Mary Susan Oceanrunner and the Brutus Saint's Academy

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Join Mary Susan Oceanrunner on her quest to do... erm... something really important for the world... probably... Ahem. Long gone are the days when every hero could do whatever they wanted - now, we are civilised. We have government. Law. And proper forms.

Lots of proper forms.

(Final episode 25/07/2022. Also - beta readers far into the book rate the 'gore' degree as below 2/10, so the warning is a bit much)

Mary Susan Oceanrunner is a poor girl from the orphanage, who like many others before, has to fulfil her destiny. The prophecy had been told, and she is the only one who can make things right. Erm... probably. Anyway, she can't just go and kill monsters like in the middle ages. First, she must apply for the appropriate permissions, fill the forms, learn about the proper loot taxations... Hey, no one said adventuring would be easy, right?

Disclaimers:

No claim made by any character by the book should be treated as the author's or anyone else's opinion on any subject. Most likely, it was just the funniest thing the Author could think of at the time of writing.

This book contains many references to other works. It will probably be best enjoyed by individuals familiar with at least some of the following:

1) Computer games2) Fantasy in general3) Science fiction4) Tabletop RPGs5) Conspiracy theories6) Corporation work life7) Long forgotten prophecies uttered millennia ago in almost as forgotten languages under a starless night three dusks before the great convergence8) Filling any government-mandated form9) School10) EnglishMy ultimate goal is to make as many people experience something akin to joy while reading (think ~a bit louder exhale through the nose). It doesn't mean every scene will be funny or joyful because that's not how this stuff works. I can neither confirm nor deny having any other hidden agenda outside of that.

(11.01.2022 NEW COVER byPhilippa_and_art. You can find her here:https://www.instagram.com/philippa_and_art/)

Information

Status: Completed
Year: 2021
Author: MachineCapybara

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.0/ 5.0
Followers: 98
Views: 67,481

Chapters(83 total)

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(8)

WeavervaleRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Mary Susan Oceanrunner is a force to be reckoned with. In a world where prophecies run wild.
Character: 5/5
Mary is thrust into the new status quo from the get and seems to have problems getting on her feet, but when she finally does, her character is fully fleshed out and she feels real. When she makes a decision, it seems to be the most rational choice she could make(later on). When she learns new things she tucks it away and gets smarter because of it. When things happen, she starts off reactionary and the reader is pulled in along with her.
Style: 5/5
I can't even tell you how many passes this has already gone through. At least 3-4 times it's been show to alpha and beta readers. There are no significant style issues and this goes to show that you should build up a backlog and stick to a release schedule.
Grammar 5/5
Nuff said.
Story 5/5
The premise initially was that Mary Susan is not a Mary Sue(ironic) but she is trying to progress to become a hero, despite the red tape and government employees standing in her way, sometimes in incredible fashion. MSO is full of jokes and sly asides that if you've read a bunch of stuff here on RR, you'll probably get.
I don't know where mossie came from, and how, but mossie is a fan favorite from the beta readers and when her character arrives... it makes a big impression. So look for that one. Ask for Mossie t-shirts and merch because she's going to be a big part of how you look at the world you live in once MSO is over.
I was an alpha reader on this and if there was grammar or style problems then yeah oops.,
EmilyBloodRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Style - Honestly, it's impossible not to associate him with Pratchett. Not that level yet, but it
promises very well.
Story - Do you remember how you used books to color your boring and gray life? So... this is a fantasy story for any corpo-rat and I love that.
Grammar - I didn't notice any mistakes.
Character - Well-constructed side characters. Mary seems rather mediocre, but this is just the beginning of the story so let's see how she develops.
GGOAPRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I came in expecting some wacky and Fun hijinks and i got instead depression camouflaged as a fantasy story that uses deep characters to futher the plot and isn't afraid to kill them off.
10/10 loved the characters, the interactions, and everything, its Very good thanks for releasing the story thanks and bye.
S.N. KeirsteadRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Style: The narrator has a strong voice. It matches the main character, Susan Oceanrunner, very well. It mimics a teenager girl's voice very well (she references school and other things that would have a major effect on her life, as well as comes off as being young and somewhat inexperienced).
Grammar: For the most part, there weren't any errors that took me out of the story or left me trying to figure out what the author was saying. A typo here and there, but nothign major.
Story: From the get-go, the author establishes tone very well. Readers will know what they're getting into after just the first chapter. It's a wacky and whimsical take on the "chosen one" story. Susan has a prophecy to fulfill, and the organization that brought her onboard will do anything it takes to make it as convoluted as possible. There's UFOs, three headed dogs and talking coffee mugs.
Character Score: Still early on so I can't say too much about it, but Susan makes for a great character considering the story she is. She's very confused about what's going on (as she should be), while the other characters try to explain how the world works to her. It helps to establish a strong sense of "fish out of water."
Summary: Mary Susan Oceanrunner is funny, wacky and entertaining. A definite recommend for someone seeking something funny and a whole lot of charm.
SR FauthRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Let me preface this review by saying I laughed. A lot. Then i peed a little. Then I changed my pants, read the last three chapters, and needed yet another pair of pants.
With that being said ... let us begin:
STyLE SCORE: You did. Damn you, you really did it. You combined a super hero fiction with a humour fiction and threw in a splash of mystery. Your style is all over the place, and it fits. It works, and it compliments itself in all the most wonderful ways.
STORY SCORE: The story is young, in its infancy really, but boy is it well written. It is funny, has a good plot, a good world, and everythign seems to fit just right. I am a little lost on the actual setting, but that is completely overshadowed by the fact that superheroes are so regimented, locked down with red tape, and organized by the government that it doesnt even matter at this point haha!
GRAMMAR SCORE: This was the one area I had a bit of trouble with. The paragraphs can be huuuge. Not a bad thing, I am guilty of it myself. This, along with minor grammar errors, are all I foudn and it can sometimes be a lot to take in. This doesnt detract from the story or the characters at all. Its just something that others have brought to my attention about my writing.
CHARACTER SCORE: Where is the 8 Star button? Tom-foolery! You hit your characters ont he head. Nailed it! They are funny, interesting, and relatable. As someone who is familiar with G-Men myself I see so many similarities between processes I have experienced and what goes on here that its so not funny it had me rolling. Get to the ROFLCOPTR now!
OVERALL: 5 Stars! This was a great read. I cannot wait to see where it goes, and what you do with it. Definately worth following and continuing to read.
BullerRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
-on the title of the story. Mary Susan. Then, after reading the first few chapters of this story, I know it was more than intentional. This is not a story to take seriously. I wouldn't call it full-on satire, because it doesn't really play off the tropes in the same way as those. It makes fun of them, sure, but it never dunks on them. It's subversive, the characters are made of straws, and it's fun enough to cause an audible exhale. 5/5
VnatorRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Mary Susan Oceanrunner and the Brutus Saints Academy is quite an interesting tale. If it wasn't obvious from the protagonist's name, she's a supposedly "generic protagonist" who's heralded into a world out of a My Immortal fan's crackpipe dream. Declared to be one of many heroes of some prophecy or another, she's thrown into a world of wacky monsters, chaotic bureaucracy, and thankfully at least one cynical straight-man who still tries to do what's right by her.
I'll break down my opinions on each of the sub-sections for the review, but in my own order to make it feel more organic than me going over a checklist.
The story is brilliant. At first, I was overwhelmed by the absolute chaos of so many new characters, creatures, and ideas being introduced, but I was able to take solace through Mary's perspective and her own desperation to understand what was going on.
Eventually, I learned to take a step back and enjoy the chaos for what it was. The only bit of chaos that I couldn't properly enjoy, however, was the bureaucracy. I've read and seen plenty of satires of inefficient bureaucracies, but they never irked me much. They just required a little extra patience and maybe one or two more forms than would be most efficient, but it was doable as long as you were polite to whatever bureaucrat was in charge of reading over your forms.
Here though... the utter inefficiency at the bureaucracy and the fact that you would be punished for speaking out against it (even in private) made me want to jump into the story and kill whoever had designed this system with my bare hands. Never have I been pushed into a near-homocidal rage by a depiction of inefficient bureaucracy before, so great job!
But what good is a story if the characters making their way through it aren't so good themselves? Thankfully, they're also wonderful!
Mary hasn't been able to showcase much of her own character due to the chaotic nature of her journey so far, but I'm sure that once things settle down in-story,
The Young PyromancerRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
This story is weird. It’s meta, it’s grimmer than it seems at first, and it doesn’t always make sense. It’s experimental and unique. It isn’t perfect, but it’s beautiful in that flawed way where you can see what it’s going for, see what the author is trying to do, and it’s just so slightly off target.
I think it’s worth reading.
When you’re done, you won’t cry, you won’t laugh, you won’t rage. But you’ll be satisfied, and you’ll go ‘huh’, and in the end, that’s good enough.