing series other than yours is ten realms by Michael Chatfield. His trapped mind project is good too. I’m currently reading mystborn series myself. I read 3-5 books a week so have lots more recommendations but hard to say unless I know what you’ve already read lol

Kevin

5/28/2021 08:48:21 pm

On the off chance you haven't read the amazing Rivers Of London series by Ben Aaronovitch, I highly recommend it.

London cop become trained as a wizards apprentice, with lots of magical growth and shenanigans along the way.

Aaron

5/28/2021 08:54:35 pm

Mass Effect Legendary Edition. It's a very good remaster of the original trilogy. You don't really even need to be good at shooters to play through it.

Solasta: Crown of the Magister. Some of the graphics are a bit basic, but the core gameplay uses the D&D 5e rules and is quite good.

Neuromancer, by William Gibson, because if you've never read it, you should.

The Expanse, because there are too few really good sci fi shows on, and The Expanse is phenomenal.

Couch-to-5k app, because running is good for you, and not that hard to get into. Getting out of your chair and moving helps you work through stuff in your head, or at least it does me.

Sonata Arctica, Winterheart's Guild, because you're going to need some power metal to listen to while you run.

Will link

5/28/2021 09:53:07 pm

>”Couch-to-5k app, because running is good for you, and not that hard to get into.”

Well, I know it’s good for you!

I’ll get real with you for a second: I have the Couch-to-5k app, because one of my best friends used to be a competitive runner and he recommended it to me, and I don’t think they have any idea what “Couch” means.

Mestama

5/31/2021 07:51:59 am

I have recently become active by going to a trampoline park. The wall trampolines are super soft so its fun to try out some of the baby tricks where it hurts even less than a normal trampoline. I didn't even start it for exercise. I just kept going with my kids and a month later I lost ten pounds and can run again without immediately dying.

Merchlord

5/28/2021 09:14:32 pm

Book wise, He Who Fights with Monsters is a good read if you're into that sorta thing. Which I think you are. Because Cradle haha. Going Bovine is fun too if you're into Mad Cow fever dreams!

Courtsman

5/28/2021 09:20:30 pm

Instrument of Omens by Davis Ashura, was recommended in the progression fantasy subreddit and I've been binging those along with his other works lately

Kyen Syr

5/28/2021 10:06:28 pm

I recommend reading other author's books.

There is Shami Sovall's "Frith Chronicles," Sarah J Maas' "Throne of Glass" and "A Court of Thorns and Roses" series I personally recommend because they are really good books.

Scott

5/28/2021 10:07:59 pm

The Licanius trilogy is excellent (and finished so no waiting for the last book!). The first book takes a bit to get going but it all clicks together very well by the end. Audio book is super well done too.

Kyen Syr

5/28/2021 11:11:51 pm

is that on Kindle Unlimited?

Ley

5/29/2021 08:59:13 am

Would you say the next two books are better than the first?

Scott

5/29/2021 06:22:51 pm

Yes absolutely! I think parts of the first book are a bit slow but I was really sold on the series in book 2.

Alan

5/28/2021 10:35:46 pm

I have several things I'd recommend.

Anime: Re:Zero (boy gets the worst groundhog days in a fantasy world), Vivy -Fluorite Eye's Song- (android prevents dystopian future), Jujutsu Kaisen (for them juicy sakuga moments)

Manga: To Your Eternity (join the immortal in his eternal heartbreaking journey; anime is also out), Record of Ragnarok (basically a tournament arc where thirteen humans fight thirteen gods), Golden Kamuy (a soldier and girl go hunt for gold; the map to it is tattooed on a bunch of escaped convicts)

Heather

5/28/2021 10:38:01 pm

Cycles of Arawan, Omniscient Reader, Kings Dark Tidings, Jujutsu Kaisen, Re:Zero, Outlander (the books, not the show), Handmaids Tale, Lucifer,

Kyen Syr

5/28/2021 11:13:33 pm

Cycles of Arawan a book series? If so, is it on Kindle Unlimited?

Also, I loved reading the Kings Dark Tidings books! Absolutely engaging!

Vignesh

5/28/2021 10:39:43 pm

Ghost of Tshushima is amazing.
As a side note, please share your Read and TBR list. I also run into what to read next issue frequently.

Kunal link

5/28/2021 10:59:22 pm

Factorio. I’m a little hesitant about the recommendation just in case it expands far beyond non work time, which is its natural inclination.

Steven Brown

5/29/2021 01:52:59 am

I like the Throne of Glass series and that might be something good for a bit of change of paste for you as it's an epic fantasy series with some heavy romantic themes. First three books are more ya while the second three books become a little bit more mature without getting completely erotic for less than a page out of a thousand if that.

A series of little bit more close to home for you would be the Thousand li series. It took me a while to figure out cultivation novels series and also the lit RPGs type series. This one I think it's on the level of your series in quality and feels a bit more suited for the Western audience like your series.

For something random and out of left field I read a series by Mildred d Taylor called let The circle be unbroken. It is one of my favorite series despite not having read it for years it impacted me and help me see what an author can do. I was a young preteen when one book of the series and it took me out of my comfort zone and put me into a character that was completely different from me in some ways and very familiar in others.

Sageofcocopuffs

5/29/2021 02:19:34 am

Lorain legacies is excellent but I read it a while ago so the language level might be too low. Same with summoner. The warded man is on of my favorite book series (it’s a lot like game of thrones), otherwise ready player one the book is really good, the first one because the sequel isn’t great. And if your tired of book watch Hereditary the best horror movie ever.

Bryan Hinnen

5/29/2021 07:59:34 am

Find a discussion board where they talk politics. If both extremes are present, be a moderate. If one wing dominates or is the only one present, be the other wing.

Very politely, respond to lies lies lies by the fringe elements with the facts. Remark on their paranoia. Suggest that they seek professional psychiatric counseling. Urge them to take the powerful medications that will no doubt be prescribed.

Each of the wingnuts will announce that they're blocking you. Your comments might get deleted. You might even be banned. A prophet is without honor in his own country.

And then go back to your writing. That's what I did.

Mark Vaupel

5/29/2021 08:30:12 am

You should read wheel of time if you haven't already.

BlackMage

5/29/2021 09:46:00 am

Lots of good recommendations here. Just picked up Combat Codes, Paternus trilogy and a few other Kindle books. Should keep me sated until Reaper is ready.

Chrom

5/29/2021 09:59:13 am

Invincible on Amazon prime is a pretty great show if you haven't seen it yet

Logan Nelson

5/29/2021 10:47:43 am

Returnal is great, especially if you like rogue likes. My brother absolutely loved RE Village. Some other people recommended these but I would like to back them up;
Psych- If you enjoy comedy, you’ll love this. It does a great job of being its own thing but will also reference other content, that if you understand it, will just make you love the show more.

Nier Replicant- This is a great game, the soundtrack and story are incredible. The gameplay isn’t anything fancy, but it works.

FFXIV- The story is actually good in this game which may be surprising as it’s an MMO. But as a long time Final Fantasy fan I love how much the game will pay respect to the other Final Fantasy games, while still being its own thing that anyone can enjoy. And the base game and first expansion are all free to play, so if you don’t like it, at least you didn’t spend any money.

Trails series- I’m not sure if you enjoy turn-based RPGs that much, but I will say the Trails series has some of the best world building I’ve seen in video games. Also it has a lot of great characters and great music. But, and this goes for FFXIV too, it does require a big time commitment to finish what is currently out.

As for my recommendations, I would recommend anything by Brandon Sanderson, but I’m sure you already keep up with his works.
Video games-
If you like rogue-likes;
Enter the Gungeon- Everything is basically guns and bullets in this game, which is funny, but the game is pretty fun and was the first rogue-like I ever played.
Hades- Great music, and basically everyone I hear that gave this game a try loved it.
Dead Cells and Slay the Spire are ones that my brother really enjoyed as well.
Indie Games-
Bug Fables- If you like the art style of Paper Mario and enjoyed the gameplay of Thousand Year Door this game is for you. The story is actually interesting, and personally I just love playing games as bugs.
Hollow Knight- This game deserves the love it gets, and it’s the best Metroidvania out there. And again, bugs.
CrossCode- This is an action-RPG that I had a lot of fun with. The story and premise of the game is unique, at least to me it was, and honestly there’s quite a bit of depth to how you go about in combat.
TV shows--
Gravity Falls- I know this is technically a kid show, but if you like comedic things this show is great. It also has a good story, and it’s only two seasons, so it’s not a big time commitment.

