Top-tier. Interesting setting with good pacing, protagonist who is shown to put in effort to grow in strength and character, good translations (though several of... more>> the previous translators dissolved, their translations are still available here.) Upon a re-read, I'll revise this statement: A fair chunk of the earlier translations are utter dogshit. <<less

A fantastic novel by all measures. Crosses the boundaries of genres on multiple occasions. Pretty excellent professional translation by WuxiaWorld, but the license was not... more>> allowed to be renewed. Current translators are great too though. <<less

A really interesting twist on the more run-of-the-mill premises, with a protagonist who starts extremely weak but is a master of manipulation with a high... more>> level of understanding of the human psyche which allows him to essentially scheme his way to the top. Throw a harem of yanderes or otherwise crazy women into the mix and you’re left with a novel that is top-tier. <<less

This novel is complicated, to say the least. The characters are interesting, but there’s a LOT of them to keep track of. Combine this with... more>> the infrequent releases (reasonable given the extremely complicated writing and frequent usage of poetry in very long chapters) and I find myself having to re-read sections to refresh my memory of who’s who. It also provides an interesting insight into certain aspects of Chinese culture and history that come across as so foreign to my 21st century American sensibilities (not necessarily in a bad way, though.) <<less

A story that manages to keep a great balance between comedy and high-stakes action. The premise of a hardcore sweaty gamer being reincarnated into the game they’ve grinded for years is an interesting one that can be seen elsewhere, but is presented differently here by it being not one but two of these gamers and the interactions and relationship the two have.  I’m also a fan of the total lootgoblin nature of the two protagonists in their pursuit of basically every top-tier item or event in the original game.... more>>

The translator was spooked by the spate of DMCA takedowns and took his translations off his site in like February, shortly after he finished translating the full novel if memory serves. You know where to look to find it now.  <<less

Unfortunately on hiatus basically indefinitely, and unlikely to ever resume (in the LN format) due to scandals surrounding the author in Korea. That doesn’t mean this isn’t worth reading, though. It’s by far probably one of if not the best “schemer” or “strategist” protagonist novels I’ve read, made even better by the backstory, world, and supporting cast.  The protagonist is written in a way that makes him seem actually intelligent (not in the forced way that many authors try to make their protagonists seem intelligent by making everyone else morons in comparison) while remaining relatable and lets you root for him even as he schemes to have atrocities occur or directly oversee them himself. Great... more>> illustrations too.

I can’t speak to differences from the WN because I still haven’t gotten around to reading the WN.  <<less

I’ll admit I’ve fallen behind on this one, but up to the point I had stopped reading (and I do intend to continue) this novel has been pretty consistently great. There’s an interesting (if sometimes frustrating) protagonist and cast of supporting characters who grow and change, forming real, mutable relationships. The basis of the martial arts being songs is a really interesting change from the typical cultivation and basic technique-based systems of many other novels, and the protagonist’s historical knowledge creates some interesting and often frustrating interactions with the modern world he finds himself in.... more>>

Links now dead as a result of the Active Translations total rebrand. Can be found elsewhere. <<less

A fun novel with an interesting way of doing the now fairly common “reincarnated as a video game villain” trope by making the protagonist unable... more>> to speak like a normal human being. It makes for some frustrating moments, but also ones of great comedic relief and serves to drive many of the interactions and relationships with the great supporting characters. <<less

A classic, and one of the first LNs/WNs I really committed time to. High quality translations of extremely long chapters. Pacing can leave something to... more>> be desired at times but the world and characters are all interesting. <<less

By the same author and serving as a sort of prequel to the Second Coming of Gluttony, what has been translated previously is compelling and... more>> interesting. The manhwa has almost caught up with the furthest the translations have ever gotten. (Another novel that seems to be cursed to never be finished being translated unless it’s officially licensed) <<less

This novel is probably one of the longest ones I’ve stuck with all the way in terms of chapter count. It certainly has a lot... more>> that happens and I don’t have much to add besides that I’ve enjoyed it for basically the entire run right up to the end.  <<less

This novel has a somewhat weak start but really picks up once the plot starts moving. It’s been really enjoyable and has a compelling setting,... more>> though some parts can get a little confusing or plot events seem contrived. <<less

