Gilded Glory

Information

Status

Hiatus

Year

2025

Author

Iron Harbour

• Chapter 1: Sword Beats Quill
  Jan 9, 2025

Reviews

Community Reviews(10)

• yosef melulRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  The most important aspects in a story for me is the characters and this one does a phenomenal job. It is still relatively early but we have two MCs each with different upbringings, values, goals, and personalities and I love that the story shows us rather than spell it out explicitly. Side characters are also wonderful with distinct personalities and different motivations. Apart from characters, I like the power system since it is fairly basic on the surface with more depth as it’s explored rather than an info dumping every inch of it. Characters have to train and develop their skills rather than being given it by a system which I am a fan of. Finally, fight scenes are well written and descriptive without feeling cluttered which in my opinion is a deceptively difficult task. All in all, I really like the story rn and hope it only gets better from here.
• MedenagenRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  As of the current chapter I've reached, Gilded Glory has been an overall enjoyable read.  It was the stated contrast in goals for the two main characters in the blurb that drew me in, and I have enjoyed seeing how they interpret the world from their perspectives.  (Although one of them makes me want to reach over and flick some sense into his head.  Go ahead and read and guess which one.)  I cannot wait to see how the two mains grow and adapt as things progress in this world.
  Style:  One of the most subjective categories on the advanced review list.  What one person likes, another may not.  I find the style of writing in this story to be quite good. Descriptions are good without being overly detailed purple-prose.  Word variance between characters does a good job to distinguish them from each other.  In general, from my point of view, the writing choices vibe well with the world and people in it.
  Story:  I find the pacing of the story to be good.  Although, I will admit, I am one that can be more lenient on pacing than others.  I like content that drives through to the point as much as content that takes the scenic route.  This one does a good job at keeping things moving forward, overall, but it isn't a super-fast pace.  Even if a chapter leans harder into the "slice-of-life" tag of the story, it still always has some important content that shows character relations, personality and views, or has hints of things about the world that make you wonder when that is going to become an issue for someone.  As of yet, no chapter has felt like an utterly pointless "fluff" chapter.  They've got purpose.
  Grammar:  Thus far, there haven't been any significant or noticeable issues with the grammar or structure of the writing.  Not a single one of my weird grammar pet-peeves has even been set off yet.  It is well-written in form.
  Characters:  The two main characters have distinctly different interpretations of the world and their actions.  They act consistently with their person
• NecessarylarkRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  This is a great story, I was worried about the 2 main characters pov switches through the story but so far it has been a problem.
  It helps that I am incredibly invested in both characters. They are both flawed, Leon be more so. But I found myself feeling for the guy and routing for his growth when his personality gets him into trouble.
  Outside of the 2 main characters there are more great characters with their own personalities, flaws, and such. Highly recommend.
• NogravyRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  It is too early to give a useful review on the story/plot and characters, the main thing the introduction left out that we learn in the first five chapters is that the second main character, the noble, is kind of an ass about commoners being inferior.
  The writing style and grammar are the reason for this early five star review.  It has been much better than the usual stories here on RR that I randomly try out.  I am looking forward to future updates.
• StoneandstarRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I read quite a lot and I'm finding Gilded Glory is one that I look forward to. The author has put a lot of effort into the motivations and back stories for the main characters, and more importantly is still allowing them to drive the story. Too many plots start off well but devolve into random moster smashing but here we have character growth and slow building of relationships. I'm liking the different view points and the world building. The quality of the writing is good. Worth reading!
• WoodskayRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  26 chapters in, I feel I've gathered enough to write a decent review.
  Where do I start... this is one of the most engaging novels I've read recently on RR, and that aspect is reflected especially in the unique style of writing that the authors have chosen to pursue. Other "Dual MC" novels sometimes end up being the same character just duplicated and in a different setting. The dialogue specifically oftentimes ends up feeling like you're reading the same character talk for pages on end. Gilded Glory doesn't fall into the same trap.
  Leon is very 'rigid' for lack of a better term. His chapters are written with careful attention to detail and extensive descriptions of things such as his training or observations made from the perspective of Leon. He is very stuck in his ways, and this is reflected in his thoughts where he often belittles those without noble heritage, adding on his inherent arrogance and it makes Leon a bit of a prick that is still very interesting to read.
  Rayne's chapters are more focused on the emotional considering his situation within the story. They focus less on things like pursuit of power and status in favour of his goal to fund his sister's education. His thoughts and methods are very practical, uncaring if he doesn't get credited for his efforts so long as the job gets done. His character is that of an older brother archetype who would do anything to protect his family.
  These are two different methods of writing that, in my opinion, perfectly reflect the characters' qualities. Leon, a fallen noble who's stubbornly holding on to the values he was raised to believe, struggling to maintain his stoic mask. Rayne, a protective older brother who only wants what's best for his sister.
  Overall, this is a dual MC novel done right, I would highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of progression fantasies. I'm highly looking forward to what comes next!
• hoshRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I don’t know exactly what drew me to this story. It was advertised on a different series, and the blurb had a magnetic pull to it. It  did not disappoint.
  On the face of it, the plot and fhe setting is familiar. The characters though, are well developed, each having depths that are revealed at their own pace. I find myself rooting for one of the MC. The other MC was almost like a villan, until a bit of that fragile human starts peeking out.
  The writing is very good. The scenes are vivid, like watching a good movie, often with nuances that are slipped in with little fanfare. I also enjoy what went into the world building even though we are still in the starting town at this point in the series.
  The author is really good at the third person limited narrative. It isn’t enough to just write from the POV of a character. A skilled author will use the voice of the character — including word choice, diction, narrative framing, etc, This brings out the character’s voice instead of the author’s own. Then you can do stuff with the story itself. I got spoiled by this kind of writing style by the likes of Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, and this story unfolds in this way.
  I’ve added this to my regular reading rotation and look forward to more.
• jaxxauRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Really enjoyed book 1 and completed it in one day. Love the fact that there were two different points of view, decent character development, lots of action but without an unbelievable timeline. Loved the writing style and great descriptive language used throughout. There were stats but they did not take over the story. Very well balanced and fun. Will read this author again
• JM5109Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Well written and more nuanced than the typical wish fulfilment MC gets everything they ask for and then some in every interaction you often see in RR fictions.
  The dual POV swapping back and forth does not feel forced and flows quite well, giving us insight into the party members as they work through quests and their own inter-party quarrels. It all feels pretty natural and like it could actually happen rather than two people who constantly agree on everything but totally "hate" eachother.
  Grammar is good and I have not spotted any typo's thus far.
  As I said, Characters feel believable and are growing slowly as they spend more time together and iron out differences.
  Story is well thought out and has proper motivations for each character and is doing a good "show don't tell" of the world
  Style, the show not tell is working well and provides a slow exposition of the wider world while keeping us engrossed in the problems of "right now" as they encounter new obstacles and overcome them or not.
  One of the rare truly well written pieces that starts off with good everything and not the often seen diamond in the rough where the Author learns as they go. This is just good right off the rip. Kudos.
• letomarRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  Honestly a great story with potential. All the characters are likeable (after a bit of time necessary for character development), i like the story developments although nothing huge has happened yet. At first I thought it would be just two dudes adventuring together, but what it turned out to be is just as good. (I am not a big fan of the kinda cliche little sister character, though)