Mark of the Fool

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Hello, folks, just to tell ya, chapters 8 to 633 have been published onKindleandAudible.  That's up to book 7.The audiobook is narrated by Travis Baldree!After his parents died, Alex Roth had a plan: become a wizard. Through hard work, he was accepted into the world’s greatest university of wizardry—but fate had another plan.

On his eighteenth, he is marked as one of his kingdom’s five Heroes, chosen to fight the land’s great enemy. Buthisbrand is 'The Fool', worst of the marks.

Rather than die or serve the other Heroes like Fools in the past, he packs up his little sister, his childhood friend and her cerberus, then flees for the university in hope of refuge, magic and to unravel the truth about his land’s evil.There’s one small problem: The Mark tries to ruin magic while enhancing skills outside of divinity, combat and spellcraft.……that is, unless he can learn to exploit the hell out of it.*****This the first time I am writing a web novel type story, and I hope you like it. I like progression stories and I've always wanted to try and write one like a few of the web novels that inspired me.UpdatesTues-Wed-Thur-Fri-Sat.There are currently20advanced chapters on my patreon as a thank you to patrons.Join us on discord! https://discord.gg/A4M3CzfWBnChapters will be roughly 2000-2500 words.***Rating: This story is kind of like a PG-13 movie. There'll be gore and some swearing but not much beyond that. If that changes, I'll warn you.Tone: Tone will be a mix of some action-adventure with excitement, comedy, slice of life elements and mystery. I won't be going too dark with this story. There will be mentions of war, some death, grief and violence.MC: MC is analytical/rational with emotions. He is mostly in control of those emotions. MC will progress in power, eventually becoming very strong. Strong Lead tag added.Fights: Fights will be detailed.***Stuff this story won't have:- Extreme grimdark content

- Murderhobo plots

- Edgy, anti-hero MC

- Pacifist MC

- Harems

Information

Status
Ongoing
Year
2021
Author
J.M. Clarke (U Juggernaut)

Tags

ACTIONFANTASYADVENTUREMAGICCOMEDYSCHOOL LIFESTRONG LEADGAMELITMALE LEADHIGH FANTASYSTRATEGYPROGRESSION

Royal Road Stats

Rating
4.6/ 5.0
Followers
13,528
Views
1,190,206

Chapters(31 total)

Reviews

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Community Reviews(10)

  • TygranRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    The story draws you on, chapter by chapter. I started by reading the first book, then came here when I couldn't put it down. Been following it ever sense. Great grammar, great word play, likeable characters with well thought out and believable reactions. I greatly enjoyed reading it, and I couldn't stop laughing in so many places.
  • CulainRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    A progression fantasy with meaningful growth for the MC. Delightful wisecracking humor. Enjoyable side characters. A mentor for the MC who's a cross between Dumbledore and Conan the barbarian. Avoidance of many obvious story tropes. Frequent nerd culture references. Romantic tension that gets resolved in a sweet way without jumping the shark (ala The Nanny).
    What's not to love?
    Every time this pops up with a new chapter in my follows I smile and click on the link eagerly.
  • DestwinRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    I just finished reading the last chapter. Read up to book 6 on Kindle Unlimited.
    And oh boy, such a good story if you're into fights, magic and non magic too.
    The world building is very good as well, the characters act consistently with what we're shown of their personalities and there's a lot of growth in the main cast
  • Skylark (Dion Sky)Royal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    With a title like Mark of the Fool, you would be forgiven for expecting this story to contain plenty of lighthearted fun. And it does!
    The plot of MotF is characterised by a cyclical evil doomed to be continually defeated by five legendary heroes. Four of said heroes are blessed with amazing powers, fame and fortune.
    And then there's the Fool, who society does not look kindly on. Or as we might know him, our main character Alex.
    Unsurprisingly, Alex does not want to be the Fool, especially since its 'gift' interferes with his life's dream. So he gives destiny the finger (politely - this is Alex, after all) and goes off to wizard school instead. And of course, because no story with fools in the title would be complete without it, things go wrong.
    From the very first few paragraphs, I immediately fell in love with Alex's character. Far from inept, he is in fact studious, wise and quick-witted, unfailingly kind-hearted and polite. Uncertain, humble and relatable, he has to use his wits to overcome the challenges thrown at him by the downsides of the Mark and the expectations of his prophesised role in legend. Honestly, I'd take life advice from this guy any day.
    Accompanying Alex are his young sister and badass best friend, also well-realised characters who each promise to have plenty of development ahead of them. Selina's depiction is particularly satisfying as a curious, resilient child equally as intelligent as her brother. Young children in fantasy are often sidelined as props to be rescued or protected, but Selina bucks the trend by holding her own as a valuable member of the group. This is typical of this fiction as a whole, though - you'll find all its characters, even the bit-part ones, are treated with dignity and respect in their depictions, and are just a joy to read.
    In evading capture by the authorities, the party are thrown into a series of thrilling dangers and adventures escalating in directions I didn't see coming. I absolutely loved this aspect of the
  • IQIRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    The main idea of the five marks is intriguing. It is similar to other ideas of 'chosen ones', especially in isekai type stories, but the actual story and plot is much different from those. It mixes the 'chosen ones' idea with a type of plot where it is not normally used.
    While there is not enough posted to flesh out the systems(magic/mark/etc.) used in the story it does seem like the basis for a somewhat unique blend of genres.
  • Justin2045Royal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    I started out listening to the first two books on Audible, but I couldn't wait for the third book to be released on Audible. So, I sat down and read everything the author has here on RoyalRoad. I personally loved the story. I enjoyed the wholesomeness of the friendships, the way the main characters looks out for his little sister, and the pace of progression.
  • Nameless32Royal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    Edit as of 02/20/2022: This is officially the longest single piece of literature I have ever read. Pretty cool, if you think about it. Excited to finally get back to the ravener plotline!
    I swear, Mark of the Fool is going to hit trending HARD in the coming weeks. This story is just about everything you want from a good RR story without the drawbacks that normally come from this format. There's great plot, amazing writing, complex characters, and brilliant fights - all wrapped up in one awesome package. Before I get into that, though, here's some things to note.
    I'm a fan of the author's previous works, and had the good fortune of being able to read this story before it got posted here. Thus, I have more to work with than the 60 pages currently up, and might reference vague "future events". The author also has a history of completing whatever he starts, which might be reassuring for those cautious of drops.
    Now that I've gotten those disclaimers out of the way, let's get right into things!
    Like some reviews before this have said, the prose here is good. Like, really good. Some of the best on the site level good. If I could give this section a 6/5, I would. Normally, RR's writing tends to be fairly minimalistic, and a lot of stories with fancy flourishes end up having the prose detract from the actual story. Not this one, though. All of UnstoppableJuggernaut's writing enhances the story, making the story and characters come alive in your mind in a way I rarely see on RR. It's never too much, never too purple. Just the right amount to make your reading experience 5x better. I swear, if for nothing else, read this story for the actual writing.
    Of course, that isn't to say that there's nothing else about this story that's worthwhile. Even if you don't care at all for prose, the story and characters more than carry the book on their own. You could say that the plot of Mark of the Fool is a twice-subversion of traditional fantasy plot. He doesn't get the Chosen One Amazin
  • NorthernWardenRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    It's really refreshing reading a protagonist who thinks things through and doesn't just dive head first into things. This story really balances having fun exciting moments without needing anyone to hold the idiot ball. Seeing a character with real flaws and turning them into strengths is really nice.
    All the characters feel very real and all the motivations and actions make sense. I'm really looking forward to seeing where this tale goes next!
  • WOLFRICRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    Honestly, I have enjoyed this series so damned much and I’m sad to see it’s finished but am happy to hear that more will be coming from this world still in the future. I’m seriously hoping that since the author IS writing another story in this same universe that this could end up being the new MCU in a way. I’ve always wanted to write stories like this one and this story and its author further inspires me to follow that dream. And I always wanted to write stories like Mark of the Fool and make a whole new universe like the MCU as well. So if JM Clarke does something like that too then I could not be a more happier and eager fan to see his next series. Can’t recommend Mark of the Fool enough. Absolutely loved it will be adding it to my library shelves at home just to have the physical books as well lol 👍🏼👍🏼👏👏
  • Random MaoriRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    Honestly one of my all time favourite epics on Royal Road for a good reason. It grabs you from the get go and doesn't let go. You're dragged kicking and screaming - usually with awe or delight - through the on going saga of an unlikely hero thrown into the spot light by being dubiously gifted with a divine brand. The ensuing struggle to understand and learn about the limits and advantages, while trying to survive in a world designed to destroy him. The ensuing drama is well written, intelligently planned and jam packed full of hijinx, hillarity and drama.
    Its like literary pringles. Once you pop, you cant stop.
    Do yourself and favour and start reading today.
    P.S. The published books are well worth the money.