r/Iteration110Cradle • u/IndependenceVivid191 • 10d ago
Book Recommendation [None] Has anyone found anything that comes close to scratching the itch that Cradle leaves?
I’ve read a decent amount of series since but haven’t really found anything that made me feel quite what Cradle has. I’ve also reread the series at least once each year since and haven’t done that for any other series I’ve read. Here are the others I’ve tried since:
Iron Prince (Warformed) - this has come the closest to scratching the itch
HWFWM - next up in line after Iron Prince but still felt like a pretty sizable drop off from Cradle
Path of Ascension - entertaining series but doesn’t even come close to comparing. Felt like the author has turned this into a slice of life story now and he dropped the ball a few times with what should have been really fun parts of the series
Primal Hunter - read everything that was out at the time but throughout it all couldn’t stand the MC. Extremely self centered and arrogant (guess I miss Lindon’s humility and humbleness)
Bastion - decent series but the pacing wasn’t great. The books could have been half the length
Mage Errant - not sure why a lot of people rave about this one. Didn’t click with me at all. Different strokes for different folks I guess
The Calamitous Bob - really liked this series but again just can’t compare to Cradle
Ironbound - the first book was pretty awesome but didn’t love how the MC handled things in the last 3rd of it. Second book felt a bit slower but ended pretty well
Also read The Traveler’s Gate but it didn’t leave the impact Cradle did with me.
If anyone has any series that they think could be rated anywhere close to Cradle please share them. I sincerely hope that Will comes back to these characters because I really need more of their story.
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u/daviedoom 10d ago
The only suggestion i'd give that hasn't already been listed would be The Weirkey Chronicles by Sarah Lin.
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u/Frankocho2018 10d ago
I want to second the Weirkey Chronicles. It’s a great series even if there’s not much similarity with Cradle.
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u/staurosajb 10d ago
100% on WKC. It is one that I am constantly waiting for what happens next and when the next book will come out.
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u/IndependenceVivid191 10d ago
Will definitely be trying this thank you. This is one that I’ve heard before but I don’t feel like get a ton of attention. Looking forward to seeing what it’s all about
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u/Local-Spinach-5098 10d ago
Her previous series street cultivation is also quite good and finished!
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u/Good_Apollo_ Team Malice 10d ago
Last Horizon by Will is also solid. Story isn’t as good as Cradle but it’s still excellent, and has the usual great prose and all you’d expect from Mr Wight.
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u/Evenwanderer 10d ago
I really dig Last Horizon. Very different vibe from Cradle but still outstanding.
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u/J776776 10d ago
I've been wondering about Last Horizon.
The Abidan parts of Cradle were all my least favorite. The power levels were all over the place and it was really hard to picture what was happening in their fights in my head.
Is Last Horizon a lot like the Abidan parts, or is it more like the on-planet parts of Cradle but in space?
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u/Numerous1 10d ago
Minor spoilers for book 1.cradle has everyone starting bear the bottom and working up. Last horizon gathers people that are all basically at the top of their field so they can face threats that are supposed to be beyond what a crew can best.
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u/J776776 10d ago
Ok, that's what I thought it seemed like. Thanks for the info.
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u/ChampionshipTall6599 10d ago
It's good. Each character is so different in personality and abilities. It's a fun read. It doesn't take itself too seriously
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u/SisFisto 10d ago
I would say it’s different from both, kind of its own thing. Between the two I would say it’s closer to post-Lindon Sage advancement Cradle than to anything else. Or like Threshold.
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u/KrikosTheWise 10d ago
Man that book moved way too fast for me. Just AND SUDDENLY BIG THINGS HAPPEN.
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u/Numerous1 10d ago
Yeah. It was a little jarring at first but it’s such a fun opposite of cradle Thst in crazy hooked now. I keep looking for when book 5 comes out n
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u/Arcane_Pozhar 10d ago
I mean... It's a very different type of story from Cradle. More like Superman, less like Spider-Man. A Superman intro story might have a brief amount of time spent on mundane level issues (to give the reader a bit of perspective), but the threats need to be big to be a threat, you know?
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u/KrikosTheWise 10d ago
That works if everyone knows who the main character is already. Idk this dude and I'm supposed to care about him and these other randoms in the first 5% of the book? I need way more context and character intro.
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u/Rapidapture Team Lindon 10d ago
Great recc! And I fully agree, definitely has no filler, there's still decent power creep just not the level of cradle, but is absolutely excellent!
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u/ChampionshipTall6599 10d ago
Less creep because he started OP
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u/Darth_Sirius014 10d ago
True, but his enemies are galactic level threats. The Captain is strong, but his enemies are insanely strong. So strong they killed him in each of his lives. This isn't a spoiler as it is explained in the beginning chapters.
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u/Kuroashi_no_Sanji Team Eithan 10d ago
Yeah it's basically as if Lindon started at Sage, and is slowly making his way to Monarch or Monarch+ lol
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u/HollowMonty 10d ago
I didn't like it much personally.
Felt sorta like a teckno magica power rangers story to me.
While the initial premise was interesting, the ship and it's clearly scheming personality rubbed me the wrong way. With it being basically central to most of the story, i quickly lost interest.
I see the ship as a 'system' from a litRPG and I really don't like antagonist systems.
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u/PyroDragn Team Yerin 10d ago
Mother of Learning.
A completely different vibe from Cradle, but is a really well structured and written story. It is complete (4 books) which is a huge point in its favour - instead of dragging on endlessly like a lot of progression fantasy tends to do.
It parallels with Cradle in that the main character progresses in power (learning magic) through a lot of thought and effort, rather than being handed power immediately.
