Arc 1: Gestation
1.01
1.02
1.03
1.04
1.05
1.06
1.x (Interlude; Danny)
Arc 2: Insinuation
2.01
2.02
2.03
2.04
2.05
2.06
2.07
2.08
2.09
2.x (Interlude; Victoria)
Arc 3: Agitation
3.01
3.02
3.03
3.04
3.05
3.06
3.07
3.08
3.09
3.10
3.11
3.12
3.x (Interlude; Wards)
4.01
4.02
4.03
4.04
4.05
4.06
4.07
4.08
4.09
4.10
4.11
4.x (Apology Interlude; Purity)
4.x (Interlude; Brutus)
5.01
6.01
7.01
8.01
9.01
Arc 12: Plague
12.01
12.02
12.03
12.04
12.05
12.06
12.07
12.08
12.x (Interlude; Jack)
12.x (Bonus Interlude; Jamie)
Arc 13: Snare
13.01
13.02
13.x (Bonus Interlude; Aisha)
13.03
13.04
13.05
13.06
13.07
13.08
13.09
13.10
13.x (Interlude; Piggot)
Arc 14: Prey
14.1
14.2
14.3
14.4
14.5
14.6
14.7
14.8
14.9
14.10
14.11
14.x (Interlude; Sierra)
14.y (Bonus Interlude; Legend)
Arc 15: Colony
15.1
15.x (Bonus Interlude #1; Carol)
15.2
15.3
15.y (Bonus Interlude #2; A guy with the second trigger event)
15.4
15.5
15.6
15.7
15.z (Bonus Interlude #3; Alexandria)
15.8
15.9
15.10
15.x (Interlude; Rory Christner)
Arc 16: Monarch
16.1
16.2
16.x (Bonus Interlude 1; PRT Squad)
16.3
16.4
16.5
16.6
16.y (Bonus Interlude #2; Defiant)
16.7
16.8
16.9
16.10
16.z (Bonus Interlude #3; Marquis)
16.11
16.12
16.13
Arc 17: Migration
17.1
17.2
17.3
17.4
17.5
17.6
17.7
17.8
Arc 18: Queen
18.1
18.2
18.x (Bonus Interlude #1; The Most Powerful Man in the World)
18.3
18.4
18.y (Bonus Interlude #2; Crusader)
18.5
18.6
18.z (Bonus Interlude #3; Jessica Yamada, Therapist)
18.7
18.8
18.z (Bonus Interlude #4; Faultline)
18.z (Interlude; Echidna)
Arc 19: Scourge
19.1
19.2
19.3
19.x (Bonus Interlude #1; Blasto)
19.4
19.5
19.6
19.7
19.y (Bonus Interlude #2; Parahumans Online)
19.z (Interlude; Emma)
Arc 20: Chrysalis
20.1
20.2
20.3
20.4
20.5
20.x (Bonus Interlude #1; Stan)
20.y (Interlude; Accord)
Arc 21: Imago
21.1
21.2
21.3
21.4
21.5
21.6
21.7
21.x (Bonus Interlude #1; Number Man)
21.y (Interlude, Parian)
Arc 22: Cell
22.1
22.2
22.3
22.4
22.5
22.6
22.x (Interlude, Charlotte)
22.y (Bonus Interlude; Lung)
Arc 23: Drone
23.1
23.2
23.3
23.4
23.5
23.x (Interlude; Number Thirty-Six)
Arc 24: Crushed
24.1
24.2
24.3
24.4
24.5
24.x (Interlude, Chevalier)
24.y (Interlude 2, Aftermath)
Arc 25: Scarab
25.1
25.2
25.3
25.4
25.5
25.6
25.x (Interlude, Bonesaw)
Arc 26: Sting
26.1
26.2
26.3
26.x (Bonus Interlude; Saint)
26.4
26.5
26.6
26.a (Interlude A, Golem part 1)
26.b (Interlude B, Golem part 2)
26.x (Interlude, …)
Arc 27: Extinction
27.1
27.2
27.3
27.4
27.5
27.x (Interlude, Eidolon)
27.y (Interlude, Addendum)
Arc 28: Cockroaches
28.1
28.2
28.3
28.4
28.5
28.6
28.x (Interlude)
Arc 29: Venom
29.1
29.2
29.3
29.4
29.5
29.6
29.7
29.8
29.9
29.x (Interlude; Fortuna)
Arc 30: Speck
30.1
30.2
30.3
30.4
30.5
30.6
30.7
Epilogue: Teneral
E.1
E.2
E.3
E.4
E.5
E.x (Interlude: End)
Worm 
Awesome story, I love you man/woman, one week of my life gone just like that and I don’t fucking regret. Keep it up and stay healthy(I know its selfish) and know that when you do publish you already have a customer in me.
Thank you! I like how you put it.
Hope to see you in the comments.
This needs to be deleted.
Quite right. Thanks.
Why?
There was probably a spoiler in whatever was deleted. Pretty much everything else is fair game.
Is Epilogue E. 2 broken?
You read Worm in a WEEK? I’ve been plugging away for at least a year now and I’m only on arc 23.
It took me a couple months I think. Geez, can’t think how fast you wold have to read to be able finish this Behemoth (see what I did there?) in a week.
He may not have read it in a week, but I’m on day 5 and at interlude 26, I’ll finish it tomorrow. 6 days! As an aside I read at about 650 wpm sustained, for shorter bouts I can read at about 2,000 but my eyes start to hurt and I don’t like the sheer speed at which I devour books when I actually try since I can shelve most novels in under 3 hours.
You too? My record is a 750 page book in 150 minutes ish. That was my 1st time through also.l, when I re-read I get even faster.
I just read way too much. I can’t do anything else when I find a good book.
I think very few people who actually finish this CAN’T read more than 500wpm
Hahahahhhh, I finished it after 2-4 months of off and on reading. My reading speed is right around 200wpm.
I just finished after roughly 2 years of reading. I like to read slow to take in every detail haha
Im on day 3 or four, only reading a bit at a time, and im on arc 25
You guys are incredible! I read during work hours (it’s slow this time of year, and I’m only on 11.1 and I’ve been going for a month or more. I can’t imagine some of the speeds at which people read, I feel like I’d get nothing from the book if I read so fast. Great story though
At constant speeds, I’m hoping to finish it in a week as well ^^ but that’s reading at my fastest for four hours a day…
You guys are fast. I wonder how you do it.
there are programs designed to train your eyes and brain in reading very fast. they’re rather simple, but they do work.
I read it in a week
finished it just now. took about a week. sooooo good, holy shit
I read the book in 3 days, I have way to much time on my hands, comparatively….. Oh well, I found this to be a good read over the time it took.
It took me about 40 days and I was reading it during one of my classes during school. Honestly I’m one of those people who reads insanely fast but I have some friends who have been reading it for ages. The person who told me about it in fact is still not done and I have been done for 3 months, them having started over 6 months before me. It’s so hard to not spoil.
