Hiskandrios Genesis [A High-Fantasy Epic, book 1 done]

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

The world is old and prosperous. Great kings rule and powerful mages hold their own dominions. But somewhere beyond the Empyrean Sea lurks an ancient danger whose name is all but forgotten. They prepare their secret assault, believing themselves unmatched, for the ancient warnings were forgotten millennia ago.

Among this, Jonas Espian stands as a misfit.

He has always been mistrusted because of his strange past, and because of the grim curse he must bear, he isolates himself. Yet Florencia, his childhood friend and secret love, has always been at his side; a constant in a life that seems to go nowhere. Then, a sudden twist of fate brings the two of them closer than Jonas ever dared to hope.

But then a tragedy strikes and their lives are forever shattered. Years pass and the Enemy advances. The shadows grow long and deep and nameless things creep into the dark places of the world. Slowly, a harrowing truth emerges—this is only the beginning.

Hiskandrios Genesis, book 1,isfinished. Over250kwords published.Hiskandrios Genesisis the first book in my ambitious series calledThe Dark Age of Magic.

It is aFirst Person POVfantasy story, with somegrimdarkelements, about a tragic man who must bare the weight of responsibility he never wanted and become a demon hunter. The setting is the fantasy world I created over 20 years ago.

In this story, you can expect anextensivelist of characters, some of whom has a large role to play, while other fade into irrelevancy. It is taking place in a well-crafted and intricate world, full of varied interests and conflicting ideas. Add to that dark conspiracies, coupled withromanticentanglements, featuring royalty, powerful wizards, noble knights, along with graphicviolencehere and there.

I've also sprinkled in subtlehintsfor some nice payoffs for those who pay attention.

A word ofcaution, though. Don't expect a quick ride - this is aslowburn, a story that takes time to develop. There's no single enemy to defeat but a huge overarching foe and woven into the large narrative are many smaller conflicts which the characters must overcome.

I also like to change my cover image a lot, so beware.

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2022
Author: T.K.R.

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.5/ 5.0
Followers: 537
Views: 195,943

Chapters(98 total)

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(10)

PizzaPizzaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
First off, I do want to say that even though this is a review swap, I'll be back for the author's weekly updates for certain.
The quality of work here can't be understated - if I had to compare the style underpinning this work to anything, it would be The Witcher books by Andrzej Sapkowski.
The story gives the appearance of a pretty standard fantasy world: Our main character, Jonas Espian, is found and discovered by a rural family in the countryside by a precocious three-year old girl named Florencia when he is five years old. He is (begrudgingly) taken in by her family, and raised as not-quite family.
Then, as it turns out...both of them can do magic. Or rather, Florencia was a generational genius before she discovered she could do magic, and Jonas has just the slightest bit of magical talent in comparison. So, the two go off to magic school in their early teens through adulthood and everything is peachy dory.
Nah. Jonas is a talentless blunt and everyone just treats him as Florencia's emotional support animal. But, he is ever the dutiful childhood friend and serves his role in keeping her grounded and sane as he falls further and further behind in magic school.
The story does have a slow burn, and the author masterfully carries the early parts with their dynamic alone. Their relationship is a beautifully-written one, and fulfills many a fantasy with regards to childhood friends.
Then of course, as expected from the dark fantasy label (seriously I was waiting for the other shoe to drop for like 5 chapters) - everything goes to hell.
The whiplash to 'bad dark fantasy things happen' is done very naturally, and doesn't feel like whiplash. When it comes to character writing, scene-setting, and worldbuilding - everything is done very naturally and smoothly. Nostalgic childhood friendship and sexual tension segways naturally into horrific, tense action and confusion. The second part of the story does feel jarring at times, but that is intentional by the author. I found m
SanctifiedSeraphRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
There are many books I read, for their unique setting, ignoring their flaws or boring chapters. I wouldn’t say this book has a very unique setting, but that’s because it’s not showing it’s hand just yet, it’s got some, thing, hooked on me and that’s why no chapter has left me disappointed.
Ellen TaylorRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This world is huge. The characters lives in this world is facinating. There are a ton of mysteries to explore. And I'm pretty sure I got all that only reading about seven chapters. There was a lot of information packed into those chapters, and I honestly never felt bored reading it.
I do have to mention, here in my paragraph dedicated to style, that yes, the first three or so chapters were written almost like an info dump, purely because almost two decades were happening. Maybe some people might have been turned off by this, but I found it interesting. It would have certainly been nice to slow down and savor those chapters, but I also fear it would have caused far more chapters, and maybe even an entire book to come out of those three chapters. There was a lot, and I would have rather had the information given as we did then not have it at all, which is why I only knocked off half a star. I did not mind the "info dump" that didn't feel like an info dump.
Grammar was fine. Nothing really stuck out to me, nor did it break my enjoyment of the story. I usually don't notice anything unless it's repetitive, and it looked great to me.
The story was interesting. It starts with the mystical, magical school trope, but there is definitely something more there. The author does a great job playing at the tropes but also puts the added mystery to clue the reader in that there is something more.
The characters were lovely to get to know. I honestly had no complaints about them.
Overall, there are a few things that might turn a reader off, but I didn't mind. These characters were lovely to follow throughout their yeras, and I had a great time reading it.
FrameRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I love the characters and the relations between them. They are full of emotion. It makes me think of my first love and I really feel the yearning Jonas and Florencia have for each other.
The world is added to each chapter but a bit slow. From the labourers on the docks and the woodsman in the village we start off in, there is a lot of detail and flavour to the world.
I had no problems with the gammer but sometimes the style makes it a bit hard for me to parse or understand what's going on, but only very rarely.
There seems to be a lot of sub context or hints that I'm simply missing, I think I'm too slow to pick up on them or understand what's being hinted at. But it could also just be complicated.
There is so much mystery going on and I wish it was a little simpler so I could fully understand what's going on the direction things are going but again I don't know whether that's to my own incompetence or as a result of the style.
I hope there is a happy ending for Jonas and Florencia but there rarely is one in these types of stories.
Thank you author for your hard work and happy holidays. ♥️ ❤️ 🎄
Grape_CatRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Wonderful novel. While it starts a bit slow and there are still many mysteries the novel is still interesting. The characters are likable and the action is great. The story seems to have a lot left to give, with the missing 40 years, and i hope the author can keep the momentum the story seems to possess.
StainedGlassThreadsRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
Hiskandrios Genesis tells the story of Jonas. For much of his life, Jonas has existed as some neither exceptional nor mediocre, merely getting by the eyes of most. But one night, the fragile balance of his life is upset. Shortly after having the night of his dreams, his life is abruptly flipped upside down and shattered. One can make a number of assumptions about what, precisely happened, but one is still left with a great many questions that the story will, hopefully, answer over time.
The story is very much a slow-burn. The first nine chapters are, in effect, a very lengthy prologue explaining the main character’s childhood, introducing the world, and setting up the main character’s romance with his childhood best friend. After chapter 9, there is a 40-year time skip, and the main protagonist reappears…not remembering anything from the last four decades of his life. Including much of the first nine chapters.
