BOUND BY STARS

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

In a world where shadows whisper and ancient mysteries linger, those seeking magical knowledge are drawn into a web of secrets that could reshape everything they know.Abelconfronts the unknown ashe is thrown into the world of magic and its dangers.The boundaries between reality and nightmare blur as the vast mystical world threatens humanity'sfrail existence. Survival depends not just on strength, but on unraveling the dark truths hidden deep within, and with the Gifted and non-Gifted ever at odds, forgotten calamities waiting to reappear, how will humanity fare?

A journey of fear, discovery, and the unsettling allure of forgotten magic

Volume 3 is in progress!

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2024
Author: TheCrimsonEclipse

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.2/ 5.0
Followers: 167
Views: 239,076

Reviews

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Community Reviews(10)

longwindedone1Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This review comes after reading the first nine chapters of Bound Stars. I apologize for any spoilers.
Story:
This story begins with a powerful hook. We meet our MC Abel, whose village is under attack. Suddenly, he is thrust into a world dominated by "Apostles" and dark rituals. The dark progression fantasy elements are well done. I especially like the ritual scene and Abel’s discovery of his magical dagger.
Style:
The overall tone is fairly dark. We are introduced to Abel’s new magical world through third person point of view. The author's writing definitely evokes tension and mystery. From the village to the ship, the story kept me invested. The descriptions of magical elements are memorable for me. They bring a freshness to this world.
Grammar:
The grammar was clean throughout the chapters I reviewed. There were no noticeable errors that disrupted the flow of the story, but then again, I always listen to these stories using the Royal Road app.
Characters:
Abel is the young MC. He starts off as a passive figure and eventually evolves into someone who wishes to control his fate. Apostle Flint and Apostle Essence are fun characters. Their magic and adds a sort of mystique to the MC's new world. Ronald, Isabella, and Nando are secondary characters (Tower recruits). And that about covers it for the characters through chapter nine.
If you like dark magic and hidden mysteries this story is for you. It is an epic quest for power in a dangerous world. 5/5
drechenauxRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is a story of a young village boy who has to flee from his village, and through pure chance ends up on a boat heading towards a magical academy. He enters- though what kind of horrors and tribulations await him?
Style: This style is serviceable and I don't see any real point of contention or flaw that you could pick up. From a technical aspect the story is solid.
Grammar: Again, as with the style, I couldn't pick up any mistakes- maybe they are there, but even if there are small errors this would not affect your enjoyment of the story in any way.
Character: Most of the story is told through the protagonist's eyes, and as of yet I don't feel like I've gotten to really know anyone else- but that's okay, Abel is a great everyman protagonist and his lack of knowledge helps things not feel like an exposition dump.
Story: Compelling- I have my own theories on where the story will head, but I don't want to post spoilers here in case someone wants to enjoy things firsthand. It doesn't initially go in the direction you'd expect, I'll leave it at that.
All in all, from what I've read, it is quite the compelling beginning to what seems to be a great unfolding story.
KyshiesRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The world-building in this story is pretty cool, and is presented slowly and progressively with the reader seeing the world and its rules and magic-based systems through the eyes of the MC. It's an approach that works and the author delivers.
Style-wise, the author really gets into his descriptions! And they're pretty detailed! It does get a bit wordy at times, but it's all pretty well-written (mostly). That said, there are some areas of improvement - for example, sounds (e.g. coughing, creaking, etc) are written as dialogue (complete with inverted commas) - I feel like these could be better expressed as part of the prose.
Regarding the grammar - there aren't any typos as far as I've read this - there are a few (slightly) awkwardly phrased lines of dialogue in the conversations, but it's not too big of an issue.
I can't really comment too much on the side characters, so I'll focus mostly on the MC - He's basically a fish out of water in this story, having been plucked directly from his farmer boy life into a world of nobles and sorcery. It's pretty interesting to see him do his best to blend into the world using his wits and charisma. Not much is else about the other characters (such as the Apostles and the organisation they work for that gathers the recruits to train to overcome the Tower).
Overall, I would say that this story is worth a read if you enjoy stories about sorcery and magic, and weak-to-strong MCs with character progression and development that occurs over many chapters. If you like that kind of story, give this one a try! The writing is good enough to draw your interest into the world and its systems, but it's also albeit of a dense read.
MikexyzRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Excellent read, I don't know why this book isn't on rising stars yet. The book follows Abel and his friends. Their journey through the tower and wizardry. What can I say? Except that this book is one of the few that has caught my attention and I absolutely can't wait for more updates. I want to see more of Abel and his friends as they discover more of how to use their powers. Good job author, I love this book.
Ptolemis, the BardRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
When I think of stories from Royal Road that I'm willing to invest my time and sink my teeth into, I think of stories where the characters are people that I'd be willing to spend an afternoon with in real life. Worlds that I'd pay money to visit, to take a tour from, to learn more about.
CrimsonEclipse here has been able to deliver on that sort of proposition. Abel is a fun protagonist that gives the reader a fun lens and cockpit to explore the Tower from, and the different multi-layered conflicts that encroach on his life inside (and outside!) the academy ensure that there's always something to grapple with as you're immersing yourself deeper and deeper into the world.
The pacing's fairly upbeat and fast-paced, with punchy chapters and straightforward storytelling to keep you turning to the next chapter. I appreciate that there's a clear picture painted with every new chapter and every new setting without dwelling too long on one single idea or narrative. It pushes you to continue the story and learn more about each character and each plot point.
Overall, at the end of the day, you're sure to have a fun read with this piece, and I'm looking forward to continuing the story 'til its end.