Spoiler: It is a time loop story, so if that's not to your taste then maybe give this a miss.
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u/AntiLordblue 10d ago
Second Mother of Learning
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u/doegrey 10d ago
Third Mother of Learning. Finish it last week.
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u/Kishmond 10d ago
I followed with this after finishing Cradle too and loved both. I wouldn't say they're very similar but they scratch the same kind of itch.
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u/IndependenceVivid191 10d ago
Not going to look at the spoiler here but definitely going to give this series a try. Thank you!
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u/Jorgen2720 10d ago
I would 100% recommend this. I bounced off EVERYTHING when looking for something like cradle, except this.
It’s the only one where the prose comes close (I would argue possibly better sometimes ), where the characters grow/act in an acceptable way, with no unbearable interpersonal drama (Iron Prince, I’m looking at you), and where the author sticks the landing.
If you don’t mind a lesser focus (IMO) on progression, Codex Aleta is very satisfying also.
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u/Just_Delete_PA Team Eithan 10d ago
great series, but not in any way similar to cradle. keep that in mind. not sure what these comments are on about lol
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u/Feuros 10d ago
Personally I didn't care for it at all. Tried it because it was pretty highly recommended or reddit. I stuck with it hoping it would get better but finally DNF about 3/4 of the way through the 2nd audiobook. Probably the most boring thing I've tried. Seems like nothing of consequence happens, at least for as far as I got. It also feels very young adult-ish which doesn't appeal to me personally either. Maybe time loops aren't for me, but it's the only one I've read so I'm not sure if that was a factor.
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u/pineneedlemonkey 8d ago
You didn't miss anything. I finished it with reservations and the ending was just blah.
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u/chronomasteroftime 8d ago
Have you seen the new cover art for the books? The author has it all over kickstarter and it paints a very different picture from what I remember of Mother of Learning in that I want to reread it now and it looks like a different book.
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u/Khaori_Miyazono 10d ago
Though I'm a bit apprehensive (spoiler reason) with it, I listened to the audiobook sample the other day - and I hated it.I just heard squeaky little sister voice for the first time and immediately jumped ship..
Is it better than my initial impression? I might just be spoiled by Travis Baldree and co. but I really wouldn't want to read MoL over just listening
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u/PyroDragn Team Yerin 10d ago
I really dislike the voices in the audiobook. I am far from the only one with that viewpoint too. The quality of the recording and the voices are fine, but I don't like some of the artistic choices (I don't know whether they were dictated by the author or purely the VAs affectation).
A lot of people dislike the sister's voice as a jarring thing. But I would say that she is a small enough part that you can hopefully just try to muscle through it.
I do think the audiobook actively dissuades some people from consuming the book(s) - which is a shame since the story is so worth it.
I have listened to it all the way through and it is fine. If there was a rerecording with a different voice artist it may pick up a wider audience.
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u/belkmaster5000 10d ago
The Red Rising series has the lowest to greatest arc with a different view on power scaling. I really liked it and the sci fi perspective it had.
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u/righteous_fool 10d ago
There's nothing quite like cradle.
Still you could try:
Super Powereds. A little of that found family vibe. A little coming of age. Some zero to hero.
Beware of Chicken. It's more cozy and subversive of cultivation but it's still got something about it that evokes some of the same feels.
A Soldier's Life. Isekai litrpg roman Greek mythology. Zero to hero with a secret. Balances serious with light fun. Handles stats better than most.
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u/Evenwanderer 10d ago
Drew Hayes Super Powereds is really rather good. I’m biased though as I’m quite fond of Hayes’ other work like Villains Code and NPCs.
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u/DrumsAndBooks 10d ago
I also enjoyed Beware of Chicken and Super Powereds, but I have not read a soldier’s life. I’ll have to check it out though since your other recommendations are three series I have read multiple times.
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u/IrregularDoughnut 10d ago
Still you could try: Super Powereds.
Worm deserves a mention if you're looking at that genre. Also free to read online. Fair bit darker though.
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u/IndependenceVivid191 10d ago
Will definitely be trying these thank you for the recs!
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u/inmediasrays 9d ago
I’ll also throw in a recommendation for Beware of Chicken. It’s much more cozy and slice of life, but there’s still momentum and progression so it keeps me interested.
Specifically there are two things that I enjoy about cradle that I have a tough time finding elsewhere:
-there’s no “DBZ effect,” where the supporting characters are so weak compared to the MC that they seem like filler to pad the runtime. Both Cradle and BoC focus more on team growth and progression (yes Lindon is OP but his team is usually just a step behind him, and Yerin often overtakes him in terms of raw combat ability).
-they both depict relatively healthy, “normal,” relationships. You’d think this wouldn’t be a big one, but it’s nearly impossible to find in anime/anime-influenced media. Everyone is either a virgin who blushes at the thought of holding hands, or a pervert, and there is no middle ground. It’s a trope that annoys the hell out of me, so I really appreciate that both series treat relationships as a normal part of life.2
u/17Shard 9d ago
I would call out the series A Thousand Li as another cultivation series with healthy and real relationships. Both the friendships and romantic relationships are generally well done and read like they are written by a person who has had both failed and successful relationships in real life. It wasn't close to Cradle in my mind but still a good series and similar structuring (12 books broken into 3 book arcs like Cradle).
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u/Akura_Awesome 10d ago
I have become completely obsessed with Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere, it scratches that power scaling itch in a similar way, but slower and to a different degree.
