Daughter of the Lost

Information

Status

Completed

Year

2021

Author

Vulgarian

• 23-8
  Feb 2, 2024
• 23-7
  Jan 26, 2024
• 23-6
  Jan 19, 2024
• 23-5
  Jan 12, 2024
• 23-4
  Jan 5, 2024
• 23-3
  Dec 22, 2023
• 23-2
  Dec 15, 2023
• 23-1
  Dec 8, 2023
• 22-6
  Nov 30, 2023
• 22-5
  Nov 24, 2023
• 22-4
  Nov 16, 2023
• 22-3
  Nov 10, 2023
• 22-2
  Nov 2, 2023
• 22-1
  Oct 26, 2023
• 21-6
  Oct 19, 2023
• 21-5
  Oct 12, 2023
• 21-4
  Oct 5, 2023
• 21-3
  Sep 28, 2023
• 21-2
  Sep 21, 2023
• 21-1
  Aug 31, 2023

Reviews

Community Reviews(5)

• luda305Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  This is a very good piece of fiction.  The basic premise is that a young woman who has just come of age in a nomadic society leaves her family to begin her walkabout (they have their own word, but basically same premise). The worldbuilding is great and well-presented (no infodumps!), the characters are rich and real, and the style is approachable.
  I suppose if I have any complaint it's that it's a slow burn. Through 2-5 (which is around 10 chapters in), and she's just about to reach the first village after leaving her family behind on the road. So, something to bear in mind before you start.
  Not for everyone, but a very good entry into the genre.
• terrapinRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  When I come upon a story on RR with such a short, poetic synopsis, there are two possibilities: either the author has lyricism and subtlety that will uplift their work above the vast majority of RR stories, or the author has such an abysmal command of the English language that they can't write anything longer or more grammatical. Luckily, Daughter of the Lost is in the former category. The story follows the sixteen-year-old Zira. Per her nomadic people's tradition, she sets out into the world on a journey of self-discovery and also just normal discovery. The setting seems to be midieval tech, with a modest amount of magic.
  Grammar: 5/5
  The grammar is impeccable. That's all I have to say about that. (Why is this an entire category?)
  Style: 5/5
  Vulgarian writes really well. They balance inner monologue with external events and descriptions of the scene. I've never been good at picking out well-used narrative devices in reviews, but Daughter of the Lost is chock-full of 'em. My only complaint is that the interludes are told in third-person present, which in my opinion should be reserved for shitty book adaptations of action movies. But I imagine the author wants to match tenses with the first-person present of the rest of the narrative, and I doubt many feel as strongly as I do about it. (For all those interlude-haters out there, interludes are rare and only ever comprise part of a chapter.)
  Character: 5/5
  This is the strongest aspect of the story, I think. Vulgarian brings the excitements, fears, and insecurities of a teenager to life. Zira's emotions cause her to do stupid things, and also lead her to surprising opportunities. Other characters have their own secrets, biases, and personalities as well.
  Story: 4/5
  I rate this as 4/5 because, so far, there hasn't been much of a plot. This story definitely seems like it will have a leisurely, slice-of-life pace, but it's also possible that it's just slow to start and will speed up later. I can't tell. So far, Zira's only
• Haru Desu KattoRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  I found your story by searching for slice of life fantasy. However, the summary was really vague, so jumping in was hard. I didn't know what to expect ... so after so many wonderful chapters, I started feeling betrayed.
  Your writing is absolutely beautiful. I'm impressed with your command of the language and your evocation of the precise words that fit each situation. It's like reading a masterpiece - so much so, that I wonder how you did it. Magic?
  Your characters and world are believable and exude empathy. All of them make sense and don't conform to standards. I know some readers might complain about a lack of "story" or "goal" or "progression. Ignore those people. That's exactly what hooks readers like me.
  However, your summary tells me nothing. I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know what the story is actually about or where you were going. I didn't know what landmines you would have. If I had known, then I could have avoided the trap and the bad taste that I ended up with.
  I'm absolutely certain that other readers with different tastes will love your story. That's why I gave it the high rating I did. I rated your "story score" as a 4, but for those readers, it will probably be a 5 - making it perfection.
  Recommend: add to your summary what to expect and what not to expect.
• DittersRoyal Road

  ★★★ 3.0

  This is just an ongoing pity fest with a bunch of random horrible encounters and no payoff for overcoming them except for another worse, completely random horrible encounter. I really wanted this to be good because the writing style is good but the story itself is just...ugh. Honestly, a nomad that doesn't know how to walk to the point of getting blisters bad enough to kill her on day one should have been a clue but...ugh
• Marshall75Royal Road

  ★ 0.5

  I wanted to like this story and kind of liked it through the first 3 arcs. Parts of it are moving, especially the characterization of the MC and her family when they separate, and I kind of liked the elk and old grey man with his donkey, and I could sort of go with the dubious premise that for some reason a culture of nomads who drove out a 16 year old daughter out on her own so she’d “find herself” or something. Become her true potential or some nonsense. Honestly that is pretty stupid as such girls would just be devoured in the world of this book.  But then the MC walks her feet to fatal infection the day she runs off, and then she runs into flames on day 3 to save some strangers, and I just can’t help but conclude that reading this much of the story was just a huge waste of my time.