Illusion/Core

Information

Status

Hiatus

Year

2019

Author

rewashington

• Announcement 2
  Jun 7, 2022
• Announcement
  Aug 26, 2020
• 11. Sponsor - 2
  Jul 25, 2019
• 11. Sponsor - 1
  Jul 11, 2019
• 10. Chosen - 5
  Jul 4, 2019
• 10. Chosen - 4
  Jun 27, 2019
• 10. Chosen - 3
  Jun 20, 2019
• 10. Chosen - 2
  Jun 13, 2019
• 10. Chosen - 1
  Jun 11, 2019
• 9. Ringo
  Jun 6, 2019
• 8. Visitors - 4
  Jun 4, 2019
• 8. Visitors - 3
  May 30, 2019
• 8. Visitors - 2
  May 28, 2019
• 8. Visitors - 1
  May 24, 2019
• 7. Thinking Out Loud - 3
  May 23, 2019
• 7. Thinking Out Loud - 2
  May 22, 2019
• 7. Thinking Out Loud - 1
  May 21, 2019
• 6. East Cronos Institute - 2
  May 21, 2019
• 6. East Cronos Institute - 1
  May 21, 2019
• 5. Aftershocks
  May 20, 2019

Reviews

Community Reviews(10)

• GLMRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Let me start by saying that as of this review there is not much "plot" present on the story. (Chap 9. Ringo), just a fair bit of worldbuilding, worldbuilding and characterization, which is in my opinion enough to judge the story as it has me gripped and always coming back for more.
  This is a story about Raven Delias, a 13 years old girl in a distopic future where humanity attained powers (well the author calls it magic, but due to how unique and different each of them are, I like to think about them as powers).
  The start was rather jarring for me, specially due to the naming Ms.Author chose for the "Magic", but its explained soon enough in a good way.
  The story focuses a lot on characters and explaining the world and it's "magic" at first, there are hints here and there of an overarching plot, but it wasn't exposed yet.
  The following arc after the introduction isn't done yet, but one thing I gotta commend the author for is how the subtle hints of this world being darker than it truly is, while keeping a facade of "normalty" is great. And currently you got pretty much every reader rooting so Raven does a reenacment of Stephen King's Carrie and melts the face of every damn adult introduced so far.
  So far its a good read, Raven is an interesting character, the world is rich, grammar is good, and I foresee this story becoming one of the best in this site. Keep up the good work =D
• Immortal IskandarRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  A really easy read. Effortlessly drew me in and had me reading non-stop until I was up to date. There are a fair few interesting hooks that I definitely want to know more about. Didn't find any problems with the grammar or spelling. The main character is easily relatable as well. Good job!
• JPwritesRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  As a fan of creating my own worlds and magic systems, I'm excited to find others with unique systems of their own. Washington's magic ticked all my boxes for originality, limits and imagination. It was already a five in my books, which the few shortcomings didn't get in the way of.
  -I have nothing bad to say about the grammar, I barely noticed any issues. The author's prose flows smoothly transitioning from one scene to another without the overuse of pronouns and words often breaks the immersion for me on RR. I wasn't looking for errors, and none jumped out at me.
  -Though I'm not a hater of multiple PoVs the sudden switch to side characters' PoV is a bit jarring otherwise I had no issues with style. The writing is descriptive enough without getting too boring.
  -Washington's story is where it all shines. There isn't a lot up yet but I binged it all in one sitting. It is clear she has created a detailed world around her plot instead of thinking sci-fi-magic world and just thrown her characters in there. I only rated her 4 in the category because I failed to see much plot development but that could be because she is still taking things slow.
  -Though the characters felt a little anime-ish they're well thought out. Each PoV has its own unique voice. The characters aren't all perfect specimens but have their own flaws and insecurities. There are no Mary Sues or Gary Stus.
  Read this. It is good.
• NifikinsRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Spoiler: Spoiler
  Not much to say. I enjoyed it and look forward to more.
• RainliRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  At its core, the story shows promise of action, romance, magic and everything that comes with it.
  Illusion/Core begins with a rather cliche scene: cute girls x hot boys in school and they're all good at something, be it reading emotions, magical prowess, or blushy blush flirting. Well, all my checks for a supernatural YA Fantasy are ticked off, so sign me up.
  While at first, I'm totally into it for the potential romances, the writing is very intuitive in guiding the readers through the world of Illusion/Core. In one way, you could say the writing works well in interacting with readers in guessing what happens next, learning about the world and its characters, and basically identifying ourselves with the female lead and wondering what she'll do next.
  Currently, up to Part 4 - Black Smoke, Illusion/Core is still in its infancy in terms of story and has room to grow. For now, it's about the female MC struggling with her powers. Beyond that, maybe a love triangle on the horizons? It's difficult to gauge where the protagonist will eventually lead us, but I believe there's more to come.
• obranRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  On one hand, I am reluctant to leave a critique simply because the story isn't far enough in that I can see where the story is headed... On the other hand, the story so far is quite well done and I am enjoying it immensely.
  This is the story of Raven a girl living in an alternate universe, where, in recent history, the world changed and everyone woke up one year later with no idea what happened in the missing year.  Now, however, everyone is much more multicolored and has access to two magic powers -- illusion and core.
  So far the story has revolved around the awakening of the Core power in Raven.  This has involved examining a lot of Raven's self-doubt and her pride in her illusion skills.
  All in all, it is a good start, and I look forward to reading the new chapters every week.
• InoraiRoyal Road

