Fiction Eval leaderboard · comparison

Grok 4.3 vs GLM 5.2 for fiction writing

Judged blind on fresh genre scenes (LitRPG, cozy mystery, romance, thriller, xianxia…), July 2026 — three tries per model per scene, passages shown in both orders so position can't sway it, graded by a third AI that isn't either of them.

Head-to-head

Grok 4.3 won the direct matchup 11–6 (with 12 ties) across every prompt and sample.

#ModelScoreRecordSlop
3Grok 4.31856 (likely 1815–1899)137–28–429.43
4GLM 5.21776 (likely 1732–1822)117–42–4217.53

The score is each model's overall strength across the whole 8-model field (like a chess rating); the range next to it is where the true score most likely sits. Slop is a separate count of AI tells (lower is cleaner) — it isn't part of the ranking.

The same scene, both models

LitRPG — opening of the "party aftermath" scene. Full passages for all models are on the board.

Grok 4.3:

The last health bar winked out in the corner of my vision, a red slash across the party roster that left only my name pulsing green. I knelt in the ash where the floor boss’s final nova had scorched the stone, staff still warm in my hands, every restore and barrier I had cast already logged and dismissed by the system as insufficient. [Party Wipe recorded.] [Experience penalties applied to surviving members: –40 % to next level.] [Equipment durability reduced: 12 %.] I barely registered the lines scrolling across the lower left of my sight. My fingers twitched through the empty air where the resurrection window should have appeared, but the hardcore flag had already overwritten it with something colder. [Korven: deceased. Items dropped at coordinates 47.3, 19.8.] [Mira: deceased. Items dropped at coordinates 47.3, 19.8.] [Selene: deceased. Items dropped at coordinates 47.3, 19.8.] Then the final line settled, heavier than the rest, the text itself thicker, outlined in the dull iron color the system used only for irreversible losses. …

GLM 5.2:

The last system chime faded, and the world rezzed back in around me — the respawn chamber's cold blue light, the hum of the recovery cradle beneath my body. My hands were still shaking. My hands were still shaking and they wouldn't stop. **[SYSTEM NOTICE — PARTY STATUS UPDATE]** **Party Member: Vell Amaranth (Tank) — Status: DECEASED** **Death Penalty: Level reduction ×3. Equipment loss: All equipped items.** **Respawn Location: Stormfield Necropolis (Zone 14)** **Respawn Timer: 04:12:33** **Party Member: Daru Keen-Eye (Ranged DPS) — Status: DECEASED** **Death Penalty: Level reduction ×3. Equipment loss: All equipped items.** **Respawn Location: Stormfield Necropolis (Zone 14)** **Respawn Timer: 04:12:31** **Party Member: Sixshot (Melee DPS) — Status: DECEASED** **Death Penalty: Level reduction ×3. Equipment loss: All equipped items.** **Respawn Location: Stormfield Necropolis (Zone 14)** **Respawn Timer: 04:12:29** **Party Member: Maren Voss (Support) — Status: ALIVE** **Death Penalty: N/A (Survivor's Grace active — death penalty waived)** **Current Location: Ashenholde Respawn Shrine** I read it three times. Survivor's Grace. Because I'd been standing furthest from the kill zone. …

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Grok 4.3 full review · GLM 5.2 full review · the July 2026 report · all comparisons

How it works: every pair of models is judged blind on the same scene, with the passages' order flipped so being shown first can't sway it, by GPT-5.4 — a family that isn't on the board, so nobody scores their own side. Each score carries a likely range; overlapping ranges are called a tie. Slop is scored separately by a fixed checklist, not an AI. Full board, every prompt, and the FAQ: thebookfactoryai.com/board. Get each new board by email on the model-drop list.

Writing a book of your own? Book Factory runs the same craft checks on full manuscripts.