Melbourne C3

Information

Status

Hiatus

Year

2022

Author

Alto Watson

• Guts
  Sep 21, 2022
• Hustle
  Sep 12, 2022
• Down Town.
  Sep 7, 2022

Reviews

Community Reviews(6)

• Death-69Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  First off, I'm not a hard sci-fi fan but I do occasionally read one or a few  A.I type sci-fi types of novels that show up on here now and then, Melbourne-c3 is interesting, very much so, it has that perfect balance between technical details and not too many technical details, you know, just the right about to kick start that what if part of your brain, I found myself imagining scenarios where I would find a use for the technology used in this novel, though it's not necessarily new it is used in a somewhat new and unique way.
  Grammer: 5/5 My English is bad, not a native English speaker so all English stories get a pass on this one.
  Character: The few characters I've seen so far are interesting and well written, for example, Dr. Flate, a bioengineer, acts and behaves like how you'd expect a bioengineer to act, though I haven't personally met one I have a wild imagination so I'll use that.
  Style: As a soft sci-fi novel, it does read and feel like one, it doesn't straw off, so I have no problems here, the author's writing style fits and blends in rather nicely.
  Story: From the beginning, you have a vague idea of what to expect and what to look forward to, I always like that, a lot of novels don't have attention-pulling first chapters, but this one has it, and I love it, the world isn't hard to imagine so its easier to read.
  Overall: An attention pulling interesting soft Sci-fi, would recommend it.
• 5unRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  Overall Score: The narrative is gripping, the style is exquisite, and the universe is truly unique and intriguing. Alto Watson does a fantastic job of storytelling. He begins the first chapter by introducing the main character, Sonja, with her searching for scraps of food in high-tech trash bins, immediately throwing us into the fiction's world. From there, the vivid descriptions of the futuristic, dystopic world and society to which she belongs is explored from her point of view, drawing the reader in. The following chapters continue to build upon slowly gleaned knowledge of the book's setting, painting a fuller picture of the futuristic, violent city of Melbourne. The fiction's only limiting factor for me is the grammar and spelling mistakes which could easily be rectified with a few passes of editing and revision.
  Style: Watson's style is entrancing. He does a fantastic job of describing the world, scene to scene, through the eyes of his characters, making the reader feel a part of the universe, and in tune with the characters' thoughts and emotions.
  Grammar: Watson's grammar in this fiction is workable overall, but the inconsistencies and simple mistakes that pervade the first three chapters *at present* distract from the otherwise engaging material.
  Character: Sonja, the POV character of the first chapter, gets 5 stars hands down, no questions asked. The city and people of Melbourne are brought to life through her insights and commentary, making the setting powerfully believable. Sinclair, the POV character from the second chapter, is a bit more flat and 2D. He doesn't many traits that set him apart from your average run of the mill cliche'd soldier, and it's hard to get invested in him as the chapter currently stands.
  Story: The setting and plot are compelling. Combined with the characters presented in the fiction, the story pulls the reader in and makes them want to learn more. The futuristic sci-fi city of Melbourne and the half technology - half biology Sym
• Elijah TalbotRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  From the start, the story is amazingly written. What I like about it is the characters, details, and how it shows social issues and portrays them organically. The worldbuilding is also solid, giving us only glimpses, while giving us enough details to want to learn more about a particular event(s) (Indowars for example).
  Characters: I really like how the story introduces characters, to me it gives them a good amount of life and personality to them. Though I can't say they are that special, that is due to the story just starting. I do believe there will be a time when we see these characters grow and change.
  Grammar and style: The grammar and style of the story is rock solid, hell I say it is professionally written. The descriptions are strong, informative, and to the point. Giving us what we need to known and when to know it. The only issue I have is accents during dialogue. There is an Chinese character who is over 200 years old, but speaks in broken English. During dialogue, I struggle to understand what he is saying, and after finding out his age. I doubt that someone being 200 years old would not speak proper English. It doesn’t help that they are so far the only ones who speaks like that. While it can make sense character wise and stylistically, it can appear offensive if you look at it a different way. It isn’t the fault of the author, nor do I believe it is their intentions. I think it is a small mistake, nothing big or damaging to the story.
  Overall: I really like this story so far. It makes me want to read more. It is well thought out dark story, and it is unique in its own right. Even if people are not sci-fi fans. I say this is something to check out. For only having three chapters, this story has so much potential to be amazing.
• Rookie12Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  This review is based on the three chapters that were available at the time.
  The story is set up in a setting that survived a great war. The idea of the setting is simple, yet incredible in its potential. There exists a symbiotic type organism that can be made and even apparently upgraded by humans, giving its host various new abilities. The worldbuilding is being fed to us sparingly, leaving just enough room for the imagination to work and answering most of the questions as the story moves on.
  Style. I liked it! In the first chapter, we get a POV of the MC, she is a beggar right now and eagerly grasps any new opportunity. A chance to have a home? Grab it. A chance to gain something incredible? Grab it. The second chapter comes from the eyes of a professional soldier, and it actually allows you to believe in it, which is great! From the description of the surroundings, to the description of battles and such, everything flows just fine, awesome!
  Grammar. I am not a native English speaker. I can only judge if it is easy to read, visualize, and understand. All three get a solid five from me. The author's writing skills are easily top-notch.
  Story score. idea, five stars. Some moments, however, are plain weird. How often would you see an incredibly experienced person invite a homeless person to live together? I understand why it happened due to the fact that the plot needs to move on, but it feels weird. Then we get a second chapter, which is a vast improvement in logic and everything. The third chapter once again feels like a mixed bag; the motivation of the potential main villain feels... weird. 4,5 for now, since I like most of the stuff.
  Lastly, character. The MC so far was really well done, as if she were born into this world, she have weak sides and strong sides. The supporting characters in the first chapter are great! In the second chapter, only POV is interesting, but that twist at the end sorta sours it. And in the last chapter, the potential main villain is ju
• DomoviyeRoyal Road

