Hedge Knight [Epic Progression Fantasy]

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Arc 1: The Knight from Nothing has been stubbed upon the revised book release on3/25/25in accordance to Amazon's Kindle Unlimited policies. You can find the book releaseHERE. Additionally, free book promos will be announced to all members, including free ones, on my Patreon, which you can findHERE

Fortune favors the bold. For Helbram? He’ll have to make due with relentlessness instead.

A lifetime of denial, combined with a condition that has left him without the spiritual powers of the Awoken or the magical might of Mages, has cracked and scuffed an unbreaking will that continues to march along a path that seems to deny him at every step. Ambition still burns within, but it’s been reduced to embers, fueling hands that still reach for goals that remain out of reach.

Or so he thought.

A mission to wipe out a band of bandits goes wrong and Helbram is forced into a fight for survival along with the stragglers of the failed expedition, trapped by technology from an age long past. Within the chaos of this conflict, the faded flames of dead dreams spark anew.

And the first steps of a legend make themselves known.

Inspired by the likes ofFinal Fantasy, D&D,Wheel of Time,The Name of the Wind, andCradle;The Knight from Nothingopens the doors to a world of epic fantasy with a progression twist along with elements of magical science, action, and adventure in the vein of old school Sword and Sorcery novels.

Join one man in the struggle of the powerless against the powerful. This is the story of the Hedge Knight.

Cover Art by the amazingKartStudioDigi

To read further ahead and get access to the Audiobook version of this story consider supporting me onPatreon. Regardless, I hope you enjoy this story and have yourselves a very pleasant day!

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2022
Author: Critical Scribe

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.5/ 5.0
Followers: 1,862
Views: 554,040

Reviews

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Community Reviews(10)