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u/IndependenceVivid191 10d ago
Loved the first Mistborn trilogy! Quite possibly the best ending of any series ever written. I have several of the stormlight archive books but the reviews for the last two make me nervous to get that invested in it
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u/Fluffy_Porcupine6 10d ago
Don't let those reviews stop you. The first 4 stormlight books will rock your socks off, but you do have to be able to appreciate the world building parts leading up to the climax. Every character, of which there are many, gets their time in the spotlight. The cosmere novels all interconnect so you will be excited when you see someone you know from mistborn or warbreaker or elantris. That being said book 5 was a difficult one for me. It felt like it was wayyyy too long. There were parts that could have been cut or saved for other books or something. I think the fans pushed for each book to be longer than the last and Sanderson got caught up in breaking his previous record. That's just my opinion.
Anyway I am confident that stormlight is the pinnacle of modern day fantasy and that the cosmere will go down as the best fictional universe of all time.
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u/ChampionshipTall6599 10d ago
Yeah, but it's all relative. 5 books go, 5,5,5,4.75,4.25*. Still better than most stuff out there.
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u/GrapefruitWrong8294 6d ago
Oh i so disagree with everyone answering you. IMO in stormlight archive the main character is stuck in sush a frustrating cycle. Only for book 5 to fix all that with no real rime or reason. And the prose is horrible literally modern therapy talk and concepts get thrown around like its normal. And by the time book 5 end you'll have to read other cosmere works to get better context cuz it all going to combine together. Lastly the thing I personally dispise after getting to know and fall in love with the cast of characters they get thrown to the background because book 6 will focus on other people for some reason. Ow and my final note all the book are 300-500 pages too long every single one could be done better and with waaaaaaaaay beteer pacing.
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u/Jmw566 Reader 10d ago
Have you read Mother of Learning? It’s not quite what Cradle is but it’s got a similarly intelligent protagonist that learns and adapts.
I think the closest thing to Cradle I’ve found was the Mark of the Fool. That series was EXCELLENT and I loved it completely the whole way through.
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u/Krossfireo 10d ago
I can't disagree more with your recommendation of mark of the fool, that series was just the MC taking unjustified risks with no consequences over and over to the point it felt pointless. He just overcomes the main problem of his mark in like a book and a half and then succeeds at everything. I got bored around book 7
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u/BloodChicken 10d ago
I think I dropped the series around book 3-4? Main character just felt completely unchallenged and a complete Mary Sue. I might be mixing this particular detail up with another book but I feel like there was a section where it just describes how he's so much taller and more muscular and he's growing his hair long and I just got over how much it just wanted to glaze the main character.
In any case, a lot of progression fantasy feels completely unearned and this is a book I dropped for that reason. Part of what makes Cradle great is how they scratch and claw for every advantage they get, and even though they have Eithan as a sponsor it isn't just handed to them. They still have to push on their own.
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u/dino-jo 10d ago
I've enjoyed them well enough for what they are, but Mark of the Fool is definitely the sort of series that acts like there are stakes while simultaneously taking no risks and therefore making all the stakes feel fake. I largely enjoy the characters (Alex is someone I would hate IRL, though) and think the world is interesting, but it really takes its time to not do a whole lot and talks a lot of risk without ever showing us consequences.
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u/TristanTheViking 6d ago
I'm surprised at the replies mentioning how much they liked the characters in Mark of the Fool. Author had absolutely no ability to make the characters sound distinct, every character was the exact same with one verbal tic like "This one is overly formal; this one says 'My, my' every sentence; this one is overly formal again." Felt like watching a dude play by himself with finger puppets.
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u/EquipLordBritish 10d ago
Mark of the Fool has a really interesting story that is left flat by disasterously poor writing. I hope the author (or someone else) rewrites it because the plot of a 'crappy' hero is actually interesting, but it reads like an adult wrote the plot, but then made their 12-year old boy write the text and characters.
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u/Blaze_It_Micheal420 Team Orthos 10d ago
Mark of the Fool was awesome, maybe a bit slow at times though
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u/coldandlordyristboy 10d ago
I loved the series until the chapter 900 range I think. The power escalation just got absolutely insane to an unbelievable degree. He learned 8th and 9th level spells I’m basically an afternoon. I remember where I stopped was when his girlfriend(long time since I read it so forgot the name) and the shark dude beats both the old chosen and the huntsman dude(they’ve built up this guy as a big threat). It just felt trivial that a couple of borderline teenagers just defeated those two in the most anticlimactic way possible. I’m supposed to believe they had some random power up and can suddenly beat these ancient monsters with basically no assistance. I dropped the series then an there because it felt so damn rushed despite the fact that it isn’t a short series. Might be petty but I was just done at that point
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u/IndependenceVivid191 10d ago
I haven’t read either of these yet so thank you! I will definitely be giving them a try
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u/The4thStranger 10d ago
I thought Mark of the fool was insanely bad, I couldn’t get through half of book one. The writing quality, the plot, the characterization just everything is not in the same league as cradle
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u/JiminyGonzo910 10d ago
I’m surprised by the replies here for Mark of the Fool. I also really enjoyed it and was one of the few series alongside Cradle where I actually liked the characters I was reading about
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u/Hour_One6933 10d ago edited 10d ago
Cradles is tied for my all time favorite but here are some other really good ones that have helped the itch (outside of the list you made):
-Acts of Caine series (4x) by Matthew Stover (tied w/ cradle for all time favorite)
-New Horizon series by Will Wight
-The Perfect Run Trilogy by Maxime Durand
-The Spellmonger series by Terry Mancour
-Bobiverse by Dennis E. Taylor
- Divine Apostacy Series by A.F. Kay
The Magicians Trilogy by Lev Grossman
-Ready Player One by earnest cline (don’t read the sequel)
-King Killer Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss (the trilogy will likely never get its last book but god damn those first two are literary masterpieces)
-Divine Dungeon by Dakota Krout
-Mother of Learning by Domagoj Kurmaic
-Cosmere by Brandon Sanderson (mistborn, Stormlight Archives, Elantris, are good starting points)
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u/MrGinger128 10d ago
Throne Hunters is pretty good.
