Street Cultivation 2

Street Cultivation #2

by Sarah Lin

In the modern world, qi is money.

The days of traveling martial artists and mountaintop masters are over. Power is controlled by corporations, modernized martial arts sects, and governments. Those at the bottom of society struggle as second class citizens in a world in which power is a commodity.

Rick may have survived the multi-tier tournament, but that doesn't mean his life will be easy. He finds the search for a better job is filled with traps and pitfalls, his sister is coming to terms with her dark power, and vendettas old and new plague them. This time, his journey will take him from the city to the wilderness...

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Audiobook, World Literature, Fiction, Science Fiction

388 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 10, 2020

About the author

Hello! I'm Sarah Lin and I write various kinds of fantasy. If you want to keep up with my work, feel free to check out the following:

Mailing List: http://eepurl.com/dMSw2A
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sarahlin
Blog: http://sarahlinauthor.blogspot.com/

Join either list to get immediate access to illustrations of all my characters, plus bonus content and previews. If you've tried my work, I'd be happy to hear from you!

Reviews

[Hillary Umane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly Boring

First of all, the writing in this book was ok. However, this book had a bit too much “slice of life” feel for my tastes. After thoroughly enjoying the fight scenes in the first book, this book was sadly a let down.

Also, I found myself being underwhelmed by the main character. I understand why some authors don’t want to create overpowered characters, but the author seemed to go out of her way to make Rick less than average. Even in scenes where the character gets owed a favour from rich/powerful individuals, he somehow ALWAYS asks for the most mundane and unimpressive reward.

Billionaire - Oh Rick, you just saved my daughter and heir of a billion dollar company from an assassin? Well what do you want as a reward young man? Anything, and it’s yours.

Rick - I would like only the left shoe from your worst pair of shoes.

Like why? Anyway, I’m disappointed and hope the author brings back some excitement if there is a next book in this series

[Soo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Notes:

I still dislike the fact the books are called Title # but I enjoyed the story. I thought the first book was a fairly simple adventure story and it leaned too hard on the "hardship" angle. The sequel had a better balance of plot progress, character development and world building. I like the hints of where the series is going and look forward to the 3rd book.

[Alastair Patton · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5. Again solid progression/cultivation fantasy with some slice of life (very refreshing). I have been on a progression fantasy binge this year and I can honestly say that Sarah Lin’s take on the genre is the most unique and in some ways the most grim. Her integration of cultivation on a global 21st century scale feels eerily accurate. I really enjoy watching Rick and Melissa progress in the series and hope they refine their goals so that the readers can yearn for them as well!!!

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Damien my beloved

[Clinton Stanturf · Rating 1 out of 5]

(Listen to the audible version)

As the 1 star rating shows this book was absolutely horrendously annoying!

This book has a huge problem repetitive phrasing and it nonsensical fluff filler the author write in several times that the main character doesn't care about the leaderboard in the competition yet reads off the 10 sometimes 15 names every other chapter its just a gross example making the word count higher and making the book longer not only do they have this aggravating fluff but then they want to read off the character sheet only a 100 times throughout the book with extremely limited changes it's like the author wrote In that the MC has OCD to the extreme case in point when the MC is in the demon Realm the MC States that is phone doesn't work so he can't see his exact numbers but instead of leaving it there the author yet again list out the SATs. These stats mean absolutely nothing and do absolutely nothing for this book except filler and fluff put plainly put their annoying and takes heavily away from the story. The sad fact is this book could be good but it is absolutely bogged down by distractions and fluff.

I will say this the narrator did the best with what he could I thought they did an absolutely fantastic job it's unfortunate that the book was as bad as it was.

[Samrat · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent sequel to a brilliant first book

A mark of skill for any fantasy author is to create a world that feels lived in. Sarah Lin does an exemplary job of fleshing out the world her story lives in, without ever compromising on that story itself.

Would recommend for anyone who enjoys fantasy of any nature.


--

REREAD: still holds up, definitely liked the story and Rick's characterization. It's common enough to see protagonists refuse the call, but it's fun when call-refusal is such a huge part of their personality that it shapes their arc towards it.

[GaiusPrimus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than the first.

I really enjoyed the first book. It was one of the better westernization of the Wuxia genre with a lot of the non-sense trimmed out and a great integration of real-world/slice-of-life that really appealed to me.

