Chains of a Time Loop

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

After a disastrous fall break, Myrabelle Prua-Kent is trying to recover her prospects for a career in her favorite subject, runecrafting. But she has to deal with the fallout from her father's financial fraud, an entitled princess that picks a fight with her friend, a set of gruesome and baffling murders on university campus, and a time loop where she suspects the creator isn't on her side. At least she gets to attend some college parties. Chains of a Time Loopis a time loop detective story, centered around a catastrophic event and a locked room whodunnit mystery. Cover credit:wadapan

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2023
Author: jjjqance

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.7/ 5.0
Followers: 496
Views: 157,870

What readers say about Chains of a Time Loop

“Finished up the the end of the first book (which is the last updated). We got a excellent time loop story with lots of different trails and mysteries to figure out. In a surprising twist compared to other stories, the MC is not the smartest around but is pr…”
memahaloRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“Chains of a Time Loop gets a lot right, more than most in the genre. It's well worth the read with what's released so far, and likely to be phenomenal by the time it's finished. The main cast of characters in Chains of a Time Loop diverse and lively. This h…”
v0lcanoRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

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Community Reviews(10)

memahaloRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Finished up the the end of the first book (which is the last updated). We got a excellent time loop story with lots of different trails and mysteries to figure out.
In a surprising twist compared to other stories, the MC is not the smartest around but is pretty clever, and even relies on smarter friends to get things done because while it's a time loop, it's also a race to not get caught
v0lcanoRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Chains of a Time Loop gets a lot right, more than most in the genre. It's well worth the read with what's released so far, and likely to be phenomenal by the time it's finished.
The main cast of characters in Chains of a Time Loop diverse and lively. This holds true for protagonists and antagonists. I love Shera, the nerdy, shy, stuttering and maybe-autistic girl, Iz, with her superiority that she justifies by saying anyone could do what she can (hint: they can't, she's a genius), Myra, with her courage in stressful situations and obliviousness to certain things. The main antagonist is really good in their role; they have a certain bumbly feel, and their self-justifications paint them as someone who's doing what they think is right, but they very obviously treat morals as disposable, and thus act like a villain 'cause of that.
Mystery, the central element to the plot, and indeed to all time-loops, is handled very well. Jjjqance manages to build clues upon clues and mystery upon mystery competently, taking the plot to locations far and wide sometimes for very small things; sometimes for big things. And it is not always clear which turns out to be which until later. The world, upon which the mystery takes place, feels alive, with the magic system having been part of politics since their world's dawn of time. The way that magic is ingrained into their culture, and presence of some Earth-like sports and culture, makes for nonsensical or humorous elements. Some things that are absurd to us, are utterly mundane to Myra and co., like when she uses a spell to check the time instead of turning her head to look at the clock out of laziness.
The flow of the story is slightly poor right at the start, and while I think it would have been better with a lengthier introduction (so that the stakes in the university have more impact), it smooths out very quickly into the loops and falls into a rhythm. Unlike a certain other, unmentionable time loop story however, at no point does it
didiandgogoRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I'm a big mystery fan, and fantasy mystery in particular can be enrapturing when done right. And this author does it right.
There is so much detail and precision taken to planning out and explaining not only general worldbuilding background, but the mystery scenes themselves. The diagrams add an immersive element that makes me stop and think, "What conclusions could I draw from this information?" which is the best part of any mystery story.
The magic system is honestly so cool, I love the way it's presented piecemeal and as a part of the world rather than in an exposition dump. Really comes off as a believable system that is both understandable and wildly complex.
The main characters are all interesting enough, most having some backstory given to us, although I would like to see more of Myra with her other friends besides Shera, like Cynthia and Iz. That section from Benkoten's perspective was also interesting and made me think similar POVs from other characters would provide more flavor.
So far we have begun to unravel bits of the mystery, although there are countless dots yet to be connected. All I can do is wait with excitement and develop my own theories until I can see Myra solve it herself!
dslingRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Really enjoying this fiction. The way magic is described in math and computer science terms is a lot of fun, and one of the best executions of this idea that I've seen. When the characters' plans come together they tend to be very satisfying as a result. The mysteries piling up are fun to think about and try and reason through. Myra can be a bit scatter-brained which can be endearing and frustrating in equal measures.
nightpoolRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
hi! do you like time loop stories? are you looking for more dyke drama in your time loop stories, with a heavy helping of an oblivious protagonist who spends months learning a foreign language but doesn't understand why her friend is always stuttering whenever she's around? Do you like fun worldbuilding, closed room murder mysteries, really cool plants, magical systems that let you explore the topology of your campus in configuration space, and spell development more reminiscent of the GNU project and DARPA funding, and a chaotic geopolitical situation that's rigged to blow?
