Dead Earth: Rebirth

Information

Status

Ongoing

Year

2025

Author

Evercrest

• Chapter 1: Orion Down!
  Jan 5, 2025

Reviews

Community Reviews(8)

• Entropic BloomRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  This chapter is immersive and tense, with a strong narrative voice that pulls you in right away. I loved the contrast between the routine calm of the spacewalk and the sudden, terrifying shift into catastrophe—the pacing makes that turn hit hard.
  The banter over comms adds warmth and realism, which makes the later silence and isolation feel genuinely unsettling. The imagery of Earth igniting with pillars of light is vivid and haunting, and the final descent countdown lands with real impact.
  Also, I love the name Orion—I’m actually using it in my own fiction right now, and I was just reading about Orion in Greek mythology. Such a fascinating choice.
• RainyLiquidRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  And that's the end lf Dead Earth! I thought about leaving a review, but I think I might wait on the sequel and instead just have this serve as a more general thought process.
  First things first! I'm a little sad at the lack of space. I went into this thinking it was going to be a space horror, and while there are some elements, it mainly stops being about space after chapter one, once Skyfall appears on the twisted world. That said, while it wasn't the space horror I was wanting exactly it was still good.
  I do think maybe some parts could be better though. I think a lot of the horror really just came from the unknown and the grotesque body horror of some of the monsters and plant hybrids. There wasn't really a sense of dread, if that makes any sense. The monsters themselves were really good though, and did feel very threatening. Also, while I didn't feel dread I did feel this hopelessness alongside Skyfall. He kept coming close to having answers told to him only for them to be stolen away.
  Skyfall as a character was also very interesting. I think my biggest criticism with him mainly comes from the fact that for the first big portion of the story he doesn't really have actual people to talk to. Like we don't ever really get to understand his character before he's thrown headfirst into this mess. He's still a good MC though, and I rooted for them.
  The story as a whole was really good, and I actually quite liked the pacing. The reveals were enough to keep me invested in the story and nothing over stayed its welcome. I also quite liked the ending. I wouldn't say it was a good ending but more the type of ended I expected once we were at the end.
  I quite liked Flora and her character and am glad she made it to end as well. I never really talked about her to much but she was enjoyable and it's nice to see her get some sort of conclusion and all the other kids.
  All in all, I think Dead Earth had some bumps but it did more good than bad. I'd probably rate it an 8/10, and def
• Chronicles.of.LuminaRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  I really enjoyed this story and found it engaging throughout.  Untangling the mystery of what happened after the events of the first chapter with the MC was a great ride.  The description of the world, and the creatures was very effective and the sense of unfolding horror was well established.
  As others have said, there are a few moments where it was a little unclear what was happening in the story. It could be inferred, but sometimes you also want the payoff as a reader that you were correct or not. Also, some of the MC's reactions to things could be further explored (or perhaps giving clues why they aren't being explored).
  Overall though, these are minor things and I highly recommend this short story!
• Fisher00001Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  I really liked the details in this story. It was like a psychological horror novel without going into too much detail.
  The style worked with this novel because the author had the ability to make you care for the character. I felt her emotions and despite the novel being rushed for a contest, it was still well-developed. I docked a star from the because there were parts that were rushed but then again it was written for a contest.
  The story gripping. It was basically about a woman struggling to survive on a remote planet which used to be earth. Earth is a dead world filled with monsters trying to kill her. This trope is kind of overused but the diary format kept me engaged. I took off a star because this trope has been used before and I feel like this story, while doing a good job of making it engaging doesn't make it hold my attention.
  I liked the character. She was interesting and was the center of the story. Her struggles felt real and she felt like a real person. Overall, she was an interesting protagonist. I would have known more about what kept her motivated in her day to day struggles. It still gets five stars all around.
  There were no grammar errors I saw or noticed.
• kym0nRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  I really liked how incredibly creative the story was,
  especially in inventing the strange alien plant and animal life that inhabits earth after the fall of humanity.
  The only things I thought could use a little bit of fine tuning was bringing the reader into the scene through descriptions that make it clear what's going on (since I did find myself a little confused at some parts) and word choice because there were a few instances where it was not quite the correct use of a word or maybe not the best word that could go in that spot. Still these are pretty easily fixable flaws and they don't detract all that much from the story. Plus, I saw less instances of these things as I got to the later chapters.
  I thought that chapter 7 was particularly excellent in that
  you could really feel the astronaut's fear in that moment when the "human" noticed him. I think that might be my favorite scene so far. Either that or when he found that record of humanity.
  Overall, it's pretty great so far and I look forward to watching how the story develops.
• HoratioBlanchetteRoyal Road

