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The year is 2375, and the world has been drained of most of its natural resources, in order to preserve their dying planet the government puts into action the digital life initiative. Those deemed of low economic value are placed into a state of cryogenic sleep, their minds connected to a myriad of virtual worlds. They become digital citizens, living out their lives in virtual cities.

Kadia Greene wasn’t someone who had any interest in the virtual worlds, unlike her brother who spent his days wasting away in a VR capsule. Top of her class, and on the fast track to university, Kadia is horrified to find herself issued with a notice of digitalization. In an instant, her life begins to fall apart around her, but as she enters Kaledon, the newest and most realistic fantasy world on the market, Kadia finds her dreams and passion rekindled.

The Nine Tails of Alchemy is a slice of life story set in a virtual world that follows the struggles, and successes of a Kitsune protagonist. (Female protagonist, no harem or romance, crafter focused game-lit.)

534 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 30, 2022

197 people are currently reading
151 people want to read

About the author

Taniko K. Williams

6 books49 followers

My journey into the written word started when I was a child, having been homeschooled for much of my younger years, I suddenly found myself thrust into the frightening world of the public school system. Struggling to adapt to this strange environment, I found myself quickly isolated from my peers. Facing verbal torment and physical bullying, I sought haven within the depths of the library, seeking not the books that filled it shelves, but the audio tapes, whose spoken words swept me away to worlds beyond the schoolyard.

It was the writings of Enid Blyton who pulled me into books, as the library had only the first books in her secret seven series on audio. Desperate to continue my journey alongside the seven, I reluctantly took home what would be the start of my descent into the world of books. From that moment on, not a minute went by that a book was not in my hand, and later as digital publishing took the world by storm, a tablet where I could keep not a single book, but hundreds at my fingertips.

It was not until later in my younger teen years that I delved into writing my own short stories, which soon found their way onto sites such as Reddit and Live-journal, along with others that have long since disappeared into the unknown void of the internet. Then a single extremely critical review on a story brought my younger selfs growing confidence and dreams of being an author to a grinding halt. It would be years before I even considered putting any of the myriad of worlds in my head into written word again.

Then, out of the blue, at age 26, I found myself filling page after page of a small notebook with a story that simply would not leave me be. That story was Striving for the stars, a book which fast became a series and my debut as an author of young adult novels.

It is my dream, that one day, just as Enid’s books ensnared my mind and drew me into her world of imagining, that my own stories shall do the same to others.

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5 stars
440 (61%)
4 stars
189 (26%)
3 stars
67 (9%)
2 stars
14 (1%)
1 star
10 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
Profile Image for Jacob Proffitt.
3,314 reviews2,158 followers
May 27, 2025
Don't read this book. Seriously!*

I'm not a fan of LitRPG that depends on a VR setting. The split focus between worlds is a tough challenge to draw reader immersion. I nearly always attach more to one world and get impatient with all the time spent in the other. That is somewhat ameliorated in stories where there is no exit.

In this story, our protagonist ends up trapped in the VR world so it's mostly okay, though the "real" world intrudes a bit even so. And the story ends up being nothing like the cover and subtitles suggest it to be. That cover screams sexy fox romp. It is not that. Kadia is so disinterested in anything sexual she's practically anti-sexual. Is that a thing?

As for "slice of life"? Yeah, not that either. Kadia putters around with crafting (specifically, alchemy) so there isn't a lot of violence. But that's only because the author gave her a free pass with her brother giving her all the free stuff she wants/needs because he's a major player in a large guild. So the world is violent and the opposite of the usual connotations slice of life entails.

Even the LitRPG aspects are weak because this author is one of those who think that hyper-realism is a draw for people looking for entertainment. I mean, there's an audience for such sure. But a) they aren't a significant portion of the gamer community and b) they skew heavily male and young. So perfect for Kadia's brother. He seems the type. But popular enough everybody wants a spot? I don't think so.

And yet, I read the whole thing. Williams does a good job making alchemy relevant and showing how Kadia is the kind of nerd who would explore its depths in this new world. Further, the author makes the process interesting with challenges, setbacks, and fun conflict. And the guild people who attach to her looking for the advancements she is making are interesting, too. They're power nerds in their setting, but they are also complex enough for me to care about those developing relationships.

