Gregor The Cripple

Information

Status

Hiatus

Year

2023

Author

Nigel

• 7, The Road
  Nov 15, 2023
• 6, The Wane
  Nov 13, 2023
• 5, The Zenith
  Nov 12, 2023
• 4, The Wax
  Nov 11, 2023
• 3, The Rat
  Nov 9, 2023
• 2, The Demon
  Nov 8, 2023
• 1, The Tower
  Nov 7, 2023

Reviews

Community Reviews(9)

• B ERoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Gregor is the most arrogant wizard that may exist, and I hope he gets the girl. I cannot help but root for Gregor, even if he is a miserable, and maybe evil man.
  "Gregor the Cripple" is written with such intelligence and humor that the author makes readers enjoy a character they should dislike. The philosophical humor is top notch, and Gregor is an incredible vehicle for the author's satirism.
  I am looking forward to each new chapter, and can only lament that they aren't long enough.
• BerderRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  No stats and boxes, not many cliches.
  MC is a "wizard" which in this world means a thrill-seeking mercenary of considerable magical prowess and knowledge, and unhinged mental state. He operates according to a wizard code; always get paid, always take vengeance, suffer in order to grow. This often leads him to what we might consider willfully bad decisions, but it works for him.
  He tends to lose something in each significant fight - he takes a serious, lasting wound, he loses a companion, he loses possessions. I appreciate that, as it adds meaning.
  It's somewhat of a psychological story. MC is mentally unstable and directionless at the start of the story, but shows some signs of growth and healing as a person as the story moves forward.
• ChancesRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  This story deserves more recognition. If there were to be only one story in the world about wizards, THIS is what I imagine it would be. The magic feels relatively fleshed out, and Gregor is a fun main character, even with his wizardly sociopathic actions being VERY questionable. Not everyone is perfect though haha.
  Also there is a pet rat, and I like that a lot.
• DropoutInDenialRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  This story is dark, and extremely unique in a way that captures a very human wizard’s journey, complete with his flaws and questionable choices. The world-building is smooth, the magic feels real, and the cast keeps growing with each chapter. Plus, there’s a magical pet rat. That's ridiculous, rats can't be magical.
  Starting with moments that evolve into a grim, crippled adventure, Gregor is fascinating to follow through each trial, not to mention the smooth world-building adds layers without forcing detail. The expanding cast and occasional POV shifts—especially to a strong female lead—keep the narrative engaging. I’m eagerly awaiting the next 100 chapters lol
• HansRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  If you like a great wizardly tale set in a captivating world where magic still rules, but the industrial revolution is well underway (a bit like in Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura), I can strongly recommend Gregor The Cripple despite its slow-ish updates.
  My rating scale is quite a bit harsher than usual around here. A story that is good, but not great, will end up around 4 stars, a mediocre at 3, with 5 reserved for the absolute crème de la crème. With a rating of 4.8 stars overall, this is the best story I am currently reading on royalroad and elsewhere, and the best rating in a review I have given so far.
  The story starts with a bang, then slows down for a while, but strongly ramps up tempo and stakes once the eponymous MC starts travelling again, but even with the rising action never loses its characteristic charm and whimsy founded in Gregor's and his travelling companion's unique approach to life. While I usually prefer stories not too far up the power scale, the common drawbacks of such stories (power creep, plot armor) are neatly sidestepped here: Despite starting off damn powerful and only getting stronger, the MC suffers grave and permanent injuries, and could die to a single unlucky pistol shot, and there are a lot of other crouching tigers and hidden dragons around.
  It is hard to include much more without spoilers, but there was a part near the beginning that felt like the story and our MC was going downhill, but in retrospect this part was essential and made the story better long term.
  Nevertheless, there still were some passages afterwards where story progress felt a bit slow, but that is a high level nitpick.
  Overall, the story gets a score of 4.6.
  Characters, especially the MC, are very well developed, and morally grey in some very interesting ways. The MC does some pretty terrible things to himself and others. He also does selfless and great things, and great and terrible things, because he sticks to his own rules, he stays in character, h
• WonderingPasserbyRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I would recommend paying attention to the warnings before reading.
  Ngl the title kind off but a review by Charles convinced me to try it out and boi. It is unnerving to see how very human the MC is. Being a wizard who defies the law of physics does not exempt you from the hubris of man. The first 17 chapters are like a prolog and I mean this in a good way. It flashes out the MC and you get to follow along through these trials and tribulations.
  The author manages to flash out the world without forcing it down your throat, they sprinkle in the lore of the world and so effortlessly bend into the flow which is amazing.
  The only complaint I have is that the next chapter button appears to be broken.
• XdesRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  This story is atypical of the usual fare found on RR. Typically I do not read works with less than 2k followers for those are imo the works of unpolished writers. I am glad to be wrong.
  From chapter 1 itself, we see that Gregor is a rather unique character, he felt genuinely alive despite his boredom. Other characters too are not one dimensional, though the actual number of characters that are in the story is small as a consequence of travel, thus it is easier to write good characters. I must applaud the author for writing in such a way as to make world building natural.
  The story does not shy away from tragedy, and Gregor being who he is, is well equipped to both inflict and deal with it. His manic though entertaining to us is not made light of, and there are consequences to failure. Gregory’s manic rants are quite entertaining as well.
  My only gripe is the slow release schedule, and thus I am not sure if the work will ever come to a satisfactory end. Yet labour is the price of work well done, and the author seems to take great pride in their work.
• mytus123Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  The early chapters are genuinely hilarious, the dark humor caught me off guard and had me laughing a lot of times. While the beginning can be a bit slow due to some heavy info-dumping and limited character interaction, the story quickly hits its stride. It evolves into a fantastic adventure with a much better pace and as the cast slowly grows, we're transitioning from a single POV into a duo (MMC + FMC).
  The tone eventually settles into a grimdark feel which is my favorite genre, and the author absolutely nails it. Later the POV occasionally shifts to the FMC, which adds some depth, especially regarding Gregor. Since he has such a unique and specific worldview, seeing him through her eyes provides a more 'sane' perspective.
  Some additional tags:
  - Strong Lead;
  - Female Lead (a guest POV earlier, to a more of a secondary one as the story progresses);
  - Grimdark;
• rel7891Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  The prose is eloquent. It walks us through a story both humorous and tragic. As other reviews have pointed out, this is a very human story, and our protagonist is deeply narcissistic. It's easy to love him though, because we understand well why, and he's trying in his own way, and he's principled, in a way that doesn't scare me too much.
  I would have bet my left leg this author hails from the UK or is inspired by British humor without checking, it's unmistakable and done well. It's a sweet story and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes.