Before we delve into our Evergreen list of our web novels, ‘You’ as an aspiring newbie web novel enthusiast, have to understand the basics of web novels and how they came to be and suddenly became a part of our everyday life like Kindle books.
Web Novel and Their Sudden Emergence
Let’s keep it clean and simple; as the ‘name’ suggests, ‘Web Novel’ itself is a self-explanatory, Web Novel refers to a novel uploaded or posted online whether they be forums or personal blogs and it’s known for its easy accessibility to readers. These kinds of novels are generally posted gradually chapter by chapter unlike published literature Book or Novels.
Due to the extreme popularity of East Asian novels, the term “web novels” has become well-known, creating an impression that these novels only consist of Chinese and Korean web novels and Japanese as light novels.
The term “Light Novel” was introduced by the Japanese publishing industry to refer to serialized novels aimed at young adults, as opposed to traditional literature novels that use more complex words and sentences.
And such was the idea to create Web Novels and Light Novels for readers and as web novels continued to trend due to the sheer number of different genres they produce, they became a popular choice among new readers seeking easy-to-read online stories, providing thrilling, fantastical, and adventurous tales.
This resulted in a surge of new web novels every day to cater to the needs of first-time readers and veteran enthusiasts, satisfying their ever-hungry thirst for new web novels, whether they be Chinese, Korean, or Japanese novels.
To assist those who have just stepped foot into the world of web fiction novels, we have compiled a generous list of novels that can satiate beginners’ hunger and also tickle the fancy of Grandmasters/veterans.
Note: – The below mentioned novels might be ongoing or completed at the moment of writing this article. And it’s going to be Strictly English-Translated. As we wouldn’t want our new readers to lose their brain cells over reading some Machine Translated novels (it’s a real pain I tell you).
Solo Leveling (a.k.a. I Alone Level Up) by Chugong
Let’s top the list with the extremely popular Korean novel “Solo Leveling,” which took readers by storm worldwide. There’s about an 80% chance that even newbies have already read it. However, we included this for the remaining 20% and also because “I Alone Level Up (Na Honjaman Level Up)” is popular enough to be synonymous with popular seed terms like ‘Gate,’ ‘Apocalypse,’ ‘Monster Invasion,’ and ‘Mom on sickbed,’ etc. (Don’t mind the last one). Hence, it deserves its spot as a quintessential read for fans of these themes. Also the most suitable read for beginners.
Alternatively you can check out some other similar yet very different popular web novels —- Reincarnator, The S-Classes That I Raised and M.E.M.O.R.I.Z.E.
Tales of Demons and Gods by Mad Snail
A classic regression Xuanhuan Chinese fantasy web novel, ‘Tales of Demons and Gods’ showcases the well-executed rebirth trope, distinguishing itself among hundreds of Xuanhuan and Xianxia genre Chinese novels.
The story follows our protagonist, Nie Li, who was killed by the Sage Emperor and his six deity-ranked beasts, resulting in him being regressed to his much younger self. From here, he sets out to redo all his past mistakes and make things right.
Does it sound cliché? Don’t worry, as the author Mad Snail has done an excellent job of delivering the clichés at the best possible moments to enhance the aspects of both comedy and drama for the readers.
Trash of the Count’s Family by Yoo Ryeo Han
This Korean fiction web novel takes a different approach compared to the usual regression/rebirth trope. In Trash of the Count’s Family, our protagonist, Cale Hanitus, transmigrates into the body of a side villain from a novel he had been reading. As a transmigrator from modern times to medieval times, he uses his wits suited for someone from the ‘Information Era’ and his knowledge of the future from the novel.
The story’s author, Yoo Ryeo Han (유려한), has done a great job executing the twists and turns, making the story quite immersive.
However, while it lacks some tension and peak moments, it more than makes up for it with exceptional character interactions. This is exactly why we’ve chosen to add “Trash of the Count’s Family” to our list, as it perfectly suits the taste of first-time web novel readers.
If you enjoy this novel and are looking for another with a similar setting, we’ve got you covered — “Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint” and “Novel’s Extra.”
World’s Best Martial Artist by Eagle Eats The Chick
This one’s my personal favorite in the Chinese fiction category. It has all the trending elements like ‘system’ and ‘comedy’ synchronized with good action. This one doesn’t go over the top with an overpowered system but it does give a relatively good edge for our protagonist, Fang Ping, who does his best to use his business-like mind to get better treatment in this so-called ‘other world’.
However, this new world where he transmigrated holds lots of mysteries and as the author uncovers the plot gradually, we see our MC adapting according to the trends of the world. And since this world is all about power, Fang Ping is trying his best to climb the ladder of power.
My Senior Brother is Too Steady by Get To The Point
This one truly a hidden gem of a story, My Senior Brother is Too Steady has a very good comedic undertone with main genres consisting of Xianxia and Fantasy.
With this, the story has good execution and each character has their own personalities instead of usual cardboard cut-out personalities. Though the most exhilarating in this web novel would be the cautious personality of the story’s main character and how he does his proper planning. Read this novel if you crave xianxia with a unique approach along with awesome comedy.
Sign-in Buddha’s Palm by Back To The Beginning
Sign-in Buddha’s Palm is a captivating web novel, has a blend of martial arts, fantasy, and adventure genres. In this web novel, we will see our main character Su Qin, a little monk reaching the heights of cultivation that none has reached before with help of his sign-in system that he got as Goldfinger after transmigration.
The story progression with the trending genre of ‘sign in’ blended into the narrative of this web novel, making it a very promising web novel. You should try it if you love the sign-in type of novels.
Final thoughts:-
This is the end of a carefully summarized and curated list of web novel recommendations that we listed. Each of these stories can be said to be a good read if you are in search of some hidden gem of web novels. If you liked the novels, do get back to us. So we can be more motivated to find some novel that can help us tailor our future selections to better suit your tastes.