I'd give this four stars in the normal run of things. But the betrayal I'm going to put below drops a star. I contemplated dropping to one star, but that just seems unfair. I'm not sure why.

A note about Chaste: Despite the cover, there are no shenanigans. Kadia is sex averse. There's no explanation for why, but it's strong enough that finding she had been abused at some point wouldn't surprise me.

Don't read this book!*: I got to the third book in this series, a series that had been building plot, character, and story over time, and the author betrays all of those plot-promises. . So yeah, don't get attached. Vast swathes of everything just gets dropped. It's worse than a cliffhanger. It's just throwing everything into a fire and walking away.
Profile Image for Endoria.
81 reviews11 followers
January 31, 2023
This is one of those stories that has great ideas and ambition and then for no reason the author decides to have it take place in a game world.

The big issue is that basically not a single author has managed to create a "game world" that makes any sense. Real world implications, people and corporations "investing" money into the game because it is "so important", ridiculous pay2win mechanics and the option to buy ANYTHING with real world money.

The fact that this story takes place in a game destroys all suspension, decisions are worthless, all value is artificial and nothing actually matters. The protagonist gets everything gifted to her because "reasons". The whole story is a giant deus ex machina set-up that completely dwarves the actual topic, alchemy.

If the author had taken the story idea and just written it into a normal fantasy world with a proper progression for the protagonist without the numerous shortcuts, idiotic RL and guild interactions and deus ex machina moments, then it might have actually been worth reading.

But this version of the story is not even worth the 1 star I am rating it at and should only be gifted to people you hate.


Just the intro that explains how the protagonist actually ended up "trapped in the game" is so dumb it deserves negative 5 stars on its own.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Kumo.
18 reviews
April 13, 2023
Angry fox girl is angry

Can't explain how much i like this because I suck at explaining urrrgh here bullet points:

- irl historical world lore of earth's own alchemists (lol)
- fox girl protagonist who's obsessed with chasing knowledge
- heartburn inducing parents (except protags mom) who get their just desserts (for now maybe)
- child prodigy learning to have the social life and childhood she never had
- siblings that aren't written like "dearest brother! Lovely sister! Oh boohoo" but like, kids who are actually siblings and even bond closer because of shared trauma
- arsonist protag I love her
- protag actually showcases curiosity and developmental formulas on what's going on in the world

None of that made sense I just finished reading like 5 minutes ago but anyway pick it up, buy it even. Looking forward to the next book!!
16 reviews2 followers
June 17, 2023
Good spice of life LitRPG

While not your typical litrpg novel, it was an enjoyable read with an almost Spice and Wolf vibe to it. I could also see some romance being included into the series, but if so, I implore the author to keep it to a reasonable level and let the main focus of the story as being the plot rather than lewd scenes.

One other thing that would be interesting is to see if there are any rocks which generate warmth but leave the holder of it ill and sick. I'm sure Trish would be enthusiastic about those experiments 🤣
121 reviews
April 14, 2023
Excellent LitRPG

Alchemy opens a lot of options for the character development of Litrpg without needing to rely on traditional levels and skills. Maria is a fun character that I'm looking forward to seeing more adventures from. Well worth a read.
Profile Image for James Tomasino.
849 reviews37 followers
January 6, 2024
I wasn't sure if I was going to like this series at first. It's more litrpg, which is a weird genre for me. I generally dislike a lot of it unless it's really solid like The Wandering Inn. This had a good justification for a game world, and the connection back to the real world was a neat twist. Ultimately it's the attention to crafting detail and the passion the main character has for alchemy that makes this a success. I'll be continuing.
Profile Image for Nuri Nelson.
63 reviews
September 16, 2022
Amazing book

Read and reviewed from Royal Road. This amazing web serial deserves as much praise as it can get. While there are a few minor plot issues and some heavy topics discussed, the series as a whole is an amazing not to Alchemy and its actual history in our world.

• 15 points for the writing itself
12/15
• 25 points for the characterisation 
16/25
• 25 points for the story and structure
22/25
• 35 points for overall quality
30/35

Overall
80/100
2,531 reviews72 followers
July 30, 2023
Solid slice of life.

