Blades of Gray [A Morality Progression Fantasy]

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

In the underground city-state of Subtramuros, there is a boy named Lars who dreams of becoming a Hero. However, in a society where guns and magic are commonplace, he is talentless in both aspects and can only use a sword. Despite his shortcomings, he does not give up and trains hard to reach his goal.

But when a certain tragedy arises and shatters his dream, he is forced into a dilemma of whether he should hold on to his heroic ideals or succumb to the darkness.

That’s when a magical catgirl appears before him and offers him her magical blades, Black and White.Chapter Updates Every Saturday :)

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2023
Author: Xiellion

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 3.6/ 5.0
Followers: 20
Views: 22,437

Reviews

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Community Reviews(2)

OchroleucousRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
Blades of Gray pits Lars against many foes, himself being one of the principle ones. Fights can feel like he is really struggling, and he needs to grow over time. Personally, I find this to be a plus, and the added representation of Lars with his black and white blades make it seem like his fights both internal and external have much more story to come.
For someone coming to check the story out, I would recommend it. Especially after you abruptly get thrown out of the first arc (you’ll know you’re there while reading) and find Lars struggling in the second. It is a slower story, in some aspect, taking time between action to develop the world and characters, but development is done well and can be just as, if not more, interesting than the action scenes; which are well done and dynamic.
If I had any concerns which had to be forced out of me, it would be of Lars in the earlier chapters. I can see readers not clicking with his character. However, it is clear upfront that the start is merely just that—a start, and his character will grow and change. He already has begun to develop by the laters chapters, and the pull of his black and white blades, as well as a certain cat girl, will continue to lead him down the path of change. Whether that will ultimately be towards the light, or the darkness, or somewhere in between remains to be seen, but the journey looks like it will be fun.
MarowalkerRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
Blades of Gray (for the sake of easiness, abbreviated to BoG) started as a standard zero-to-hero structure before flipping the standard mold on its head, yet still keeping that core nature until the very end. For fans of progression and underdog protagonists, it’s a solid story that at least worths a shot.
Style: BoG shows a lot of style in its writing. The prose is quick and snappy (though a bit too quick early on, but later chapters show much improvement), and the way that the author uses first-person POV to blend in character thoughts and narration brings an interesting look. However, like with the overall prose, sometimes it can be seen as too blended, and a bit of separation would serve well.
Story: BoG is a story about a young boy wanting to be a hero of justice, starting from the bottom of the barrel climbing his way to the top, until it flips the concept on its head and challenge the once idealistic boy to face the truth of the world. The story development in itself is not uncommon, even accounting for the latter development (the ideal itself might be fruitless, but the act of chasing it will always remain beautiful), but simplicity is sometimes all you need for a good story to show.
Grammar: One of the weaker aspects, especially in early chapters, mainly regarding infreuquent tenses usage. Later chapters do show improvement, however.
Character: There are three sides to BoG’s characters. The MC, who is… controversial, to say the least, at first, but does show considerable growth by the end, making you want to root for them. The allied side cast, which all consist of unique, fun characters who bounces of the MC really well. And finally, the villains, who are, unfortunately, uncomfortable to see at many times. Not necessarily a bad thing from a story perspective, but would turn off some readers if not tread carefully