You get faster the more you read. I am finishing it (on 27.2, came here to check how many chapters are left) and this is barely my 6th day. To give some context I don’t have a lot off free time so this is a humongous read for me.
When he/she does publish this it will most likely be in multiple books because the way he/she said it in the home page it would be expensive and the second someone drops a copy the earth will implode.
lol
Just found this series. OMG! OMG! OMG! finished it a week. Cant wait for the squeal.
One week?!?! It took me two weeks reading whenever I had free time to get through it. You must be some reader 🙂
How do you read this in a week, it took me about two.
Typo Thread
Missing carriage return before 23.1.
Shell 4.6:
Leet retrieved what looked like an old school bomb; Round black iron casing with a lit fuse sticking out of it.
Should have a colon (not semicolon) and no round shouldnt be capitalized.
Thanks for the story!
If we are (correctly) being that picky (substituting colons for semicolons), then it should be “…like an old-school bomb: a round, black, iron casing…”
In other words, there is the world of difference between a bomb made in the old-school tradition, and an old bomb of the kind traditionally found in schools (Heavens! what kind of school did you attend, anyway?). Plus of course the commas between successive adjectives too.
I just came back and saw this – I love how you phrased that. 🙂
I think I found at least one grammer nazi lololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololol I am done now *drops dead*
E.2 link missing.
Oh. I must have forgotten.
No worries!
Still doesn’t appear to be there? Where is E.2?
Just in case you still don’t get it…
Wait, why did I even reply to this ?
Yup, “E.2” is still not a link, and there isn’t a link to “Interlude: End” yet.
You guys fail hard at the meta.
I might be slow, but I figured it out eventually.
I always meant to type a reply here but I forget for months on end….
this is link for teneral e.2
Thanks. I must’ve forgotten.
I might be missing something but the link is still missing.
Oh, I must’ve forgot.
Sorry, I think I was a few joules short of a circuit there. Even after reading through all the other replies, too. Wow.
Ah yes, missing carriage return before Arc 11. Knew I wanted to say something.
Migration 17.5, Cody discussing with Krouse, a missing relative :
“The sort of stuff that , and you’re sabotaging me.”
Colony 15.1, Eclaire means “lighten”; Éclair means “lightning”
In the interlude-18-donation-bonus-4, China is called C.U. and C.U.l.
interlude-20-donation-bonus-1/ : draw attention from aross America.
Extermination 8.4, paragraph 7, missing a “d” at the end of “would” (I’d type out the phrase, but I’d rather just avoid spoilers entirely).
Haven’t been here in a while. Needed to check the ToC to find out where I left off! Glad to see you remained productive without my supervision wildbow. 🙂 Even happier to know that there’s a nice fat stack of chapters to work through over the next few days.
(The, ah, darker nature of the last few arcs before I stopped weren’t sitting well with my mental health, hence the need for a reprieve.)
At any rate, glad to be back reading, and I hope to repay the favor by the end of this summer with a chapter or two of an entertaining story on my blog. With appropriate thanks for getting me motivated to want to share the things I write again. But no royalties. I’m too greedy for that.
Your last (and only apparent) comment was in Interlude 19.y (Bonus #2).
I’d be hurt if I could reasonably expect you to remember everyone who comments and make the connection between two seemingly unrelated posters. WordPress requires usernames to be at least 5 characters long and, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, makes all of the characters lowercase.
I’m STH. “An” STH. I complain a lot, if you recall. 😛
The Crushed link is broken.
Probably my favourite Web Original story. It’s wonderfully unique, in setting and execution. I haven’t read another superhero (well not a superhero, but you know) story like this.
I especially love the moral ambiguity of the characters, and how everyone is characterized realistically when they are. You don’t have unnecessary detail, everything feels tailored. Interlude stories are the best though, they really flesh out the world without feeling forced.
Don’t finish it until I’ve read everything! I want at least one update…
“Tailored.” I see what you did there… 🙂
Hey there! New fan here. I love this story. Why haven’t you started publishing this yet?! You have so much material already and it’s so engrossing. I love the character development and your descriptions of people and their emotions are inspired… Keep up the good work!
Thanks for the response.
If it’s alright, can I delegate? It’s a bit much for me to go through the entire cast list and figure out what needs updating, so maybe you guys could note the people who are missing on a given page and characters that need updating, and I’ll take the time to add them when I’m free?
Cool. Also, oh shit. Whoops. Sorry Wildbow, I literally just noticed that I posted this on the Table of Contents page and not 25.6.
My bad. If you want to scrub this post for spoilerage on the Contents page, please do.
Scrubbed. My reply still stands above.
Darn, just finished the latest chapter and still itching for more. Hope the next ones better than the last!
I’ve been meaning to post this when I’ve finished my archive binge somewhat last week,but the hectic of Eid al-Fitr celebration put a brake on that(and coincidentally make me miss the last three updates).Better late than never ,huh?
Worm is my very first experience with this medium(text-based-web-serial-whatchumacallit) and I have to say that I’m quite enthralled .You managed to spun such an engaging tale within a superbly wrought out setting that keeps me at the edge of my seat and my sanity( considering how precipitous your cliffhangers tend to get ,agonizingly amplified now that I caught up).
Thank You
if I am right with my smattering of knowledge, then a hearty Salaam, if not, then just a hearty welcome aboard!
I am seriously enjoying this story. Keep up the great work!
I have been trying and failing to throw together a good pic of Weaver (HeroMachine doesn’t believe that women can have anything but supermodel bodies, apparently) so here’s one of Grue.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9eFIQSDWlidY0oyMlkyLWQ5WGc/edit?usp=sharing
That’s awesome!
Just wanted to say that I am indeed a huge new fan. I’ve been reading on this for well over a month (spending as much “free” time as possible) and have finally made it to Arc 25.
Call me sick and demented, but I LOVE Bonesaw…so, I can’t wait to read her interlude (25.x) soon. I have to force myself to not rush ahead…lol.
Also wanted to thank you for inspiring me to create my own blog at WordPress and to start writing as well.
You, sir are AWESOME!
I really loved the interlude featuring Bonesaw she is a badass and it really makes me wanna write some fanfic about her. You will probably see me commenting in on some of your Necropolis Earth pages here soon because im nearly done with the worm series and i wont be going directly into. Wildbow’s other series immediately
I will warn you that I haven’t been able to write another chapter in quite some time…seems life has complicated things enough that I just can find a way to get Chapter 11 done.
Most of it is in need of some serious rewrites and I am contemplating scraping the whole damn thing and starting over. Let me know if you are still interested and I’ll leave it up for a while for you.
Let me know.
Wildblow,
I am in love with this series. I cannot wait until you get this published, put out as a comic or whatever! I found this series through tvtropes and I have not regretted the week and a half I missed out on life to catch up on this series.
Not one bit!
A Worm comic?
…Could be neat.
Oh hell yeah. That would be fucking badass!
I could see this being done in a Frank Miller/Hans Rudolph Giger style.
challenge accepted
Great job… Forums are exploding with fanfiction for this… And now I’ve finally found the source!