  ★★★★ 4.0

  Overall
  Overall I like the story, how it is being told and where it is heading. It’s definitely worth the read as a short story, there are plenty of mysteries being setup, and the monsters are absolutely amazing. I’m going to keep reading and am rooting for a payoff at the end to pull it all together into a neat little short story.
  RRM Jan 2025: I will add I’m not sure how ‘Dead men tell the best tales’ theming enters into this story other than:
  ‘Everyone is dead so you are too inevitably’ trope, but that seems like a loose connection, personally.
  Style
  I find the pacing and reveals to be a bit off. There are things that are built up, and then have an anticlimactic payoff.
  For example:
  Not wanting to take off helmet in unknown world because he does not know if the air is breathable. He randomly decides to, mentions he gags on the air. But it seemed an odd risky choice to make for no reason, and despite a quick gag, there’s no clarification on if it was breathable. We just start the next chapter and have a ‘oh, I guess it was fine’ moment.
  There’s a build up on if the MC is on earth or was transported to a new reality/planet/existence. But the writing refers to the air and other things as ‘earth like’. Which downplays the mystery. The final reveal that it is earth (a la billboard) was anticlimactic. The MC didn’t really have that much of a reaction to it.
  There was also a scene where the MC is trying to figure out where on earth he is. Then in a few chapters later he spots the spacestation and we guess that this is a city they clearly know, but that thread is left dangling.
  We meet a raven friend who seems to be trying to guide and communicate with the MC. But then just disappears for a few chapters with no explanation on when or where they left, like the author forgot they were supposed to be there.
  Story
  I wanted a bit more from the story. The first chapter is such a great setup and kicks things off with such a great sense of foreboding that I wanted that sense to
• ThelokkRoyal Road

  ★★★★ 4.0

  Excellent story - from what I gather, written for a time-constrained challenge, a factor which I have taken into account while reading / commenting.
  Overall I greatly enjoyed this sci-fi mini opera: it reminded me at times of VanderMeer, or some of the more adventurous solarpunk novels. While the overall arch is nothing unheard of, the many bizarre creatures that appear throughout the novella are very imaginative, and well described. The setting in general is perhaps sketched a bit too hastily; again, likely as part of the time-limited nature of the context. Still, we are always given enough appropriate information to envision the story.
  The style is simple and clear, though I did find it at times a tad too telegraphic and leaning on telling rather than showing: actions and events happen one after the other with, occasionally, not enough momentum built for them to have all the impact they could. Grammar is fine, and so is syntax and the prose in general. Not groundbreaking, but very legible, gets the job done.
  The non-monster characters are a bit stock-like, and I wish the author went a bit more in depth as to their personality and motivations, even considering the limited time and word count. The protagonist in particular feels a bit faceless, making it harder to sympathize with their plight.
  This is one story I wish I could see rewritten to expand its scope and depth, both as to the setting and the characters. As is, it's an excellent piece that moves a bit too quickly for its own good. It would be fun to see what it could become without time or word count constraints forced upon it.
• NotPhoebeeRoyal Road

  ★★★★ 4.0

  (First of all, I know this book is not actually categorized as "horror" but it scared me anyway. 😵‍💫)
  This story tells the tale of an  astronaut returning to Earth after a disaster. It's frightening and hopeless and very imaginative. I quite enjoyed the descriptions of some of the creatures the astronaut encountered.
  One thing I wanted more of in this story, however, was introspection. The character's reactions to certain events felt a bit muted/downplayed and I wish we could explore a bit more of what he was feeling as he explores Earth after the apocalypse.
  Overall though, this story was quite good and I enjoyed it. The mystery elements were well done and the "horror" elements were effective. (But maybe I'm just a scaredy-cat!)
  I'd definitely recommend this story to fans of sci-fi who love a good mystery!