32 chapters in, and we’ve only just wrapped up the very beginning of this story.
In turns of technicality, it is a well-written story. Many of the claims the author makes in the blurb are very accurate. A very large cast of characters, a slowly unfurling story, an intricately-built world with a great amount of detail that I quite enjoyed. The author knows when to elaborate on things, and when to give only the impression of a broader scope, in a way that creates a really fantastic world. The characters are also rather well-developed and nuanced, and all have a solid logic behind their actions, even if some are understandably given more depth than others. Such a thing is only inevitable when dealing with a cast of this size. Style I found to be somewhat dry, and grammar is alright, though I occasionally found some odd errors. They are fixed rather quickly though.
For the most part, I expect one can look at the story’s synopsis, and decide for themself whether they’d like it. It reminds me a great deal of very classic fantasy, in a lot of ways that both work for
Dylan KingRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
Story
If I were to say one thing for Hiksandrios Genesis, it woukd be that it is one hell of an ambitious story. First of all, this is a slow burn with a lot of layers, so anybody looking for the nore standard, faster-paced litrpg fare on RR shoukd probably bear that in mind. The main threads pulling you through the story are character and intrigue, particularly around the time of the inciting incident. The author dangles just enough clues and subtle tidbits to keep you going, combined witha pair of fairly likable main characters. It is clear the author has a grand vision for this story, and their passion for it really shines through, making it easy to forgive some of the flaws that are present.
Style
Solid, effective prose with little to complain about. I would have liked to see some concrete details described a little more than they were, as some scenes suffered from white room syndrome a touch, but this is definitely a preference.
Character
This is definitely a strong point. The two focal characters are likable and easy to root for, which goes a long way towards keeping readers invested in a story.
Grammar
No complaints at all, besides some weird line formatting in the dialogue that made it difficult to keep track of who was actually speaking at times.
VengefulReaperRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
Full disclosure: This is part of a review swap.
At the time of this review, there are 12 chapters released.
Overall
In this magical world, we follow the MC, Jonas, through magic school along with his lifelong companion Florencia.While Jonas, on the surface, seems like the unsual underperforming student, there is more to him than he lets on. This story, thus far, is heavily focused on characters and world-building while gradually shifting pieces of the plot into place at a digestable rate.
Style
The style is consistent and generic which automatically makes it easier for me to read. The telling and chronology of events are clear and I found it easy to follow the sequence of events throughout the chapters. It also helps that the pace is slow which means there aren't any jarring changes in setting or tone that give you a sense of whiplash.
I'm not usually a fan of first person POV's, particularly in fantasy (probably in the minority here) so I was pretty hesitant going into this. It took me a while, but I got used to it around chapter 5 or so and by the end realised how well the author utilises the perks of first person POVs.
Grammar
The piece is well edited. I didn't pick up on any errors as I was reading.
Story
It's a bit hard to judge here since the story has only just begun. As with most books, it takes its time to build up the MC and supporting characters. Things only start happening around chapter 7 (no spoilers). From the four chapters I have read after the story has picked up, it seems to have taken an interesting turn that kept me engaged till the end. The world-building also picks up around here with several revelations about certain students and teachers that were hinted on earlier.
I think the main gripe I have is the first two chapters. They can be a bit too exposition-y at times. But things smoothen out from there on and the prose really is what helped me get through those two chapters.
Characters
Jonas is a relatable MC who often puts the needs and wants
CommenatorerRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
The premise for the story seems isekai like at first but as you read on it diverges in several ways.
The first divergence is the MC's skill/magic level is below average.
The second is that he selflessly props up his chilhood friend.
The third is that hes content in his slice of life despite what most others around him think.
Then his fragile situation begins to spiral out of his comfort zone in a rapid chain of unexpected events.
Yet despite this it still reads like a slow burn magical dramedy with little to no action.
Some parts require a bit better explanation with a bit too much time invested in explaining metaphysical goings on instead.
The main glaring flaw throughout the whole piece however is when the MC and his fated partner's IQ's plummet to catastrophically infuriating depths whenever they are in each others presence.
Grammar is ok with a couple of nagging errors.
Spelling is of about the same level.
Would be 3.5 stars but gets a half star for getting me to read so far.
4/5 stars overall.
im317Royal Road
★★★★ 3.5
the world is interesting thought its introduction felt rushed or incomplete. for instance when the main charicters suprisingly display magic i was suprised which is good. excet then it pivitoed to magic being a known thing in this world. yeah i get its supposed to be rare but there was no mention of it at all which made it briefly seem like it was unique to them. the charicters are interesting althought i think there could be more detail on the supporting cast and the pacing of advacne in there lives felt rushed. the biggest issue is the grammer but i give a lot of that as pass as english is not the authers native language. i was able to figure out what almost everything meant and the lone word that was so out of place i could not determine what the sentance was supposed to be was not significant to the story. im not sure what else to say given the story is only at chapter 8. i just thought it deserved some feedback. still not 200 words? ah this is an old trick from my elementary school days. the date of this review is Novermeber Fifth Two Thousand and Twenty-Two