So I did some number-crunching.
Notes:
1. I count the two Extinction Interludes as one interlude.
2. I count Interludes 11a-h as a separate arc from the rest of Migration.
3. These numbers might be a bit off.
4. These data are as of Venom 29.4.
Worm is 1,535,255 words long.
It consists of 457,628 Interlude words (those not from Taylor’s perspective). These make up, to the nearest percent, 30% of the story.
The average chapter is 5406 words.
The longest chapter is Scarab 25.3 (11193 words). The shortest is Insinuation 2.1 (1382 words).
The longest Interlude chapter is Interlude 26 (10772 words). The shortest is Interlude 4 (2782 words).
The longest arc is Monarch (92008 words). The shortest is Gestation (17446 words).
The arc with the most words per chapter is Sting (8511). The arc with the least is Gestation (2492).
well, your dedication to do all the match is appreciated, made it easier to look at the big list wildbow made
I did a quick search. According to Amazon’s Text Stats feature, the average novel is 64,000 words long. If your numbers are accurate, some quick math makes this series roughly 25-30 books long when finished. No wonder it has taken me so long to read!
That would make it nearly 1 book per Arc… I thought it was weird that it took me so long to read the story, taking almost 2 weeks for 20 arcs, but now I understand…
I decided to convert it all to a pdf (with poor formatting for the more interesting markup, such as the Parahumans online interlude), and on a5 paper with a 9pt Garamond font, it comes out at 3571 pages. Takes forever to generate the pdf too :p
So, if Wildbow published the whole story in its glory as one novel, we’d be looking at the second longest novel EVER WRITTEN. Let that sink in.
…Now I’m curious as to what’s the first…
Longer than the Bible XD
wildbow, where could I contact you about something I’d rather discuss in private for now?
My email is wildbowpig (at symbol) gmail period com
Just finished with Arc 30. Fabulous story, on the whole. Very good quality writing consistently, except for a dip during some of the intermediate chapters when there was an attempt to make time pass much faster, with some loss of convincingness of dialogue and plot. Lots of fresh ideas– quite stimulating. Thank you, wildbow!
your awesome, love this story. Read from arc 1 to arc 30 in a week.
Thank you for putting this up for anyone to read. Really glad I found it.
Now i am convinced there must be other awesome authors i haven’t heard of as it took so long for someone to recommend this to me
Thank you
The Interlude 8.x with Lisa should be (at least according to ‘next post’ navigation) be between 8.2 and 8.3.
I’ll email you.
Missing a link to E.2
Which section? I forgot about that one.
It would be helpful if you change the CSS on this page to have different color for visited and unvisited links. Every time I come back here to pick up where I left off I have to take extra steps 😦
Wildbow – I stumbled across Worm around two weeks ago. I’ve been reading it obsessively since then. I love it! Such a rich and different take on superpowers. I’ve been telling all my reader friends about it. Many of them are now hooked as well. I look forward to your future projects!
I’ve noticed that the hyperlink for e.2 isn’t working. Might wanna fix that…
Imp’s interlude. He must’ve forgotten. 😉
I’ve never been into the whole ‘cape’ genre but a cursery glance at Gestation 1.1 did grab me.
I’ve been here ever since.
Most of my friends are sick of me talking about this.
Now Worm is ending.
It’s a little like saying farewell to a good friend. Sad, with the hope of seeing you again.
On behalf of the Willesden branch of SCOGAN (the Secret Coven of Geeks and Nerds), thank you, Wildbow!
We hope to see more of your work in the future!
As of E.4, there are 304 chapters. With E.5 and the final interlude, the total will be 306.
You could put a single chapter on every page, and it would STILL have the thickness of a small-medium novel.
Scratch that, it’s 302 and 304
That’s what SPREADSHEETS are for!
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ApEJSdIrWJwbdHpxa2g2aUotNGJLQnZMV2pTT0lzLUE&usp=drive_web#gid=1
I’d just like to say – thank you for this.
I was referenced to this story from Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality by Less Wrong, at hpmor.com. Though the story was fantastic, it still felt like a souped up parody. Though I’m only on 11.3, Worm feels 100% unique in every sense of the way. Your writing style is addictive, and as I read this during downtime throughout the week, I find myself wanting to read it more and more.
I don’t have the money to donate right now, but I can guarantee that I will. Thanks again for making such a fantastic read, and thank you for making it free – I’ll definitely be a customer if you ever publish.
Take care!
Interlude 3.5 bonus after chapter 4.6 is not in the table of contents but will show up when you click “next chapter” after reading 4.6
scratch that. I was confused because the title if you click “next chapter” says interlude 3.5, but it is listed in the table of contents as interlude 4.x apology interlude, purity.
links to them are as follows:
https://parahumans.wordpress.com/category/stories-arcs-1-10/arc-4-shell/4-x-bonus-interlude/
Love the story, just wondering if you could put an explanation of the names and numbering systems for the various powers?
Imp’s Epilogue interlude is missing.
Oh, ha ha.
Teneral E.2 seems to be missing it’s link
I must’ve forgotten.
Don’t worry. Some people get it.
Dammit, Imp, stop breaking the fourth wall!
Arrggg.. Now I understand…
Which character is in that chapter?
Strange,I cannot remember.
**EXTREME SPOILERS!**
I’m putting the TImeline here so it’s easier to find, please don’t follow the URL unless you have finished reading…
http://timeglider.com/t/f1a836311fa00bb3?min_zoom=13&max_zoom=40
If you’re wondering what’s in the link, it’s a finished timeline for Worm from Arc One to Thirty. Epilogue chapters have not been added – I couldn’t find any exact dates to use, and I don’t like guessing. Sorry if it’s a bit late.
I love how there are thirty years or so with an event every two-three years, and then the story starts and we have 6000000000000 in two and a half years.
I love how much backstory information El_Sock has collaborated here.
Just noticed a mistake: according to the very first chapter, Taylor mentioned she entered highschool(and the bullying started), “one and half years ago). Your timeline has it around 2.5 years ago.
While these seems to make sense, if Annette died at the very end of 2007, we can squeeze it all in properly.
And now I’m sad, because I’m imagining Taylor being told her mum died during the Christmas holidays. 😦
If not for the length this would make an epic movie. Definitely an amazing graphic novel. I’d gladly buy the book, comic, movie and follow the television series if it came to it
I’m imagining worm movie…it would have to be 20+ hours long or it would be poop
Tv show !!!!
Hi Wildbow, I don’t want to repeat all the praise from the other posters but I at least have to say this:
I found out about this about a month ago and was hooked from the very beginning. This stroke of brilliance, this breathtaking monument to storytelling completely wrapped me in knots.
—SPOILER—
From the little clues and hints that pan out ten arcs later to the near perfect use of worldbuilding, this has everything I really like in a story. I mean the moment Saint basically killed Dragon, the first appearance of the s9, the behemoth fight and the portrayal of moral grey areas on a small and large scale; the whole goddam thing is a crowning moment of awesome.