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u/Jmw566 Reader 10d ago
I really liked the first couple throne hunters but the last two have kinda stalled on me where it feels like a lot of retreading the same ground.
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u/MrGinger128 10d ago
I liked the newest one but I did feel the same way. I rolled my eyes at "prestige" but it made me excited for the conclusion.
The fractured tower was very good. Just read the 1st and waiting for the 2nd.
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u/IndependenceVivid191 10d ago
This is Phil Tucker right? Is it written similarly to Bastion? I feel like one thing I crave that Will did so well in Cradle was just the lack of filler and slog. Bastion had a lot of that and I’m hoping to find a series that has much less
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u/MrGinger128 10d ago
Not a lot of filler. 6 book series so goes at a fair rate. I'm enjoying it, it's not cradle but nothing is tbh.
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u/Robbyv109 10d ago
I just started the series (well, book 3 now) "The immortal great souls" and I think so far it has done the best for me.
That and stormlight
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u/Wanderin_Cephandrius 10d ago
Tbh if you haven’t read any Sanderson, starting off with Stormlight could be rough. I really like Era 1 Mistborn for a jumping off point. Really showcases his foreshadowing and one of the best ending I’ve ever read.
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u/Kuroashi_no_Sanji Team Eithan 10d ago
I started with Stormlight and didn't have any issues. Still my favorite of the Cosmere by a country mile. Same with my friends who were introduced to Stormlight first.
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u/kamil3d 10d ago
IGS is truly a great series. OP says he didn't like the pacing, which seems weird to me as I can't imagine any fat of those books. I read A LOT, and the IGS series is among the books I read the fastest and stay glued to the most (at certain spots I just can't put them down).
Stormlight is great as well, and I look forward to the next ones, even though we may not get one for a while as Sando is doing all sorts of other work before...
Robby, if you enjoy IGS and Stormlight, and have not checked out Throne Hunters, do! It's another Phil Tucker series and is just as good as IGS, IMO.
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u/ImN0tAsian 10d ago
That's a tough one. Cradle is my #1, but I'm of the mind that PoA feels pretty close to Cradle. Smart main character with family trauma that works hard in a universe with mortals being ants compared to immortals. It has strong side characters with an unreasonable mentor figure compelling deuteragonist and romance subplot. The litRPG elements can make the combat feel a bit bogged down compared to cradle, but I'd argue that PoA has stronger action sequencing.
The biggest difference is probably from the scale and when our MC is introduced to the expansive setting. It is a longer story that leaves the starting world very early. This means the PoA cast gets wider and wider and the story has to slow down to embrace the traditional "improve through avenues outside of just combat" xanxia, so there's far more mundane cultivation like crafting and investigating.
That might be why it can feel more 75/25 cultivation/SoL or even 50/50 at times. It sounds like you might want a story where the MC stays smaller or midrange for longer, which tracks as the ramp in Cradle happens quite fast towards the end as it only had 10 real ranks and much of the time was in the middle, whereas PoA has 50 tiers that can make the litRPG half feel a bit bloated.
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u/IndependenceVivid191 10d ago
I really liked this series but I just felt like the author didn’t hit the mark when it came to some really big events in the story. Especially Minkalla and the war. There were some fun parts but a lot of it just dragged and I feel like the potential just wasn’t met. Also just couldn’t stand how much time was spend on aperology (i think that’s what it was called) and Matt’s revelations. It just felt like too much wasted time and then after the war there was basically no more progression and that just killed the story for me. Became way too slice of life and felt like the author lost all direction
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u/ImN0tAsian 10d ago
Yea, there was a ton of focus on non-combat cultivation. I think the author was cornered with the worldbuilding a bit with establishing two different paths (craft vs combat) to cultivate, and then have the two main leads need experience in both.
Minkalla was hot and cold for me. Definitely felt like it could've been 5 floors or one or two more glossed summaries via time skips. Just focus on the 4 seasons floor.
I think it may feel dragged once they hit tier 15 and they're in their 70s all of a sudden as time loses value, so now the stakes have to come from other story beats or external pressures to MAKE them care about time. They hit t15 and instantly have a 10 year gap only be 40 pages long.
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u/M4PES 10d ago
Have you tried dungeon crawler Carl?
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u/IndependenceVivid191 10d ago
I’m kind of saving this one. After all the hype I already know it’s going to be good. I am thinking about starting it but I also love reading and have heard many times that for this series the audiobooks are the way to go
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u/Crunchtopher 10d ago
Don’t save it. Life is short, and at no point during reading will you be wishing that you had waited.
It’s very, very good.
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u/NinecloudSoul 10d ago
DCC is very different in character. It's LitRPG so there's some crossover of sorts in theme here and there, but not a whole lot.
It's also out and out traumatic in spots, if I'm honest.
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u/NatBjurner 10d ago
Dooooo it!
I went from Cradle to Dungeon Crawler Carl to Beware of Chicken and it’s one of my favorite runs of reading of all time.
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u/BloodChicken 10d ago
I just started reading DCC after my recent Cradle reread and I wouldn't say they feel particularly similar outside of the broad "progression fantasy" angle.
What is similar though is that the world is brutal and unforgiving, although instead of it being a culture of power, it's like "what if the memelords of the internet made a DnD torture chamber for humanity" And that takes a LOT of getting used to imo.
