Class Reptilia

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

One hundred years ago, being diagnosed with the affliction was the kiss of death.Whether by mutation or firing squad, Linnaeans lived notoriously tragic lives, and the few that survived suffered fromirreversible mutations. These creatures, few as they were, inspired legends of werewolves, mermaids, and sirens. Then came the treatments for the Linnaean affliction. The discovery of temporary gene repression meant that the development of mutations could be slowed and managed. This created an "unholy" new race that shared the DNA of both humans and animals. Feared and hated by the outside world, they created a stronghold to develop their medicines and amass their power. Today,Linnaeans from all over the continent live in the City of Mendel and train under the renowned Professor Corax, a brilliant and eccentric geneticist. Just before her eighteenth birthday, Ember is diagnosed with the affliction. Suddenly, instead of moving into her dorms and studying with the brightest in the country, she is whisked off to the City of Mendel by government officials who are as scared of her as she is of them. As she contends with a new city and her own treatment, she'll also have to face the tension of the half-baked treaty between the Linnaean people and the outside world. There's no doubt - life won't be easy in a city where the population is able to harness the abilities (and instincts) of animals. Links: Patreon Amazon eBook Discord server

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2022
Author: Hekate37

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.6/ 5.0
Followers: 753
Views: 315,160

What readers say about Class Reptilia

“OK- so Hecate37 has built enough of an amazing story & world in 12 chapters to have me completely hooked. Also, I've spent more time looking up cool animal & evolutionary biology links & videos thanks to this story than I'd have ever guessed. (Yes, I get…”
Youngish OldsterRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“This is such an excellent story and is truly a hidden gem. The characters are well fleshed out and empathetic. The plot is engaging and entertaining, and the world is an interesting setting that I want to learn more about. I deeply hope that the author retu…”
AMjoanRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

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Community Reviews(9)

