Icarus Awakens

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Notice: This series will go on indefinite hiatus on 10/15/25 with the final chapter of Book 4.

Could you solve any problem if you had all the time in the world to think? One Moment of Clarity may make the difference between life and death. Daniel Brant awakens to find himself face-first in one of his greatest fears, a small space with nowhere to go but a long way down. Through ingenuity and strange powers he escapes, only to find that falling was the easiest thing he’d do in this new life. Beset by mortals, monsters, and old machinations, Daniel will find that those at his side are just as important as the powers at his command. His first true friendship on this new world will be with the last person he’d expect, and no one is ready for what that bond will bring.

Icarus Awakens is a LitRPG adventure combining elements of progression fantasy, a truckless isekai setup, slow burn, and the power of friendship. As a disclaimer, this is not a fast rise to power or overpowered MC tale, though Daniel is not without advantages. Expect a protagonist who improves at his own pace while the world is developed around him, balancing his life with monster hunting. Mistakes will be made, lessons will be learned, and growth found through them. Perspectives of other characters are important in this story, though Daniel's predominates. Those seeking a healthy mix of action and drama taking place within a unique fantasy setting and system will find this a rewarding read. I’m willing to take this series as far as it will go, and have plenty of story to tell.

This is the result of hobby writing that I am now posting to get the story out there. I welcome any comments, questions, and constructive criticism. So long as there is both life and time, there is always an opportunity to improve.

Thank you for visiting this corner of the LitRPG multiverse, and happy reading!

Content warnings:

Profanity: None to moderate per chapter depending on the characters and context.

Graphic Violence: Nothing over the top, but this is a story involving monster hunting.

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2024
Author: Altoventure

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.2/ 5.0
Followers: 596
Views: 382,952

Chapters(346 total)

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(10)