Anyway, that’s all from me. I could probably go on and on almost everything I recommended, but that would take up too much space. Thanks for your work Will, I look forward to Reaper.

Gvr

5/29/2021 11:14:49 am

Have you watched Community? Might be worth a shot. I might suggest something different, but I'm gunning for third. Sweet sweet Krispy Kreme....

Les

5/29/2021 01:31:57 pm

Books to read: Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart - Solve mysteries from Ancient China that never was with Master Li and Number Ten Ox, won the World Fantasy Award in 1987.
Liege Killer by Christopher Hinz - Modified genetic killers 200 years after an apocalypse earth. 1980's cult classic.

Thomas Langloh

5/29/2021 04:06:55 pm

I personally love books by Arron Oster your books are kind of similar and I highly recommend them. P.S.- if I get second can you give third the dragon egg and me the crispy cream card.

Thomas Langloh

5/29/2021 04:11:37 pm

Other series I love are Mage Errant and The Infinite World. All these books are on kindle unlimited cause I’m to cheep to pay for anything.

Chris Mooney

5/29/2021 05:26:25 pm

D&D: Dark Alliance comes out June 22nd. It looks kind of interesting 🧐

Matt

5/29/2021 07:55:47 pm

If you want to read a one-off novel like nothing you’ve ever read before, try “The Library at Mount Char” by Scott Hawkins. Really fantastic

Binvention

5/29/2021 08:47:50 pm

The Queens Poisoner by Jeff Wheeler. I'm almost as much of a fan of Jeff Wheelers books as I am of yours

Lloyd

5/29/2021 09:26:50 pm

Going a bit old school, for games I vote x-com, shoot aliens and lose faith in how percentages work.

Books, I like recommending a spell for chameleon by Piers Anthony, super unique book, decent writing, and essentially the novel that developed my love of reading. Also since I’m going old school, The belrigard by David Eddings is great!

Lola

5/29/2021 10:08:40 pm

I strongly recommend the manga Twin Spica, which is the story of a girl who strives to join the Japanese astronaut program despite her small size and her father’s involvement in the failure of Japan’s previous attempt to reach space. While the art isn’t flashy, it really suits the story, and also of the characters are well developed.

For humor, I recommend anything by Terry Pratchett. His Disc World series had the most hilarious foot notes. I think his humor is encapsulated by the following quote: “ There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who, when presented with a glass that is exactly half full, say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty.
The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass! Who's been pinching my beer?”

I like the urban fantasy and romance writer pair Ilona Andrews, who are the reason I found out about your books in the first place. Their novels have very well researched details about different cultural traditions and myths, and the female leads are strong, capable, and experts in their respective paths. I would recommend the Hidden Legacy series.
I also recommend Dragon Ball Z abridged, which is a fan made remake of the Dragon Ball Z series with much better pacing and characterization of the Z fighters we know and love. I would check out the manga One Piece, too.

Lola

5/29/2021 10:22:51 pm

Oh, I forgot to recommend Legendborn by Tracy Deonn; the author explores grief, racism, and friendship through the story of a young African American girl who stumbles upon a secret society of Arthurian descendent while trying to find answers about her mother’s untimely death. It’s an amazingly well written novel. I’m impatiently waiting for the next book in the series. L. Penelope’s Earthsinger Chronicles is also amazing.

Sam Kean writes great books on history of science. I especially love his book The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons.

Shane

5/29/2021 11:56:04 pm

Ivan Kal's Infinite Realm

A LitRPG, Cultivation web-series turned books. Crazy good, tons of chapters, great characters & progression.

I think he's released 2/3's of it on Amazon, but I've been reading since Royalroad uploads. I love it, all I can really say.

https://infinite-realm.ivan-kal.com/

John O'Connor

5/30/2021 02:32:28 am

If you haven't read it give The Wandering Inn a look but be aware it can be painful - Pirate Aba isn't afraid of killing charcters off. Other RR stories worth reading - Azarinth Healer, Meta Chronicles, Beware of Chicken (this is a good fun Isekai Cultivation story). Otherwise I recommend getting out of the house more :]

Loiosh

5/30/2021 02:59:21 am

The Gods are Bastards, by D.D. Webb. I think the first book is on amazon, but theres a lot more written out on the authors website. The world and setting is fascinating, theres a sort of wild west theme with adventurers, but they’re being phased out due to a magical equivalent of the industrial revolution, and thats just one of the background issues. Its sadly on hiatus at the moment, but I think part of that is the story is entering its endgame, and the author probably doesn’t want the quality to drop on the ending, and had some health issues earlier this year.

A lot of the other recommendations I’d make are already above, Drew Hayes works, the Spellmonger series, He who Fights with Monsters, Murderbot diaries... I’d add the rest of the books in the Vorkosigan Saga to the Warrior’s Apprentice too.

For item that I don’t think I’ve seen here yet, I’d add the Dresden Files (book series, not the show), the Prince Roger quartet by David Weber and John Ringo, any one (or all) of the Discworld movels, Gorl Genius (books or webcomic, both are good), the Heartstrikers series if you like dragons and urban fantasy ( although its probably closer to a shadowrun scenario), the Vlad Taltos novels (watch the order of these, its a bit confusing), Metaworld Chronicles, the DIRE saga for supervillan fans, Starship’s Mage series by Glynn Stewart (or the Duchy of Terra series if you like Stellaris), the Shinigami Detective series for those interested in cop stories + magic, Good Omens (book or tv show), and if you’re looking for truly massive time sinks, the Ring of Fire series starting with 1632 by Eric Flint or books in the Four Horsemen universe starting with Cartwright’s Cavaliers by Mark Wandry.

Brandon

5/30/2021 07:46:34 am

I only recommend three series to anyone:

Cradle by Will Wight
The Land by Aleron Kong
The Spellmonger by Terry Mancour

Obviously being the Will Wight the first option is a no go.... But do check out The Land (LitRPG) and The Spellmonger (fantasy with amazing main character internal muzings)

Ricardo

5/30/2021 01:38:21 pm

Spellmonger is amazing, worldbuilding off the charts. The Land is okay. All the books were great up until the last one, which was a PoS. There was a huge wait for it, and when we finally got it it was a plotless, aimless mess.

Scott

5/30/2021 10:50:00 am

TV - Mythic Quest is really funny. Also just about to finish the new season of Lucifer, check that out if you haven't seen it.

Books - if you want something light and fun that you can blow through quickly, anything by Andrew Rowe, Travis Bagwell's Awaken Online series or Zach Pike's Orconomics and sequel Son of a Liche.

Christian

5/30/2021 10:51:29 am

The frith chronicles

The first book is knightmare arcanist

Jasper

5/30/2021 11:37:21 am

Check out Artorian’s Archives by Dennis Vanderkerken and Dakota Krout. The Darkness within Saga by JD Franx is also excellent. Both are close in the running for my favorite series, behind Cradle, Harry Potter, and LOTR.

Ricardo

5/30/2021 12:51:01 pm

Check out the series Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash by Ao Jumonji. A light novel series with the first book adapted into an anime. It has a fairly basic premise, alternate world with memories wiped and all that stuff, but its shockingly real. The author isn't afraid to kill of important characters, and the characers have to deal with that trauma. Oh and down the line in the series the shit hits the fan and things go crazy in mindbendingly weird ways.

Phlux

5/30/2021 03:08:04 pm

Reading: Dragon Heart Series by Kirill Klevanski. It's pretty good LitRPG Wuxia by a Russian Author. 10 books translated so far. I stumbled into this one after finishing Wintersteel and killed them all inside a month.

The Ten Realms Series by Michael Chatfield is another series I devoured while waiting on another Cradle book lol. Written by a Veteran and does a good job keeping you hooked.

Gaming: Solasta on Steam is pretty good for the old D&D fix.