Youngish OldsterRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
OK- so Hecate37 has built enough of an amazing story & world in 12 chapters to have me completely hooked. Also, I've spent more time looking up cool animal & evolutionary biology links & videos thanks to this story than I'd have ever guessed. (Yes, I get obsessively geeky sometimes.)
The central idea behind the story is that in MC Ember's world, a freaky mutational event has occurred that causes a fraction of people to manifest animal traits during their teen years. As expected, people don't deal with 'different' well, especially when 'different' can lead to madness. So, most mutants have been ostracized/imprisoned/killed in the century since the event first happened.
At some point, enough mutants escaped their countries and/or madness to form a mutant society that has learned the science to control the mutations. They've grown enough to negotiate extradition treaties with nearby countries that allow mutants to join them rather than be killed. Well, sometimes anyways. Things remain tense & sometimes cruel. Ember is one of those torn from her father and friends when she tests positive for the mutation and is deported from her country.
After arrival in Mendel, (the mutant society,) new opportunities, education, and friends & mentors await Ember. Also, learning to understand & control her transformation. At the same time, she needs to deal with the trauma from loss of her family & previous life.
The perspectives of Ember and those she meets are beautifully written: crisp & strongly voiced internal narratives and organic & believable dialogues move the story forward throughout. Many thought-provoking adventures & challenges too.
Looking forward to seeing Ember & company develop, and how Mendel and the surrounding world will continue to change.
Added to my favorites list. Give it a try if smartly and thoughtfully written progression adventure and mystery tales appeal to you.
AMjoanRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is such an excellent story and is truly a hidden gem. The characters are well fleshed out and empathetic. The plot is engaging and entertaining, and the world is an interesting setting that I want to learn more about. I deeply hope that the author returns from hiatus and continues this wonderful story.
CheesemasterRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The story is primarily slice of life in the manner that it is not constantly pushing forward. Yet at the same time it avoids the usual slice of life traps of staring and the scenery and discribing every single thing the main character eats for every meal. The plot dispite it being light is quite clear and definately moves forward in a way that keeps the reader constantly engaged in the story and the characters well being. The characters are all very multidimensional and all have the hopes and dreams in a way that they could all be main characters if the story was written differently making them seem more lifelike, something that you do not see in many stories. The characters struggles also are clearly from the authors own experiences making them far more relatable and less hollow obstacles the give the main character an excuse for their acts furthering the plot. The setting is also super interesting as it is low fantasy, but written in a way that is very relatable in the issues the civilizations in the story face. The author clearly does their background research and other than the fact that the it is obviouslya fantasy is increadably accurate. The grammar is amazing and there are next to no spelling errors allowing for the story to flow very smoothly.
Crusader ExodusRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I was browsing RR for some new things to read and stumbled upon Class Reptilia. What started off with a bit of intrigue at the concept turned into a binge read. The concept of a coming-of-age story set in a university setting is a well-established trope, but the setting feels more like a comfortable backdrop for a story that is incredibly original! There is a lot of things that I have liked about the story so far, but I'll summarize with a few bullets:
-Linnaeans come across as their own very distinct class of people, and are written tactfully. Often times stories tend to either gloss over what being a person with animalistic traits is like, or it's fetishized. Class Reptilia does neither of these things. Linnaeans have their own strengths and weaknesses, and they struggle with flaws both physical and mental as a result of their status. The author walks a narrow balance beam in keeping them believable without breaking immersion, and they do it quite well.
-Linnaean culture and society presents a sort of pseudo-utopian ideal, and their ability to co-exist with nature doesn't feel contrived. There is some good social commentary going on when contrasting Linnaeans with humanity in the setting, but it's not a purely clear-cut choice of one being superior to the other. Thoughtful moments in the story, such as the protagonist recognizing the security that living in a walled city entails, gives the characters depth.
-There is an interesting contrast present between the culture promoting the adoption and incorporation of one's animalistic traits into one's self, but at the same time taking the time and care to do so slowly over time, so that psyche has time to balance itself out. Even still, this is not always successful, and both suffering and tragedy can result.
I am very interested in seeing where the story will go over time!
ArararaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
In a (fantasy?) world that seems to be on the brink of the first industrial revolution, the MC is diagnosed with a rare genetic mutation: she isn't exactly human, but carries some animal DNA inside her. She gets seperated from her family, and gets sent to a dangerous city full of other such segregated mutants. There she enrolls into university (academy?) and starts a new life, meeting new friends of varying different species. The classes and exams we've seen so far were quite interesting.
So, it's like a magical academy story, or a superhero academy story, but different. Their powers come from the animal mutations they slowly develop over the years. And it's neither a true fantasy world with elves and orcs, nor the modern world, but something in between. Also pretty sure there is no actual *magic*, but I could be wrong.
The writing is of very high quality, the author definitely has great mastery over the english language. The MC also has great characterization, she's still slowly discovering her (weak?) mutations and doesn't know her species, it's fun connecting the clues. And I'm looking forward to getting to know the side characters better, too. She hasn't interacted with them that much, yet. The style is 3rd person past tense, my favourite. The only nitpick is that sometimes events are summarized or skipped over, like saying "She talked with X about Y, then went back to her room" (made-up example). My gut reaction is 'Hey, I wanted to see that conversation!'. I want more, you know? But it's understandable, since I think the pace is to go over an in-story year in like 10-20 chapters or something like that, so we can't zoom into every breathing moment of every day.
All in all, it's too early to tell what the story will be about, she's only just arrived at the university. Like, Harry Potter took this into a direction of uncovering ancient secrets and ended book 1 with an epic battle against the world's most powerful evil magician. This story could also end up having
Lavolpe3Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is a very well rounded story with a whole world to play with. The story is a slow relaxing coming of age in the the beginning with a hint of mystery of what anthropomorphic animals she will become. I can’t wait to see it and the world evolve as the story grows. The only thing I can say is bad so far I it needs more updates please.
SR FauthRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
To preface this review, I felt it was important to note that I really enjoyed the world building in particular. The back drop to the story and the history provided were a unique addition to this fiction.
With that being said, let us begin:
STYLE SCORE 5/5: Love, love, love this writing style. The nitty gritty, dark, sad start to the fiction just compliments the in depth writing style of the author. I thoroughlyenjoyed this work on almost every level.
STORY SCORE 4.5/5: I am enjoying the story IMMENSELY. There are some plot devices I feel like could be expanded upon, but really that's just me being nit picky.
GRAMMAR SCORE 5/5: This writer knows the English language. And where a comma shouldgo or shouldn't go (damn you Oxford). No complaints here!
CHARACTER SCORE 5/5: The characters in this fiction have depth, emotion, reliability, and can really, really tug at your heart strings when necessary. In fact, they tug on them so efficiently I suspect the writer may be a heart surgeon in disguise.
OVERALL SCORE 5/5: I loved every second of this read. And I read it all the way up to the current chapter. DO NOT miss this fiction. Its one of those rare gems on RR. And this author has a habit of hitting that sweet spot.
the_random_userRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
I enjoyed this novel quite a bit. Solid story about a changing body and all that entales, a bit like puberty in that sense. Its technically a coming of age story in that way, but the main character is alot more out of their angsty years than in them, so it gives a bit of a refreshing feeling compared to the typical coming of age story; the main character is relatable as someone more grown up (more close to my own age), but they still have to deal with their unique and strange situation.
Very few info dumps as well, and while the world outside the haven has sorta taken a back seat in terms of world building, thats not too bad. It hasnt really been needed thus far, and the little tidbits of world building about tech level here and there has made the information much more digestable.
Overall, a solid recommend if you are looking for something with a bit more of a slice of life feel compared to some of the other novels on this site. There are bits of action and fighting sprinkled throughout and i expect to see more as the novel progresses.
I kinda wish the fighting wouldent increase to be honest; I do like the curent comfortable situation that the main character is in, and their ability to spend time learning and interacting with the rest of the excellent cast.
Daxo ArcosRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
This story is great, I hope that you have confidence in your vision for it going forward because I am invested in the world you've created.
To anyone skimming the reviews this is story has a good power progression and the development of the mc is satisfying. There is a good dynamic between Ember and her professors and each character adds something to the story or fulfills some purpose which lends well to the pacing.
Not to mention Marcus is hot in the classically stoic potential male lead sort of way.
Not giving it the full 5 stars because I want to wait until it is finished.