Worth the Candle

Review as of chapter 161:

Worth the Candle is a portal fantasy tabletop litRPG by a well known rational fiction author.  The story subverts as many tropes as it adheres to with expert execution of the plot.  You won't find a story on Royal Road with more comprehensive world building.  Even the bizarreness of the world starts to make so much sense as it continually intersects with the narrative and the wide variety of magic systems.

The world’s mystery is derived around the MC noticing many of people, creatures, and items that appear are directly related to RPG lore he invented himself in his own pen and paper games back on Earth. Unraveling this mystery keeps the narrative flowing. There are many flashback scenes to his games he played with friends in his old life and they tie into the plot of the story.

The world happens to be single player; only the MC has a character sheet.  So to put it in video game terms that many may be more familiar with than tabletop RPGs, it is like Skyrim with a mod to allow 5+ followers.  As he levels up, so do his followers and the difficulty of challenges thrown at them.  

The followers are NPCs in the loosest sense of the word, but in actuality they are highly complex real people with their own specializations.  His party works together as a team, each bringing their own skills to make a sum greater than its parts.  But their relationships with the MC and with each other are deeply explored and character growth happens to all of them, some for the better and some for the worse.  Even as we learn more about the MC's past, it changes our perspective of how we view other characters.  And they are so well written!  Character writing is probably one of the author's greatest strengths.

The author is also writing this story for the rational fiction genre and it really shows. The main character is highly logical and introspective as he questions the world he is transported to and the reasons he was brought there. He is a min-maxer and he studies his character sheet in depth, going so far to even do the in-depth math to min-max his build. The litRPG elements have more of a tabletop RPG influence as opposed to the genre’s more common video game RPG inspiration which is quite refreshing for the genre.

This is a meta story where the "narrative" of the story itself is part of the narrative which really is intriguing and lends a lot of credibility to the world and the character's actions and reactions. This isn't litRPG written just because stats are cool, the worldbuilding is logical from the ground up and the stats make sense in a narrative way that many other litRPG stories completely lack.

While the story is brilliant, it isn't for everyone though.  The readers who might not enjoy this story are those who don’t like stories with flashback scenes or just can’t get into the deep philosophical discussions.  There is a lot of subtext that is easy to miss and subtle foreshadowing that some may not pick up on.  If you are looking for a pulpy read without thought, then this is not the place to start.

But for those who want to read a litRPG story that actually strives to be rational, this is the closest you will likely get. 

I am definitely going to regret reading this as it has probably cost me tens of thousands of dollars. More about that later; into the review.

I knew about this fiction since a very long time, especially since I was subscribed to the subreddit that it was posted on . Hpwever, the name didn't ring a bell, neither did the author seem familiar, so I gave it a pass. It was a mistake.

Fast forward to when the story was posted on royal road. It didn't have the author as cthuluraejepson, but Alexander Wales. The name seemed familiar, and I went on his website. He had made another nickname for himself, and was the same author that had written Shadows and Metropolitan Man, the same stories that I raved about to my friends. As I went through the list, it seemed that all his written stories were the ones that I had liked and stuck with me such as the Randi Prize. Oh, what a revelation.

I started binging through the novel and stormed through till the last chapter (161).  And what a ride it has been. Somehow, the story touches upon and coagulates widely dissimilar topics into a meta narrative. The "meta" aspect is something that is dealt with so regularly, that I felt that this story should have been the one named "Meta World" (Could we swap the titles?). It includes a range of topics spanning from economics to world building and therapy. 

It is one of the very few "system" litrpgs, where the character actually discloses everything about the mechanisms to his companions. Here, the world that he is transported to is one that highly mimics the ones that he created on Earth as a Dungeon Master. It meshes well into the story as the character and his companions figure how they all fit in to the "narrative" (a word that you will hear often).

The characters are actually what sets this story as the best charterizations I have ever read. The way the characters deal with situations is very realistic. The MC is not the smartest person, he is great in some aspects, poor at others, just how a normal guy would be. The others are not dumbed down either, and not everyone is overjoyed to throw themselves at the MC, with the females ready for a harem, unlike common webnovel tropes. The MC, other characters face a variety of issues from relationship issues, procrastination to depression.

The magic system is phenomenal and has a broad variety. Different species, different magics requiring different costs, just shows how much work has gone into creating it. While revealing too much would be a spoiler, it would not be and understatement to say that the world emerges as a land full of possibilities for the future. Truly makes me want to play D&D. And yeah, for all you flat earthers: rejoice!