  ★★★★ 4.0

  I'll start this off by saying I think the world and the magic system being built have a ton of potential, and the piece is fun to read.  That's something really difficult to put one's finger on or to fix if it's missing, so the fact that it's there makes up for a lot of other complaints.
  Now.
  Illusion/Core sets up a fairly standard premise of a student entering a magical school, with a complex and developed magic system to go along with it.  There are some grammatical fixes to be had here, but compared to the majority of stuff I've seen on RR, I'd say it's in the top 25%.
  The things that worked for me -
  I think the dialogue in this piece is really strong.  For me, that plays a huge role in how characters interact and develop, so that's a massive mark in the + category.  Some of the dialogue needed some added commas, but by and large it felt very natural.
  The magic system is of course an easy positive for this story.  There's clearly been a lot of thought put into it, and it adds a lot of depth to the narrative.
  The story progresses smoothly and without filler or fluff, and it's actually interesting.  The value of that can't be overstated :)  It's difficult to quantify something being fun, but this story definitely is.  That by itself was enough to keep me going.
  The things that didn't work for me -
  Particularly at the start, a number of things felt very forced and tell-y.  There were a lot of paragraphs devoted to physical descriptions of characters.  There was a lot of exposition that felt like it was there exclusively for the reader.  In general, it added up to make the first chapters more difficult to get through than they needed to be.
  I'll be honest.  I didn't love the whole "Leading lady trips and falls into arms of Hunky McHunk, and that style of romantic progression.  That's probably just a taste thing, but the encounter felt a bit awkward/unrealistic, and I think in general a lot of the romantic scenes felt a bit rushed or forced.  It's not a race!
  My bigge
• Mighty MoushieRoyal Road

  ★★★★ 4.0

  I bet you are confused from the title and high score I am giving. Let me explain. The book is well written. No grammatical errors, flow is smooth, dialogue is great. The background is well thought out and the premise is great. I only made it eight chapter in, but there is already great character development on several characters and hints at hidden depths.
  All that, and it just doesn't drag me in as much as it should. It isn't anything against the author or the story, these things just happen sometimes. But don't let the fact that it happened to me stop you from trying it out.
• javertRoyal Road

  ★★★★ 4.0

  Review written as of Black Smoke 1 (ch11).
  I like this story- I think it has real potential, though it's probably too early to tell how it will go. The split between the two different types of magic is interesting, and who isn't a sucker for talented highschoolers having magic adventures? The author is also pretty good at writing action scenes, which makes this an engaging read.
  I have a few minor criticisms, but they don't kill enjoyment of the story- they're just areas in which the author can improve. The first and largest issue is in clumsy infodumps; they're frequent in the first few chapters and they take the reader out of the story. The author tries to integrate them naturally (ie with a news story, with a character giving instruction), but it doesn't quite work. The author also chooses some odd times to describe things in detail. Pacing/structure is also a little off. It would probably make the story flow better to combine the illusion test and awakening into one event, rather than two back to back. It would give the illusion test more impact, imo.
  Didn't notice any jarring grammar mistakes.
  Overall, a very promising start! I look forward to seeing how the characters grow as the story develops.
• shadowblahRoyal Road

  ★★★ 3.0

  A novel for female teens or young adults. Not for me, but I can see all the tropes a mile away and I feel comfortable I gave it my fair share of time. Can easily see the right demographic enjoying it though.