Book 2 starts pretty close to the end of the first book and we get a huge amount of world building in it. A lot of the tropes of the genre that go beyond the eternal warrior are present in this book and they are beautifully modernized.

Really looking forward to the next one.

[Timidobserver · Rating 1 out of 5]

I seriously enjoyed the first book, but this book was worse in many ways. The second book was much less focused than the first book. For about 90% of the book it meandered around between middle school level romance angst, wildlife preservation, human rights, and scavenger hunt. No notable combat progression occurs until the end of the book. The really frustrating part about the book was the extreme amount of altruism that got shoved into the book. The main character is too holier than thou to take serious threats to his life seriously.

[Μαρία Ν. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good follow-up to the first book.Even though I will miss Rick's battles in the Underground,I think the second book is very entertaining too.New characters,new jobs for Rick,great character development and many more are included in this book.I liked a lot Damian's and Delsin's character from this book.I won't say more even though I want to,but I don't want to spoil anything as it would be better to experience this on your own.If you liked the first book this one is a must read.

Honestly,I am super excited for the third book!

[Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Continuing a great story.

The same slow build as the first novel. Enjoyed immensely. Characters are still well-developed with a steady growth in power and no ridiculous power creep. The interpersonal relationships between the protagonist and the secondary characters a well-developed and very believable any mistakes the fool mix and dealing with them. Can't recommend this enough.

[Shay Hayden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

A great continuation of the series! Looking forward to seeing what parts of the plot get explored further! Again, such great character development!

[Steven Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent read on Kindle unlimited.

The story is a third person point of view adventure that is appropriate for older young adults and above. It does have language and I believe is the product of chapter by chapter releases. This is neither good or bad as the chapters are edited fairly well and pacing is done in such a way that you can easily burn through the book if it captures your interest. The other does nothing that really pulls you out of the story. and while you might not be pulled too deeply into the story you will be pulled along quite easily through it. Some of the authors strengths are in dialogue and action scenes.

This is a self-referential Urban martial arts fantasy... In a way. That is to say they do make references to the martial arts movies comics and books that would have occurred in that world. Even the name of the book and cover page is designed to look like a cheesy martial arts film almost. While it is interesting to see a martial arts fantasy set in an urban setting I am not a big fan of how much it almost despises itself. in a way it is as if the author goes out of their way to ensure that any spirituality, mysticism, or ironically soul is behind the martial arts. It is very clinical sterile and nothing is sacred. Honestly it makes the martial arts part of it sort of hollow.

There is a good relationship between the brother and sister and we actually get a point of view from her a couple times as well as rick. I do enjoy the interaction between the pair despite the lack of actual depth when it comes to their past. How they looked at their parents passing in book one and how they only have one feeling towards them makes them seem flat.

There was actually a romantic interest in this work though it does feel forced because of the lack of depth or meat between the pair. In fact it feels every time they were mentioned as being together it was more report than an actual feeling. There were a few moments that did tug at the heartstrings so I'm looking forward to see how the author develops this aspect of the writing in the next book.

I do feel that the series is weak in the form of antagonist. The antagonist this time seemed just as random as the antagonist for the first book. The first book had antagonist name Mike the second book has an antagonist named jack. The first was a convenient elite snotty antagonist with a strange fixation on the main hero. The second was more advanced than our main protagonist but had to have clawed his way up and simply hates Rick because of a fairly flimsy offense to a family member in the previous book. That said both fights are interesting but there's really no depth to the antagonist.

With all that complaining it is still a story that was easy to read and slip into. Because of how shallow the world is or the lack of depth thereof it flows fairly smoothly. Each chapter as it is released is designed to be palatable to the reader. The lack of depth perhaps is part of the design so that the reader while they're getting the chapter by chapter offering does not have to hold on to complicated plot lines. At the same time it does give the story a feeling of just being a chunk of a larger story. As of December 31st 2020 all three books have the same description.making it feel as if it is less of a sequel or second edition to the series as just a continuation of the same story. Which isn't bad because there is a beginning middle and end to the story in a sense but not as tightly as individual books plotted out would feel.

I am not completely sure that this particular book was released checked by chapter but it still has the same feel as book one which was. Well it does have the advantages of having been smoothly edited and a fairly smooth pacing there is a lack of character moments. These moments can be implanted, tweaked, and sculpted when you have the entire work available to be edited.