Worst-answerRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
P.s: just Lost my review and had to rewrite it again.
Story : dude get isekayed without knowing why , survive initially "landing" and then we get little by little information about this world from it's races to its monsters ending with an interesting system.
The whole thing is pretty cool, the only thing I dislike would be mc'class , or atleast the way it expresses itself . If you enlarge the cover, you are gonna see behind MC , a crossbow (that I entirely missed at the beginning).
So basically MC is at the moment a ranged fighter with few close quarters abilities.
On a litrpg the way MC fights and the way they gain powers is really important. It's literally how the readers get dopamine shots, disliking that removes part of the fun of a litrpg. A dislike I might add is entirely subjective and in no way a critic towards the author.
In fact with this I want to highlight that I'm still reading, despite not enjoying Part of it (litrpg part). Now I can't be sure whatever my interests will be kept long term , what I'm sure about though , is that whatever I drop it or not , i will still keep an eye open for any future work of miss/mister altoventure .
Edit: I didn't specify why I'm still reading it despite my dislike for the litrpg part. I find the world Building interesting enough that at the moment , I'm pretty curious where it's going.
Happy AppleRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The book is solid in every aspect. The worldbuilding is done wonderfully. There is no massive info dumps but you steadily learn as you go along. The beginning of the story had me worried a bit because he had a little cheat artifact that I thought was going to make the MC OP asf and just steam roll everything but that got nerfed so that was good. The grammar and writing style is also nice. Give it a read and I think you will enjoy it too.
Omnipotence101Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This Isekai has an interesting setting that gives off Tears of the Kingdoms vibes with floating islands, elemental bats, and a mystical tablet/phone. If the setting gives off Zelda vibes, the system gives off DND vibes with familiar terminology and an easy-to-follow system. I'm definitely into this combination (Seriously, someone DM this setting and invite me).
Style: I liked the way the author is telling the story, and they have a lot of interesting ideas and concepts they want to explore. The way they write the system is very interesting and well done, and more than once I forgot that the text wasn't something I could click on. I did have a bit of an issue with the pacing in the first few chapters, with it taking five chapters for the MC to get off the starting islands with not much to interact with. I also have a bit of an issue with the direction of the description, giving me vibes of a director with too much jumping around, both in emphasis of certain descriptions and too many perspective shifts.
Story: The strength of Icarus is its setting, who doesn't love floating islands? There's also a good setup for future conflicts on the mainland. I'm looking forward to more interactions between Daniel and the larger world that is slowly being set up.
Grammar: Not many issues. A few sentences here or there could use a rework, but nothing jarring.
Character: Daniel is an everyman character, but he hasn't had a chance to interact much with anyone, yet. His lengthy introspections are focused more on the setting than anything else, so he's a bit of a blank slate. His family seems interesting, and I hope they make an appearance at some point. The rest of the characters have the opposite problem, they are all introduced at once, making it hard to have any emotional weight behind them, with too many perspective shifts.
Conclusion: Great setting, interesting systems. A few pacing issues and jarring cuts.
SovranoRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Style: The style in which the author describes the story is very vivid, down to the details. Every sentence feels like it has been thought about carefully and aimed to deliver an accurate feeling of an image the author is trying to describe to us readers. I gave it a 4.5 rating for the style simply because I thought it was a little bit too much, and so it takes away the immersion sometimes. The changing point of view is one of the oldest tricks in the book, so I have no problem with it, despite what some people might think. In fact, exposing bits of the worldbuilding from a fresh new perspective is a good move from the author, in this case.
Grammar: Expansive. Good. The earlier chapters had bits that felt a little awkward, but it wasn't severe enough to be nit-pick about, in my opinion. I believe the grammar is one of the authors' strengths since they were able to paint such a profound picture of storytelling.
Story: An Isekai story without contact with any semblance of higher beings, and also, no spoonfeeding the MC. David literally got thrown into this magical and mysterious world without any explanation whatsoever about why he was there, who did that to him, and what his power was. He had to find out everything by himself, which was so realistic and cool. Very much interested in his future character development. Nothing felt like the right choice at the beginning for him, and frankly, it made sense when he had no lighthouse to guide his way.
Character: As I said, I am very much excited to read about his character development alone. The choices he will make. How he slowly understand his system and the world's intricacies. That said, our MC was realistic enough that it was refreshing but not too much to spoil the mood because, let's be honest, we're talking about Isekai here...I mean, who would want to read a story about an MC whining about how he got kidnapped over and over again in the first five chapters?
Conclusion: This is an interesting and good read that bal
Aleth08Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Story:
It's a well written one, based on the usual isekai trope. The prologue chapters were mainly about mc's survival with his understanding of the world gradually growing as he learn things, and it was shown nicely. The descriptive writing also added a lot with pieces of prose threading the story. The magic system also seemed properly fleshed out, author clearly had given it a lot of thought. All in all, a strong start with potential to go big.
Style:
I really liked the prose and the choice of words in many places, they really impressed me. The writing reads smoothly, and it holds your immersion in, as a good writing style should. It basically built a good platform for the story to play out, author did a good job here. A thumbs up.
Grammar:
I found no issue with this, it was a clean read, and the words did their job.
Character:
There was only mc surviving alone for the chapters I read, but author handled his character well I would say. Especially with the drips of background that trickles in without getting info dumpy.