There are some mistakes I noticed while reading. I only started to keep track of them at the end so the list is not complete.
In 25.2.:
“… It wasn’t many, but I didn’t need much. Enough or three or four swarm clones….”
The “or” should probably be a “for”.
“…the line, t had become something of a habit, as we ended our sessions. I gave her a little smile as we parted. …”
The “t” should be an “it”.
And in 29.8.:
“…It conjured up images an artist’s sketchpad, putting body parts on the page, trying variations. There, in the sliver…”
There is an “of” missing here
“…that meant we were trying to tear through landmass of raw matter, and we were doing it a few handfuls at a time. …”
…and an “a” missing here, I guess.
Also, one thing I noticed rereading some chapters: In 3.12. after escaping the bank there is something of a continuity error. In later chapters it is mentioned that when bitch’s dogs shrink back to normal all the dead meat falls off and they have blood in their fur and so on. Point being the excess doesn’t simply disappear completely. But there is no mention of that in this chapter. Wouldn’t it be quite obvious/terrifying if there was a pool of blood and chunks of flesh lying around after the darkness leaves?
Anyway, I hope you are proud of your work and had at least as much fun as I had with it and I am looking forward to reading more of your work.
E2’s link’s broken.
Oh, I must’ve forgotten to put the link there.
Just a quick question. I just got to the part where Brian’s little adventure in the refridgerator and Piggot’s daring plan to kill everyone who she disagrees with using Bakuda’s grenades.
Is this what the rest of the story is like? I mean, I get that it’s very hip nowadays to write crushingly depressing stories that are just hitting the reader over and over again with how unfair the world is and how good intentions always end in shambles, but I’m rather tired of that kind of story. That story is bland and depressing, and frankly it’s not what I read superhero stuff for. If I wanted that story, I’d read regular fiction, or maybe a couple of biographies.
I started reading the story despite the title. I kept reading despite the main character’s power, you know, blowing arse (a ton of superhero stories seem to love to do this, give the main character a shit power and show them struggling to get by in a world of gods. It’s very annoying; I find it much more entertaining when the main character is genuinely powerful even compared to other supes, and the author is good enough to STILL write a challengine journey for them; again, if I wanted to read about some weakling underdog getting constantly stomped on I wouldn’t be reading in the superhero genre – Skitter’s power wouldn’t even be better than a gun for anything other than assasination in the regular world, where noone has powers). I did this mostly because there seemed to be a metric shit-ton of content to this story, quite a few books worth, and it’s hard to find superhero stuff. But the book has just gotten steadily more morose and depressing as it’s gone along, and honestly I’m just sick of that kind of thing. So does it keep going like that to the end?
Honestly, I’ve had the impression for a while that Skitter’s going to end up w/ the Slaughterhouse 9. Hence the title of the book being the name given to her by one of their members. That would also explain why the entire story has just been her failing harder and harder, though it’s not a big enough twist to make reading thousands of pages of downer storytelling worth it.
On a side note, does her power ever stop sucking? I mean, that was part of the reason I stuck with the story – the author kept giving hints about ways that powers could expand, about second trigger events and crossing the boundary between affecting living and inanimate material or the other way around and so on. I figured, for sure, she’ll have another trigger. I could deal with the constant shitty situations where she just gets abused and beat up again and again because I was always anticipating this happening. Anticipating her power expanding to cover humans, or her getting a bit of bitch-like morphing ability with her bugs, or something else that made her not absolutely useless in the role she’s chosen (primarily one of a non-killer)
And then Grue got his upgrade and that really cemented it for me, the author’s just fucking with us. I mean, you HAVE someone get beefed up, and then it’s not even the main character? It’s a supporting character? WTF. I really think this guy misses what people read superhero books for…
So anyway, yeah, I don’t really expect these questions to be answered or even read so I rambled like crazy because this has been a very frustrating read so far, keeping me just interested enough not to throw it away until it became pretty apparent that the protagonist wasn’t going to stop sucking.
See question one in the FAQ, regarding spoilers.
Given your perspective, it may not be the story for you. I’m not saying that your fears are right on every count, but given your stance in approaching the story, I’m not getting the sense that you’ll make a big turnaround.
I do know why people read superhero stories, because I know why I read superhero stories. A lot of people like Worm (it’s popular), there are a good number of pretty amazing scenes coming down the road from where you’re at, and a good few of the things you’re complaining about are things that are necessary to make those two things happen.
Have you read Legion of Nothing? It’s somewhat more lighthearted, and may be more up your alley.
I don’t mind grit if there’s PAYOFF for it. But if a book’s depressing just to be depressing, just to make the point that life sucks, well, like I said, I could read a biography. It’s just become entirely too common to use that in every genre, and the combination of constant defeats (or pyrric victories) with a low-powered heroine in a SUPERHERO book throws me. Not saying that these things don’t have their place but, damnit, superhero literature is SUPPOSED to be escapist, it’s OKAY for it to be escapist where it supposedly isn’t in so many other genres. So yeah, a book like Prepare to Die! where there’s a lot of sad and some dark shit but it pays off well in the end, I’m fine with that. Or the Ex-Heroes series where they’re pretty much getting beaten constantly throughout the books, outsmarted and outpllayed until the end when they finally get their shit together and win (temporarily, until the next book). Though perhaps for something this long there should be a few payoffs in the middle to string you along. This reminds me more of something like The Girl in the Box where each book is just a little more depressing, each scenario met with just a little more defeat, to the point where I just quit reading that series (it’s not really straight superhero capes and all, but honestly psionic powers are close enough for me).
And I’m not saying it’s not good writing. Because it is. Especially for the field of superhero literature where I have read – by necessity – a ton of absolute crap, digging through all the self-published efforts on amazon as most of the ‘professional’ superhero lit is marvel/dc universe stuff and I just don’t care to delve into that without any real background in the comics (other than some spider-man and avengers from the most recent retcons). That just makes it even more frustrating.
Oh, and I think I’ve seen Legion of Nothing somewhere, pure lighthearted YA if I remember correctly, Har-Har. I don’t mind shit being a bit dark, I don’t mind the main characters getting their asses handed to them on occasion, as long as that’s building up to the payoff at the end. I didn’t even used to mind the style I’m complaining about now – the defeat after defeat all the way to another defeat or pyrric victory at the conclusion of the novel. It was refreshing, almost LITERARY the first time I read a sci-fi or fantasy book like that as opposed to the old-style sci-fi optimism. Then someone caught onto that gimmick and over the past ten years or so it seems like EVERY SINGLE BOOK is like that, and it’s just gotten silly.
I guess I’ll give this a try to the end, and see if there’s some kind of payoff.
I wasn’t joking when I recommended LoN, and it does get more serious after the initial chapters.
I’m really uncomfortable discussing things here in the table of contents, but I’ll say that I nearly quit reading the story myself where you mention having trouble, and I’m very glad that I didn’t. ‘s just my opinion, of course.
I didn’t have as much trouble with Taylor’s power as you seem to, so we differ there. She’s a clever one and her power… lends itself strongly to inventiveness, I’d say.
