Awakening: Hunter's Gambit

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

The Awakening changed the face of reality itself. A cataclysm of dimensional proportions, the event unleashed all manner of demonic beasts upon the world of man and left humanity's scattered survivors trapped in an endless battle for survival.

That's a battle Council Academy all-star Seth Wright learned the hard way, barely surviving his first encounter with demonic entities. Now aware of the peril mankind faces, he's desperate to learn what he must to defeat them - but the only person willing to help him is veteran demon hunter Astral Daamon, and only so she can pursue her own investigation into corruption within the walls of the Council Academy.

But what they uncover together is far more terrifying than mere conspiracy - challenging everything Seth thought he knew about fighting demons. Beneath the foundations of the academy itself, an ancient and malevolent evil is stirring from its slumber - and unless Seth is willing to sacrifice what he believes could protect humanity from annihilation, this demon will rise and devour everyone he cares about.

Seth is being forced to weigh the lives of his classmates against the fate of humanity. When the moment comes, will he make the right decision?

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2023
Author: A V Dalcourt

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.6/ 5.0
Followers: 43
Views: 33,599

Reviews

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Community Reviews(10)

Wilhelm DuyRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The story hits me with such melancholy opening chapters with Omega and Astral only to hit me with Seth and his mastermind attitude. It was unexpected for the POV swap, but a welcoming one. People in the real world are morally ambiguous depending on their situation and the backgrounds of the characters in this story give them plenty to be conflicted about.
Style: The author's use of descriptive language brought the story to life, it helps paint a vivid picture of the character and adds depth to the story. Those moments when the Ooze goes into Astral’s body, are both wrapped inside a twisted epithermal experience.
Grammar: Since I am not a native English speaker, I can’t say much about it. But there aren’t any “basic” errors
Story: The story is slow-brunt, as there are many layers of world-building in between chapters. I like the descriptive moment as Omega stepped into the timestream. She fights against it only to realize it is backward and give up herself to Astral. The mystery surrounding Seth's sponsors drives my curiosity to read more.
Character: Three main characters, Omega as she is more negotiating type as she spends a whole chapter trying to persuade Astral to accept her offer. Astral is determined, but she is only described through the point of view of Omega; at one point I read that she would rather die instead of accepting Omega’s offer. Seth…I haven’t read too much to conclude about his character; he is planning and quite resourceful.
KageMugenRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This part of review exchange and a bit early to make a proper judgment. If this website was not full of junk judged as 5* I would have probably judged it a bit less.
Style:
Long, long paragraphs abound. A lot of words that may prove a challenge for non-native English speakers. Very descriptive but flowing narration. For the amount of versions the author says she does it is to be expected. I like the story better than the convoluted style.
Story:
A bit hard to follow but as far as I gather it's about a reincarnation of a powerful Demon huntress which appears every few cycles in a new body and Omega a powerful entity who first wants to use her body as a parasite but is forced to accept symbiosis in the end. Freely giving her vast knowledge to end the threat to humanity once and for all. Then the story evolves into Astral growing into her power probably.
Grammar:
With the amount of edits the author does you can expect the grammar to be nearly flawless or very close. Probably depends which version of the same chapter you are reading.
Characters:
Seriously too early to tell. So far they seem to be well developed and I can only expect from the authors addresses to the readers they all have a very well planned purpose in this work.
My final words would be the author is probably in the top 1% of how much care she committed per chapter on RR. I doubt I commit 10%... Worthy of reading even if only to appreciate the effort made.
KleggtRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Style: The detail and care taken in the descriptions and actions during the narrative is phenomenal. At this point in my reading the story is a very slow burn, but I had not anticipated enjoying that so much! Despite the length and time taken to go over such details as Seth talking with his therapist, there was never a point where it felt like a drag. Every part is well thought out and put together in an engaging manner.