What the author does well though is character interactions even if they do not necessarily have complete depth in them. I do feel that some of the characters felt more real this time around but that could be as much a product of being the second book and giving them a new layer however I'm not so sure. I do think the other has improved over time. And I also see that her dialogue is very good because it feels real to the characters in the moment for the most part.
It might seem I have complained a bit but it's more about critiquing than actual whining. This is a good story and I think it could have been a great story if it was set up and perhaps reworked to fit more of a book form. That is to say going back and adding layers to increase the depth of characters, their relationships, and character building moments.

[Tony Hinde · Rating 4 out of 5]

This style of book won't be to everyone's taste. I like it though.

You could look at it as the story of a young man obsessing over his gym routine because he has a big bout coming up. In a way it is, but the characters lift this story above its foundation. The relationship between Rick and his sister is beautiful.

There's still a large serving of injustice in this book, but much less than book one. We also get a look into the demon realm. Hopefully, that may grow into something more substantial as the series develops.

[Andi Buchanan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disheartening growth

This is a hard rating to give. I enjoyed the first and this book, and am willing to read the next. I just do not feel that the main protagonist grew very much. He is written as very immature in everything except combat but when needed he has these explosive glimpses of intelligence. There are chapters where you expect some new growth, detail and flushing out, but we are left wanting. Looking hopefully forward to book three.

[Johnny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book two

Mistakes: I found two mistakes in this book.

Plot: Trying to get a good job and improve the life of himself and his sister our hero must try and avoid mob bosses, wild animals, and a man with a grudge, all while dealing with relationships.

Characters: The characters are really growing and help pull you into the story.

8/10

[Bender · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great continuation to the series. Protagonist has survived events in book 1 and trying to get more powerful and land a good job. New characters are introduced and new events happen. Prose is as good as book 1 and new characters are well defined too. Really a good sequel.

[Brandt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too moralistic for my taste, the MC is so obnoxiously holy that I cant take it serious.

[Shane Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid continuation of the story, with a really enjoyable arc and great new characters.

[Akshay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Title: Street Cultivation 2 (Street Cultivation, #2) by Sarah Lin

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ (3/5)

Review:

"Street Cultivation 2" by Sarah Lin continues the captivating exploration of urban cultivation, seamlessly blending martial arts prowess with a modern setting. While the novel successfully maintains the essence of the series, offering engaging character development and intriguing plotlines, certain aspects, such as pacing and world-building, leave room for improvement.

Character Development:

One of the strengths of "Street Cultivation 2" lies in its commitment to character development. The protagonists undergo meaningful growth, facing both internal and external challenges. Their struggles and triumphs contribute to a narrative that feels grounded and relatable, despite the fantastical elements. Lin excels in creating characters with depth, allowing readers to invest emotionally in their journeys.

Urban Cultivation Setting:

The urban cultivation setting remains a unique and compelling aspect of the series. Lin skillfully integrates the intricacies of cultivation with the dynamics of a modern city, offering readers a fresh perspective on the genre. The juxtaposition of ancient martial arts traditions against a backdrop of skyscrapers and urban life adds a layer of complexity that sets the series apart from traditional cultivation novels.

Pacing and Plot Dynamics:

The pacing in "Street Cultivation 2" is generally well-managed, allowing for a steady progression of the plot. However, there are instances where the narrative could benefit from a more even tempo. Certain scenes feel rushed, while others linger without significant advancement. Achieving a more consistent pacing would enhance the overall flow of the story and maintain reader engagement.

World-Building Opportunities:

While the urban cultivation setting is a standout feature, there is potential for further world-building to enrich the series. "Street Cultivation 2" provides glimpses into the broader cultivation world, but additional exploration of the system's intricacies, the existence of other cultivation sects, and the history of this fantastical realm could enhance the reader's understanding and immersion in the series.

Philosophical Exploration:

The cultivation genre often lends itself to philosophical exploration, and "Street Cultivation 2" touches on themes of personal growth, perseverance, and the balance between tradition and modernity. However, there is an opportunity to delve deeper into these philosophical inquiries. A more nuanced exploration of the ethical dilemmas and moral choices faced by the characters could elevate the narrative's intellectual depth.

Conclusion:

Street Cultivation 2 (Street Cultivation, #2) by Sarah Lin successfully builds upon the strengths of its predecessor, offering a compelling continuation of the urban cultivation saga. With engaging character development, a distinctive setting, and moments of martial arts prowess, the novel captures the essence of the series. However, addressing pacing concerns and seizing world-building opportunities could further enhance the overall reading experience. Fans of the cultivation genre will find "Street Cultivation 2" to be a worthy addition to their reading list, with the anticipation that future installments will continue to refine and expand upon the series' promising foundation.