S.D. HussRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Wow, what a gem. This is one of those books you pick up and just can’t put down. From the first chapter it pulls you in quite well. You’re immediately engaged, and it keeps you there, greedily eating up chapter after chapter. Well done sir.
Style: The style is really good. I might be different from other reviewers. Structure and sentence and paragraph length and whatnot I don’t pay much attention to. What gets a good rating in style for me, is the flow. This story has a fantastic flow. Each chapter weaves together effortlessly and keeps you reading.
Story: The story is the tried and true hero's journey basically. Which I personally love. Without spoiling anything! Able is a great character, who you root for from the beginning. The magic system is well designed, and the tone is great. You can tell the author is meticulous about particular details. The passion really shows.
Character: Able is solid. He’s well fleshed out and relatable. Even the side cast is great. Showing great promise.
Grammar: I am certainly not an editor. But all I could see out of my plebeian eyes, was perfection.
Overall I am very happy that I reviewed this piece. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who loves fantasy. I am looking forward to continuing the story and finishing it.
tealeryRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
This is for a review swap! I've only read through Chapter 8, so I'm sure there's a lot more for me to glean by moving forward. This review will reflect what I've noticed so far about the story!
Style: I'm always a bit unsure as to what to call "style," but my main issues with the story are ones that I don't think fit any of the other categories, so I wanted to put them here. I found the writing in this story to go back and forth with being absolutely flawless, excellent, perfect, and vivid (literally, chef's kiss on some of those descriptions; I felt like I was there), and being overexplain-y. Let me [over]explain: I get a strong sense that the world-building in this story is extremely well thought out and planned. While this is a great thing, I think it leads to this problem: sometimes there is too much spoon-feeding for the reader on what is going on. I think this could be easily solved by beta readers. I get the sense that the author is not sure sometimes if it's clear what he's trying to say about the world and characters, so he goes on to over-explain or say too much. In reality, he's already being really clear and has nothing to worry about. As readers, we already understand or have accepted as mysteries we'll wait to have answered. Basically, I think he's already doing a good job, but then is uncertain of if he's doing a good job and starts adding things that bog the narrative down. This is such a small problem that stems from a huge positive (good world-building and clear writing), so I find it to be entirely forgivable and also very easily fixable. I think with a bit more confidence in himself as a writer and a bit more confidence in the reader to be able to follow along, this issue will be resolved. To summarize my one and only real critique: right now, as the story stands, there's a bit of "telling" not "showing" and some over-explaining. But all of this is very easily fixable.
Story: Like I already said, this is an interesting world. You can tell the aut
WoodenCrownRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
This story follows a young village boy who Is learning about a magical world that has plenty of dark tones to it. There are some interesting concepts in this as well with rituals, strange beings, and secrets that might be unveiled in the future but each with dangers and challenges that make you want to find out more.
Writing Style: The writing is clear and effective, with no major flaws. It flows smoothly and serves the story well.
Grammar: The grammar is solid throughout. Even if there are small errors, they don’t detract from the reading experience.
Characters: The story focuses mainly on the protagonist, Abel, who is a relatable person thrown into a world of magic. His inexperience helps reveal the world without overwhelming exposition. The other characters are also interesting with unique stories that so far is developing nicely.
Plot: The plot is intriguing and unpredictable with plenty of notes of magic that keep you wondering. It doesn’t follow the typical path you might expect, keeping readers engaged and eager to see what happens next. From the dark undertones to the harry potter like mystery, I love it.
In conclusion, it is on my list and I will follow closely.
shadow1716Royal Road
★★★ 3.0
Story is alright, seems interesting even but I didn't get too far because I couldn't handle the grammatical errors and word usage.
Some words/sentences were used inappropriately? Wrongly? It is hard to put into words, but they stand out in sentences or dialogue where a more common vocabulary would be prudent. Like reaching for a depth or breadth that isn't present anywhere else.
Most the descriptions which are frequent are 'the, a, it' with adjectives attached. Which breaks immersion because no one is going to think or describe something like: "The door was red and chipped. The paint faded from age. The hinges rusty from years of salt...". We think fluidly, it would all be aggregated into a singular observation at a glance: "The chipped red door hung on rusty hinges, faded from age and years at sea...". It very hard to keep interested when you constantly are noticing AI-like descriptions and grammatical errors.
Lastly, way too many uses of ellipsis. Some sentences even start with it, which can happen if using it in the formal style but it's being used in the informal where it means trailing off or thinking. Pauses in thought in dialogue are fine, trailing off mid-sentence is fine but how do you trail off before even saying a word? That should be written out: "He paused, contemplating the mysteries of the universe before vocalizing his realization that "The door is red"."
Gabbar_BadmaasRoyal Road
★★★ 2.5
#THERE ARE SPOILERS HERE#
It feels like the author just adds heavy words to give an impact but is unable to build on them. An example is, the mention of a cruel world and the lack of resources and how the "Wanna-Be-apostles" fight for them and don't like competition for it. But there is no competition shown what-so-ever.
Such a big difference in the treatment of the gifted and the non-gifted has been mentioned, but there is no base to it. It is apparent to everyone that the non-gifted are equally superior if not more; their segregation doesn't make sense.
And also, everyone has surprisingly unique powers, I get it, the author doesn't just want to make the mc great but others too, but if you call everything as great then there's nothing great.
I know all the other reviews only sing praises for it and I am honestly very surprised by it. It's certainly better than reading those shitty Chinese novels.
I am writing this review after reading till the 106th chapter. This books surely looks great in the beginning, but it is not. Be Aware!!