Character: The three perspectives that are given during the sections that I have read were each unique, and again - well thought out and described. From an entity that transcends time, to a chap worried about his military service, they are each fleshed out and believable. Seth has his in-universe troubles, as with most MCs, but is a likeable character who seems to have his head on mostly the right way round.
Story: Whilst the Chapters with Seth are a slow burn, there is a healthy layering of worldbuilding adding to the present conversation he has, and it feels like a very natural build up for the universe and future narrative. The first chapters with Astral are super intriguing and leave you hungry for more details on that side of things! Some very cool plotlines and design choices have been made by the author.
Grammar: Honestly one of the most well polished webnovels I have come across so far, no immediate grammar or structure issues, and pacing is consistent throughout.
Overall, a really interesting concept layered with absolute slabs of detail. Definitely adding this to my Follows to catch up on!
MelantheRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
To begin with, I want to encourage readers to try Awakening Hunter's Gambit. The author is clearly invested and passionate about her work, and is constantly working to improve. The style of story is also more traditionally novel-esque than most of the content on Royal Road, which is something I love to see! Complex narratives with intriguing narratives aren't always common around here, so I definitely think it's worth a try.
The author's writing style is rich- sometimes a bit too wordy, but the author clearly knows what she's doing. There aren't any horrible grammar mistakes, and certainly none that detract from the story. To me, the biggest issue would be the shifting POV. It feels a bit uneasy, and leaves the reader on edge in a way that I'm not entirely sure is intentional. I'd love to see the author get a bit more ambitious with this, honestly. If the intention is to keep readers on their toes, I'd love to see the author take bigger risks. It could lead to something a bit more messy and confusing, but no risk no reward, right?
Otherwise, the characters have depth and are well made. The world is interesting, and the style is pretty good. All in all, I wish the author the best, and can't wait to read more!
PeterRobertsRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The first four chapters of this book are like the opening sequence to an epic movie. The scale of the action is kicked up a notch by the multidimensional and temporal possibilities in this new world.
Throughout what I read (up to ch9) I wasn’t really sure of who was who in the struggle of good vs evil. I don’t know if that was intentional but it made the story much more interesting to me and also made it more believable. People in the real world are morally ambiguous depending on their situation and the backgrounds for the characters in this story give them plenty to be conflicted about.
Finally a note about the writing style. I really like the slow burn of the pacing, lines like ‘Shades of potential pasts filled the shelter with the faded whispers of overlapping moments,’ tell me to sit back and let the story unfold at its own pace. These and other descriptions have a hint that they are flavored by the POV of the chapter which adds good depth to the character.
The only thing that held me back were the moments when the character (seth mostly) had internal thoughts confirming things that were already made clear enough through the dialogue or descriptions. The writing is strong enough to let the reader piece together how they feel about the situation/information.
All in all a great read - I’m looking forward to seeing badass Astral again.
Rookie12Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This review is based on the eight chapters that were available at the time.
Before you, we have a story set in a fantasy setting. Cruel games, demons attacking the planet, and, most surprisingly, really well-made characters who will make you want to stay and see how the events play out.
For now, the story is evenly split between two (well, two and a half would be more fair to say) protagonists. One is in the first four chapters of the prologue (at least, this is how I call this introduction of us to this setting) and the other, the titular character Seth, in the other four.
Lore. There is a lot to unpack here. We have been given a general understanding of the setting so far. Countless hooks are thrown in the prologue, no doubt waiting for the chance to bloom into beautiful plot events in the setting. The way I see it so far, a demonic incursion happened on Earth, and the united humanity tries to stop it. Some humans have superpowers (it is unclear how strong these are so far) and work to prevent the threat.
Action. The author is really skilled at conveying the dread and hopelessness of the foe, along with the sheer badassery of some heroes. It just has the right balance between giving us too much and too little, allowing the readers to be invested.
Style and grammar. I am not a native English speaker, so I can't speak for the grammar. But the prose is beautiful! The rich vocabulary and interesting way of knotting words together keep the story fresh and interesting to read.