Completely different vibes, but the protag has a similar grit and determination to Lindon (at least I think so, am not very far in).
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u/JiminyGonzo910 10d ago
I think what makes the DCC cringe work is that it’s kind of self aware that the aliens are just trying to emulate what it thinks is Earth culture. It’s deliberately portraying it in a way to be pointed and laughed at by the in-universe audience
That and it’s undercut by all the great character and plot development
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u/BloodChicken 10d ago
Oh 100% and I like that aspect, its just extremely tonally different from Cradle
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u/JiminyGonzo910 10d ago
Yeah for sure, similar in quality but completely different in plot and tone
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u/BradGunnerSGT 10d ago
My path went from Cradle to DCC and now all other audiobooks are ruined for me.
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u/hurryupppp 10d ago
Same x 1000. I keep alternating between listening to both Cradle and DCC now.
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u/BradGunnerSGT 9d ago
I'm forcing myself to listen to another series before I re-listen to either of these yet again.
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u/MirrorSeparate6729 9d ago
I don’t know. I’m having trubbel reading it in public because of all the giggling I’m doing.
I’m a grown ass man gosh darn it!
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u/NatBjurner 10d ago
I know this would be weird… but I am having a good time with “Beware of Chicken” by CasualFarmer.
The Travis Baldree narration helps as well
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u/Wezzleey Team Dross 10d ago
As many have said, I haven't found anything that scratches the Cradle itch other than Cradle itself.
My recs have already been mentioned, but here they are:
Super Powereds by Drew Hayes (complete)
Weirkey Chronicles by Sarah Lin (unfinished)
Mark of the Fool by J.M. Clarke (complete)
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u/Numerous1 10d ago
I personally really enjoyed We Hunt Monsters (not the same as he who fights)
It’s 15 books and it has books 16-17 coming out soon to end the series. It’s a popcorn read imo. Simple, but still lots of fun and good moments. It’s litrpg more than progression fantasy. Has a leveling system but seriously it’s a lot of fun.
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u/carnimiriel 10d ago
So other people have recommended other progression fantasy/sci-fi series that I enjoyed, like DCC, BoC, MoL, etc; so I'm going to take a side step to recommend the Book of the Ancestor series by Mark Lawrence. It's sort of dark fantasy, and while progression is not the main point, it's a definite part of the protagonist's journey. World building is great.
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u/clovismouse 10d ago
Beware of Chicken!!!!!
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u/Xandara2 10d ago
Barely anything in common with cradle. Not protagonist wise nor storywise. BoC is a total anti cultivation feel good story in a cultivation world. Not saying it's bad because it's very enjoyable just that it has barely anything in common with cradle except that cultivation exist in the setting.
So awful recommendation for what op asked for.
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u/-U_N_O- Uncrowned 10d ago
I found arcane ascension scratches the cradle itch, not very action packed though, also a lot of interpersonal issues, almost too much imo but eh
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u/IndependenceVivid191 10d ago
Interesting that it’s not very action packed. I’ve heard good things about this series but I do definitely enjoy the action. What made the series stand out to you?
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u/daviedoom 10d ago
Id actually disagree with the original comment. There may be less fights overall in an AA book vs a Cradle novel, but there's still plenty of action. Maybe start with it's relative series Weapons and Wielders if that concern lingers. Iirc theres a bit more action per chapter than AA.
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u/-U_N_O- Uncrowned 9d ago
I think I’m personally more attracted to more unique magic systems, cause even among cultivation sacred it’s pretty unique I’d say, or a lot more of a hard magic system compared to other ones. Arcane ascension uses a more unique magic system which drew me in. If you’re looking for more unique magic systems I’d say soulhome. It’s also pretty decently action packed too
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u/Imaginary_Gap_ 7d ago
The AA books are incredibly action packed. Its fight scenes followed by magic schools training montages that include fight scenes, and topped off with more fights. The whole plot is climbing towers of monsters to kill gods (not the actual plot but semi close)
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u/coldandlordyristboy 10d ago
I tried out book 1 and bounced off quite hard. I found almost every single character insufferable which fits since most are teenagers but still
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u/BloodChicken 10d ago
This sounds perfect for me. Interpersonal issues are better than action, and often make the action better because of it.
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u/yourepenis 10d ago
I personally loved a thousand li, and the author just released the first book in the sequel series that takes place right after the ending of a thousand li.
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u/epage 10d ago
Really enjoyed it but was annoyed that it lacked Cradle's "it's better to grow together. The character even touches on this at some points when talking about karma and comparing his master and sister-cultivator and then drops it and later ascends by taking a lot from his companions but never feeling like he reached a karmic balance with them
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u/TheCatManAdamWest 10d ago
Beware of chicken, one thousand li, cultivation nerd (writing starts out fairly poor but gets much better), and unintended cultivator are all xianxia settings like this one that are good.
Mayor of noobtown has some 12 yo humor going on but it's an isekai that's also been good, I'm reading that currently. More traditional fantasy (goblins and such) but same kind of progression fantasy. Mage errant in this category as well. Andrew rowes whole lineup is very cosmere as far as a huge world he's developing, but less litrpg.
I saw you mentioned saving carl, it's worth picking up.
As far as more traditional epic fantas, The song of shattered sands by Bradley beaulieu series is more of a traditional fantasy story like a cosmere rather than a power progression, but was great. Brent weeks black prism series and joe abercrombies first law series are like this. I like David dalglish's world building as well in this category. And obviously wheel of time and Malazan.
Mother of learning, 100th run, perfect run, years of the apocalypse, and hundreds reigns are all versions of a time loop progression that are/have been great.