The day to day combined with the characterization is just great. The setting was minimal but had enough detail to support the overall story.
3 reviews
May 24, 2023
Truly An Awesome Read

I truly enjoyed this book series, while I kinda wish it had the standard system just because I like seeing skills and levels, I also truly appreciated that it was written to be a more realistic set. The only item I will advise got a little hard to read is the general lack of emotional control Kadia has. I am hoping it is a part of her brain damage that is starting to heal. Overall I just wanted to keep reading and I want to continue to keep reading. Looking forward to the next book!!!
8 reviews4 followers
May 28, 2023
Fun reading

Just got this by chance, looking at other Litrpg books, and it was a winner. Fun to read. You get drawn into Kadia's life.
92 reviews1 follower
July 23, 2023
Good read

Really liked this book and the story line, easy to follow and leaves you wanting to know what comes next. Hope more to follow
Profile Image for Gal Peled.
33 reviews
May 20, 2023
I enjoy the book but the main character feel a bit fake or not totally real but the story line support this so it is not so but
I will like to see more character development
3 reviews
July 6, 2023
Enthralling

There's so such a rich culture built in this story. Season that with a playfully inventive world build and a snarky protagonist veined with well-balanced flaws and excellence... I read it twice in a row before I even *thought* to review it.

More!!!!
Profile Image for William Howe.
1,801 reviews88 followers
April 26, 2023
fun AND interesting

Though some of the early part of the narrative gets bogged down in minutiae, it turns into a really interesting read. Extremely heavy in crafting.

Trapped in VR, the MC is somewhat emotionally unstable.

A few risqué insults and references, but nothing graphic. No romance and no sex. I.

I will look for the sequel. This was amusing.
Profile Image for Rachel.
28 reviews16 followers
December 18, 2022
Looking forward to the next book!

This story hooked me from the very beginning, and I couldn't put it down. The interactions between kadia and her family was so heartbreaking, And I'm glad she had her brother. I love how she kept pushing forward despite how traumatized she must have been. I'm eagerly waiting to read the next book in this series, And I'm hoping it's just as good as this one.
Profile Image for Clint Young.
849 reviews
February 1, 2023
KU Review

I was scared when I saw a kitsune on the cover thinking this might be one of “those” books. I am happy to report this is a great story with lots of depth to explore in future stories. None of the cliché exploitation to be found.

As the title says this is a review for Kindle Unlimited and as such is a reflection of my enjoyment of the book and in no way reflects cost to value analysis.
Profile Image for Stephen.
79 reviews
March 6, 2023
Fun, cute, and just the right amount of snark

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Kadia is a likable character, and her interactions between her brother and her guildmates is just perfect. I do hope that we get to see more base building in the next book. With her alchemical transmutation abilities she would be able to build an entire underground hidden base or even an entire city, especially considering all of the claimable land that she is able to get!
1 review
March 7, 2023
Up till dawn

Lost sleep staying up till dawn reading this.
I love the world this author created!
The pacing is great, and the alchemy system is fantastic.
I'm an avid fan of the alchemy genre and this book just shoot up to one of my top three favorites!
Can't wait for The Second Tail!
Profile Image for Alison.
118 reviews2 followers
March 4, 2023
wow 🤩

Wow really good
Definitely binge worthy
I can’t wait to read the next one
No cliffhanger
There’s a lot of characters, but enough information/description so you know who’s speaking etc.
well done 👍
5 reviews
January 18, 2023
Awesome

Greatly enjoyed this book. Looking forward to the adventure that is sure to follow. Very much enjoyed the animalistic injections to the MCs personality
11 reviews
January 19, 2023
Good read

Not bad. Was not sure what I was expecting but for a litrpg it was well written either a fairly decent plot
Profile Image for toni y conrod.
16 reviews
January 20, 2023
Who said revenge isn't sweet

From the first chapter to the last she kept me entertained with her antics . I hate for the fun to end, and can't wait for the next book.
210 reviews4 followers
January 20, 2023
Good

Really enjoyed the characters and story. I feel like this series has wonderful room to grow. Thanks for the read.
4 reviews
January 23, 2023
What an awesome surprise!