Characters. Oh, boy, they are the meat of this story! Just four chapters, and I already want to know more about Seth and his therapist, about Omega and demons... I don't really care about Astral one bit, though. Each character adds another brush of paint to this wonderful setting, giving it the cool illusion of a logical and alive story.
All in all, a solid five stars from me. There were no mistakes that I could notice, just the right balance between exposition and action, interesting characters,
SeersuckerRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
If you enjoy vivid imagery with a dark aesthetic then this is the story for you.
The magic in the setting is described in a layered way that relies on both the tangible and intangible blending together in a unique coniguration which I thoroughly enjoyed descriptions of.
The protagonist is a welcome departure from the norm. She's mean, knows her power, and is a bit selfish in a way that I personally found refreshing.
Overall this is a well written work with an original setting, strong worldbuilding, and interesting characters.
The Cabbage PreacherRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
For me, the most important part in any work of fiction is the worldbuilding aspect of it. Many a time have I seen authors describe a location as being “all designed in the same medieval style of architecture”.
Thankfully, this story is not the sort to do such a thing. From the beginning you get to feel the grim aesthetic and the grandeur that permeates throughout this story. The world is fleshed out to smaller details, and the fleshed out parts are mostly not delivered to you through dumps of exposition (though there are some awkward parts where the story does seem to come to a halt). The characters and their interactions create a story that feels and is deep and the various perspectives that these characters offer allow the viewer to immerse themselves into the story.
All in all, everything in this story adds up to create a grim, dystopian fantasy (which I do honestly wish there were more of) story that is vivid in description, deep in setting and well-done in character.
Mr Alex666Royal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
An interesting, dystopian story we have here. So far, its mostly psychological warfare between the MC and his appointed (evil) shrink, apart from the long introduction, we don't see any demon (except the shrink and every entitled twat mentioned).
Grammar: I haven't found any mistakes, but I'm not a native speaker. I will go with a 5
Story: so far, we had the introduction, with some primordial almost-gods, the rest, up to the Chapter, this review is written, is about the MC battling it out with his shrink. If you are looking for bloody battle, this isn't for you. I haven't read to the end, it is possible, the MC will wade through blood and guts later. The verbal battle between the MC and the shrink is, IMHO, a bit on the longish side.
Style: the author has a good grasp of diction, and I actually like the long sentences and the description, what the MC thinks before answering the shrink. The small snippets of past happenings, that clarify the MC's answer are well paced. 4,5
Character: Up to this point, we had the primordial proto-Hunter, the MC and the shrink as characters. The first one moves a bit in a vacuum, the second is a bit too smart for his own good and too focused for his age, and the last is just... pure evil. AKA an entitled bitch. So far, I missed that particular... I don't know what. I, for my part, can't relate to any of the characters so far. The entity is too out of the world, the MC comes across as a wiseass and the shrink as someone you would mug in a back alley just for the fun of it. Or send her to the frontlines without a weapon. Preferably alone. Even so, the characters aren't cardboard cut-outs, so giving a "bad" rating wouldn't be fair. I will go with a weak 4,5.
Total: 4,5, because that's the average.
WeloxRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
I don't usually read these types of genres, and am not an expert in reviewing these types. The amount of information poured in a single chapter can be overwhelming, but if persisted it could work!
Style
Very unique and the choice of words make it even more compelling. The quality and details used in each sentence make it look promising. But the sudden seven-years timeskip threw me off a bit there, but it didn't ruin the story.
Story
Looks promising and unique, you can already 'feel' how developed the world and the plot is. But in the first chapters the amount of new and unknown terms used made it feel like you missed a few chapters. The 'info dump' takes quite a bit of space in some chapters, but that might just be a personal preference.
Grammar and Vocabulary
Top notch and very good, I haven't seen any flaws while reading. I can tell that the story uses a wider range of vocabulary, it feels fresh and new, not repetitive from the eight chapters I read.
Characters
The characters are well-written and planned out, you can feel their emotions and understand their choices made. They aren't dumb or have quadruple-personalities changes, they talk and act like normal humans.
Overall; it felt fresh and unique to read when you understand the world and MC. Would recommend it to someone who likes 'a bit' darker novels.