So glad my friends recommended this to me. Lovely story arc, love the characters and I can’t stop reading it!
Thank you for writing this! I hope it gets published ouo
I finished reading Worm a couple of weeks ago and since then I have problem reading other fiction that contains any element of mystery or superpowers or horror. My problem is that I can’t properly enjoy the story as I keep thinking “Meh! Worm is so much better!” Also I am from a non-English speaking country so I keep telling people at length about this really awesome story I’ve read online, but most of them don’t speak English well enough to read it which is frustrating. Anyhow just wanted to say again, thank you for writing this great story. I do not know enough about writing and literature to analyze all the reasons I love it, but I know that I love it very very very much. Thank you SO MUCH for sharing it online for everybody to read. Rock on.
Have you tried reading homestuck?
I just finished reading this amazing story the other day. Seriously almost 2 weeks of daily binge reading to read the entire thing only stopping to sleep and drag myself to work where i stood washing dishes thinking about the chapter i read the night before! I hope that one day i can have this as an actual book to add to my collection, it deserves a spot on my already sagging shelves and i daresay this is one of the best stories ive read in years. Thank you Wildbow.
So I just found out that Worm is about 500,000 words longer than the ENTIRE Harry Potter series…just one more reason to love this story more than HP.
Thank you for this great story! I couldn’t stop reading. It was a please, thank you a lot!
s/please/pleasure 🙂
So glad I was introduced to this. Only problem now, how do I feel the brand new worm-shaped hole in my time 😐
By reading Pact 🙂 By the same author 🙂
I also used to suffer from this problem. Solution? I’m translating Worm to my native tongue right now. I expect it to take anywhere from 1 to 3 years…..
Wow, that’s crazy! What language? You done with the translation yet?
If anyone is interested, I threw some python code together to parse this Web Serial into an Ebook. Here is the source (not very elegant) and the output in epub, mobi, pdf, azw3 and html. Anyone is welcome to use and improve my code. If there is still a lot of editing and changes happening to this Web Serial, I will consider scheduling a weekly build if requested.
https://www.dropbox.com/
www dot dropbox dot com slash sh slash rm88tuy2ekik0hi slash AACW005mBoIOXaBDTYk-ov5a
Is this link still available? It’s possible I didn’t convert the slashes/etc properly, but I tried a few times and still got a 404. I’d very much like to get a copy, and maybe help with the formatting if I do! Thanks 🙂
I am not sure why that link is offline. Anyway, here is a working link (currently) http://www.dropbox.com/sh/rm88tuy2ekik0hi/AADmjg_xxxgAq-ZOu3Xlhiaa
Otherwise, email me at anderposbus at gmail dot com and I will send a copy.
Thanks a lot man! Link still alive until now
I would ask that you please not distribute that sort of thing, either the ebooks or means of scraping the site – I’ve missed out on one publishing opportunity because a publisher shied away, after stumbling on a case of people sharing the ebooks. If you see someone sharing these links, please ask them or give me a heads up so I can explain and politely ask them to stop.
I’m trying to keep doors open for opportunities, and this sort of thing really doesn’t help.
I am so so sorry wilbow! I just now read this comment and was about to remove the link on Dropbox, but it seems it is already disabled. I will now also stop replying to request mails.
How can I make it up to you? And is there a way to remove this whole comment thread? Just to save everyone the trouble of looking for an ebook.
If you want to contact me personally, you can reach me at anderposbus at gmail dot com. Again, I am sorry I have done harm towards a publishing opportunity.
Why not self-publish on the Kindle store?
hey, i just started reading worm and i wanted to tell you i am deeply grateful for your work, pretty much I started reading two days ago and yesterday i buried myself reading for about 10 hours, so, really, thanks a lot for being this awesome
Hello wildbow I’ve been reading worm for over a month now. On the tram to work; during my lunchbreak; on the tram back home and 1 more chapter on the couch before I do anything else.
It’s been a great ride already to follow the progression of the story (I am now at chapter 23.4 so still have a ways to go). I just wanted to let you known that I bought (a gift for my gf) a version of the game prison architect where you can name a prisoner that’s going to be in the finished version of the game. So there will definitely be a prisoner called Taylor Hebert.
I haven’t donated as of yet, but once I reach the end of the story I’ll be sure to donate: because people pay for books, so why not for something that’s longer than all Harry Potter books combined and that’s written so perfectly.
I’ve read in your comments that you enjoy getting feedback so you know what style of writing people like best so here are my highs and lows so far in the story
– The whole arc about the travellers origin (I read the first 2 chapters of that arc and then decided to skip the rest of it. I just COULDN’T wait for the rest of the story to go on. And where I usually enjoy donation interludes and end of arc interludes I really couldn’t be bothered to read a whole arc interlude.
+ Interlude 4.X Brutus: Seeing the world from a dogs perspective was something I haven’t seen before, it was refreshing and exciting. Definitely had lots of smiles and giggles there.
+ 19.y (Donation Interlude #2; Parahumans Online): By far the best interlude in the whole book. I can’t believe how much effort you’ve put into getting the layout of the forum JUST right. This is the part where I got pissed at reality. if only Worm was as big as Harry Potter or Lord of the rings then for SURE there would be someone who would make an actual forum we could browse. Cause god knows how many times i tried clicking “next page” in that chapter.
+ 22.6: OMG that chapter made it all worth it, that’s what we’ve all been waiting for. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I’d strongly suggest that you finish reading the traveller Arc. there are some reveals in there that will assist in making sense of later events, and iirc a MAJOR event.
also, I agree that is a helluva chapter. My strongest remains 20.5
By the way. His new story pact is pretty good as well if you like the material.
Oi! SPOILER!!!! Don’t DO that, esp in the TofC! Cruel to new readers!
Is there a epub or doc file for this. I rather read this offline since my internet connection is a bit dodgy this week.
Hello,
I noticed that the order in the Table of Contents here differs from the order in the Table of Contents in the sidebar of the actual posts. For example, for Arc 15, on this page it shows the interludes interspersed with the rest of the chapter, but the sidebar TOC shows the interludes at the end of the arc. Which one is the correct reading order?
The second epilogue chapter doesn’t have a direct link. You can still get to it through the next chapter link in the first epilogue chapter, though.
Huh,Wilbow must have forgotten
(ninja’s the author,yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaah)
Fantastic story. I haven’t stayed awake until 5 am to finish something since that last damned Wheel of Time book.
Brought here by HPMOR, finally got around to reading it. Started yesterday, already on 11.7, absolutely loving it !
Aaaand now I’m done. Holy hells, what a journey. I’ll be keeping an eye on bookshelves for when this gets published 🙂
In case it doesn’t get traditionally published, you can click on the ‘the end’ link on the final chapter to go to the author’s afterword – I explain how to get yourself on my mailing list for when I start the sequel and/or get stuff published.
I intend to talk more about the editing process on the /r/Parahumans subreddit on Reddit in the new year, partially to give myself some momentum on that front, partially for the feedback and to give people a chance to comment.