TV: (re) watching the Remastered version of Babylon 5. One of the most underrated (best) sci-fi tv series ever written. Just have to accept the 90's styles and bad CGI (cutting edge at t he time).

Mike

5/31/2021 08:04:46 am

I'm always surprised at how much some folks like the 10 realms. I couldn't get past the second book. Didn't it bother you that the characters were hypocritical? That they never seemed to appreciate the Realms other than the chance to level up? That just killing anyone or anything was usually the right solution and there was never a consequence you really had to worry about? You expect main characters to be somehow OP, but I typically don't expect them to be better at crafting, in a few weeks, than NPCs who have been doing it their whole life.

Mohamad Qaddura link

5/30/2021 04:33:29 pm

I'll stop you at 'waste my non-working". You are not wasting anything, it is a time to breath out and needed. So what I would recommend is to instead of punishing yourself, enjoy that time as reward....then you won't have a problem enjoying your free time no matter what the activity is

ukazuyr

5/30/2021 06:06:12 pm

Rise to Omniscience series by Aaron Oster
Beastborn Chronicles by Callum James
Both series are great and i value them all as much as i value Cradle

PumpkinVision

5/30/2021 06:14:23 pm

Watch "Another Round" with Mads Mikkelsen. Excellent movie.

5/30/2021 08:55:19 pm

I really recommend the sandman slim series by Richard Kadrey if you feel like sitting down and reading a book.

Mike

5/31/2021 07:56:50 am

I'm trying to motivate to read Ballistic Kiss (penultimate Sandman Slim novel), but it's difficult. I'm not sure where or how many times, but I think Kadrey has jumped the shark. The first few books were really entertaining though.

Cliff Steele

5/30/2021 09:57:34 pm

I'd recommend Doom Patrol on HBOMax. DC universe show with quirky humor and a loveable cast.

Or you can always just visit /r/eldenring and surrender to madness.

Zuben link

5/31/2021 01:19:31 am

The game not for everyone but kenshi can be a lot of fun especially if you make up little stories as you go. Also once you learn how to play the game there’s enough mods to change up the base game to give you hours if not 100s of hours of play time.

stx

5/31/2021 03:26:09 am

Have you read Jeremy Bai's The Nine Heavens and Ten Earths series? Cyberpunk cultivation and well written. Third book comes out tomorrow June 1st.

Mike

5/31/2021 07:53:36 am

Have you watched any Chinese soap operas set in historical periods? Yan Xi palace was a huge hit and might be a place to start (on Amazon Prime). Several members of that cast also star un The Legend of Hao Lan which takes place earlier in history and has very different settings and costumes.

Book wise, I'm going to suggest the Lost Fleet series by Jack Campbell as I think that it presents more accurate ideas about space battle even though it doesn't have any cultivation in it. In terms of thinking about unusual space civilizations, however, Gideon the Ninth (Tasmyn Muir) was good.

Ismael

5/31/2021 10:27:10 am

I recommend the dungeon slayer series. Book 3, The Dungeon Leader came out today, just finished reading it and I loved it, let me know if you enjoyed it if you pick it up. Also love your work keep it up

Mark Kostrzewski

5/31/2021 01:09:31 pm

You need to watch Invincible on Amazon Prime

Not gonna share

5/31/2021 04:50:32 pm

Your own books, and if THAT doesn’t entertain you, I don’t know what will

Not gonna share

5/31/2021 05:32:53 pm

No pun intended

Paco

5/31/2021 07:26:03 pm

Shadow of the lantern bearer. It.s a new series hardly mentioned by anyone. But you should take a look. The author manages to keep a good suspenseful pace all throughout, with very good characters and dialogues.

In this world magic became a disease that drives people mad, those caught performing magic are immediately executed. I won't say more because it's a book where you have to discover what's going on. Of all that's out there (mage errant and several others) is the only one well written.

Hope you enjoy it

Jordan

5/31/2021 09:30:18 pm

Patricia a mckillip's riddle master trilogy, similar vibes to lord of the rings

Suanne

5/31/2021 09:58:56 pm

The Mage Errant series. I found myself devouring it and am sadly waiting for the next book.

