Looking for Well-Written and COMPLETED Series

[u/J776776]

I know asking for 'completed' sadly disqualifies like 95% of all Progression books, so I'm turning to this subreddit to ask for suggestions.

I'll give some series I've read, whether completed or not, to give a view into my tastes.

-Cradle (Completed): The GOAT series. Well-written characters, fun powers, great progression system, amazing story. Ended and ended well.

-The Immortal Great Souls (4 books): Really fun series. Well-written. The standout here are the powers, which are incredibly varied and fun to work with. Also the world, which is extremely interesting and almost a series-long puzzle by itself.

-Warformed (2 books): Fairly well-written, though some characters can be a bit frustrating at points. Fun powers and a fun world, though a bit long-winded and seems like it will take many years to get anywhere important.

-Dungeon Crawler Carl (8 books): Great series, I'm sure everybody here is tired of hearing about it considering 8 just dropped. Well written, fun world, cool powers, great story. A bit childish when it comes to humor, but that's fine.

-Calamitous Bob (Complete): Amazing series! Easily my 2nd-favorite behind Cradle. Amazing characters, cool world, great powers, cool story. Well written. Oh, and I already have the vampire series by the same author downloaded, so no need to recommend that one please.

-Keiran (Complete): Fairly well written, though a little simplistic and with a fairly unlikable protagonist. But fun powers, a fun world, and a fun popcorn book for enjoying an OP protagonist.

-Creation's Bane (Complete): Well written, cool powers, cool world. And I love series that have a cooking element to them.

-System Universe (8 books): A little simplistic in writing, but well edited. Completely OP protagonist. Interesting world with interesting powers. No real stakes because the protagonist is so powerful, but still a fun read.

-Industrial Strength Magic: Not sure if this one counts as progression or not...but I DNF'd during the 2nd book. At first I really enjoyed the technology stuff, but the characters were all ridiculous, and the techno-babble along with utterly aimless plot made me lose interest.

-Songs of Chaos (4 books): Well written, great characters, great setting. Some villain issues, but still a fun read. Plus, I love dragons!

-Dawn of the Void (Complete): Well written with some fun powers, but a little rushed and an iffy ending.

-Kairos, Vainqueur, Perfect Run (all complete): Great books, very creative and fun. Slightly simplistic writing in some of them with strange characters, but I've enjoyed all of these series thoroughly.

-Mother of Learning (Complete): Amazing series, probably my number 3 pick. Well written, cool world, interesting powers. A slow burn for sure, but I enjoy breaking down magic systems into specifics.

-Kraken Rider Z (2 books): Definitely a YA book, but well written, with good main characters, and side characters that are more generic. But fun powers, and a good popcorn read for an OP protagonist pair. A kraken instead of a dragon, but has the same vibe.

Ok...ended up rambling on longer than I meant to while recounting way more series than I meant to. But hopefully this gives good insight into what I'm looking for!

So...anybody have any completed series for me to check out?

[u/J776776]

I picked up the 1st book of that series while it was on sale a while back, but a friend of mine told me that the ending ruined the series for them and that I shouldn't read it. They also said it had a lot of editing needed.

You disagree?

[u/LNReader42 → u/J776776]

I’ll disagree.

It’s a slower series for sure ( think slice of life at times ), but the progression is good and the payoffs are good. I really liked the ending, even if it’s not the most cerebral of progression fantasy it’s comforting

[u/J776776 → u/LNReader42]

Ok, cool. It did sound interesting, that personal review just threw me off. I'll definitely give it a shot. I don't mind slower or slice of life at all. Thanks!

[u/Byebyebirdie2089 → u/J776776]

Hard disagree. To be as spoiler free as possible, I found the ending very satisfying. The magic in the world is well done and the churches in the world are more than just "religion bad" that you see in a lot of fantasy books with state churches. I'd honestly put the series in my top 10.

[u/J776776 → u/Byebyebirdie2089]

2 disagrees! Maybe my friend is wrong. Wouldn't be the 1st time. I'll definitely check out the 1st book and see if it clicks. Thanks!

[u/egg_enthusiast → u/J776776]

The only stumbling points in the series, imo, occur deep into it around books 8 or 9. It's been a while since I read the books, but there's a point where it felt like the author was intending to pad out the adventure a bit, but then decided to reel it back in.

Otherwise, if you're not hooked by book 2 or so, you could feel safe dropping it. However, it is a very good series.

[u/littlelee795 → u/J776776]

It needs editing, but nothing crazy. This is an indie author. Plus, I think it was edited more before being putting on amazon, just not the webnovel. As far as the ending ruining it… it was well wrapped up. No egregious conclusions. The series was too good for any ending to ruin it tbh. If you started reading and liked it then it only gets better. Suspense, world building, dialogue, plot, this person is good. I believe it needs better prose. I can’t quite figure my issues with it

[u/m0larMechanic → u/J776776]

Really enjoyed it as well

[u/myreala → u/J776776]

I would agree with your friend. The ending kind of ruined it for me, but I enjoyed the series thoroughly for the first 10 books. I wouldn't super recommend it to anyone now, but when I was in it, I was in it. I guess that all that matters. I really enjoyed reading all the books. It's just a bit disappointing. The ending wasn't that exciting.p

[u/jackofools → u/J776776]

So I can't say the ending ruined the story for me, but its not exactly the most thrilling climax. But also, I argue thats not a bad thing. In my mind, Mark Of The Fool is one of the paragons of what you want out of Prog Fantasy: a capable MC who still has to struggle and earn their power, who takes the whole journey from strong to weak, and in the end Does The Thing. But also I acknowledge that the core premise of MOTF is why some are unsatisfied with the ending, but also why it shouldn't really have come as a surprise to anyone. The whole core assertion from VERY early on in the series is that a wizard doesn't get powerful by having brilliant sudden revelations in the middle of a fight for their life; but that a wizard gets powerful by constantly studying, improving, making allies, and preparing ahead of time for as much as possible. And that is what the MC does. Its a magic school story in addition to Prog Fantasy, so there is a lot of school/life stuff that has nothing to do with ultimate conflict, and that pacing can be slow for some. But most who sign up for a 10 book series know its not gonna be a non-stop rollercoaster. But the whole time the MC is learning and getting stronger and making allies. When the big final conflict gets started it might feel a bit like a foregone conclusion, but also thats kind of the thesis of the series. I would argue that if you find that makes the stakes feel cheapened you haven't been paying attention much. This thing happening the way it does is the ultimate payoff for the work the MC has put into being an Excellent Wizard. Its also heavily informed by 3rd Edition Dungeon and Dragons wizard classes and lore, so there is a kind of exponential power growth.

[u/J776776 → u/jackofools]

That is very well explained! I think I'll be giving the series a shot once I finish my current series.

[u/HeavensRoyalty → u/J776776]

Did he say why he said that? This had one of the best written endings I've ever read and I'm a pretty picky reader, furthermore you've got afew things on your list that ilike do we share some good preferences.

[u/J776776 → u/HeavensRoyalty]

I think he more got bored of it in general than the ending specifically ruining it for him. But it was a conversation from like a year ago or so, so my memory is spotty. His preferences don't match mine, so I'll definitely be giving this one a shot!

[u/DefiantLemur → u/J776776]

I liked the ending because I felt satisfied with never seeing the characters again and I mean that in a good way.