Surviving the Succession (A Transmigration Fantasy)

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Formerly titled Transmigrating Into the Main Character's Political Rival Kayla is a burned-out college graduate who's neck-deep in student debt, stuck in a minimum-wage job, and about to be evicted from her apartment. One morning, she abruptly wakes up in the body of a short-lived villain from a web novel set in Ancient China. Now, Kayla has to deal with living in the body of a man while trying to survive as the doomed political rival of the Seventh Prince. She'd rather roll over and play dead than take on a fight, but fate and the Imperial family seem to have different plans for her. Caught in a web of political intrigue and backstabbing amidst a succession struggle between the Imperial Princes, it will take Kayla every ounce of wit she has to stay alive. A political fantasy set in Ancient Chinese with elements of magic, transmigration, and time travel. Updated irregularly. You can find me onPatreon. Discord linkhere.

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2022
Author: umedrop24

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.7/ 5.0
Followers: 3,934
Views: 3,452,266

Chapters(267 total)

What readers say about Surviving the Succession (A Transmigration Fantasy)

“Such an amazing story; I've been subscribed to the Patreon for months and just realized I never left a review. If you love drama, intrigue, mystery, and a bit of action, this story will be right up your alley. One of my favorite parts about this story is th…”
HunterIV4Royal Road5.0 / 5
“I was positively suprised by this novel. The settings is chinese and the plot is also what you would expect a chinese novel to be like. But the quality is great. I would definitely recommend trying this, it is quite intriguing, though there are a few minor…”
IdentityRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(10)