Very few stories spur me to do reviews. Only those that truly grip me and make me desperate for more get a review. This is one such story. More please!
Profile Image for Matt.
41 reviews
February 22, 2023
Great beginning!

What a fun read; with the right amount of alchemy , humor, and bad assery without going overboard! The MC is obviously brilliant but isn't arrogant about it.
Profile Image for Sean Murphy.
10 reviews
March 2, 2023
well done

An excellent read, good world building, lovely character creation,decent levels of snark. Can’t wait for the next one and disappointed it’s not written already.
Profile Image for Lexxi Kitty.
2,060 reviews477 followers
September 6, 2023
My first book by this author. This falls into the "litrpg" genre, though I didn't actually realize that until I'd completed the book and saw the afterword from the author that the book was in that genre. Why'd I not notice? Because those books are obsessed with level(s)/leveling/advancing up a ladder (or, in one book case, already being at the top, but still with levels, menus, etc.). This book didn't have that. Though it did have some elements from that genre, like someone from earth being injected into a non-earth realm; dungeons to dive, etc. etc. Though not in the "normal" fantasy way, but in a science fiction way.

Right, so. It's 'our' future. Something around 2375 (book description has it but I don't have that open). Resources are low, and to keep the number of people down, people are both encouraged and forced to go into capsules and enter a virtual world (like the Matrix, 2 or three episodes of Futurama and seemingly millions of other things, so not a new idea). Here we have a young woman of 18 who has been given an order from the government to begin a 'digital' life. There's a backstory about how this shouldn't be happening to her, etc. etc. That gets touched on in the book.

Right, so. 18 year old woman thrust into this situation, given choices of virtual worlds to join, and she joins a fantasy one (though there's still a level of science fiction behind everything, as everyone knows the Gods/Goddesses/magic, etc etc is being powered by computer code). She joins that one 100% because she knows her brother plays in it and she wants to find him to get him to help her.

She ends up being a Kitsune. A mult-tailed fox. In somewhat newly opened virtual world.

Right, so, I enjoyed it well enough, though there were elements of the main character I didn't particularly liked, though eh, whatever.

This is the first book in a series. Would I try the next one? Well, since I started the next one before I marked this one as being read or completed, the answer is, of course, yes.

Would I recommend this book to others? I never know who to recommend litrpg books to so . . . no idea.

Rating: 4.17
September 3 2023
Profile Image for Stanislas Sodonon.
480 reviews106 followers
November 29, 2023
So here is my beef with this book: It's written like a joke.

Within the first chapter, we get a classic ugly duckling cinderella drama, with no context. A now common trope in LitRPG, the isolated, hated by everybody, betrayed by the team, forced out for no other reason than "they don't like me".

But that's not where the story gets bad. Not yet.

The game prison world used to "park off" excess humans into makes as little economic, cultural or even technical sense as the forced drama backdrop. What would be the bloody point of exiling people into a "game" where they get to have fun for life, let alone an RPG simulation?

But that's not where the story gets bad. Not yet.

In a world where people can live alternate virtual lives in a game, MC is the victim of a case of switched identities somehow. Even in "low-tech" today world, that is ridiculous.

But that's not where the story gets bad. Not yet.

MC gets shipped off to virtual world, and once there, for some bizarre reason, immediately forgets that she's just been imprisoned for life and robbed of everything she supposedly ever wanted in life, and just starts bloody geeking out on potions and races and status sheets like it's friday night? What the hell? Did someone stitch two separate books together at some point?

I dismounted here.
Profile Image for Arthur King.
180 reviews1 follower
May 20, 2023
I cannot express how indifferent I am to the various plights and problems of this particular whiney little girl who takes no responsibility for her own actions and creates chaos and drama in her friends lives. Even the main tragedy that is her own parents attempting to (do something to her) is undercut sharply by her A) waiving her hand and getting treated like a princess and B) using the tragedy to con the company out of millions.

I almost lost my sh*t when this whiney little girl basically murdered 5 people on the street after about 10 seconds of talking, before immediately acting like the victim. Her justification? Some guy they worked with was "tarnishing the name" of a great alchemist; She didn't like them. She cried!

Anyone sensitive to manipulative narcissists should run and run far.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews

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