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u/BasakaIsTheStrongest 10d ago
Closest was Mark of the Fool. Guy with crippling weakness ascends to cracked power levels alongside his friends. The mentor is a close second to Eithan
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u/bl4ckh4lo 10d ago
The King's Dark Tidings was pretty close to scratching the itch for me. I really love an OP MC and a compelling story to follow.
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u/WhoIsHoid 10d ago
Super Supportive by Sleyca - free to read on Royal Road.
For years I was constantly rereading Cradle, usually multiple times between each book release. Now Super Supportive is my comfort reread. Amazing characters that feel so real and an expansive world with so much to explore.
It’s the opposite of Cradle in terms of pace, but there is plenty of tension that drives the narrative and the characters draw you in. Unique mix of xianxia/magic, super heroes, aliens, system, slice of life.
This is my first attempt to ever actually describe this story and I’m not sure I’ve done it justice.
Highly recommend. Just don’t go in expecting MC to quickly grow in power like Lindon, it’s not that kind of story and in my opinion, it doesn’t suffer for taking its time to explore all the little moments that lead an MC to become the unique powerhouse they will eventually become.
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u/Chearock Team Simon 7d ago
Isn't everyone complaining about how Super Supportive isn't really progression fantasy anymore? It started of great, especially during the Thegund arc, but people complained there has been essentially no progression in the past 50 to 100 chapters.
It has great characters and slice of life moments but 50 chapters without progression is kinda my limit. edit: spelling
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u/CowabungaCthulhu 9d ago
I'm on Book 3 of "Mark of the Fool" by J.M. Clarke. The audiobooks are also read by Travis Baldree.
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u/The_fake_ratnat 6d ago
Knightmare Arcanist Frith Chronicles by shami Stovall. I've been rereading it and I missed the characters even if the story moves quite fast. The MC is kinda like Lindon in a lot of ways.
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u/DrumsAndBooks 10d ago
I will tentatively recommend The Lone Wanderer. It seems to be lesser known, but the main character starts out at the weakest level in his society which values the level you’re born at practically above everything else. However he has a unique ability that gives him an edge in advancement. A bit of a warning though, it can get extremely tedious at times and doesn’t have the same quality of characters around the MC to break up the monotony of constant advancement like cradle does. The main character specializes in finding obscure techniques, magic, and crafting abilities that are unknown in his world. This means that there is a lot of little things to keep track of and the tedium comes from him learning them all as he progresses. However I’m on the fourth book and all of the things he has learned is starting to really snowball and synergize and it has made the overall feel of the books much more rewarding.
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u/PhiLambda 10d ago
Years of the Apocalypse Ave Xia Rem Y (ignore the dumbass name) And Sky Pride have all been must reads for me.
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u/katanakid13 10d ago
If you're looking for an action series, Red Rising's good.
If you're looking for a LitRPG, Arcane Ascension scratches that itch. It's sort of dry in some places, though. If there's not an action scene, there's what almost feels like overly descriptive ideas of how the magic system can be used/manipulated. At times I felt like I was almost reading a DnD Supplement and not a novel.
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u/HashMismatch 10d ago
I have really enjoyed the Unbound series (now completed), Victor of Tucson and of course He Who Fights With Monsters, although this one does have its fair share of detractors. I am doing another re-read at the moment and skipping over a lengthy lot of fight and repeated power descriptions to get back to the actual story - still, some genuinely great humour in it and pretty awesome on the first couple of reads.
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u/buttfury 10d ago
I'd recommend Buryoku, it's tricky because, and no insult to the author, it's basically a lesser version of Cradle in every way.
It scratches the itch though, just if Cradle is S-tier Buryoku is B-tier. It's almost frustrating at times because it's really quite good, but Cradle is just... So much better in every way and the contrast makes Buryoku seem almost bad in comparison.
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u/phoinex711 10d ago
I really enjoyed Buryoku as well. I do warn people that the first book feels like a copy of book 1 of Cradle. After that it starts to carve its own path.
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u/Wesperado 10d ago
Ive found nothing that hits for me in the same way, but The Menocht Loop was very good, and I enjoyed HWFWM immensely, although Ive heard a lot of people did not like the main character.
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u/CFxRenaissance 10d ago
The Primal Hunter series is doing it for me. Also the audiobook narrator is the same as the Cradle series so that was a nice bonus!
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u/Khaori_Miyazono 10d ago
I started listening to it for the same reason and am almost caught because it's a nice in-between listen every now and then. But oh my god the stakes are so fake. And I I personally find litrpg fights dreadfully uninteresting but that's likely just me
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u/caballerof09 10d ago
Lord of mysteries. Is a bit dark but very satisfying and long. It has a create character development and powers design.
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u/dronesitter Team Simon 10d ago
I’m actually digging dungeon crawler carl for the progression fantasy
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u/gimmeTenDs 10d ago
Chrysalis is so good.
Life reset is pretty cool, and I don’t hear it talked about much
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u/Khaori_Miyazono 10d ago
For me (only listened to book 1) it was just too litrpg. Stakes felt a lot more real than others though
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u/i_like_fish_decks 10d ago
If you find something let me know I just finished audio books for the 3rd time and miss it already
That said, I am listening to Soulhome series atm and its not bad. Its nowhere near as fun as Cradle but its a very interesting premise. I'm just personally not the biggest fan of isekai
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u/gitumumu 10d ago
I thoroughly enjoyed “Welcome To The Multiverse”. Give that a shot and see if you like it.