ARR62Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I can't recall how I discovered this series but I know it was the name that peaked my interest. Hedge Knight had me anticipating a slyly ironic, funny tale of the misadventures of a barely knight. And it is ...without the irony (well no, there's a to of irony but it's all inward, this is a seriously depressed guy) and not so funny. Instead, it's the tale of a guy denied what he wants most, magical power, and making do with what he has and holding himself to impossible standards, that he keeps meeting. I read the first arc and was hooked!
Style wise is this slice of life meets adventuring meets battling meets wizardry for a grand tale in a fantastical land of a guy, his companions, and their adventures. It is a bit too earnest at times, and I swear you could choke on all the sincerity sometimes but I find myself utterly charmed and delighted.
The story itself is engrossing, maddening, mysterious enough so that is binged from the first to fifth arc before I knew it! Engrossing in that the author does a really good job of world building, the descriptions of rural and town have me watching the movie in my head, (always a good sign I find), and the battle scenes while not my favorite, I tend to skim, are done well. Not too much granular detail but enough so I can follow the action easily. Maddening in that, for all the build up about HK's lack of power and potential for power, here it is, the fifth arc and we still only have hints, guesses, theories but not one solid fact. And mysterious in that for all that this world seems to blithely rattle along there are clearly more forces at work than our protagonists are aware. All of which keeps me bingeing!
The characters are very well done. They are real, sapient beings who have their individual strengths, weaknesses, blind spots, and baggage. My only critique is that the characters belabor their weaknesses too often, namely HK but they all do it. And yes, to be sapient is to doubt, but all the time? As they advance and succ
Butters1Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This novel is the true definition of a hidden gem, its a great fantasy novel with amazing world building and characters, it honestly reads so well, the characters feel so distinct and the actual writing is so good. Please never stop author! Would definitily recommend if you like fantasy at all
ChoucklesRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Many writers fall into the trap, when writing fantasy novels of having childish dialogue, or unique main characters with overpowered abilities that allow them to overcome their trials with grit, but victory being a forgone conclusion.
Not so with this story. If you have ever read Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series, where the MC is in fact grossly underpowered against the threats arrayed against him you will find a cousin to it here (though I will not go into spoilers about the Codex Alera series by highlighting the differences).
The main character shows doubt, and indecision a lot of the time. Unlike other stories, where the character eventually learns wisdom after trial and trial Helbram is already wise to the world and his failures. There are snippets of his story where he failed a quest, was abandoned by once comrades for a lack of personal progress, etc. You get the sense, throughout the story, that the MC is a man who has had more pain and suffering (physical and emotional) than people three times his age and rather than having it break him has polished him, like a diamond, to remove most all his flaws. All that is left (as of this moment in the story) is the wait for the light to hit the finished piece and reflect its brilliance for all to see. A man forged to almost unbreakable will, who knows his path to be almost hopeless yet walks it anyway. He does this because he knows he would rather die than give up, and if he does give up he knows he would be a walking corpse.
Will his suffering lead to a payoff? Will his hero journey have an ending worth the travel? I know I want to know, and you will too if you read. Given the quality of the writing, you will not be disappointed with the journey wherever it goes.
So I say this, Critical Scribe, with all the impatience in my heart that you have caused. Stop with the goddamn rewrites and get cracking.
Elijah KingRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is a fun story that follows Helbram, he is a wandering knight who is skilled but held down by his own doubts.
He gets caught up with a group of bandits who are actually secretly more dangerous than they appear to be.
The author does a nice job mixing action with moments where Helbram is questioning himself and his abilities.
The pacing is solid, and the action scenes are easy to follow. However, the story sometimes moves from one fight to the next a bit too quickly, without giving much time to develop the world or the other characters. Maybe some more details here would help with making the world feel more immersive?
The writing is easy to follow, which makes it an easy read overall. There are a few minor grammar mistakes, but they’re not a big deal and don’t really get in the way of the story. Helbram is a likeable character, especially if you enjoy heroes who are good at what they do but aren't invincible. He’s got some flaws and self-doubt, which makes him more relatable, which i like in a main character. The other characters are good as well but could also benefit from being fleshed out a bit more I think.
Overall, it is a solid read if you enjoy fantasy stories with a ton of action and a main character who’s a bit more down-to-earth. If you’re into knights and battles, it’s definitely worth a read. Check it out!
RMCollinwoodRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Hedge Knight pulls together familiar High Fantasy tropes and breathes some refreshing life into them for a great modern take on classic fantasy.
I was surprised to see this was Critical Scribe's first and only Fiction because Hedge Knight does what many seasoned writers know how to do: take familiar tropes, characters, imagery, and layer them together with a distinctive voice, rather than foolishly attempting to push against the tide created by a long and rich history of the genre. The result: an immense amount of entertainment.
It's an extremely fun read with characters that banter and trade quips. For fans of High Fantasy, I would add this to excellent modern takes, similar to Christopher Buehlman's The Blacktongue Thief or Ryan Cahill's Of Blood and Fire. I found myself laughing at both the more obvious situational humor, but even the more subtle humor woven throughout (e.g., a character chastising another for their use of a swear referencing a god's genitalia one second, only to moments later yell a similar swear when caught by surprise).
The lore of the world is also unique, and there are two magic systems at play (one of which is a little more uncommon in a High Fantasy setting). Moreover, the lore is worked into the story in such a manner that it doesn't disrupt the flow of the story.
Style: The style is a unique twist to more traditional fare you'd expect to see picking something up from the shelves in the Fantasy Section. Critical Scribe definitely has an authorial voice and I quite enjoy it.
Grammar: The writing is clean and generally free of grammatical errors or typos.
Story: Early on, and on its surface, the story doesn't do anything particularly "new," but there is enough there to show the author knows what they are doing and are relying on the familiar to introduce characters and elements unique to their own world. And, there is a lot of unique and super neat world building there (and hints of more to come). While the beginning chapters seem to be a f
kleinTheFoolRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Credit when credit is due this a cut above the average the worldbuilding while not new or unique is well tought and great the writing style is good the events are engaging and well written as for the characters is where my praises can't be enaugh the interactions between characters are smooth and relatable more organic ,the charachters themselves have depths to them wich goes for the mc as much as the others and i like the Mc very much .
I hope the author keeps the quality consistent in the future cuz i am enjoying this
MathewTRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
I finished reading the first arc and the thing that stood out to me most was the dialogue. It feels very real, witty, and fun. Character interaction was great especially the main villain. He was a joy to read and hopefully he doesn’t become just another guy the Hedge Knight fights.
A few small things is that the fight scenes can be a tad long even though they are enjoyable. But otherwise it was great, especially the last few chapters which had me hyped. Looking forward to the rest.
Viper4deltaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
It's a very engaging read, and reminds me of nothing so much as a well-plotted out and executed DnD campaign. There's nothing well and truly novel as of yet, but it takes a fairly stereotypical story and tells it quite well.
STYLE: The writing has a nice flow. It's formatted well and is easy to read. It's tightly paced, with no fluff to be cut. Everything there serves to develop the plot or the characters.
GRAMMAR: No spelling mistakes, no odd word choices, nothing that stood out
STORY: Fairly generic High fantasy setting so far, but there are hints of more interesting things to come. Regardless, even if a bit generic, it's executed quite well. It may be Vanilla, but vanilla is still a damn good flavor.
CHARACTER: Following in the story's footsteps, the characters also fall into fairly generic archetypes, but they're well executed. These characters could easily have been "Generic fantasy party #17" but their personality shines through, and their dynamic was believably developed.
RN204Royal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
Actually found this one off of reddit through self-promo means and added this to my reading list a while back. This won't be a long review, but overall... it's great. There's many different pieces I can pick out such as the double power-system, the occasional reflective Helbram (Oh right, the MC), the writing structure, witty dialogue, and rich world-building. Anyways, great read and definitely one you'd want to have in your following list.
RyanR-ReviewerRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
Read this book. Seriously. Read it! I have had this book on my list for ages, but I held off because I wanted to read the chapters in bulk instead of one every now and then. Put simply, this book is amazing. Very well written with interesting characters and an engaging magic system. But where this story truly shines is in character relationships. While there is fighting and it is well written and easy to follow, I found myself shocked enjoying the growing friendships between the MC and his group.
If I had to give this book one criticism, it's that I wish the chapters came out more regularly, because they're just so damn good!