This story was amazing. I literally laughed and cried as the story went on. More than that, however, I have to thank you for inspiring me to start writing again. I decided to try my hand at an alternate-canon version of the Wormverse, and I’d love to hear your opinion.
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10914723/1/Queen-of-the-Swarm
Hey,
First time here, I must say I love your webfiction. I read in the first 8 arcs and it’s great.
Only issue I got is the website format only. I would really like an ebook format, but I understand that it is complicated.
You should know though, that when I read self published authors, most of them have plenty of typos and errors. I think comparatively, your work here is pretty much typo free. I guess we should thank the commenters that point out those errors. Thanks!
Now I read somewhere that some of the idioms used (like the states instead of america) are different in Canada. I’m Belgian so it didn’t shock me at all.
All in all, it’s one of the more error free work I’ve seen by an independent author, and I think it could work really well in an ebook (well multiple ebooks probably) on amazon. Do you have a mailing list that I could subscribe to so that I know when (if?) you publish those ebooks?
On my end though, got sick of reading on the website and I’m doing the ebooks myself. Takes a bit of time, but it means I won’t screw up my eyes. I can stay 6-10 hours reading without stopping so yeah, a screen that doesn’t refresh is quite better.
Once you finish the story, the ‘next chapter’ link is replaced by a link to an afterword. There, I talk about how to sign up for the mailing list.
Just letting you know the link to Teneral e.2 is broken
Meant to fix it. Must’ve forgotten.
Still broken sadly.
Oh, must have forgotten.
He forgot…. get it? Think about it for a second.
Bravo sir/madam. Such a rich and wonderful story that I cannot i get enough of. You have a lifelong fan here and I can’t wait till you receive the recognition that you deserve (and earned!) By having your work published, which I will, admittedly, purchase for all of my loved ones. Best wishes and good luck to you in your amazing journey to becoming an amazing author. YOU DA REAL MVP WILDBOW! NOW TAKE THAT VICTORY LAP, YOU EARNED IT!
This is amazing, this honestly needs a TV show, it’s so unique and fresh, how have I only recently discovered it, I can’t imagine having to wait week by week to get the next section.
I can not get over how good this book is. It still blows my mind.
I can not get over how good this book is. It still blows my mind. my my
I’m on 14.4 currently, and just wanted to say what most everybody else has been saying, that this is an AMAZING book! I love the depth of the characters so far and the world you have created with it! I thought this book was amazing from arc 1 and thought that it couldn’t get any better but you proved me wrong because it kept getting better and better! I LOVE Jack Slash as a villain so far! He is pure evil, with no remorse, reminds me of the Joker in that way. Anyways, just wanted to share my opinion of this book so far, only halfway through. I don’t know if the ending leaves room for a sequel yet, but if it does, I hope there is a sequel down the road soon! I dread the day I finish this book because then I won’t be able to read more about Taylor, Tattletale, Grue, or any of the other. Anyways, sorry for the rant, this book is just SO good, I just had to tell you!!!
I feel like you could have divided this up into sections with the different major story arcs, then published it as a series of books. In fact, you should have, it would have gotten a lot of money if you had the right people selling it. It wouldn’t be too hard to get a publishing firm to publish this, and sell it on amazon or something, and set up some social networking for it.
You realllllly should publish your stories they are original a great read frankly this story is s breath of fresh air
I definitely would not mind seeing a tv show or movie about this book
Heck even a comics would be great
Also I would not mind being able to read this book without wifi
The last time I obsessively read a series this long was animorphs and, just like then, I’ve been a wreck for the past month just reading this story. It was recommended to me by fellow art students and I’m just in shock this isn’t more popular than it is currently. It’s a crime for this to not be bigger than this! It’s beautiful! I’ll be rereading for years to come!
Good job, sir Wildbow. You’ve created a cult classic fans will keep alive for decades to come.
Did somebody count the number of pages? maybe in A4 format or something) I want to compare it to other books because it hard to understand when reading online.
Wow… This is the first time I was actually emotionally crying at the end in a long, long time, this is awesome, and I love all of it…
Seriously though, this has to be the most amazing way to lose over at least 3 days worth of sleep, and the most amazing way for me to escape…
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Read it all in 4 days. Exhausting, but what a ride.
I’ve been reading this and I’m on Arc 3 right now. I’ve been wondering, have you ever considered self publishing? I’ve seen that over the years you have had poor luck with publishers, and I know this would sell well as an E-book. I just figured it would be something to consider.
Yup, he’s said that publishing Worm is probable, but not until he’s finished editing it (which he is doing right now alongside writing his current web-serial Twig).
There needs to be a movie.
Thank you very much for the meal,Wilbow,it was one of the 5 best I have eaten,and I eat gargatuan quantities
(if anyone does not get it,wordpress forced me to adda second r to my name for some reason)
Day 2, half way through. I’ll get there. eventually.
rip my sleep
So I heard rumor that a possible sequel could be in the works was wondering if thats true and if so when could we expect it or if it was just bullshit
Last I checked, Wilbow had said that she’d take a break… by writing 2 other webnovels, and then write the next part of Worm.
He has already finished Pact (a good webnovel, but his least good, actually) and is currently writing Twig (which is far better than Pact). He may decide to follow with a third different webnovel, but his current program, as far as I know, is to follow with Worm 2
Wildbow quick question…are you a god of some sort? i’d like to think that you are the god of amazing plots, compelling stories, the best and at the same time the worst cliffhangers, and you rival M.Night Shamalayan in plot twists (key difference being you made an amazing web serial he makes crappy movies). also you need to be a billionaire, just because your amazing.
No godhood, unfortunately. Give me time.
Thanks for reading, TVP
Okay, I’m sorry, but I don’t get what’s so great about the story. Granted, I’m only up to Insinuation 2.4, but a lot of things don’t make sense. I started reading this ’cause I saw people commenting on how great ‘Worm’ was on some forums, but so far I don’t see what’s so great about it (as opposed to Mother of Learning, which I knew I liked from the first couple of chapters).
My problems so far are:
1) The world-building is flimsy at best, not a whole lot of time goes into explaining why the world is so fuc*ed up that villains can just thrive because there’s too much unemployment. Can’t the government try to fix the root problem, so that villains have less easily acquired footholds in otherwise peaceful cities?
2) WHY DOESN’T THE MAIN CHARACTER JUST TELL HER TEACHERS OR THE PRINCIPAL ABOUT THE BULLYING?!!! Sure, she can go fight a notorious super-villain, but she can’t stand up to minor bullies? What the heck?!!! Sure, if you report bullying you might get called a tattletale, a snitch, or a rat, but if you keep doing so, the teachers will take the problem more seriously and the bullies will be deterred from bullying you, since the school will keep contacting their parents. People might give you the stink-eye for making things hard for the cool kids, but if you do nothing then the bullying will continue and since they know you won’t fight back it will only get worse!