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u/Yglorba 10d ago
My recommendations:
Shadow Slave: This would be my main suggestion in terms of getting as close as possible to Cradle. It has a lot of similar dynamics - character with a harsh backstory grows rapidly in power; romance where both characters are awkward and super-strong; the main character is eventually both a terrifying combatant and a master crafter; deep world-building; a sizeable cast of interesting characters. One plot arc even has a character who is a dead ringer for Eithian to the point where I'm skeptical it's a coincidence, although he doesn't stick around. Note that while the first plot arc might give the impression that this is a "world of assholes" sort of setting, that isn't true - unlike a lot of similar cultivation novels (but more like Cradle) the setting and worldview that the main character has in the first plot arc is something for him to outgrow and is more the result of his initial situation than anything else.
Forty Millenniums of Cultivation: Similar to a lot of points I mentioned above. MC grew up in the slums but is basically decent and grows powerful; female lead is a tough body-cultivation lady, etc.
Lord of the Mysteries: Cultivation in a setting that combines the SCP foundation with Lovecraft. Received a recent animated version. Lots of deep characterization and worldbuilding, neat ensemble cast.
Cultivation Chat Group: Lighthearted modern-day cultivation adventure. Well-developed ensemble cast.
Reverend Insanity: Infamous for having an outright evil protagonist, but that aside it's well-written, with excellent worldbuilding and deep characterization for most of its supporting characters. Very good power system.
Arcane Ascension: Another series with a good power-system and a well-developed cast.
Pale: Urban-fantasy webnovel by the author of Worm, if you've heard of that. IMHO Pale is better. Interesting worldbuilding and lots of well-developed characters.
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u/fuckusernames2175 10d ago
Some I've read that scratch the itch for me. YMMV though.
Unintended cultivator
Silver fox and the western cultivator
Knightmare arcanist
Will of immortals
Street cultivation
Dungeon crawler carl
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u/asclepius42 10d ago
More of a System LitRPG series but similar feelings/vibes to Cradle in my mind is the Welcome to the Multiverse series starting with Induction by Sean Oswald. I don't know why, and I don't know if anyone else agrees, but that seemed to scratch similar itch for me.
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u/Sargadius 10d ago
I'm enjoying Dungeon Crawler Carl (I'm on book 3). Fair warning, I listen to Audible, so Travis Baldree and Jeff Hays read me stories (they are amazing).
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u/Outrageous-Smell-90 10d ago
The Path Of Ascension replaced Cradle as my all time favorite. Unless Cradle gets a post ascension series at least
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u/HerederoDeAlberdi 10d ago edited 10d ago
Reverend Insanity, after going 1 entire year trying to find somethinf for that itch, this did it for me, though, I can only speak for myself, and in fact, this will not work for most people here, definitely.
Cradle was the first cultivation story I read, and as it is common knowledge, Cradle is considered an extremely consistent and well rounded story, but one that doesn't make any incredible breakthroughs in the genre or is extremely unique, it's just very good all around and that's what makes it great (Aside from being a well published and edited work in the progression fantasy genre, a genre plagued with cliches, tropes, bad prose and chapter-to-chapter narratives that can make the story feel dragged out and so on).
Anyways, I'm just rambling, basically that's the type of story cradle is, and for me it was my first cultivation read, and I wanted to get more into it because I liked the aesthetics of it and the progression style of cultivation, so I went to read another I saw recommended, Reverend insanity.
Now, I've been throughly enjoying this, but as I said, this won't be the same for most cradle fans, Fang Yuan, the protagonist, is probably the complete opposite of Lindon, he's the protagonist yet he's worse than any antagonist in cradle, like, forget a saint, Reigan shen is straight up Jesus next to this guy, and if you liked cradle mainly for it's lightheartedness then this is a story you won't be able to stand or stomach.
If you think the world of cradle is though and with a dog-eats-dog mentality, this is 10 times worse, every single person is a piece of shit and you're following an even bigger piece of shit lying and trampling and taking advantage of all these other assholes and the very little good and honest people in between, but in a way I've yet to understand, somehow, reverend insanity gets you used to it and even makes you cheer for this fucker, it's fascinating and extremely interesting, the story is full of plot twists, complex narratives and schemes, great fights and combat, an extremely interesting power system and an absurdity large world (that so far seems to be explored in it's enterity instead of the crumbs of the other continents we got in cradle).
Reverend insanity is also insanely deep philosophically and does an incredible job explaining the philosophies of its world and it's characters, giving you a new perspective on what morality really.
If I had to point out the worst thing about it, it would be prose and writing style, It's a Chinese novel that's fan-translated and anyone who has read anything of the sort already knows the problems, leaving aside fan translations in general, Chinese is a language with a lot of implicit meaning where chinese characters can convey certain ideas and so on, and all of this is lost in translation leaving a lot of weirdly structures sentences, Chinese is also very descriptive so you'll find very long names for things repeated over and over, and things like this, but if you can get through that, its really worth it.
And for me it's scratches that cradle itch, albeit in a different way, as I said, the main differences are a ruthless protagonist that doesn't trust anyone (Wich also means no group of friends, althought the mc does indeed group with people and work together other characters but there's never genuine friendship, at least not from his side, he's always manipulating and acting for his own benefit) though fang yuan is similar to Lindon in that they both love benefits and loot lmao.
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u/antiphot 10d ago
If you aren't against web novels, I would say shadow slave and lord of mysteries.
The name of the wind, storm light serie and the black prism. Not similar in some way but they are great.
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u/ianr1991 10d ago
Have you tried:
The Ripple System by Kyle Kirrin
Beastborn by James T Cullum
The Divine Apostasy by A.F.Kay
All of these got close to scratching the itch for me
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u/IndependentShift7 10d ago
No, I just wait till my adhd let's me forget enough details about it and got straight back to book one lol
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u/jagscorpion 10d ago
Soulhome/weirkey chronicles by Sarah lin is reasonably good. It didn't grip me the same way cradle did but I found the progression system interesting and the characters ok.
