Echoes

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

After the war the empire, no, humanity is on the brink of extinction. To redeem his past sins and secure a future for what remains of his tattered country, our protagonist desperately turns to new forms of energy along with several of the empire's best minds. With the resolve to see things through to the end, he has held on despite his failing body, carrying the sentiments of his dead companions. But it is clear that he too will breathe his last. As this battered world holds it breath in expectation for a new dawn, what will be the fate of the man that is trying his hardest so that the next generation to will be able to see it? Will the man that has facilitated so much destruction be able to grasp this last chance of redemption for his sins? This is the story of a man tormented by the echoes of his past, as with shaking steps he seeks the right path to follow. Played with both by fate and the ghosts that haunt him. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Word from the author: Greetings. As a beginning author this is the first work that I have publicized online, but I will try my hardest to share an engaging and enjoyable story with all of you readers. I myself am a huge fan of fantasy novels and stories in all its myriad forms. Reading tons of western fantasy novels and Japanese Light novels alike has inspired me to write down my own take on the suddenly booming reincarnation genre! I certainly hope that this fantasy story with a modern twist is to your taste. (Warning: tagged as mature for coarse language and occasional adult scenes)

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2015
Author: mesteck

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.5/ 5.0
Followers: 324
Views: 23,354

What readers say about Echoes

“Good book (thus far) and a great author. Thus far I'm enjoying the pacing and tone of the story. Gives me those warm fuzzies of an unfolding adventure that yearns to be read about. The story itself is darker in tone, a bit more gritty than your average book…”
AchhHansRunRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“This story is written in third person present which interesting because I don’t come across that much. But let’s discuss the content. There are terms used that are just top notch like “flesh maestro” and frankly I never want to call a necromancer anything e…”
SRadioactiveRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(3)

AchhHansRunRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Good book (thus far) and a great author.
Thus far I'm enjoying the pacing and tone of the story. Gives me those warm fuzzies of an unfolding adventure that yearns to be read about.
The story itself is darker in tone, a bit more gritty than your average book here on RR. And I like it. The characters are, thus far, likeable but still distanced from what most of us would consider normal. Their surrounding molding them into something that can be difficult to understand at first. The first 5 chapters hit hard. Harder than I expected (though the warm fuzzies are still there). Im very interested to see where the author takes the MC and her journey.
This is not a happy go lucky feel good story thus far. And that's okay. Sometimes life sucks, and people are just trying to make the best of it. I appreciate the author's willingness to tackle some sensitive topics early on and make it hit hard.
I'll continue updating the review as I go!
SRadioactiveRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This story is written in third person present which interesting because I don’t come across that much. But let’s discuss the content.
There are terms used that are just top notch like “flesh maestro” and frankly I never want to call a necromancer anything else (even if that’s not it in this story, the term works) among the other honorable mentions are “emaciated gremlin,” “positively scandalized” infant, “nods with the enthusiasm of someone who likes being alive” honestly so many more but I don’t want to flood the review with a bunch of my favorites, need room to discuss other things.
Good grammar, no complaints.
Something I really appreciate about this is the index given at the end of each chapter. It helps people from different cultures bond with the characters while keeping true to the authors story and experience.
Going to warn, the story deals with heavy topics. Personally, I love this when it is done with class—and it is definitely done with class. There are warnings at the beginning of chapters.
Oh Alex, you rascal. Alex is our main gal. She has some health issues and questionable acquaintances but a pretty wholesome family and a good head on her shoulders. We have some real growth going on, first she conquers the stairs then the conquers the world (I don’t know this I’m not that far don’t take my word for it.)
Alex’s family is a huge part of the story and their relationship is sweet. I appreciate stories with family dynamics.
I’m not super far in but I wanted to give my impressions, I would recommend giving at the very least the first chapter a read!
I did take off half a star because of the pacing, it wasnt quite as fast as I would have liked but that’s an entirely personal preference and I hope it doesn’t make anyone hesitate, you’ll miss out.
TheForthcomerRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
So far it seems to be a coming-of-age story in a cyberpunk setting with LitRPG elements. The two series that come to mind to compare it to are Menschenjaeger by Turiya (now sadly deleted from RR) and Magical Girl Gunslinger by Mikasane.
It has an engaging introduction and has planted a lot of seeds for where the story could go, but currently the story hasn't yet hit its stride: it's still getting started.
Some early feedback (which I'll update later when I read more):
The story has dark themes. 14 year-old girls running around unsupervised killing people, doing drugs (implied), going to strip clubs etc. How the story interacts with these themes feels almost irreverent: a lovable character shoots a perceived threat to death, and the story presents this in a somewhat irreverent / comical / 'oh you' manner. It's unique and interesting: but this is undercut by exploring themes of trauma, loss, violence, disability etc. Maybe there's a balance to be had there, or maybe it's better to commit one way or the other, but I don't think the story has the right approach yet.
Events in the story lack weight / impact. A character is introduced, gets their head blown off a paragraph later, other characters react by swearing a lot, and the story just moves on. I think in these events the author is attempting to communicate how dark and vicious the fictional world is, but to me as the reader this signals that the events and characters in the narrative don't really matter. Events should have consequences: who are these characters, what do they want, and how do these events impact everything else? (e.g. what does them dying mean? Who killed them? Why? etc.) Having things happen without sufficient context and therefore consequences creates a lack of impact to events in the narrative.
The story seems to flip-flop a bit between slice-of-life and (the beginning of) a grand narrative. I actually think that the slice-of-life elements of the story are very compelling, but it feels weirdly in-