Cherno Caster [Noir Isekai Biopunk LitRPG]

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Betrayed and murdered for daring to expose the deeds of the corrupt.

Snatched from the void of death by the capricious hand of cosmic coincidence.

Brunhilde Krahe finds herself reborn into a bizarre world of magic and conspiracy, eldritch knowledge in her brain and cosmic fire burning inside.

She copes with her own death the only way she knows how: By continuing her work in the new world. Ruthless mafiosos, corrupt politicians, even lowly gangsters; there is more than enough work to be found for an investigator with no qualms towards hyperviolence.

Do not make peace with evil.NUKE IT.

Vol. 1 Now Available on Kindle/Kindle Unlimited and Audible, also in Paperback! -Cherno Caster Vol. 1

Vol. 2 Now Available on Kindle/Kindle Unlimited and Audible! -Cherno Caster Vol. 2

Discord:https://discord.gg/6kphpnCxbC

Disclaimer:Cherno Casteris an original work of fiction and is in no way associated with, to, or sourced from existing copyrighted material. The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious.

Copyright:This fiction and all content encapsulated within, incl. worldbuilding, unique terminology, etc. are the sole intellectual property of the author, herein known as Akaso. Copyright pertaining to individual illustrations varies on a case-by-case basis. This work and all applicable terms are © Akaso 2023.

Credit:Illustrations by Bradley Burke/trollfeetwalker, Krit26, and Gunk/herbyfox

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2023
Author: Akaso

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.7/ 5.0
Followers: 1,628
Views: 372,984

Chapters(137 total)

What readers say about Cherno Caster [Noir Isekai Biopunk LitRPG]

“I want to ask the author to write faster, because I keep waiting a couple weeks to binge whatever's there. But I also don't want to rush it. There's a lot here to unpack but if I had to make it a short blurb it's kind of dresdon files meets cyberpunk 2077…”
xicsessRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“I gave this story a chance because the premise sounded interesting, and it was so worth it. I'm usually not into body-horror, but the way it's handled here really works. Excellent world-building that makes me excited to learn more. A very different magic sy…”
Bad TaxidermyRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(10)

xicsessRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I want to ask the author to write faster, because I keep waiting a couple weeks to binge whatever's there. But I also don't want to rush it.
There's a lot here to unpack but if I had to make it a short blurb it's kind of dresdon files meets cyberpunk 2077 with better world building than either and a bit of politics.
If I had a complaint, it's that some of the info dumps and research expositions seem a little long. Otherwise, I like the characters. There's such a heavily layered magic and reto-tech (organ punk?) lore that it almost eclipses the fact that there's an entire very weird world, with races that I haven't seen anywhere else.
I almost want to call it Dark Sun redux with magitek. Interesting fight scenes, tech, lore, investigation, and righteous fury done well.
Bad TaxidermyRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I gave this story a chance because the premise sounded interesting, and it was so worth it. I'm usually not into body-horror, but the way it's handled here really works.
Excellent world-building that makes me excited to learn more. A very different magic system to what permeates the majority of RR. Interesting and well developed characters beyond the MC (yay). Gritty and grimy but not grimdark.
Somehow it puts me in mind of China Mieville's "Perdido Street Station", but with more nukes and swearing (not a bad thing).
Will definitely keep reading!
GuurzakRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
An exceptionally well done story- great premise, great world building, great characters, great story telling. May not be to everyone's taste, but the people who like it will love it.
Cyberpunk tag is a bit misleading- protagonist was isekaid from a cyberpunk world, so what little cyberpunk content there is is flashbacks. What we have instead is a fantasy body-horror alternative where we have magical artifacts or constructs of sorcery instead of shiny chrome. It's pretty damn neat.
Hannibal ForgeRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is a review swap.
Overall—5/5
Cherno Caster is weird. That is probably the best thing about it, and what I find the most compelling. Akaso does not write genre fiction, Akaso writes Akaso fiction—and hell if doesn't work excellently. Retribution Engine was my first exposure to Akaso's work, and Cherno Caster is a worthy successor. It's vivid, dark, gritty, original, and it plays into one of my favourite tropes: Eldritch magic goes boom. The prose, the flow, the pacing, and the vivid descriptions paint a tapestry of narration that anyone would be a fool not to enjoy. Read this story, both here and on Kindle Unlimited: it is very worth it.
Style Score—5/5
What is there to say here? Akaso has a voice, and it bleeds through everything. The author is prolific at painting just the right amount of an image without overburdening the imagination, and using enough brevity that once the look is captured, the story advances. There is no wasted verbiage, no dragging description—this is written exactly the way it is meant to be for a photographic depiction, and then focused entirely on absorbing you with stylistic narration that makes you feel like you are in a transhumanist bio-engineered hellscape.
Grammar Score—5/5
No mistakes, no complaints, no point wasting words here. Move on.
Story Score—5/5
The story of Cherno Caster is a non-standard transmigration tale set in a bio-punk transhumanist alternate world. It ties in eldritch witchery, bio-engineering sciences, and the power of humanity and conviction to create an intriguing blend of adventure, intrigue, and just enough mystery to make the reader want to click 'Next Chapter' just to answer a simple question: "What the hell just happened?"
There is nothing new here in terms of structure or narrative flow, but that is not a bad thing—and in fact, it plays nicely into making the story a binge. There is a familiarity to Cherno Caster that does not overshadow its originality, and that I assure you it has in spades. Fans of Re
Supersanttu7Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The main character is a brutal vigilante from a cyberpunk dystopia who adheres to a strict code of morals. Her ultimate goal? Rid the world of the evil oligarchs at the top, or die trying.
Well, she did die... except she was so angry an elder god noticed her existence for a brief moment.
Amazing story 10/10 gritty main character in a well-made, interesting gritty setting.
NUCLEAR MAGIC!
TechySmile0315Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I have no idea what makes both Cherno Caster and Retribution Engine feel so fluent. The amount of world building in both stories create cohesive worlds that FEEL lived in, without giant exposition slogs that completely stall the plot. The action, as well, has just the right touch. Fights have plenty of anime influence, and are described in such a way that makes intense, fast-paced, moments easy to visualize and satisfying to read.
Both stories are an amazing read for those interested in sci-fi fantasy hybrids. The author for both has such a way with words that create just radiate such an electrifying energy.
sweetciderRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
from the worldbuilding to the writing, all of it is immaculate. there's just something about it that keeps me reading, and that something is the entire thing. all of it is perfect. seriously, this story is so good, maybe even one of the best on this site. please check it out
A.B.ERoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I got absolutely hooked the moment she discovered her new worlds civilisation as it is very original and intriguing the magic system is really cool with the enthropy build up venting and melting down reminding me of Starsector it is a very interisting system wich is a nice change compared to most litrpgs also the main character is an absolute badass i love it I can barely stop binge reading it
LoneLeafRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I've now read the first book over on KindleU, which should equate to ~chapter 50 if it was still on the site. ***Weird, the site is lowering my review by a half star in all categories...
Overall: There's a lot going on and this fiction does a great job early on setting up the 'world-building iceberg' where the reader feels like they're only seeing the uppermost tip of something with massive depth. The fiction opens with an older MC in a cyberpunk dystopia at the culmination of another story, an extradimensional cosmic deity and the brand new world where said deity will throw our Isekai'd MC. It's an interesting blend of genres delivered in quick chapters with that LitRPG flare.
Style: It's an Isekai LitRPG first and foremost, a lot of the early content is the usual growing pains in a strange new world. MC is back in an organic body instead of a cyborg one, the world is alive with new alien life, and magic is literally in the air. We've got an odd blend of magi-tech / steampunk / high-fantasy (though more so urban fantasy in the early works) and I'd almost toss in a buddy-cop dynamic too. There is a bit of a slog with all the exposition which is as much a feature as it is a bug within the genre.
Grammar: Fiction credits as Edited by Autumn Knights, no obvious typos or grammatic errors.
Story: Spoilers *duh
The first arc of the fiction follows Krahe as she gets used to being flesh and blood again. There's a light vein of punk undertones mixed with crusader vibes as she quickly gets mixed up with the local bioware church and the friendly neighborhood pawn broker, embarks on a rescue for a captured paladin and then proceeds to attack some underworld interests.
All said, fairly default RPG intro quest kind of stuff. It serves as a stepping off point to get us into the wilder world without too much twiddling of thumbs and taking in the sights of this new world. The pacing does slow up in places and for how wide the world is broadly painted, it's not very clearly or smoo
MeallowWrathRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is my first Review here so please be kind!
I was scrolling through the female lead tag and saw the cover (beautiful artwork I've got to say), what i saw was a female protagonist that isnt overly sexualized, isn't a stick with balloon boobs glued on and actually looks like a badass human being. The design is just great, my lil brain instantly thought that someone able to portray their Fmc would respect their character.
I read the summary and just HAD to read this story.
Io and behold, we get a well written woman who's:
1. Written as an actual human instead of just a sexual object (yay!)
2. Actually competent in her skills and with well deserved self confidence
3. Moral depth, she's not just a goodie two shoes or some terrible inhuman being
I'm currently caught up with the latest chapter on Patreon (which i recommend because for 5 bucks you get great artwork and around 12 chapters advance!!! a steal I say!) and boy, lemme tell you, you're gonna want more.
It's been a true delight to read about Krahe (don't call her Hilde!), this head stomping gal will blast gangsters and evil doers to smithereens and that's putting it lightly. I love how we get to read about her thoughts, she's very quick on the uptake, analyzing her situation from the get go, being careful in her actions and thoroughly identifying problems then subsequently formulating solutions that actually make SENSE.
We get a protagonist who has to use their brain while invetigating kidnappings and hunting down outlaws. The investigative scenes are great, from how Krahe connects the dots (from decades of experience and pattern recognition, indeed, she's seen it all) to how she interacts with other characters and asks the right questions while being subtle or direct when it calls for it.
The writing is descriptive without being overly drawn out (which is a win for my adhd brain!!), I rarely found typos and the style is very dynamic and fast paced! The dialogue is realistic and the author is able to convey eac