Love reading R-to-R stories, especially those which appear to be possible without resorting to magic, aliens, djinns with 3 wishes, and the like.
I've read nearly all 102 that appear in a search, but there are probably some which don't bear the tag. Suggestions appreciated.
Not exactly rags to riches, more like riches to amazing riches... but the John Billionaire series might appeal to you. (And yes, the MC makes his billions the old-fashioned way...he inherits them.)
Do you count DoOver stories as 'the like'? Otherwise there's more than a few possibilities there...
Speaking of hitting the inheritance lottery, Unforgettable Weeks from Jay Cantrell should qualify. (The Outsider - also Jay's - also features a rags-to-riches MC)
The D-man series should likewise qualify. As should the Golfer's Dream series. (not sure if either were listed as rags to riches, but they qualify)
Do you count DoOver stories as 'the like'? Otherwise there's more than a few possibilities there...
No, I enjoy those. While getting a "do-over" seems highly unlikely in the real world, if, as Mushroom said, the story is about "making the right choices at the right time", it's worth reading. Because don't we all wish we had made better decisions in the past?
as Mushroom said, the story is about "making the right choices at the right time", it's worth reading. Because don't we all wish we had made better decisions in the past?
Well, I know I had the chance more than once.
Some of CBCG is influenced by my real life. I ran a small hobby BBS, and was working at a major Aerospace company. And somebody that knew I was more into computers than they were bought a larger BBS, and was asking if I wanted to join her staff. Well, the pay was lower so ultimately I refused. A little over a year later, she added basic shell Internet service (all command line then, no such thing as WWW) and I pretty much shrugged as I did not see the point of it really.
Move forward a few years she made several million dollars when she sold it to Earthlink. The guy she did hire after I turned her down got around $150k of that as a gift for all his work, and by then he was already making far more than I was (and was hired by Earthlink with a 6 digit income).
People today would think I was an idiot, but in the early 1990's, almost nobody thought "The Internet" would really be anything. Even AOL and Prodigy offered more that most people would want, and in a much easier to use graphical format. But if I had known what would come when the WWW came out, I would have made a different choice.
Move forward a few years, and I had a chance to get a government contract for selling used computers on a new platform. I would do all the work, preparing the computers, fixing or testing them, then shipping them off and make a percentage on commission. And it was using this little known platform where they actually did auctions online. I shrugged, it seemed like a lot of work for little money. And if it did not sell, I had to eat the costs.
Of course, that platform is eBay, and the guy that ultimately took it is also rich. Once again, this was in a time when eBay itself had only around 30 employees, and was kept on life support by venture capitol. If it had folded, I would still have been stuck buying all those computers and trying to sell almost a thousand a month another way.
It was still a few years away from when eBay exploded.
In the early 1990's, many of us in IT kind of shrugged at "The Internet". Just as we laughed at "Y2K", we thought it was a fad that would be little more than CompuServe ultimately.
Well, "Country Boy, City Girl" has some elements of that in it. And it does not involve any magic, or time travel, or anything like that. Simply somebody making the right choices at the right time in the late 1980's and early 1990's.
https://storiesonline.net/series/1519/country-boy-city-girl
especially those which appear to be possible without resorting to magic, aliens, djinns with 3 wishes, and the like.
That's an extremely extended interpretation of 'deus ex machina'. Usually it's used to mean a last moment solution to an insoluble problem. Like in a David Baldacci novel when the baddie has the protagonist at gunpoint and his finger is tightening on the trigger then his head explodes as a completely unexpected character shoots the baddie with a sniper rifle.
AJ
From the Britannica:
"Deus ex machina, a person or thing that appears or is introduced into a situation suddenly and unexpectedly and provides an artificial or contrived solution to an apparently insoluble difficulty."
In my world, the appearance of little green aliens, Merlin the Magician, or swarthy guys materializing from old lamps would be the very definition of "unexpected" events.
As for being an "artificial or contrived solution" - well, yeah, that's obviously why they show up in the story.
Anyway, I thoroughly enjoy stories where the aliens, djinns or ghosts contribute to the plot. Often causing trouble, rather than ameliorating it. Tell a guy or gal who has been cooped up in a bottle for a thousand years that you want "a million bucks", and you're going to have a lot of venison to get rid of.
It's more difficult to feel any connection with a guy who has all his problems solved without any effort on his part. This is especially disappointing when what the author wrote prior to the appearance of said being(s) was engrossing and entertaining.
In my world, the appearance of little green aliens, Merlin the Magician, or swarthy guys materializing from old lamps would be the very definition of "unexpected" events.
But what is the insoluble problem?
I agree that it's disappointing when a character's life is transformed by supernatural means requiring no particular effort.
AJ
But what is the insoluble problem?
"Apparently insoluble" is the key. Often the writer has put the MC in a situation which looks hopeless (wife and lover have absconded with his kids, his bank accounts and retirement fund, got him fired from his job, trashed his car, drank his beer, shot his dog ...).
MC can be clever and find a way to get even, or be lucky and have someone leave him a legacy, or just "POOF!" - He's suddenly rich, good looking and world-famous, with super-models hanging on both arms. (With a large herd of horny male ruminant mammals to deal with)
I see what you're getting at and I agree, 'POOF!' doesn't make a good story.
I think my objection is based partly on etymology. The deus ex machina event was traditionally at the end of the story, god being lowered onto the stage to magically make things right. In SOL terms, that would mean a riches-to-rags story, concentrating on detailing the abuse and humiliation to the hero. Poof, everything's made right by the aliens or whatever but that's the end - the reader shouldn't get details of the protagonist's subsequent arduous lifestyle, endlessly fucking innumerable insatiable supermodels.
AJ
...the reader shouldn't get details of the protagonist's subsequent arduous lifestyle, endlessly fucking innumerable insatiable supermodels.
Not to mention the million horny bucks he got for his first wish...
I recall one DoOver... at first, it was like a parody of the classic cmsix(and his host of imitators) 'super-helpful alien who can't help but keep giving the MC more and more help'... to the point where the MC and alien spent a fair bit of time arguing about the terms of the deal that had been offered and at odds with each other.
Unfortunately, somewhere in the story, the writer got tired of that, and had the alien replaced, and eventually the MC got a pretty subservient alien helper.
I recall one DoOver...
Personally, I don't consider a "man sent to prehistoric world by aliens" stories to be do overs. The MC isn't reliving his previous life.
No, the DoOver just used the 'alien' trope from those stories, but in a actual DoOver. The alien argued that the MC was only supposed to have the same life he had already lived, and insisted the MC stop making changes while the MC argued semantics about what the deal was. (The story was Why Didn't I Just?)
Were either of the series, "Florida Friends" by Dual Writer or "Stupid Boy" by GYounger, among your 102 R-to-R through work stories? No magic involved.
Were either of the series, "Florida Friends" by Dual Writer or "Stupid Boy" by GYounger, among your 102 R-to-R through work stories? No magic involved.
I've read both, they're good. The Stupid Boy series is on the R-to-R list, as is Dual Writer's Vacation.