Courting Death

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Ryan couldn't help but notice the strange girl amongst the spectators of his duel. Where everyone else was dressed in the robes of the sect, she bore nothing but a scythe. How appropriate, he thought, that Death would be here to watch as he died at the hands of a Young Master. So with nothing to lose, and his soul about to rejoin the cycle...he decided to at least go out complimenting a pretty girl. Which makes it all the more strange that he's still alive.

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2024
Author: ArtemisW

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.7/ 5.0
Followers: 254
Views: 50,445

What readers say about Courting Death

“I think the best thing that can be said about this work is that it is a master of understanding the common man and his struggles. At times, it feels like the main character is literally me. This is further substantiated by making Death an ordinary farm girl…”
EmrysSinRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“My honest opinion? This is a masterpiece. Maybe not as commonly understood, maybe not Shakespeare, but this story is exactly in my strike zone. Puns, glorious puns on every page, the chapter headers are often puns, the very premise of the story is a pun. To…”
JRPseudonymRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

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Community Reviews(4)

EmrysSinRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I think the best thing that can be said about this work is that it is a master of understanding the common man and his struggles. At times, it feels like the main character is literally me.
This is further substantiated by making Death an ordinary farm girl. Of all the twists on the classic scythe-wielding psychopomp, this is perhaps my favorite so far. The relationship between our protagonist and death also carries deep, scathing social commentary. Namely, most of us would rather kiss death on the lips than suffer the drudgery and suffering of a life under the heels of those born more fortunate than us.
Also, Brother Ape is one of the best side-characters to ever exist in all of fiction. I will not elaborate.
JRPseudonymRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
My honest opinion? This is a masterpiece. Maybe not as commonly understood, maybe not Shakespeare, but this story is exactly in my strike zone.
Puns, glorious puns on every page, the chapter headers are often puns, the very premise of the story is a pun.
Tongue firmly in cheek, and yet believable and engaging characters that I care about. Touching firmly on issues of what cultivation means in a world of mortals, and the fact that the typical 'face slapping' culture seems to be horribly toxic and needs to be acknowledged. Smooth and readable writing, without serious dialogue or grammatical issues.
In short: I want to know what happens to these people. I care about them. It's good stuff, more please.
TheDaveRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This story takes some of the classical tropes of cultivation and Eastern-inspired fantasy, only to add a touch of madness, satire and snark. The result is a story that is at once sincere and gripping, whilst at the same time feeling as if you're being let in on a joke the author is playing on the setting.
Considering the setting, it is a marvel to me that it took this long for me to run into a story with this particular title and the witty double entendre it contains.
I eagerly look forward to more.
jey114Royal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
A problem with too many comedies is that they take irreverence to a completely disbelievable extent. Protagonists take their satire to such ridiculous extents as to make the reader question their sanity, and whether they should be sympathising with their cause at all.
This work is emphatically NOT one of those stories. Whilst absurdist humour does occasionally appear within the text, the protagonist (despite loving death) is self-deprecatingly aware of how ridiculous the situation may be. This allows for the growth of genuinely deep and multi-faceted characters.
I would absolutely recommend this story, and look forward to reading more.
Style: Starts out somewhat inconsistent/slow to get it's bearings in the first few chapters. Nevertheless quickly achieves comedic heights after this. Fight scenes can be mildly confusing.
Story: Enjoyable overarching structure, which has meaningful developments that encourage curiosity and speculation for what's ahead. Never gets stale.
Grammar: Mostly excellent. Perhaps just one or two minor errors so far.
Character: Definitely a strong point. All the protagonists and side characters have unique personalities which makes you sympathise with them, regardless of motivation. The main duo have a strong back and forth which only grows over time. I look forward to reading in time about a certain Wenhua couple as well.