And the bit about his father was done really well I think, that kind of regret can become a strong lever for character grown and development.
Another strong suit of the book for sure. And another thumbs up.
Overall, a nicely written book.
Mike71414Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
An in-depth world with plenty of promise, and a relatable MC with neat ability. I like how detailed the System is, a lot of care has clearly been given to making sure that it's a functioning part of the story and not just something tacked on. It seems like it will be important for the MC moving forward, and will keep track of the world in a satisfying way.
Style: Detailed, descriptive, introspective. The author's writing ability and technique are definitely above average imo, and will be a strength of the series.
Story: Slow-burn. World seems quite unique and cool so far. Pacing wise I think it could be strong to have either some action early in the first chapter or break up the introspection into more bite-sized bits of description of the world just to ease the reader in and get them interested.
Grammar: No complaints, if I saw any typos they were small and unnoticeable enough that I didn't even realize it, so no problem there.
Characters: Only really seen MC so far, but he seems cool; thoughtful/relatable but gets into some action in Chapter 2. I think the time related powers will be really cool. In the first paragraph of the blurb it might be good to change out the "Daniel Brant is an unassuming guy" sentence with something more concrete so readers have a clear idea of the world they're going to be exploring.
Nick EltmanRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Really intriguing and entertaining light story. I really like how there is a diversity of characters. By chapter 10, you feel really comfortable understanding the plot and characters. The main character has depth and flaws, and it's fun to see how he grows throughout the story, along with the other characters.
It's not really that deep or anything, but it doesn't need to be. Seems like the author exactly knows what their target audience is and wrote it for them. Using pre made devices from backgrounds like D&D and other RPGs helps understand the story dynamic to a fairly decent extent.
J. AdskiyRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
Style
The author writes in third person with past tense and is consistent with it. In general, if one is interested in the story I think there won't be much issues with my following criticism, but it might still be apparent.
My main point of criticism is that the flow of the story feels dense to read, if that's the right term. Often times I find myself missing certain details and having to reread certain sections.
Although, this could be an issue only within the first six chapters.
Story
The story is off to a slow but great start. The reader can see the main characters inner turmoils, and although the plot isn't directly unleashed in the first five chapters, we start more of an inkling as to what might behold us in chapter 6, where the author sets a new tone for the story, one of action and adventure.
One point the author does well is world building. It looks like we'll be recieving a well thought out world setting.
My main point of critique here would be the slowness of getting to the action.
Grammar and Vocabulary
Grammar looks good throughout the story, and the vocabulary doesn't inhibit the story in any way. My only point of mention here (also similarly to the style) is that certain dialogues are embedded and alternated with internal monologue and speech.
Character
The author portrays the main character with relatable tendencies, such as fear and panic when thrown into circumstances that are beyond him. It'll be interesting to see how the main character develops further into the story.
Overall - If you're a fan of LitRPG with systems and an expanding world, I think Icarus Awakens might be able to scratch that itch.
LonebotRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
Style: The story utilises the concept of multiple perspectives very well, showing us the point of view of many characters and opening the door to an entirely massive world, especially with the complete shift in Chapter 6, although I feel the sudden change might be disorienting for some readers. The descriptions and writing are also very detailed, but I feel that some of the fat can be trimmed to make the story flow better, especially in the first five chapters.
Story: As a survival isekai story, the hook is interesting, the premise is compelling and the world-building is immensely satisfying. It has the potential to be a great LitRPG epic, and I cannot wait for a compendium of all the creatures, systems and locations to tie everything neatly together!
Grammar: No issues here, the writing is top-notch and well-rounded, with no major mistakes that I can see.
Character: The MC Daniel has a way to go before he can establish himself as a compelling character. He is smart and resourceful, but if we can explore his depth beyond his past, possibly coupled with the return of his memories in the future, he can be an amazing character. The other characters in the world are also very intriguing and I can't wait to learn more about them.
Overall, a good read. It's clear that the author not only knows what he's doing with where he wants to take the story but also knows how to tell it. I especially enjoyed the change in perspective, which builds up the world even further, and I hope we can see more of that in the future.
TheJournalistRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
As mentioned above, this story's system is very detailed and unique. A lot of thought, work, and creativity has gone through it which resulted in this beautiful combination that made me want to see it improve more, and more.
The story is just as interesting, good premise, setting, and a great execution. The plot flows smoothly and at a perfect pace. Things occur exactly when they need no. That was precisely why the world building is great, there isn't any info dumps, and you learn about the world in a enjoyable pace, which is a tough cookie to execute for a new author.
Daniel is a very relatable character, and this definitely adds another dimension which further increases our enjoyment of the story. He has realistic reactions to things, and is both driven and goal oriented which works perfect because the plot doesn't feel stall. But this is just the beginning of the story so there is definitely a lot of room to grow in that area. The other side characters although aren't the focal point of the story, have their own depth through the little details we could glean from them.
Grammar is great, very vivid and descriptive which pulls you further in. I haven't noticed a lot of issues with the grammar so that's that! Overall, I would recommend it, give it a shot!