HunterIV4Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Such an amazing story; I've been subscribed to the Patreon for months and just realized I never left a review. If you love drama, intrigue, mystery, and a bit of action, this story will be right up your alley.
One of my favorite parts about this story is that all the characters feel real. Kayla, our protagonist, is brilliant, and while her foreknowledge of events helps in the beginning, the timeline diverges quickly enough that her survival and success are more due to clever thinking than any sort of omniscience. It's something that helps her in the background, especially when dealing with known characters, but unlike many transmigration novels I've read the story feels like a logical rewrite when things change, not like there are "breakpoints" where the stories only diverse slightly.
Also, I love that Kayla isn't a "Mary Sue" who simply navigates the dangerous world she is living in without effort, and that she genuinely makes mistakes (even if those mistakes are understandable). She also isn't perfect and can misunderstand or misinterpret things going on around her, and the occasional shift in perspective is used sparingly for things Kayla wouldn't be able to see to give the reader a wider view of what's going on.
If you're looking for the typical "progression" or "power" fantasy where the MC has crazy powers and dominates some backwards fantasy wuxia world, this story isn't going to do that. The guy she transmigrates into wasn't a warrior and Kayla, as a broke college student, doesn't suddenly learn crazy martial arts so she can beat up all the bad guys. In fact, few of her problems could be solved with violence, which makes the intrigue feel deep and meaningful. And the author does a great job of continually raising the stakes, then resolving the problem, and letting the resolution of one issue naturally contribute to the next crisis, all without it ever feeling unnatural or absurd.
If you enjoy Chinese period dramas, you will likely enjoy this story even more (
IdentityRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I was positively suprised by this novel. The settings is chinese and the plot is also what you would expect a chinese novel to be like. But the quality is great.
I would definitely recommend trying this, it is quite intriguing, though there are a few minor things which should be done better/further developed in the story.
The surroundings, the world or simply the place as a whole are barely described, the only thing we know about it, is that the officials seem to have a preference for being corrupt, but the background doesn't seem to be mentioned.
This can be excused, by this being a very character-focused story.
The other aspect, which I hope we'll see more of in the future is magic, it doesn't seem to be very present other than as a replacement for modern conveniences. Even though the MC even has a 'special ability' s/he hasn't really been able to use it, and there haven't been any mentions of others using magic.
I would recommend reading this for those who want some drama, it is a very well written story. Though those looking for fights and combat should look elsewhere, depending on whether battles of words count. Or at least thus far there haven't been any battles.
The grammar was almost flawless. The characters well described.
My only problem is, as mentioned above, the lack of world-building, though I don't know whether that should be a focus, in novels where the characters seem to be the whole world, the surroundings don't seem too important.
Andre SideritschRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Female into male transmigration isekai/reborn into a novel or whatever you want to call it, but without the typical oversexualized nonsense those gender swaps can bring. Just interesting perspective changes and interactions as a result.
This is my first politically/investigative/idk focused novel, period. I'm generally an action/adventure Fantasy type. I was hesitant going into the story but I've been unable to put it down.
I'm hanging off every paragraph and things just keep ramping up and becoming more and more interesting. I love it. The story is refreshingly easy to follow for an ancient China setting. I usually have trouble with the convoluted families, names, and all the clans etc. There's a lot of characters and whatnot, but the way they are trickled in works so it's not overwhelming right from the get go.
The review min word count is high so I'm just going to gush a bit.
Single pov with short pov changes to highlight and enhance the mc. I like that.
Humble Mc. Kind Mc. Intelligent but not obnoxiously so where you think the author is a bozo. Mc relies on those around him to make up for his shortcomings. Me like.
Romance is clearly not happening soon, maybe if the Mc merges fully with the original soul way way in the future who knows. I trust the author to make it not trash if it does happen eventually. Up to them.
Anyways give it a try even if you are an unga bunga reader like me.
ChangeOfPace6Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This has got to be the most well constructed and realistic political story i have ever read.
It shows the complicated situation of the court and intricacies woven into the setting with a very well researched author writing about ancient china with accurate historical information.
My favorite part of this novel has got to be the Characters. The Main Character waking up as an inexperienced young noble trying to just survive then growing and learning more and more as they get through dangerous schemes becoming an experienced politician in a much better position than before. With other characters having their own agenda’s and personalities, it is a joy to read such a well thought out story.
Really, in the end, this story was just a blast to read.
ChayimRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
HEY!
YOU WANT SOME GOOD CHINESE IMPERIAL COURT DRAMA?
OF COURSE YOU DO!
HOW ABOUT WE ADD SOME MAGIC?
I KNOW YOU LIKE THAT!
WHAT ABOUT SOME ACTUAL CHINESE SAYINGS AND CULTURAL SCRIPTS?
YOU GONNA LEARN SOMETHING FROM WHAT YOU READ!
GET IN!
CAUSE WE'RE ABOUT TO TAKE YOU FOR A RIDE!
AntonMayboeckRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The love the author shows this work is extreme.
Everything is well thought out and the story comes alive with life´s high point and low points.
Shout out to the author for giving the readers cultural notes after each chapter were the author goes into further detail about some words and sayings that are said in the chapter.
ArteriaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is a great story that takes some of the traditional transmigration plots and twists them into something unique.
Kayla's transmigration is interesting from several angles. She's thrust into the body of a man, and very shortly after that ends up with the original soul of that same body helping her out as a (very amusing) voice in her head. Where the original Wenyuan was little more than a puppet for his grandfather, Kayla has no intention of going the same way. Especially because the novel she transmigrated into says she'll die in a few months if nothing changes.
Wenyuan, as the nephew to the Emporer, has some very powerful allies---but he's equally powerless on a personal level. Almost everything he needs to do has to happen through someone else, which makes this a delicate game of secrets and information. The favor of the Emporer is only his shield as long as the mercucial Emporer decides to favor him. And keeping the favor of those he needs to please, while avoiding the ire of those who can kill him, is anything but simple.
I also really appreciate the very detailed cultural notes on the bottom of each chapter. This really feels grounded in its world, where the various metaphors and euphamisms help construct the setting.
If you like transmigration stories, this one is very much worth a try. Highly Recommended.
Face of the KingRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
i love this novel and i believe the author can even sell this novel and get some fame from it but hey i am no professional so what ever.now let's go to the review part :
1.there is no lack of information in this novel. every thing mc learns u learn too. the problems don't get solved by out of the box godly plot armor intervention. every thing has believable may be logical solution which is a selling point in my opinion. yes unexpected happens but no plot armor.
2.mc is one among many no special thing for him no additional powers out of norm. yes he has some power but it is acceptable and has reason for it is a bit powerful but he is not the everyone is my dog kinda powerful.
3.the style of story telling is acceptable but i kinda don't like the setting ancient china politics cause i don't know anything about the old Chinese history or things like that just Turkish desert khans and a bit about seasinds. but hey i just think of them as fantasy characters and try to learn about them.
4.the mc is kinda wimpy but it is acceptable not every mc should be macho but in early chaps the mc is too wimpy in her/his mind and kinda annoys me.
5.i love the politics, how s/he plays with different views aspects and public and workspace opinions. but the best part is that s/he is not the only person plotting and some people are even doing crazy plotting there. like doing extreme things and being unconventional not every character is sane here but there are people and their flaws.
6. the character review in each chap helps u not lose the story and stay tuned but if you are starting to read this now i suggest not binging through like i did cause when u reach the last chap u can not wait for the new chap to come and get crazy. T-T
Enjoy this Masterpiece.
FizzicksRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This story is just really good, and it's the only one on this site that I actually subscribe to on Patreon.
It's rare that you're able to find a good political thriller, and it's even rarer that one is done where it's set in a foreign culture.
As an author myself, I find myself impressed with the amount of thought that umedrop24 has put into this story and I'm excited to read more. Kayla is a character that feels very authentic in her reactions and the supporting cast is a pleasure to read as well.
Keep up the good work.
JanxiusRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I went into this story looking for something to binge while waiting for updates, but ended up getting sucked into the author's slightly fantazied twist on the Tang Dynasty. From the mind games, to the hints of humor, everything has been enjoyable so far. I even found myself thinking about the princes' next schemes in the battle for the throne in the shower. If you're looking for a highly researched, historical and well thought out story, this is for you. If you were expecting love triangles, shitty emperor's and clueless maidens, don't even bother with this one. For those who love the mystery, and the anticipation of what's next, I promise you won't regret this one.