S.A. Shaffer link

6/1/2021 11:40:37 am

I would recommend Dawn of Wonder by Renshaw, but i'm not sure when we will get a sequel. I also love the Spiral War Series (military sci-fi)... And I'll shamelessly throw in a plug for my book, The Protectorate Wars: Born Hero.

kenny mccormick

6/1/2021 01:15:49 pm

Dakota Krout and Dennis Vanderkerken"s new Artorian's archives book hit audible recently. Hard Luck Hank is a good series with plenty of humor. I like the Black Tide rising series by John Ringo as a zombie post apocalypse or MHI by Larry Correia as a good urban sci-fi. I hear the Mass Effect trilogy remastered is great I'm going to get that sometime soon. The witcher 3 always fun too play

Levi

6/1/2021 03:01:17 pm

Looks like most books I'd suggest are already shared, so I'll do games I didn't find.

These are the latest I burned through, big jrpg fan (love something that's basically a novel you can play), FF7 (all versions) will probably always be my favorite. They are by the same developer (Nihon Falcom)

- Self contained story, action RPG - Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana : It's one the best of the series, The music is amazing, it's visually stunning for the time (2016), the story is compelling, and the gameplay is one of the better in the genre. It does reference other games, but Ys/Adol's story is setup to be consumed in any order.
(Ys IX just came out, very good, but VIII was just so much better overall)

- Long Story, Turned Based RPG - Legend of Heroes Trails series : Massive in-depth story (trails in the sky script was larger than all of LoTR) and almost everything is currently available on most platforms. Most say start at Trails in the Sky, I started in Trails of Cold Steel and it only made me want to go through the other games, I don't feel it spoiled anything. But play them in order withing their respective arcs (Liberl, Crossbell, and Erebonia). Crossbell arc technically isn't released in English, but there is a fan translation for the 2 games that's pretty easy to find if you find yourself interested.

Nate

6/1/2021 06:07:47 pm

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, need to get the physical book.

Gary

6/2/2021 12:10:06 am

Super Powereds by drew Hayes, an amazing and largely unknown series considering how good it is. Cheers!

Matthew

6/2/2021 05:19:19 pm

I can only recommend two things to you, the first is the inheritance cycle, and the other is final fantasy 14

6/2/2021 10:40:29 pm

The Pellinor series by Alison Croggan

Scott

6/3/2021 08:15:08 am

Woodworking gives me a lot of time to think, but get's me away from the computer.

Also, don't know if you enjoy YA, but I read and enjoyed Fyrian's Fire with my 10 and 8 year old.

Madeline

6/3/2021 11:48:47 am

Dark Lord of Derkholm by Dianne Wynne Jones is funny. As is Opium and Absinthe by Lydia Kang.

Metatron58

6/3/2021 05:57:59 pm

You could watch Shadow and Bone on Netflix. This allows you to enjoy the juxtaposition of how terribly written the two leads are against how fun and enjoyable the quote unquote B plot is involving the crows (think heist oriented gang running jobs)

I don't know for sure but I think you played Mass Effect so maybe pick up the legendary edition. I've been enjoying it quite a bit.

Chris Miller

6/3/2021 07:31:32 pm

Read Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. It has nothing to do with fantasy per se, but the writing is just terrific. You won't put it down once you get into it...

Ben

6/4/2021 03:37:32 am

Sidekicks by Arthur Mayor. Fantastic series with great action. Quick reads.

Corb

6/5/2021 12:59:33 am

I am not sure of everything you have read, so here is a lost of the books I have enjoyed reading more than once.

A Thousand Li - Tao Wong
Nightlord - Garon Whited
Street Cultivation - Sarah Lin
Bobiverse - Dennis E. Taylor
Forging Hephaestus - Drew Hayes
The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss
Into the Abyss - J. L. Langland
AlterWorld - D. Rus
The Aeronaut's Windlass - Jim Butcher
Night Watch - Sergei Lukyanenko
Altered Carbon - Richard K. Morgan

Gary

6/10/2021 02:09:18 am

Oh dude, if you liked forging hephaestus try reading the super powered series. It's in my top five.

