Island Core

Information

Status

Hiatus

Year

2023

Author

NoDragons

• Chapter 2: One Hour
  Feb 7, 2023
• Chapter 1: Genesis
  Feb 7, 2023

Reviews

Community Reviews(10)

• possumflavoredRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Very enjoyable read by someone that obviously knows his animal kingdom. Adds a lot of good flavor. He's also set up several things in his story to avoid the pitfalls you see in many other dungeon core stores. His core has purpose and drive, even if vague right now, has a personality beyond create and kill, and he has established the world in such a way that we will get a balance of core and other character perspectives while it feels perfectly natural.
• KarnevaleRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Chapters read at time of review: 21
  Style:
  The jungle pulses, full of life in this story. The setting is clear, yet not over-explained. The author deftly navigates a maze of a deep, old world without falling as some authors do into traps of heredity and a sprawling mass of faceless names, devoid of character. Instead, we are gifted with a scintillating island full of fantasy creatures, glistening dewy plants, mysterious shrines and a deep history, of which the few chapters I have read make me HUNGRY for more. 5* easy.
  Story:
  The story itself is rather basic so far. We're advancing, but things arise to get in the way of our enigma MC. I rated this category as slightly less than perfect because we're 21 chapters in and I've not seen much in the way of a hook for a central plot hook. I love reading about advancement and magic, and I love where this story is going, but I want to see a path ahead of me. Are we fighting the empire? Maybe.
  Grammar Score:
  Beautiful prose. Great descriptions, and for at least the chapters I have read I haven't noticed and errors worth giving a less than perfect score, but it would have to be very distracting for me to note.
  Character Score:
  This is an area where I might have taken away from the total store- but the setting and world building has been so elegant that I feel that the characterization lacking in individual characters has been amply provided in the world itself.
  I find myself drawn to the MC and the characters of their own creation, but we don't get a whole lot of context for the decisions the MC makes. We are given many forms of cold data and justifications for their actions, but no true feelings. There are beautiful descriptions through the MCs eyes about the history of their skeletal host and the island they find themselves on, but very little emotion spared for the world that they currently find themselves in.
• OneWhoWritesLiesRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I`m glad to have read until the 20th chapter. Good narration, developing characters, and an interesting budding backstory to the world.
  I`m especially impressed with the thought that goes into the decisions that the core takes, they feel more than just a random thought, but well planned and with some knowledge on what he is talking about.
  I also appreciate the departure from simply summoning something that the system gives and instead creating an organic system of development.
  GG
• Ruinous IntentRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  The Dungeon Core genra has a lot of interesting limitations. Dungeons tend to be inable to move and forced into reactive postures more than proactive ones. It's also hard to write a threat for something that works on tower-defence logic and that can be the size of a city. Or in this case, an island.
  But, I can confidently say as an Advanced Reader, that NoDragons has risen to these challenges, using them to inspire a better, more creative kind of Dungeon Core story. One that could break the curse of short-length and stay interesting long past the point that most of this genra burns out. And that goes double if some of the foreshadowing I've picked up on holds true.
  As for the quality of writing, the aesthetics, the atmosphere. This hits all the same bars we expect from a NoDragons fic.
  You could level a complaint at the characterization of the Dungeon Core protagonist, but I personally find his inhumaness to make him more interesting. So, the characterization is less a matter of quality and more a matter of taste.
  Personally, I'm hoping to learn more about the Dungeon's creations. I think they each have interesting perspectives, and I hope we get to see more from their points of view. Given the unique voice of the dungeon itself, they could bring a lot of flavor to the story.
• Tribuo GrimmRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  NoDragons is at it again, once more bring world-class world building to Royal Road. The story is just starting to pick up, but the world around it is where the story truly shines. I love the Polynesian style we’ve seen so far, and I hope to see more in that vein. NoDragons does Dungeons very well, and this is no exception. The monsters feel more like people than the actual people in some other stories. It’s crazy just how much personality you can fit into twin birds. Anyway, t he story is good. Go read it. I’m looking forward to more.
• CrimsondropsRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Has great potential. Grammar and writing style is excellent. The dungeon core system but and how the creatures get created and such is very creative and interesting. I would be heartbroken if this gets abandoned like so many others. Write on author cuz you've got a die hard fan for this story.
• DizzymashRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  The author has nailed the feel of a dungeon core in a unique place and the wonder of the creation of life. My only fear is that it'll end up on Hiatus like their other stories. Not something I can knock against them though but it looms in the background.
• DuskDeadmanRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  It's pretty good.  I like story themes so far because unlike most core stories it has some heart to it, and I'm curious as to how things will be in the future.  The story is still young so I'll have to come back and edit it later.  I don't wanna spoil anything so I'm just gonna copy paste part of the bee movie script to fill the rest.
  According to all known laws of aviation there is no way a bee should be able to fly. It's wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The bee, of course, flies anyway because bees don't care what humans think is impossible.
• FooshRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Long time RR reader, decided to make an account as this book really pulled me in. Not sure if it's the world building or mechanics that govern this fantasy setting but the combo presented here works beautifully.
  MC isn't obnoxious, and the knowledge mechanic in this universe makes enough sense to follow along. We're not very far into the story yet (I hope!) but so far so good.
  The story flows well, and uses just the right amount of flourish to set the atmosphere. I don't feel like an unnecessary amount of fluff exists between action and while I'm sure lovers of fluff will be quick to shake their internet fists at that sentence.
  I would like to add that I believe this author could make more MC/Creature or creature/creature interactions and I doubt it would take away from the story.
• Delectablebooklover8Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  A nice growth for a dungeon core story with a unique play on dungeon growth, perspectives, and world building. The pace isn't slow or too fast and I also find it interesting that a core could need sleep while still connected with it's creations. I'm honestly invested in seeing how much this cute grows with it's domain, creatures, allies, and how it works with everything on its power to create new opportunities while protecting All within its domain. 😊💖😊 That and the over arching enemy in the distance is someone I look forward to being dismantled while better understanding the entire world (functions of the world included) that it finds itself in. I'd personally like to see more exposition from other view points outside of the dungeon and its minions; as that would help me to understand the world better. NOT the Enemy conquerors (not any time soon anyway) but from the humans and even some foreshadowing from different creatures from around the island too. That's just my opinion, but best way to know if you'll like it is to read! 😊 Personally? I'm looking forward to more chaps but am willing to wait was a rushed chap is not always a well crafted chap lol.
  Thanks for writing btw😏😊