Chronicles of a Falling Empire [Bloodstained, Bloodshed]

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

In an archaic empire that rose from the ashes of past wars, 14-year-old Ko is committed to supporting his family by any means necessary. When Ko’s sister falls ill, he travels to the realm’s black market for affordable medicine. On his way there, Ko encounters General Killián, divine leader of Lady Death’s formidable army. When Ko saves a child who turns out to be Killián’s heir, he’s offered an intriguing contract. To make good on the deal, Ko must survive until the end of the month. It’s easier said than done.

Bloodstained is a coming-of-age story with rich characters, extensive world-building, and plenty of humor.

Cover art: ModifiedAndracor armor imageused with permission.

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2023
Author: isnt_it_pretty_to_think_so

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.5/ 5.0
Followers: 212
Views: 93,415

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(10)

zekez22Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Ok so I thought I could see where this story was going... This story is no "god in the machine" but rather a case of beautiful madness.
While this is technically a coming of age story it in no way feels 'YA' as characters are complex and not troupes at all. Situations are horrific without being 'dystopian'.
to isnt_it_pretty thank you for sharing your amazing imagination.
Catboy ARoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I was not expecting this to be as good as it was. The writing is what got me. I'm a writer myself and I have to admit I'm still an amateur even though I've been writing for years. This authors writing is way better than mine and I legit want to get to their level one day.
Despite it being in first person, I didn't mind it that much. I think it's better that it's not in third person, because it doesn't feel like an info-dump when it's the main character introducing the lore and setting.
The characters and world-building were the best aspect. The dialogue is third best because the main character makes me laugh, but when he's trying to get information (for our benefit) it reminds me of game characters talking 😅. I didn't mind it that much, though.
The main character is actually very enjoyable! He wasn't an idiot, cringe-y, or excessively aggressive, flirty, etc. My favorite aspect of his personality is his honesty, even to the point of tactlessness. I really don't like it when main characters lie (especially conpusively) because sometimes their lies are so obvious and it makes me cringe (and I love honesty as a character trait, in fiction and real life).
I'm currently trying to write a story with world-building as it's main aspect, and I have to say, the author killed it (in a good way!) in this one. I was honestly stunned by how deep the lore and setting was. The author had to have been thinking about this story for a while (I know how that feels).
I'm not going to lie, I had the first chapter loaded on my phone for so long without reading it. Only because I was currently reading other stories and the first paragraph didn't interest me (that was on me, not on the story). In the end, I got hooked like five paragraphs in (what can I say? Ila charmed me ┐(´∀｀)┌). You can say I was pleasantly surprised.
You can tell how much I enjoyed this story because I finished it in about two days. Two! Days! It was so good, I couldn't put my phone down lol.
Honestly, I'm not crazy fo
Cracy AntmancerRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I just love this dry factual humour of the main character, always cracks me up.
The story is one of a boy who by chance gets an opportunity for success, and takes it. While the story in great general has its similarities with other fantasy (orphan kid, gets admitted to a high-level sword school and so on), it has its own unique touch.
There is quite a big focus on military, and it at least to my own knowledge of the army has quite the realism in the relation and behaviour of soldiers.
I binged it in a day, and was so annoyed there weren't more chapters, it is a really captivating story.
Biggest plus are for me the dialogues as well as character development.
Worldbuilding can be confusing sometimes as parts are only explained later in the story but its mainly background facts that don't matter in the story atm, only for people that like clarity on it. When looking from the view of the MC it is fine, since he will also not know these facts.
Overall a great view, just don't expect everything explained if the MC also doesn't know about it yet
JamafantaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I really enjoyed this story. The characters are well-developed and intriguing, and I was invested in Ko's life right from the start. The world building is complex enough to be a bit confusing in the beginning, but the action and character development easily held my interest until I had a solid handle on how the world works (and I definitely prefer learning about the world through living in it, like was done here, rather than through characters talking about it). I look forward to book 2!
emmacortanaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
came from the spider-man fanfiction bc i read it and thought wow. our writing styles are kinda similar. very interesting. stalked u a little bit, stumbled on this, didn't think i would be that interested but now it's 2 am and i have work to do but instead i'm pissed that there's not a sequel to read :((((((
