Descent into the Manifold (Progression Fantasy)

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Avakian Gray, quick of wit and short of height, is birthed into a world he cannot hope to understand, a world of chaos and entropy.

The Manifold.

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2023
Author: Phat Bibba

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.6/ 5.0
Followers: 9
Views: 10,735

Reviews

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Community Reviews(3)

R.C. JoshuaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
It's a new world. One that we don't often see that's almost entirely different compared to standard troupes. It's a bit of physics, void fantasy, and a light hearted humor.
Without spoiling things, the main character arrives with very little pre-existing knowledge (besides a love for polygons). The story then dives into a exploration of what his new world is like. We're learning about the world at the same time as the main character which is a nice twist. Rather than information asymmetry, the reader feels immersed in the world.
Another part about this book that I really like is the language. Some phrases just stand out and are a work of beauty. It's hard to describe how impactful they can be. Reading this book is almost like panning for gold, there's a lot of colorful stones that keep you interested, but every once in a while, you strike gold. It's beautiful and stays with you.
I think the only part that's a bit jarring is how easily the residents of the world accept Avakian. It would be nice to have a bit more contrast - maybe someone being fearful of Avakian's appearance or some other character that's not on the main character's side.
Larkspur WrenRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
This novel drew me in with its highly distinctive world, full of impossible shapes and ancient unknowable forces that evoke the writings of Jorge Luis Borges. Throughout my reading, this is the aspect that impressed me the most, namely the imaginative and original worldbuilding that manages to maintain a constant sense of unease and wrongness.
It is also the one thing that slightly disappointed me, which I hope for my own sake would be rectified as the story progresses. At some point, Avakian's journey shifts from one of philosophy-laden discovery (and associated confoundment) to your typical magical academy life with all the trappings we've come to expect from that genre. Certainly, the whirlwind cast of characters are all lovingly crafted and distinct from one another, and there's that familiar and addictive fun of a tabula rasa character being inducted into a life of learning and friends-making. It's only my personal selfish wish that the unsettling weirdness of the early chapters maintained more of a presence through this portion of the story.
I have nothing but admiration for the writing itself. The prose is more than competent and includes some passages that are truly thought-provoking and awe-inspiring. The author has excellent command of grammar, and the text is almost entirely mistake-free save for a few typos here and there.
If you ever wanted to read a magical academy fare with plenty of cosmic horror influences, you will surely get your fix from the early chapters of Descent into the Manifold. I for one am eager for the story to unpack its promises of a much larger journey, one that is hopefully heavier on the cosmic horror elements.
Conrad StokesRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
Disclaimer: I have read over 10k words for a review/comment swap with the author.
One of the main things that kept running through my head as I read this story was the “blandness” of the main character. This is not me being disrespectful, but using the author’s own words as they acknowledge this problem in a later chapter note. Frankly, this has its pros and cons. Having a main character who is such a blank slate allows for them to learn more about basic setting and story elements without inorganic exposition dumps. Some people may also enjoy a main character since they are an underdog. Yet it also risks boring the reader as the MC may act only as a walking camera with occasional, bland commentary as they are led around.
If the main character is like this, what would make us want to continue to read this story and hopefully see the MC grow a personality? Well for this story I would say that it is the world building that immediately takes off running in the early chapters. The author establishes the vast size of the setting and introduces us to a variety of potential fun adventures with promising diversity due to the chaotic nature of the folds.
The style and grammar get no major complaints since neither of them took me out of the story, but you may glaze a bit as the MC is learning about another basic thing about the world since that happens a lot.
Overall, while the MC is not the strongest part of the story, I appreciate that he is not some OP power fantasy character immediately and I like the world building. I’d recommended you give it a try.