Meet Myrabella Pura-Kent, and follow her as she tries to unravel ... honestly, more mysteries then you can shake a stick at. There are so, so, so many mysteries happening here. It's really mysterious, y'all. One guy gets obliterated by a meteor out of absolutely nowhere for seemingly no reason at all, and he's like. C-tier on the mystery list. At best. The beavers are extremely important, and not just because they're Myra's favorite animal. Beavers might even be metaphysically important. Who knows! It's a fucking mystery! Read Chains of a Time Loop and help me figure it the fuck out please because i'm dying out here.
JarmaroRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
It's rare that one finds a Time Loop story, even rarer to find one actually worth reading. Despite Mother of Learnin's extreme popularity not many people attempt to do the same. Probable explanation is that doing such a story is hard and one can easily find themselves falling into copying already existing ones. While Chains of a Time Loop is definitely inspired by MoL it manages to find its own footing, for all good and bad it brings.
Let's start with the positives - Chains of the Time Loop is a decent story, even more so considering its relative quality to other webnovels. The effort put into the world-building, mystery-crafting, magic system and thinking stuff out is clearly visible throughout the story. One cannot not respect that.
The scientific explanations of magic are interesting, with a lot probably going over my head. It didn't feel overbearing, very rarely feeling excessive.
The writing itself is competent to my layman's eyes, showing distinct skill often lacking in webnovels. It's not something I particularly care about, so if the author is particularly talented with wordplay it might have been missed on me.
Now, to not beat around the bush there's been a lot of things I disliked.
The worst offender is the pacing of the story. While the introduction is a bit rough, the story seems to find its footing as it progresses through the initial month. However, as it goes on the main plot reveals and the 'mystery' begins. And the mystery is which this story seems to be all about so far, not just as in 'why is all of this happened' but a Murder Mystery. On its own it's a great idea, especially for a time loop story, but the story focuses heavily on this plot in a way that breaks my disbelief.
Why is the protagonist so easily acquiring new clues? Why are so many important people listening to her, the most important people in the empire? The random set of social connections that allows her to visit places she definitely shouldn't is jarring. Not that she shouldn't b
QesdenovaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Excellent, beautiful, love it. In the two days between discovering this story and getting caught up, I didn't get a single thing done.
The characters are interesting and well-realized, the mystery is compelling, the ideas are fresh and new. I'd get injected on purpose just to be able to read it for the first time again.
RANDO645Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
A dark timeloop story that follows a school setting and involves a murder mystery. This is definitely a hidden gem, the writing style is outstanding and overall, it has been amazing to read so far.
It takes inspiration from Mother Of Learning and The Flower That Bloomed Nowhere, so if you liked either of those stories, you will no doubt enjoy this one too.
There is no filler, the author introduces our characters, develops them well, and then goes straight into the good stuff. I really like the characters, and how the antagonist isn't just a cartoon villain, he is a human being who is very twisted by the circumstances he finds himself in and it shows. The MC is also very likable, she is rational and yet is able to show empathy for others.
It is hard to find time loop stories that actually have realistic stakes in it. Time loops are usually too OP and regardless of what happens, the protagonist will inevitably win perfectly in the end. Not here though! With multiple loopers out to get each other and messing up the timeline with their whims, the timeloop doesn't feel like a such broken ability to have.
Altogether, this is a very promising story. Give it a chance, I doubt it would disappoint you.
StormbuilderRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
A very well written story, which happens to also be a time loop one.
Obvious inspirations from Mother of Learning, but with much tighter pacing and probably better characterization.
The magic system is also quite interesting, and the world setting is unusual (in a good way) in the sense that magic/science is much more advanced than your typical fantasy world.
It's unfortunate that the story isn't getting more visibility on the site
wadapanRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Banger. I devoured the 30-ish chapters currently available in a single day. If you're reading this review, there's no reason why you shouldn't do the same, right now; the first few chapters speak for themselves.
Honestly, what a pleasure to be able to write an unambiguously positive review of a story like this. Like Mother of Learning, which seems to be the biggest inspiration for Chains of a Time Loop, this is a well-constructed month-long time-looping story about a magical student picking up abilities and solving a baffling cocktail of mysteries in the hopes of forestalling a horrible disaster. Multiple loopers are in play, which immediately injects a sense of danger, uncertainty, and urgency that can often be lacking from traditional time loop stories (indeed, usually that's the point).
Where Chains of a Time Loop frankly blows Mother of Learning out the water is in its command of character and style. Protagonist Myra is such a type of guy, I feel like I met a dozen of her during my own time at university. She's clearly always felt like the world revolves around her (and indeed, now it does!) and her occasionally casually cruel treatment of her friends, coupled with her damn-the-consequences actions across the loops, are wonderful character flaws that tie directly into the story's high concept and drive the plot in entertaining ways. Main supporting characters Shera, Ben, and Iz are similarly all kinds of fucked-up in their own ways, and the rest of the cast bring their own interesting textures, never feeling one-note. Although this is predominantly concerned with being a mystery story, and with being a progression fantasy, meaning it does have fairly mechanical leanings... there's nothing robotic about it, the people in this story feel like people to me, which is all I ask.
jjjqance's third-person prose often has a wry sense of humour, and to me represents the platonic ideal of the RoyalRoad "house style", which is to be as clear, direct, unobtrusive, and perfec