One of the most popular novels on this site in recent memory, and with good reason. Fairly compelling characters that have real growth, well-written action... more>> scenes, and a well-paced plot that flows and keeps you invested. It doesn’t drag on and there’s no realm-hopping to drag things out (a trope I almost always dislike). My only complaint would be that I personally wasn’t a huge fan of a couple central characters, but that’s a matter of personal preference. <<less

Much of what I could say about this novel has already been said by others better than I ever could. It was one of the... more>> earliest recommendations I got when I first started reading translated novels, and it’s remained in my mind as a benchmark by which I judge many of my more recent reads. It’s got some real high highs and the lows aren’t that low, but it’s definitely not perfect. Parts I found kind of dull, but as someone with some experience in smithing, the way it was described in this novel was a lot more compelling to me than the usual way it’s described or just glossed over entirely.  <<less

Another novel that’s part of the recent villainess and otome game novel boom, but probably my personal favorite out of all of them. Genuinely fluffy... more>> and heartwarming throughout, with well-written and translated characters and dialogue.  <<less

Genuinely funny, and one of the best entries into the much smaller sci-fi genre on this site. Well-translated (mostly) with a decent plot that is... more>> honestly secondary to the characters themselves. <<less

A (sort-of ) more male-targeted spin on the otome/noble daughter/broken engagement trend that has exploded over the last year or two. A pretty morally-ambiguous protagonist... more>> responding to the archetypal engagement dissolution events in a more human way, without the excuse of otherworldly knowledge. <<less

I’m not really sure what to say about this one, beyond that I’ve enjoyed it so far for the most part. Certain traits of the... more>> protagonist are frustrating to me, but the supporting cast, setting, and plot are all excellent.  It reminds me of The Lazy Swordmaster in a lot of ways, but unlike that novel, the entirety of this one is available to read. <<less

This one is a wild ride from start to hiatus. The LN (which has been completed but is still being translated iirc) follows largely the... more>> same plot up to a point when the two novels diverge. This version is a good deal darker than the LN counterpart, but also continues to make for an extremely compelling narrative. <<less

Probably my favorite out of all ‘misunderstanding-based’ plots, and has made me genuinely laugh out loud more than once. 

I still haven’t taken the time to sit down and finish this novel, but everything of it that I’ve read (which is, to be fair,... more>> decently far) has been pretty excellent. Interesting premise, but what really keeps it interesting are the supporting characters and the underlying plot of the “original novel” that the protagonist takes control of. <<less

An interesting and relatively uncommon premise done very well. People are transported to another world and granted limited powers, but have every moment of their lives there available to be watched by anyone on Earth, with those on Earth being able to send messages. I like the chapters that are written as though they were posts on an imageboard or a forum, and while the protagonist seems a little wishy-washy as of now, it looks as though things may be changing. Written at ch46... more>>

Update at ch138: So things popped off. This novel is really good now. It wasn't bad before, but it's really good now. I still have some problems with the protagonist and his personality, but he's had character development and more Earth chapters have released, and they seem slated to be published more frequently than before as plot is progressing there as well. <<less

This one I really like. It's an interesting idea with the setting being that of a sort-of alternate medieval earth, where the geography is similar but everything else is different. The protagonist is a cold, borderline-sociopathic individual who rises to prominence in his semi-matriarchal nation of not-elves through genuine and fairly well-written intelligence and strategic thinking. His main goal is not to rule his birth nation which he has already been given opportunity to do at this point, but rather to delay its inevitable collapse and subjugation until after he establishes a fallback home for himself outside their borders.... more>>

The first novel I've read in years where a hiatus/disappearance from the translator lead me to actually read MTL, and it still holds up. <<less

The protagonist is f*cking insane. I don’t really like him that much to be quite honest, but the world and how he interacts with it... more>> makes it almost impossible to put down. Definitely certain parts that I am not a fan of, however. <<less

Probably one of the only novels that takes the realm-hopping route that I’ve been able to find enjoyable. An interesting fusion of wuxia/xianxia tropes and... more>> western high fantasy, each of the worlds the protagonist experiences has something different and interesting going for it, so it’s not exactly just a cyclical repetition of the protagonist’s rise to dominance that I’ve seen in so many other CN novels. <<less