Beyond the Mirror's Gaze: The Mirrored Enigma

Information

Status

Hiatus

Year

2023

Author

Lyptix

• Chapter Four: Whispers of the Mirrors
  Jul 4, 2023
• Chapter Three: The Illuminated Trail
  Jul 1, 2023
• Chapter Two: Whispers in the Dark
  Jul 1, 2023
• Chapter One: Shattered Cries
  Jun 8, 2023

Reviews

Community Reviews(6)

• Genuine55Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  So: positives first.
  This story does indeed possess grammar. ;) Sentences and paragraphs convey meaning smoothly, I didn't notice typos or grammar mistakes and I didn't find myself rereading sections to figure out what was going on.
  The style was great too. Early days still, but I really appreciate a more printed pacing, rather than the more disjointed narratives that webserials often have. It allows for a bit more thorough development of themes and imagery.
  I gotta admit I've found a bit of the plot a smidge disappointing. I was kinda hoping for a Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell style exploration of supernatural weirdness, the first couple of chapters really looked like that. Instead it looks as though the plot is more about a war between dueling secret magical conspiracies. Not terrible, and my complaint is entirely subjective, but it went from a set of tropes that I love to a set that I tolerate.
  Finally, character development is the one area I'd say is a genuine weak point. We've met four characters. One of those got fridged at the end of chapter 1. Two have mostly just been exposition sources. The third is the first-person narrator. And oddly, I feel like I know very little about her - she is a student, likes food, and she has plot related nightmares about mirrors. Not a ton for to hang a MC on. But it's early days yet. I may come back in a hundred thousand words or so and update this.
  Overall, this is a fairly above average story, and I'm looking forward to watching it continue.
• Momoharu-TaroRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  This story was Strange, the characters aren't that fleshed out for what I usually go for. Of course there are only four chapters and the Mc Yuki is pretty cool imo but that shouldn't be enough for me.
  Yet I was on the edge of my seat for the action scene in chapter two and the set up in chapter 1 also got me hooked to keep going. It was a great idea to open the story this way with the supernatural battle.
  At first I didn't think it was that believable that the Mc could fight the monster but re reading it the scene was a desperate struggle and the Mc thoughts and actions conveyed that.
  That's also what I think is the strongest point of Lyptix's writing, the author has a strong tone in their writing that feels professional and makes you want to keep reading the characters thoughts.
  Also the author wrote all the horror and grimdark ascepts of the story in a top notch way!
  I don't really care about grammar much unless it unreadable but this story doesn't have those issues and I was pretty hooked once it hit the end of chapter 1.
  The characters are lacking a bit but the entire package and the way the author wrote the story is well worth the read.
• MoonlightGardensRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  It’s an alright start to something, at least, though it seems to be lacking in something to make it truly interesting.
  Style (4.5/5)
  The author describes the characters and their surroundings fairly well, giving the reader a clear view of it. There were a bit of redundant phrases, though, and a couple of instances of odd word choices (such as using meters and miles, while being standard units of measure for two different nations, and “flank” and “neck” to mean the same thing). A thing for readers to take note of, is that there isn’t a lot of character interaction or dialogue within the chapters.
  Story (4.5/5)
  The opening was alright, though the opening portions of the story didn’t really hold as much interest. The first chapter is more or less giving slightly more detail to the synopsis. There’s some confusing bits of information, though perhaps not too important. The next two chapters continue the slow start which isn’t really bad, but it might turn readers away. Some of the story’s details didn’t make sense and there were instances that were just immersion breaking.
  Grammar (4.5/5)
  Overall fine, but there’s a couple of minor grammar and spelling errors.
  Character (4.5/5)
  We’re introduced to the MC’s plight immediately, but I couldn’t find any real connections to them. I questioned some of their actions, though a part of it may have just been the way it was written. All of the other characters that appeared so far are like that; introduced but not really having anything to connect me to them.
• fsarbolaezRoyal Road

  ★★★★ 4.0

  The suspense and horror are nicely done, as I felt that these Mirrorgarde and the Prismlock Society were a clear and ever present danger to the characters. A very challenging and bestial bunch of mirror monsters to not be underestimated, and if you're not trained well they can kill you easily. Definitely adds stakes to the fact that the exploitation of these creatures by the Prismlock Society, might be an organization's assumptive act of biting off more than they can chew. I do have to say being trained be able to face-off against a pack of Mirrorgarde does make them a little less scary, which isn't a bad thing but that does lead to knowing they're more vulnerable than originally thought.
  There is a good amount of emotional depth into how characters feel about different people and things, so I wasn't lost and finding myself questioning why unless the author wanted the reader to ask. The deep lost felt by Yuki was made very clear that it felt almost like she lost a sister.
  The action and pacing are very well done. I was kept enthralled as there wasn't too little or too much action to make me feel bored. Once in awhile I had to reread a sentence or paragraph to make sure that I wasn't missing anything, but on the most part everything was well described and I could tell what was going on.
  I could tell the motives of people unless the author wanted to keep them hidden at the time, so the character development was awesome in that regard. Meanwhile, the imaginary descriptions usually worked, although sometimes it did read like the author could've used less words to describe what was going on. From what I could tell, how the characters were described was done quite well. I personally tend to have a difficult time imagining how folks in stories should look, so I'm pretty sure that's nothing to do with how the characters were built.
  Overall, I really liked it!
• David GilesRoyal Road

  ★★★★ 3.5

  The mystery sections are really good (questions like 'why did the victim have a mirror in their bedroom when they knew mirrors are dangerous' are set up very well) and the action is fairly persuasive but the big problem is the MC's own inner monologue, it veers far too deep into melodrama that it frankly hasn't earned in these early chapters.
• IndigoSparksRoyal Road

  ★★★★ 3.5

  This was a very fun and interesting read! At times it feels like the author is writing purposefully dramatic in a way that doesn't fit the rest of their style, and outright clashes with the way characters speak, but if you don't mind the inconsistency, then I'm sure you'll enjoy this.
  The style, unfortunately, doesn't come off the way the writer clearly wants it to. A lot of falling into the 'rule of cool' without appropriate buildup and setting. For example, in chapter 1, we spend a lot of time on her dressing, while sacrificing important plot points like Yuki's nightmares and the depths of Ayumi's research. We also don't get to see her opening the box, which was all manners of odd. And if you're going to set up a secret meeting, why do it in a place with witnesses seeing you coming and going? And since the Mirrorgardes are already eating people, why would the world knowing about it strike a war?? You could have explained this away with a simple 'they only attack those who know' sort of deal, but they don't, as far as I could see.
  In the end, these are all very surface level details that needed to be ironed out, and considering this work has been written for the June magazine, if I'm correct, then it makes sense that these plot holes are there.
  The grammar is impeccable, so I can always respect that, and the characters are... varied and have a lot of potential. Though they haven't been clearly established at times and their skill level and experience seems to shift. It's only been four chapters, though, so maybe we'll get more worldbuilding then.
  Final verdict: big concepts with a lot going on, but a shaky execution. Prose is acceptable and it promises an interesting read.