I was very much an amateur when I started and the beginning is thus a bit amateurish. But it’s a slow-roll of setting info. Everything gets explained, relating to the villains and Taylor’s mentality. Most seem to report that by arc 4 they’re paying attention and by arc 8 they’re absolutely hooked.
That said, it may not be the story for you.
Wildbow, there are not enough words in my knowledge for me to craft a sentence that fully expresses how I am feeling right now. The sadness of this beautiful artwork ending has left me numb for a while, leaving me just coherent enough to write this comment.
The only thing I can tell you is that you don’t fully know or realise the beautiful impact/imprint you have left behind. God bless you my friend.
Love from India.
Been reading for pretty much 3 days straight and am only half way through. WOW you have stressed my reading skills to the limit. I LOVE IT.
i’m a little late to the party, but i gotta say:
just finished the whole series in a few weeks and… WOW!!! some of the best written characters i’ve ever experienced! (and that’s saying a lot, because i’ve read too many books for my own good)
i love the way you show their thought processes as they make very difficult decisions and how they deal with the decisions of others. Taylor’s constant battle of always wanting to be “good” and not always being given the choice is what will make this story forever memorable to me.
ok, and yeah, i LOVE the ideas for all the capes’ abilities and how the triggers work and everything. VERY creative ways for how their powers work together and interact. so many of them make better use of their strengths and weaknesses than i’ve seen in comics and movies.
i could talk for hours about all the intense fight scenes that just blew my mind as Taylor and the others had to constantly adapt and change tactics. as the stakes keep getting higher and higher, they keep finding new ways to take on the challenges. so cool!
if i had to pick a power, aside from Taylor’s of course, i think that Trickster, Circus, Number Man, and Purity’s abilities have the most interesting fits to my personality. 😀
Three days in, and I’m on arc 15.
Worm is killing me.
The spot for E.2 is missing its link. The text is there, but it’s not a link.
Also, there’s usually a space or gap between the last link in an arc and the header of the next arc, but there isn’t between arcs 10 and 11.
Forgot, when it came to E.2. My bad.
Wildbow, I just completed WORMS ( in about 5 weeks time) and its AMAZING.
I was so absorbed into the world that I dont know what to do once it all over. So am gonna take a sane man’s path and START ALL OVER AGAIN.
THANK YOU ! YOU ROCK!
There is also Pact and Twig by Wilbow. Most peoplefind Pact not as good as Worm , but still good (though more depressing), while loving Twig equally .
Actually I started Pact. But looks like nothing is as big as worms
Well, based on most current information prone to changing by Wilbow’s mood, Worm 2 starts after Twig ends.
What what what!!! Oh that would be lovely, is this confirmed though?!
as I said, “based on most cuurrent information available, and subject to Wilbow’s whims, desires and/or needs.
I see, thanks for letting me know though 🙂 much appreciated
Well, it was announced on some comments on Pact, I think.
Well, it was announced on some comments on Pact, I think.
I am really enjoying, I have made it through arc 1. A co-worker told me about this story, knowing that I love to read and that I am a writer I’d probably like this story. I thought I would let you know that when you can afford to, I know a great editor who is reasonably priced. And for book covers if you can afford it, 99 Designs is a great place to go.
I am working on building a small press with a friend of mine mainly starting out with our stories, and one of the ideas we are going to use is a free online story with a choice to donate. I didn’t think about it until I saw Worm. You have inspired me.
If you need any help with getting your book out there, advice and the like, let me know and I will see what I can do. I have friends who are doing well with self-publishing, and they even have a podcast. Which if you have time to catch them on Youtube, it’s called The Self-Publishing Podcast. Their press is called, Sterling and Stone.
Keep up the awesome work! Really loving it! And thank you for inspiring me.
Best regards.
I think E2 of the Epilogue is missing.
I think I finally found a good one after a good amount of time, hopefully this lasts me more than a week cuz I am so bored, it’s months since I found a novel that has such a good feedback on the internet
You found a good one allright.
As for
E2, Wilbow must have forgotten :p
I LOVE this book so much!! Thank you so much Wildbow for the best novel I have ever read!! I look forward to reading your future awesome novels to come
Just a heads up: Wilbow has 2 more novels, Pact (acclaimed as pretty good but not as good as Worm, some believe it suffers from second album syndrome) and Twig (acclaimed as just as good, still ongoing and not finished yet)
YES.
thank you for the heads up, I’m approaching the end of Worm and I’ve been pacing myself since I didn’t have anything lined up. I’ll be sure to check these out.
Where is chapter 31?
Why doesn’t E2 have a link?
See wilbow’s near a 1000 replies on that subject: he must have forgotten.
If you re-read that section. You might remember why. 😉
OMG! Until I read your comment, I honestly just thought that WildBow was honestly just being lazy/forgetful, but I do now realise the connection!
WildBow, you sly dog you!
Hey. There is a tiny mistake in this Table of Contents — Interlude 29 is labeled as “29.09”, while 29.09 is labeled just “29.9”. 🙂
My god. After 10 months of distractions, unavoidable incidents, and major procrastination, I have finally finished reading this masterpiece. It was worth every moment I put into reading it. And now, I will reread it. Hopefully it will only take me 5 months this time.
Just discovered this story, been reading for a day and already in arc 11, i don’t want to put it down. I’ve read a lot of superhero fiction and this is one of the best. I occasionally have trouble getting into books, but with this story, i start reading and suddenly it’s been 5 hours.
I’ve come across a couple of scenes that sound vaugly familiar, think I’ve seen blurbs on some websites recommending it over the years. Glad i clicked through this time.
I’d love to see Graphicaudio perform this with a full cast.
And finished! A little over a week to read. Almost tempted to read it again right away, story is that good. But i think I’ll wait for when the author finally puts out the ebook, or better, the audiobook. Again Graphicaudio would be great, full cast, music, sound fxs, etc.
Well Taylor be back for the sequel, or is her story done?
I hope she makes a cameo, or maybe we learn what happened to her for a fact, but, it is established that Taylor is not going to be the protagonist of the sequel.
I’ll miss her. Really liked Taylor and all her alter-egos. I’d love to see the reaction of her enemies if they found out she was still around, and some of her allies. If her story is done, i have to wonder, how do you live a normal life after saving the multiverse?
The Undersiders were a great team, but some of the fun seemed to go out with Regents death. Now with half dead or missing, it wouldn’t be the same group.
If the sequel is even half as good as the 1st, it’ll be a great story.
Just so you know, Wilbow has created 2 other webnovels after this one, though they center on different universes.
Yeah, there’s a reason Wilbow is considered the best webnoven artist with a difference. If you finish this, you might wish to know he has written/is writting 2 other webnovels. Pact… lacks something compared to Worm, but Twig brings the quality back to Worm levels.
I know. Going to take a bit of a break and read some other stuff before diving back into another of story. Battlefield Earth is finally out in audio, been waiting years for them to put it out, probably my next marathon. 🤔
….where’s epilouge two?
I remember it missing from the table of contents, just follow the “next chapter” links and it will be there.