Some of the critique would be some decisions taken by the characters that don't really seem optimal given the time they spend on decision making for even trivial stuff. Some world building or character interactions just seem to go on for much longer than what is needed. All of them being issues which can be solved with a bit of editing.

All in all, it is a work of fiction that is so addicting that you can't stop until you reach the last chapter. And this is a positive point unless you really don't have time (like me). As I write this review, I accept my fate that I am not going to clear my interview for Amazon as I have spent the last week just reading this novel instead of prepping for it and I am probably going to regret this for a long long time. Yes, addiction has an opportunity cost. (Interesting tidbit: the author is a former software engineer too.)

I've been following this story for a good while on AO3, but have never taken the time to write a proper review - an oversight which I intend to correct here, because I'd hate for anyone on this site to be missing out on what I think is easily one of the best pieces of web fiction of all time (certainly one of my favourite stories, period).

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hooked pretty much from the word go, but - fair warning - most people will tell you to stick with the story until at least its fourteenth chapter before drawing any conclusions. If you're not fundamentally enjoying it by then, it probably just isn't for you - but if you are, then I feel confident saying that it will surpass your expectations at every turn.

This isn't a story where progress is about unlocking new levels and skills and perks. Well, okay, it technically is, but - more importantly - it's about trying to do the right thing and becoming a better person.

Alexander Wales manages to deftly weave an impressive amount of introspection into the events at hand, thanks to clever use of dialogue, observations, asides, and (most notably) flashbacks - none of which negatively impact the story's strong pacing. The romantic elements of the narrative are handled with a astonishing level of depth and nuance - somehow managing to be simultaneously sincere and deconstructive. Truthfully, the same could be said for pretty much every aspect of the story: its prose, worldbuilding, conflicts and characters. You'll find a lot of twists on classic tropes and setpieces, but there are a wealth of original and evocative ideas to be found here too.

At every level, Worth the Candle feels like a labour of love - and you'll probably end up loving it too.

I've been following this story since sometime last year (2019) and it's honestly pretty good. There's hardly any grammatical errors or typos the plot is entertaining and the world building is fairly consistent.

.

Despite all that, something has been eating at me the entire time I was reading this story. Nearly all the interactions between the characters feel one dimensional and monotonous.

I think this is because whenever any characters are having a conversation, all I ever read about is the words they say to each other but I find it hard to envision anything else about their interaction because  almost nothing is mentioned about their facial expressions, body language and tones. Even on the rare occasion that anything like that is explored, so little is mentioned that it's almost pointless.

It makes conversations feel like it's just one guy talking to himself.

Conversations also sometimes feel like infodumps even when that might not be the author's intention, and it can get so bad that even parts that might've been meant to be entertaining start to drag.

All this also makes the characters hard to relate to because they are not fleshed out properly in my head. I'm not saying that there's not any attempts to flesh out the characters because I always read descriptions of what they look like and  what they wear and what the other characters think of them, but I can't help but want to see what they see as they're talking to each other. 

Conversation has many more dimensions than just the words spoken but almost all of them are missing.

If the author could deal with that issue, then this story would be a masterpiece.

Since almsot everyone already elaborate how good this fiction is, i will write the flaw that i see in this story from my own perspective. You may not agreed to this but this is what i saw.

1. Info dumping

This is quite critical aspect for story to make sure that the reader felt compelled to know more about the world, character and lore of the sory instead of felt being forced with info. This is where this fiction failed quite few times. I would said sometimes the info is being well written into the story while sometimes i felt being forced to read. This make the story is quite boring to read at that times.

2. Phycological aspect of MC

Now, as I read along, I can see that the MC done a lot of thinking, questioning everything in this world like a mature adult. So when it comes to death of his friend, suddenly he became a edgy, selfish and spoiled teenager that think the world is revolved around him. It really, really hard to sympathize with teenager losing his best friend when you know out there, some one there is losing his family and has bleak future becaused his country is in war.  Not to mentioned, the jaring feeling between this two personality. 

3. Magic system

SO MANY praised the magic system when i felt this ones is the aspect that failed the most. The magic system is a mess and all over the place. The reason is the law governing the magic is not well explained. There is the sentence where the princess said the magic is already demystiquefing. If this is the case, why there is so many unexplained law of the magic. Does you can do magic with oly the will? Warder done it with the ritual, while skin magic done magic with art? Gem magic need to be understood that it is operate using light? if understanding the principle can help MC learn the magic, why he cannot learn about elemental magic since surely the TEENAGER who knows so many thing would know about the principal of element. Why there is no resurrection if you can create soul. What does define death? Why can't you catch soul and put back on the body? There is so many thing can be explored about magic and the MC is busy thinking about the stat. The magic system is so flawed, dude. 