very very much hope this is continued! i haven't read actual novels in a good while, and this really pulled me in. got a little confused with the worldbuilding at times but i could keep up, and also some of that is probably my fault bc my eyes tend to skip paragraphs sometimes lol.
one thing to note: there's some parts in the story where corporal punishment is used or discussed, and that were surprisingly triggering for me and i think would be a common trigger to many people. there are also likely other common triggers around sex work / prostitution, sexual assault, etc. i'm fine, i know how to handle my triggers, but i needed to take some breaks to calm down my headspace at times before continuing. but for anyone who might be sensitive to these kind of things, maybe proceed with caution.
indoriaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
good stuff! the universe as built up really hangs together without screeds of exposition to explain it, things that are unexplained feel like they can wait with how powerfully the characterisation and interactions between characters come through
and the setting is very compelling! i was on the edge of my seat the whole time even when i saw some things coming, and what did surprise me was good surprises all the way.
musicluvr10Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I started reading this story and could not stop until I finished it. I was so captured by the characters, the world, the storyline that I literally stayed up until 5 in the morning reading it. I really loved it and I’m looking forward to a sequel given how it ended.
The author immediately had my attention with their interesting take on a dystopian world. You learn about it through the main character, Ko, experiencing it. There are things he doesn’t know and when they are explained to him, you learn it too. I found myself rooting for Ko immediately and was glad to see his hard work paying off. He is noticed and given an opportunity by chance and it changes his life. He tends to find himself in situations over his head and his objections to them are ignored or not heard but he takes up each challenge as he goes and ends up successful in the end. He’s a bit of an underdog and definitely doesn’t always know what he’s doing but he makes the best of it.
I want to address the two star rating below because no one else seems to be mentioning it in their reviews. Yes, there is an instance of
r*pe
but the author does warn for that in the tags. Not necessarily that specific word but the sensitive content tag represents it without spoiling it. I will say it happens at the end of chapter 16 and it is very much implied, none of it actually happens in the text. The main character kind of dissociates and the chapter ends before anything graphic. The next chapter starts after it is over. I wouldn’t say this story deserves the two star review for not specifically spelling out a spoiler that is covered under the broader category of sensitive content.
If you are ok with reading that, I highly recommend this story. You could also just skip the end of chapter 16 and read the rest of the story if you are more comfortable with that. This is absolutely worth the read and I can’t wait for the next book!
TizMercuryyyRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Boy oh boy. I came here because I've read this author's fics on AO3, and heard they released a book on here. Read it in two days. The world building is super deep, and while that tends to make books harder for me, here it flowed pretty naturally. The use of french words and expressions is very tasteful! The MC's wit is unmatched, and gets a laugh out of you even when the story is tearing up the deepest pits of your heart.
It is a lot more violence than I'm used to read, but the writing got me through that because I was just hooked. (Although I did have to pause because a particularly tough scene isn't the best at 4am). I will say it's not gratuitous violence to play tough, it serves a purpose, and at the same times reminded me of the Deadpool movies, kind of.
I love how complex both the characters and social structure are. Everything is a bit of everything, but not in a sad confusing way, but in a "this is a completely different world than carried both good and wrong". The nuances that are brought genuinely enrich the story instead of making it sadder and grayer.
Overall, very masterful writing. It's gotten me into a genre that's very uncharted territory for me, that I was even avoiding sometimes. But I'm here, giving it five stars, because it's just that good.
agreeable_highlightRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I read this mostly on a whim because I had read some of the author's other work, and all I can say is wow! I was immediately hooked both by the witty, snappy dialogue that the author excels at, as well as the world and characters that were gradually built up over time. The disappointment I felt when I realized that I had finished the first book and there wasn't a second book available was actually indescribable.
bencel88Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
In the first few chapter, that's what stood out to me.
It is so close to non-fiction, like I'm reading a documentary, that it just catches my attention and punches me, how some of the interactions are more genuine than mine are with my friends.
Read it if you like documentaries with highs and lows. This reads like a movie about a down and out person who is so full of life that you can't help but empathize with.