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At Imago arc right now. Keep thinking of Jack Slash as Kilgrave from the Jessica Jones Netflix show. Kinda give me the same vibe
I dunno, I have seen, by watching the comments, plenty of people who read less than an arc per day.
I think pretty much everyone who followed the original story (starting reading before it was finished) was reading less than an arc a day. 🙂
I’m an older man and my vision is not great. Because of this I do almost all of my reading with the Kindle App on the iPad because it let me control the contrast (black on white or sepia) and I can enlarge the font to a size that I can read comfortably. Worm has been recommended to me and I’d love to read it but your site with the white on black text and the wide line formatting makes it physically uncomfortable for me to read. It’s been three years since you finished this. Why isn’t there an eBook version yet? I’m happy to pay for one.
It’ a very good story, and I’ve enjoyed every bit of it. Thank you.
I just finished not even five minutes ago. Three and a half weeks worth of reading. Good god, Wildbow what ave you put me through? I started reading because a friend recommended it to me, and I couldn’t stop. Many long nights were spent reading. I’m just… I’m at a loss for words. You’ve crafted a beautifully dreadful story, that resonated with me, although maybe some of the wrong parts hit home in my case… Still, the world you mapped out in Worm is absolutely astounding, and everything, the good times, the bad times, the “Holy cow what was that!” it all just kept building exponentially. I feel like I got taken on one hell of a journey that I didn’t even sign up for, but I’m glad it happened nonetheless.
Aw hell. I always miss my typos the first time around. That should’ve been “have” there towards the beginning, not ave.
Any suggestions on books like worm??
Depends on what you are looking for, but Wilbow’s other works, Pact and Twig may be a start.
I read it. I spent 137 hours over the course of a month on parahumans.wordpress.com (at least according to my history app), how much of that was me reading at my glacial pace, how much was crying over you killing my favourite characters and how much was me being asleep with my laptop in my lap I cannot say. Worm is my second most favourite piece of media I’ve ever consumed. I’ve been overlooking written materal for too long, thanks for relighting my love for text, I hope I’ll be a faster reader when I return for my second read through.
What I actually came here to say was that the Endbringer fights should not be shortened, a reviewer thought they were too long, they were not. God damn, all those named characters dying moved me an extreme amount, it made me scared god damn it. I was shaking, it reduced when I turned up my heat, but Leviathan sold Worm to me. Funny, given it was a stat me thread for Leviathan on a message board that made me check this website out.
Okay, I’ll bite. What’s your favorite piece of media?
Dear Wildbow, I have to say something that you’re probably tired of hearing: Worm is absolutely one of the best things I’ve read!
It was a wonderful journey that escalated to the top, from a pretty good start to a godlike ending. I spent over one year reading this, which is something I’ll never regret.
All I want to say is thank you. Thank you for creating this rich living world of parahumans, and never give up writing new goldmines of the internet!
Man, I finished this in a week, I could not stop reading. This was an amazing adventure, and I thank you for writing it.
So here I am, writing my own story, or lying in bed trying to sleep, or doing whatever other normal task I do every day, and I remember the scene where Taylor has to escape Coil’s murder attempt. You know, where she’s shot several times, kind of explodes, jumps out a window, and all of that? It’s unforgettable in that it shows how tenacious and determined Taylor has gotten. I think about that scene all the time, especially when I’m writing a scene myself. I always think to myself if I’ve put my character in a difficult situation, “how would Taylor survive it?”.
That scene is so great, I could frame it on my wall. Thanks again for writing this massive story, Wildbow.
I just want to express my thank you to the guy who has managed to tally almost 2 million words-book in just 2 years! I have read Worm last year for almost a month, and I did remember that this serial made me discover all the other web serials like LoN, SuperPowerds, TGaB, Heretical Edge, and alot more quality web serials. I tried to read Twig, too, but it wasn’t in my alley and I’ve stopped at around 9.x with the Baron. Anyways, I am super excited for the next book of Worm! Keep up the good work, wildbow.
Started 11/1/17 12:33am and just finished and holy fuck the story was amazing
By the way, the sequel just started.
Link to epilogue part 2 is missing in the table of contents on this page.
Ah, sorry, I must’ve forgotten
This will never stop never getting old.
Started recently, having found this through HFY Reddit, and i gotta say…holy shit dude. I mostly read while i’m at work (overnight security) and it makes the nights go by hella quick. actually look forward to the 12 hr shifts cause i can sit and read for quite some time at a stretch. only at the end of chapter 6: Tangle, but i already have recommended the story to several friends.
I can’t even. I’m almost done, most of the way through Teneral so that counts. You are a master. Reading your work taught me to refine my loophole-thinking for my own stories and reminded me how important it is to keep even the tedious day to day details in mind. The normalities that continue even when the insane is going on. Those things make a story real enough that you swallow whatever irregularity the writer presents, and you have done a brilliant job at weaving together a fantastic story that is plausible at every stage of development. Also I have been extremely appreciative of your fairly exhaustive cast list, it has helped me touch base when I was still getting to know who was who. And the ending with Taylor… it couldn’t have been any other way. It was heart wrenching and beautiful and intensely painful and I wish you the absolute best in any endeavor you put your hand to, because this is a heartrending masterpiece.
Btw, the author has put out 2 other works (Pact and Twig) and has just, a while ago, started a sort of sequel to Worm
OML its 30 chapters long.. It’s only my first day and finished 3 chapters. This is rlly good ;-; better than most popular books in wattpad (obviously). So far.. I LOVE the characters and not cliche story/plotline.
Started in early January and just DEVOURED it. I put down an Iain M. Banks Culture novel for this, Wildbow. If you publish, and I hope you do, I will absolutely get a copy.
Hi, first time posting a comment here. Worm is absolutely amazing. One quick question: Have you seen Stargate SG1? Because I’e noticed a lot of possible references to it, like Myrddin (an old name for Merlin, and the only place I’ve seen it is on Stargate) and capoeira (the martial arts style used by the Jaffa, and again, I’ve only ever heard it referenced on Stargate)
I’ve read everything, but the Epilogue now.
This was the best Thing, that I’ve ever read. At least in my personal Opinion. Thank you, Wildbow. Thanks a lot.
I am literally crying at the ending
So I was wondering why it took me so long to read this already reading for a month or so, so I started counting.
There are around 300 chapters ranging between 3000-8000 words so around 5000 avarage. Which totals it to 1.500.000 words, a book of 365 pages normally has around 126000 words.
You my insane friend wrote around 12whole books and I love it. Thanks for all the work you put into the beauty ❤️
1,700,000 words?
Psh, rookie numbers, kid.
Psh. And I thought homestuck was long.
Right!!!???!? I swear I love this but i am actually livid at how long it is taking. I JUST WANT TO READ WARD!!!!!
Wow. Just wow.
Many thanks for this novel, wildbow. I’ve read it all over the course of a week, and I loved every second of it. I even binged the last 3 arcs instead of sleeping because I didn’t want to put it down.
I have very high expectations for the sequel, and I’m sure it won’t disappoint.