Jon

6/5/2021 06:01:00 am

The lady in gil trilogy by Rebecca Bradley. It is unexpected, funny, exciting, and unlike any other series I've ever read. It isn't super easy to find but they are great.

Carson

6/5/2021 12:04:30 pm

Honestly Will, I dunno what to say. I practically spend all of my free time listening and reading your work(not to be creepy)

I suppose I found recommend some shows, Sweet tooth and Lucifer on Netflix are both good. I’ve been really into building wooden models recently, especially those by Ugears. Minecraft is getting a new update and provides infinite possibilities. Could go on hikes, go for a swim, conduct a study on the average amount of time it takes someone to get through a Wendy’s drive-through. Possibilities are endless

Will

6/5/2021 12:42:34 pm

The firemane saga !

Adam

6/5/2021 05:50:17 pm

If you haven't already, I highly recommend you read Jonathan Renshaw's book, "Dawn of Wonder". It's absolutely fantastic!

Maria

6/5/2021 08:03:59 pm

So I’m really late on this but I found Dungeon Born by Dakota Krout interesting. It’s from the viewpoint of a D’nD type dungeon. The spin off book Axiom was really good

Thomas

6/6/2021 04:17:51 pm

On the off chance you haven’t already, read Terry Pratchett. Colour of Magic is always a good place to start but you can also always just pick your preferred storyline (e.g. wizards vs the watch vs witches vs death) and look up which books are part of that set.

Alternatively, if you have Audible, strongly recommend the Terry Pratchett BBC Radio Drama Collection. Awesome listen: Listen to Terry Pratchett: BBC Radio Drama Collection by Terry Pratchett on Audible. https://www.audible.com/pd?asin=B07FW5Y7J1&source_code=ASSORAP0511160006

David

6/6/2021 06:05:32 pm

The Dragon Never Sleeps by Glen Cook (sci-fi despite the name) and if you're looking for fantasy..... Shadows of the Apt (the whole series). I also can't recommend Murderbot Diaries enough (by Martha Wells)

Cthulhu

6/7/2021 12:20:00 am

Cuz I did not see it, though I doubt you have not already... Ryan Rimmel - The Noob series
Cosimo Yap - The Gam3 series
Jack Campbell - The Lost Fleet series
Plus
Netflix - Love, Death & Robots
With some reservations
Eric Ugland - The Good Guys series
YouTube - The Critical Drinker

Taylor

6/7/2021 12:34:15 am

How about Cephrael’s Hand by Melissa McPhail, I’ve really enjoyed the series...

GEORGE

6/7/2021 11:34:03 am

Do you have a PS5? If so, Demon Souls is a winner in my book. Do you need a PS5?.....???.....????

William Weller

6/7/2021 04:56:38 pm

Olaf thorensen _ cast under an alien sun _ well written but books focusing on more people later and less dynamic hero
Flinx in flux _ Alan Dean foster not first book Commonwealth with great wildb alien life
Magicians brother _ HDA Roberts _ hero suffers alot bit love rooting for him
Aaledeh chronicles _ Richardson _ slow writer waitibg forever for third book. _ Dragon having 6 sexes wow imaginative

Nate

6/8/2021 02:40:57 pm

The Wizard's Butler by Nathan Lowell was very good.
it sound like you need something lay back and easy and that one is good

Christian Hatfield

6/9/2021 10:51:20 am

Have you looked into any type of dnd scenarios? I would really love to see a dnd campaign in the cradle world. Me and my buddy have been brain storming how we could incorporate the path styles and world into a home brew campaign.

Sean

6/9/2021 07:26:17 pm

* Books of Babel series Josiah Bancroft 3 of 4 books out now, 4th due in November
* Just re-watched Darker than Black back in March, very underrated. IMO well worth a binge.
* Endeavor from BBC/Masterpiece, British who-dun-it on Amazon Prime for nice change of pace.

michael

6/13/2021 11:47:08 am

I think The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin (Broken Earth Trilogy book 1) is a fantastic and very original story. Really enjoyed the world building and writing style, in the middle of book 2 right now and it's just as good as the first!

In which we ramble on.
And by we, I mean me.