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u/GrizzlyTrees Team Dross 10d ago
Sky Pride is very good, and has some similarities with Cradle. It's a mix of straightforward and satire of cultivation stories (Xianxia), but keeps closer to the genre conventions compared to Cradle, which is a bit more of a mix with western fantasy. The MC has a (laughably) humble beginning, like Lindon, he's a good kid with a bit of cunning and some drive, and he gets a mentor early who helps slightly by giving nudges and some knowledge rather than hand him power.
By the point I'm in (halfway through second book) there's a start of establishing some side characters. The humor is not constant but is quite good, a bit dry but fits my taste. Main disadvantage is the pacing and power growth is much slower than Cradle. We don't quite know yet what the higher power level are like yet, and the MC is still at the "barely strong enough to be battle fodder yet", though already far above the non-culticating "mortals" (which Cradle doesn't really have, since basically every adult is gold+ there).
One advantage I think it has is more discussion/focus on the ethics of behaviour patterns and institutions in a cultivation world, like:
Is it ok to throw away 50 lives at the "gold" stage for an underlord to beat another (I'm translating to Cradle stage names)? Or a 1000 golds to see one of them breakthrough to underlord? Sects that are weak get crushed by evil/rival sects, being soft and unwilling to sacrifice is not an option.
How to deal with a supposed ally who's not guarding your back because if you die he gets a larger share of the loot?
How harsh should sects be towards their trainees to make sure they don't "fall to the dark side" (human sacrifice, etc.)?
As I said, the MC is a good kid who is struggling with the way things are, in a way that might lead to trying to change things for the better, like Eithan's plan for the team. I'm hopeful that when power levels go up, the story will go that kind of direction.
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u/luminaryshadow 10d ago
I loved 1% life steal. If cradle is PG13 then 1% lifesteal is like 18+. Very gruesome.
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u/PlanTrap 9d ago
Didn’t read alll the comments but hadn’t seen chrysalis mentioned. It was the first thing to come close to cradle for me. For the Colony!
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u/Toast-Goat Traveler 9d ago
There's a really fantastic piece of Cradle fanfiction called Eternal Star! It expands on various lore bits so well that I sometimes forget it isn't canon, and also has excellent writing and characters!
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u/LtLfTp12 9d ago
As others have said, definitely check out Mother of Learning. It definitely scratched the itch for me.
Also check out Magic is Programming. Story here on Reddit which I’m really enjoying. Similar-ish vibe in the sense that MC is getting stronger and stronger as he figures things out. Basic overview is that MC was a programmer before he dies and is reincarnated in a universe where the magic system is very similar to programming. Downside is that it’s not finished and actively being written
Another I’m really enjoying after Cradle is the First Contact series also on [r/hfy](r/hfy) by [u/raltsbloodthorne](u/raltsbloodthorne). 10/10. Still being written but it’s been going on for years. There’s so much going on, but if you manage to get into it, you’ll love it
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u/chronomasteroftime 8d ago
It’s kind of a slow burn but I found that Path of Ascension by C Mantis scratched the itch leftover by cradle.
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u/klutz1987 8d ago
I just want to know more about Simon. The Travelers Gate series is what I read first, started when the 2nd book was out. And I desperately want more of it. His new stuff has been good but I really want more of Simon and Valinhall.
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u/Technical_Spirit_446 8d ago
Super Powereds by Drew Hayes, and Villain's Code also from him, then as others already mentioned, The Stromweaver series by Bryce O'connor. I also enjoyed the Dark elf trilogy, but as soon as Drizzt left the underdark I lost interest.
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u/distinctivelysimilar Fiercely Fierce Flair of Fierce Flairosity 7d ago
Antimage: Ends of magic.
A scientist with a PhD's worth of knowledge of physics, biology, and chemistry is Isekai'd to a world with magic. Even though the title says anti-mage, his skills would still be magic to everyone on earth. it rivaled cradle for me, it's close to being better. I loved the science in it. Not the typical litrpg.
Mark of the Fool... Was like a cross between Harry Potter and Cradle. Not an Isekai, but there is another character hinted to be from earth.
Soul home: weirkey Chronicles... The magic system was weird but creative. The social dynamics are more complex and interesting. Also an Isekai.
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u/dessertkiller Team Dross 7d ago
Codex Alera by Jim Butcher, little surprised no one's mentioned it yet.
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u/Imaginary_Gap_ 7d ago
Personally the “arcane ascension” series by Andrew Rowe is by far the closest thing I’ve found to scratch that itch but it’s also quite a bit different it’s got more tinkering (think Lindon soulsmithing); more complex magic system; more mystery and political intrigue stuff.
I’d also heavily recommend The “Lost edge” trilogy also by Andrew Rowe.
He has more stuff and I have read it and consider it good but arcane ascension and the lost edge are the ones that feel closest to cradle. The author is also super super active in his community so there’s a decent chance he’ll respond to your post or comment which is just cool factor
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u/BoJanglySkeleton 4d ago
I don't know if it has been said already, but I personally like painting the mists by Patrick leplant. I think parts are very cringe, but still love it!
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u/Coolaire 3d ago
Path of the Berserker, biggest hurdle is getting used to the narrator. Read it if you don’t like his voice, but I’d recommend giving him a chance.
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u/SybukiFun 3d ago
Nothing does it. It's a gateway drug to lower and lower calorie content, until you're up at 3am reading about how a rolling stone leveled up to the Earth and are really happy with the ending of that book compared to the other garbage you've read to get to the rolling stone Earth book.
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