Bad Seed

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Elsa is going to leave the Darkzone along a path paved with junk or along a river of blood.

Elsa is not a warrior, but in her underground settlement she has a skill of greater value—she has a knack for fixing objects junked from the ruined surface. It doesn’t matter that she wears the mark of the Bad Seed, or that she is treated like a pariah even amongst outcasts. It doesn’t matter that no one has ever escaped the Darkzone before. She will do it. She will use her skills as an apprentice, her wits and her allies to remove every obstacle before her, whether it be the Black Guardsmen, the mysterious band of Blood Wolves from the surface, or her own fears. She can give up almost everything to succeed, even her own dignity. The one thing she will not give up though, is her uncle. Elsa is not a warrior, but she will fight for him and her place in the light.

Amos could never be a warrior, but he will do anything to protect his niece, even forsake the light, even travel the dangerous surface in search of old-world treasures. Armed with his skills as an engineer and his memories of the world before the Chaos, he will not let her live the life of a Bad Seed forever. He will continue to build up their collection of junk and teach Elsa everything he knows, all to keep her safe. But danger comes in many forms, and the biggest threat may be two youths from the surface with strange powers and a troubling connection to Elsa. Their appearance will force Amos to act. He could never be a warrior, but Amos will protect Elsa with his life.

Finn may not be a warrior yet, but he is going to save his friends from his oppressive, cruel father…maybe. Armed with the Source and burdened with the treacherous creature that produces it, Finn is determined to get to the underground city of Haven and seek help. But Finn will learn that getting underground is the easy part. He may reach the Darkzone, but leaving it will be no mean feat, and even heroes with special powers can bleed. Finn is not yet a warrior, and that may be his downfall.

Noak is a warrior, a Blood Wolf. He has control of the Leashworm, a deadly gift from his master, and he can wield the Source with power and skill. Noak has very little to fear, until Finn goes missing. Together with others from his pack, he will travel underground to rescue Finn. Along the way, Noak will face off with the Black Guardsmen and the shifty inhabitants of the Darkzone. He will discover that brute strength and intimidation may not be enough for him to succeed. Instead, he will need to draw on the art of deception and persuasion. He will reunite with Elsa, a figure from his past, and forge a bond that will haunt him, well after he has escaped the underground.

Four heroes thrown into darkness. Can they work together to reach the light, or will they perish?

Bad Seed is the first novel in a series. The characters and world will be developed over several books. The romance is slow burn. The plan is for five novels in total. Bad Seed is now complete on Royal Road. The first three chapters of Blood Wolf (Book 2) are also available at the end of this book.

Information

Status: Completed
Year: 2024
Author: SM Bennett

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.7/ 5.0
Followers: 10
Views: 8,785

Chapters(41 total)

Reviews

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Community Reviews(3)

R. C. VettaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
First off this was once an already published story and now we are getting it for free!?
Incredibly generous of the author here!
The worldbuilding in this story is tremendous!
The plethora of characters keep things interesting and move the plot along in very intriguing ways.
Style- the overall style of the story is one that leans into the overall tone of a dystopia and post apocalypse setting. The descriptions and other exposition is very well written and incredibly evocative. There are various characters and each one comes with a different point of view narration. As long as you are ready for that you are going to love what you see.
Grammar- the grammar is excellent, and the author is making a strong effort to make the format Royal Road friendly!
Story- This story is dense! There are a lot of moving parts and the plot is THICC. This is the kind of story you are going to want to take your time and enjoy slowly. You will appreciate the nuances much more than if you try and rush through.
Characters- I have to make this plural as there are a truly fantastic amount of well rounded characters. I have yet to reach the part where they all come together (if they even do come together...) but from what I have read each character has their own well crafted motivations and personalities.
Overall a must read if you are a fan of these genres!
PyritePirateRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
Of all the ones I've reviewed, this is probably the closest to a perfect 5 stars, and might just reach that if it can maintain this quality all the way through. The writer has said that this was published on Kindle and that 4 out of the 5 books have been written in advance, and considering the quality I believe them.
Style: The author has a very strong writing style, in the sense they have a clear "identity". They excel at describing the setting, good at describing characters and their thoughts and emotions, and fairly good at writing the action based scenes. The latter is the main thing that could be improved. The style is a bit meandering and slow paced, and could be sped up just a bit, though this is more of a personal preference.
Story: The standout feature is the setting. They've clearly put a lot of work into the details, and quite a lot of time is spent on it. Maybe a bit more than they should've. There are pieces of plot scattered around, though right now it feels like a puzzle. The main issue is that we don't really have much in terms of goals for the characters, which helps lead towards the overarching plot. Like yes, they have thoughts, hopes and ideas, but where they'll be going is still murky.
Grammar: Can't say I noticed any issues, well done.
Character: There is a fairly large cast, and all of them are explored with a fair amount of depth, but ultimately I think they jumped to the larger cast a bit too quickly. This might be more of my opinion, but it's best to first have more of a focus on one to two of the major cast, while occasionally breaking away to show that this will be a multi pov story, until those few characters are clearly explored, and then gradually shift focus away from them. Take Noah and his group, for example. You could've left them a mystery in their introduction, without showing their side right away. And so the audience is left wondering who they are along with the uncle. And then later we learn more through Finn when he tries his
SvenwritesbooksRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
I’ve re-read this book twice. Now, I know it isn’t finished (or fully published on RR at least), but it’s the honest truth. Will I finish the book? Yes. Will I re-read it upon completion on this site? Also yes.
Style: I enjoy the more mature take the story has. There is some fairly dark subject matter and it's tastefully handled. It takes itself seriously and is confident in doing so. There’s no awful “Marvel Humor”, which I love to see.
Story: This is a solid, compelling story with unique characters who actually feel like real people. I won’t go into too much detail narratively, largely because you honestly just need to read the story yourself, but I will say it's well worth the slow burn so far. The author gives the story and characters time to breathe and develop in a natural, realistic way which lends a certain nuance to the narrative. There’s a lot going on, but it never feels needlessly complex or contrived.
Grammar: No complaints as far as the grammar is concerned. It's pretty flawless.
Character: As I’ve stated before, they really do feel like real people. Each one is distinct and memorable in their own way. I favor some more than others and the only reason I scored this section lower was because there were points where Elsa didn’t quite jive with me. That being said, I still find she’s an interesting character.
Overall: This is one of the few books I’ve review swapped for that I genuinely plan on reading going forward. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you’re looking for a character-driven narrative with some stellar worldbuilding, give this a read.