4. D&D system is confusing

This is where many will not agreed with me but i am saying this as someone that never played D&D game. The way he explained D&D sytem making me think D&D game is one hell boring and confusing. This is fiction, not complex mathematic question. I always skip the D&D thing since it is confusing and bland at the same times. 

So yeah, i do think other reviewer is over exaggarated this story. It is good flawed fiction, that's all.

The plot and the characters are great and all but this is more about reading the thoughts of a narcissistic mc than the story.

There are good things about this fiction namely the setting and its variety of magical systems.  If you want an elaboration on those elements then go read one of the many glowing reviews. 

Your reception of this story will depend upon how much you’ve read and what you’re looking for in a protagonist.  At first the story comes across as dynamic and fresh but as things proceed the plot becomes bogged down in a repetitive cycle of tedious debates, forced exposition, emotional diarrhea and unresolved relationship issues.  This pattern repeats ad nauseam and as a result the reading can become quite tedious at times.

Apart from that the main character “Joon” is the embodiment of the standard beta male.  His only accomplishment in life was the creation of a detailed series of tabletop campaigns which he played with his friends.  Conveniently the story revolves near exclusively around this detail and rewards him for it excessively with riches, companionship, super powers and good looks.  But this is never enough to stop him from being an emotionally damaged doormat which contrasts starkly with his unearned prowess in battle.  In fact, outside of combat, I would say that the typical gender norms are swapped between him and Amaryllis, which becomes more obvious as the story progresses.

Joon has a distinct lack of self-respect and conviction, except for when it comes to social justice and game mechanics, and you’ll frequently find him apologizing during the many bouts of pseudo psychoanalysis that litter the story.  (Imagine a character who constantly whips himself while trying to play counselor, especially whenever he talks to one of the women who surround him.)  While this attitude may be fitting for the character as he was, at the start of the story, it becomes exhausting 100+ chapters in when you realize that he seems incapable of developing any sense of self worth and independence as a man.

This weakness and subordination to those around him is novel in a genre littered with lone super humans who generally do as they please but in this case the author went too far in the opposite direction. In fact you will rarely find him apart from his “companions” for more than a few pages before they’re reunited and the status quo of constant interrogation, debate, relationship/sexual tension and apology is restored.  

Things didn’t improve with the introduction of the “DM” who’s literally controlling the game world so that Joon can advance through his “campaign”.  This further compounds the difficulty of taking the characters and their world seriously when coupled with their endless and tiresome social issues. 

Formerly the top original novel in AO3, what separates Worth the Candle from the other stories in the genre is the maturity with which treats its main characters.

The heroes are shitty to each other, but they're called out for it, and learn to become better people. They get hurt and still continue to deal with the consequences several books later. Denouement is denied even when it would make for a "kickass" scene. And the eventual payoffs are so much better off for it.

All this combined with the right amount of action, humor and messing around with extremely original magic systems make this one of the best fantasy stories I've ever read. Glad it's finally here.

This is basically the best LitRPG that I've ever read. The writing and editing is professionally tight, the characters are well-fleshed, and for the most part, the story is engaging, the MC is both likeable and relatable, and (of course) the world-building is very good.
Everybody loves an OP MC, but there's a twist to being OP in Aerb that keeps the tension high that I appreciate 

I started reading this story at the beginning of this year, though I had known about it for much longer than that. I started on a whim, trying to find a way to burn some time between assignments. I quickly discovered that doing so was one of the worst mistakes I could have made, since I could not stop reading even when the next assignment was nearly due.

Needless to say, I like the story. Like its characters, it has some flaws, though I think that is fitting. Also like the characters, the plot develops along the way. In the beginning it felt like a pretty cut and dry isekai; become strong, complete X goal for Y reason, happily ever after. And at the end of the day, it is just that. MC gets stronger, completes goals, happily ever after. What really makes this story special is that X and Y evolve as the characters develop and polish their flaws.

There were points along the journey that I didn't love, as I'm sure everyone could agree, points where I wanted to stop. But looking back now that I've finished, I'm very glad that I didn't. I may not have enjoyed every second, but I think the fact I read all 6k pages is a testament to how uncommon those seconds were.

I can't put into words how cathartic the resolution was. It was perfect, a final bit of character development that completes the journey perfectly. Sadly, I can't say more without delving into spoiler territory and as much as I would love to do so, I have standards to uphold (no I don't, I just like to pretend I do) and this review is rambling enough as it is.
(Side note: I've always found it ironic how people say 'I've no words to describe ____', as saying that is a way to describe the thing they say they don't have the words to describe.)