  ★★★★ 4.0

  Melbourne C3 is interesting.
  There's enough worldbuilding that I want to learn more, without being buried under a mountain of exposition. I'm also left with a lot of questions, like what are these symbionts, how do they grant powers like telepathy, are they sentient beings, why are they allowed to spread and more.
  The characters are not as interesting as the world itself. But they've got enough detail that again, I'm left with questions and wanting answers.
  Why Sonja is so trusting, and what does the family that took her in want to do with her?
  What's the deal with Operative Sinclair? What about the terrorist he's going after?
  It's only chapter two so far, and the questions it brings up are good ones. I hope the answers are just as good.
• TMIsRoyal Road

  ★★★★ 4.0

  I’m going to be honest and say from what there is, there isn’t really much to say about this story.
  It has an interesting setting, a futuristic Melbourne. Other than a few glimpses of the city here and there, we have not been given much detail on this futuristic Melbourne (from the currently available chapters) of course in the future this might change, but for now, I’m not sure what to say about it.
  Characters are aplenty, but aside from a few explicit ones, none of them get a lot of focus. Some of the characters we know about are Sonja, who’s the focus of chapter one, Brian, a side character in the same chapter, Sinclair, who is the focus of chapter two, and surprisingly, Athena, whose introduction in the second chapter was both memorable, and gave me a glimpse of her outwards personality. Overall, I’m not too sure about the characters, as they are right not, they aren’t very memorable, but hey it’s only been two chapters. For a setting like this, I would have expected some more unique or interesting characters, but hey that might just be me. (3.5/5)
  Story, on the other hand, is exactly what I would expect from this genre and setting. An interesting mechanic in the form of symbiotes, which has a lot more room to grow in the future. Cool world history, a great cliffhanger at the end of the latest chapter. (5/5)
  Grammer is not great, but not terrible. There are some issues with capitalisation and punctuation in the currently available chapters, so that’s something to watch out for. (3.5/5)
  Style is somewhere I won’t really comment on. It’s fine, nothing that will ruin the reading experience, except for one thing. Dialect. There are lines in the first chapter with multiple pieces of dialogue that took me a good second to understand. I might suggest the author change that, as it might lead to a worse reading experience. (4/5)