[Nelfi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fairly confused reader here… this is a horrible confusing economic framework, mainly because there’s missing information for things to make sense. I can tell you with certainty that author is no economist.

Still barely understand how cultivation system works; even with a 15 minute googling session.

How does higher rank of cores work, why do they keep mentioning 30 different foundations(cores?) like we understand anything.

Here’s my incomplete understanding:

Lucrim Generation = maximum capacity, generates maximum capacity in one year. Author might be confused on wealth vs income.

There’s no numbers on how much 1 lucrim increases regeneration. I assume it’s 1 to 1 and if it’s 1 to 1, there’s a plothole, how are the rich kids so weak and why aren’t there much stronger cultivators around everywhere. ‘Birthrighters’ could just throw in 500k+ lucrim and become strong? The limit on increasing power is not explained.

Investing lucrim increases generation, assuming it is full. Higher generations increases power for some reason, body becomes stronger when holding more lucrim or with higher lucrim generation. You age slower with a higher regeneration rate up to a point where you are immortal.

You can liquidate lucrim investments and use it to rebuild or withdraw the liquidation. Uncertain if you can withdraw without liquidating cores/foundations. If you can withdraw, couldn’t you use philosopher’s elixir/serum to ‘print’ lucrim by removing lucrim, drinking elixir/serums, removing lucrim in perpetuity?

Now on the Lucrim combat, it is unknown to reader when opponents uses lucrim, it is unknown to reader how much lucrim is used in combat, it is unknown how much left protagonist have after fights. I also think protagonist isn’t even using lucrim in fights. Serums, I think replenishes Stamina and lucrim?

[Natalie Carr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Makes Me Want To Start All Over Again

I loved the last book, so I picked this one up right away. Money well spent! It was every bit as enjoyable as the first book, in whole new ways. While still in no way rich, Rick and his sister have finally managed a comfortable buffer between themselves and abject poverty. Now they face entirely different challenges as they adjust their goals away from day-to-day survival toward future growth, both professional and personal. Job prospects, post-graduate options, relationships, and of course training up the lucrima portfolio (i.e. developing those nifty xanxia magic skills) all offer an array of choices now - and thus require decisions.

It’s a good early adulthood story, with coming of age themes as well. Plus, you know, magic monsters and murder-grudge fights and battle royales. And so! Much! Worldbuilding!!! (My favorite!) I also really like how Melissa is developing a storyline of her own as she grows into her strength, instead of staying a side character there mostly to provide motivation for Rick’s big adventure (she was a fun side character, but I’m excited to see where HER adventures will take her, too!).

I heartily recommend this to anyone who likes urban fantasy, xanxia/wuxia, and perhaps some of the less technical and minmax-y litrpgs, or has ever wondered what a fantasy world would be like if we got to see it developed beyond “ye anciente pseudo-past” to their variant on the modern age.

[Brad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pleasant sequel to the 1st book, but a little less clear in its overall arc to me. I liked seeing Rick's support for his sister and her graduating from school and trying to figure out what's next for her. Rick gets a sense of some challenges of real life--how tough it can be to scrape together the deposit to rent a decent place, difficulties in getting a job, trying to figure out what you want to do with your life, trying to avoid getting taken advantage of by others when you're a novice.

If you didn't really like the first one, no big reason to continue; otherwise, you could do worse.

Rating: R, for strong language (lots of f-words), action violence, and some sensuality.

***SPOILERY THOUGHTS***
Didn't like how dumb he seemed about Lisa's interest in him. Like yeah, some dudes are a little oblivious, but it's like he forgot how things were going in the first book. Though I don't blame him for dating Emily. And I'm glad he cut it off when he realized they weren't a good fit. Rick is a pretty good dude.

Interesting to see Rick's time in the demon realm, and both surprising and not surprising that the tiers of haves and havenots are similar to our own realm. Hopeful that something cool comes of the demon bond Rick takes with the two frog demon brothers.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A worthy sequel to the first

A really fun book. It's a level above most of it's genre technically: the language is at worst very good, and when it's really humming, excellent, but what really stands out is the characterization. Each character is finely wrought, has a clear motivation, and advances (heh) and changes throughout the book. I think Rick is a sort of Aristolian exemplar of how to do this kind of MC correctly. He's stubborn, thickheaded, and often a little stupid, but each of those traits is so directly connected to his past and the world of the book that he's never frustrating to read. He goes on a journey, finds a sage, and ultimately finds peace, and yet at no point do any of his accomplishments or missteps feel unearned or narratively confusing. Excellent work all around. Read this book.

