End of Horizon [A High Fantasy Progression Novel]

Information

Status

Hiatus

Year

2022

Author

_FlameS_

• 1. Lights in the Dark
  Dec 16, 2022

Reviews

Community Reviews(4)

• AustimizedRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  This story follows a young thief, Hart, as he plunges from street rat to prisoner to reluctant pirate to deserter to guide to who knows what next!
  Each chapter consists of two parts: a lore section featuring segments of lore from journals, books, and lectures in the world covering history, linguistics, geography, culture, politics, and more. The second part jumps into Hart's adventures, along with the young heiress Cynthia and her bodyguard Riftyn.
  While Hart et al.'s adventures are fun (navigating under-ocean canal networks!) and the worldbuilding fascinating and extensive, what stands out to me most so far is the book's potential to serve as a gateway for young readers into Royal Road.
  I've read stories on RR that confront the reader with rape, murder, and/or holocaustic annihilation on page 1 but End of Horizon reads like a YA novel in the best way possible. From substituting "thrice-cursed" and the like for profanity to the female characters not being presented as immediate sex objects to the character's finding generaly non-violent solutions to problems, this is maybe the first story I've read on RR that I could suggest to younger readers in good conscience.
  I don't think RR has a "YA" tag you can throw on a story, but this one could definitely start it to get more young Harry Potter and Percy Jackson fans started on the site.
  If you're looking for a story you'll enjoy and can share with your kiddos too, this one fits the bill!
• BellaArtzRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Let me start this review of by saying, reading this story was a fun time and I really wish I didn't have to put it down anytime real-life was demanding my attention.
  From the style to the format and the scenes I loved reading this to a t and that's not something that's easily said from the heart. There are so many good stories on this site and even more that try to emulate that dark mid-evil ages vibe but this one does it well.
  In regards to the style I love how well each scene is excited, leading up to each executed point and and the dialogue between characters doesn't feel forced to sound dramatic but just clicks into something smooth and real feeling. I feel adding 'Thrice cursed...' to anything I say now. That aside, I also found the little bits of lore info at the top pretty interesting as most times a lot of stories try to force lore into the main bodies of stories and they hardly do it well, making it all look like some very unattractive info dump. It's nice how the author made it a bit fun here like were reading out of very interesting text books or letters that may be refered to later and I hope I have enough time to catch up on it all once I'm less busy.
  Objectively, there's nothing wrong with the grammar, good work and I'm sure the level of editing it took was hellish but you've made the story an absolute cake walk to read and glide through.
  The lowest rating I gave was to the characters and I might change it once I'm able to read further chapters but for now all I can say about them is that their well done. From what look like the main cast to the most irrelevant; they are all done well but that's all they have to them at the moment. They're all unique as well and I do hope to see a lot more character building in the future. I also do hope Ryftin isn't pushed into a generic role were she starts out good only to be fodder for Hart to rescue all the time because stuff like that genuinely grates on some nerves especially when she's been made out to look so
• TeaganIvesRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Hi!
  End of Horizon has so many positives I'm going to have to do a good job at keeping them from overflowing out during this review.
  Story: I'm interested in where these characters are going and, while I have only made it to Chapter 7 as of writing this review, am looking forward to finding out where we end up next. The characters move in a believable, cohesive trajectory.
  Grammar: I found absolutely no mistakes as I was reading and the word choice only lends to it feeling even more efficient in terms of grammar. A very high quality of writing.
  Character: All the characters I've met so far within this tale are well-realised and well-rounded, with a significant portion of themselves locked away for future chapters to figure out. Perfect for this kind of tale.
  Style: The only one I've marked down, even slightly, and it's more a personal gripe than anything definitive. I found that, in places, the sentences can become a little too wordy. The fantasy style lends well to the way almost all of the sentences are written, but sometimes it was leaned into almost too much and I found myself having to reread the setence to fully understand it. Other than that, perfect all around.
  Overall: Of course, I couldn't give this anything under five stars because it is incredibly well written and neatly displayed upon the page, even with sections for additional lore in each chapter. A lovely read so far and I look forward to reading on further!
  All the best with your future writing :)
• M.G DriverRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  The best of this is really the little snippets of information. They are extremely realistic and believable, so much so that I would have no trouble imagining them for myself.
  Style:
  The grandeur of the environments, the description of the weather, ships, towns are so meticulous it really paints the scene in your head. The writing style and the dialogue all matches and flows in sequence. There's no part of it that seems 'out-of-place' or anachronistic to the supposed time era or level of technology.
  Story:
  Foreshadowing works perfectly, and the story is action-packed to the brim. Stealing, battles and small skirmishes with confrontations makes the reader want to keep turning the page.
  Grammar:
  English is perfect as far as I can tell, no hiccups or errors or inconsistencies.
  Character:
  I find the motivations and backstories of the characters to be not as detailed as the environments, but I live for the worldbuilding more so than the characters. It does reduce the impact of new characters and I did not find as much dread towards the main villian D*** E** as much as I thought I should.
  It's really early on in the story, and I'm sure the characters will get fleshed out as it goes!