[Cmoore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ohhhh yeah I'm hooked on Rick and his sister's story. And surprisingly I never thought that I would say this about an action-driven story ARC but bk2 is kinda a slice-of-life. Explaining how Rick gets stronger after he leaves the quazy legal fighting arena. The day to day chores of finding a new job, dealing with abrasive people, and of course killing monsters like jackalopes and a rabid dragon. Even when confronted by Granny Whitney he managed to slip past her without being tripped by her ridiculous schemes...
So if you liked book1, you're gonna find yourself having a good time when you start book2... and Travis Baldree narration is super.

Here's a couple of quotes that gave me a good laugh:

"I own the place, I can have as many real or fake excuses as I want, but I don't like hiring girls."

"Rick you look like you fell out of the exhaustion tree and hit every branch on the way down."

"A long time ago, somebody thought they could take advantage of the legends and twisted normal rabbits into those creatures. The details are sketchy, some kind of lucrim-enhanced manipulation of the shope papilloma virus. I never paid much attention to that part."

[Bernard Dix · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed Street Cultivation 2 and found it is a satisfying next step to Street Cultivation. The character of the main protagonist, Rick, continues to develop as he helps his sister. We learn more about his sister and some of the other characters from the first book. I appreciate in Sarah Lin's writing that Rick continues to face difficult decisions as he tries to improve their situation, and that things are not easy for someone working to advance from a difficult background, which is realistic to our world also. Rick's time in the demonic realm add an interesting twist to what one might expect in such a place. I also appreciated the humor in Rick's interactions with the Native People. I recommend this book highly.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable sequel. One of my complaints about the first book was that the author introduced a dystopian xianxia-mirror of our own world where cultivation is currency, literal demons offer usurious loans, and the 0.1% are literally immortal... but the hero never much seemed to care about other victims of this system, instead usually blaming them for personal weakness. There's more of a social consciousness with this one, and I look forward to where it goes.

The sequel invests heavily in worldbuilding, throwing in its own subversive twists on genre elements like spiritual beasts and "ancient wisdom", and exposing Rick to more characters with experience well outside his frame of reference. More than ever I'm curious to see where this goes.

[Francis Blair · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know why it took me so long to get around to reading this book, considering how much I enjoyed the first one. Rick's adventures feel both epic and also slice-of-life, which is a nice reprieve from some of the heavier stories out there.

Other than that, there's not much deviation in this book from the first one. Lots of slow build-ups of power, lots of little moments between Rick and his sister. This one definitely had a better focus on the problems with the world at large, and watching Rick try to balance his frustration with them alongside just trying to manage day-to-day life was highly entertaining.

[Jason Garman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid sequel, but not quite as focused as the first book. Rick can't figure out what he wants out of life so he just kind of goes with the flow, which is understandable but doesn't make for the most compelling protagonist.

The magic system continues to be annoying as well, with a lot of focus on numerical scores that make it seem like the system should be coherent and understandable, but ultimately the author keeps introducing arbitrary rules that complicate things without really coming together into a unified whole.

Overall though, it's satisfying to come along on Rick's journey as he works to make his life better.

[Zachary · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75/5 - I liked this continuation a lot! Finds a way to be something new and different from the first book. Rick’s new job has him exploring for jobs among nature, and the Delsin was a really interesting character with a great schtick.

The financial pressure and poverty mirrored in the demon realm has exciting potential as a mission for future installments.

Some things were a little vague, such as jacks vendetta, but I thought the love triangle was handled pretty well. I just hope Rick and Melissa can find a way to pull Emily out of her own journey of revenge. Also I feel like Manifest Destruction has a LOT of potential.

[Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun sequel - new ideas

The strongest part of this book is how it expands on the world in a different way. The author is very good at building up a compelling story, and the character interactions lead you down a path of intrigue and slice of life melded together exceptionally well.

I enjoy the main characters almost gig based relationship with work, both mirroring common tropes in cultivation stories whilst remaining true to the almost urban fantasy setting. It works surprisingly well.

Looking forward to book 3 - which is currently in the works.