Nowhere Stars

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

The first three books of the story are now available in print, ebook and audio form: Volume 1Volume 2Volume 3 Liadain, a girl born terminally ill, has only ever wanted to live — forever, if at all possible. Instead, shortly after her thirteenth birthday, she’s consigned to spend her last months in hospice care. Until the night she encounters a monster more terrifying than death, and her savior offers her a chance to achieve her impossible dream. A chance to become a Keeper, one of the chosen children whose magic serves as humanity’s sole defense against Harbingers, living nightmares that devour dreams and passions and souls. Few Keepers accept the mantle simply to be heroes, though. Those who consume enough Harbingers grow into something more than human, obtaining the power to change themselves in nearly any way they wish. So Liadain throws herself into a new life, hoping against hope to save herself. But magic is foremost an expression of the soul. Shaped by her cold bitterness, her new power grants her dominion over sickness, death, and ill-fate, forcing her to wield the things she hates most as weapons. And as she delves ever deeper into the minds of Harbingers, tearing fragments of her salvation from their hearts, Liadain can't help but wonder if their hunger is really so different from her own. Nowhere Stars is an ongoing fantasy-horror web novel about traumacore magical girls, nightmares clothed in ribbons and lace, alienation from reality, and broken children twisting the world into whatever shape they must to make their dreams come true. This is a mirror of Nowhere Stars' home site, locatedhere. Updates will be posted at the same time here. Support Nowhere Stars on Top Web Fictionhere! Cover art byKobuta Nori

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2022
Author: Anemone

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.8/ 5.0
Followers: 3,612
Views: 1,129,128

What readers say about Nowhere Stars

“Finally an Anti-Hero that isn't a "90s antihero", it's been an issue for a while that the tag is tainted by one very specific sub category of itself. Liadain isn't some 20ish white guy with anger issues and a gun, she's a socially and emotionally stunted an…”
Agent SteelRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“In a world of magic based on the conception of self and a core desire, what if those two were in almost direct conflict? A petal perpetually falling yet never to land, wilted and wan, among the fallen leaves. If a flower is only beautiful because it will wi…”
Briar MossRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

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Community Reviews(10)

Agent SteelRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Finally an Anti-Hero that isn't a "90s antihero", it's been an issue for a while that the tag is tainted by one very specific sub category of itself. Liadain isn't some 20ish white guy with anger issues and a gun, she's a socially and emotionally stunted and until recently terminally ill girl surprised at how desperate she is to stay alive now that she has a genuine chance of doing so.
Most MG stories I've read or heard about (albeit not that many) take place on what either still is or used to be a normal version of Earth. This one doesn't, in fact it almost seems to take place in a sort of pocket dimension under siege by cosmic horrors straight out of the Southern Reach (cismic horrors trying to overwrite reality as opposed to the Cthulhu Mythos where they're already part of reality but buried under it).
The harbingers almost entirely fail to understand reality and attempt to substitute it with their own, generally uncaring of any humans caught up in the change except as a power source or a vector to spread influence. A couple of them seem to care about 1 or 2 humans but even then it's more like a pet owner and dog rather than what they tell their human. There are even a few that have little or no contact with humans, instead inhabiting the wilderness and fighting each other's versions of ideal reality.
The Genie style wishes of the Keepers is also a great touch, Keepers get what they ask for not what they want. The MC screwed up royally when she asked for "life", and a few of the others around her have had their own regrets hinted at.
I'll be following this one closely.
The only caveat that might turn people away is that it could be considered a slow burn of a story, yes it's had 800+ pages but in story not much time has actually passed since the beginning. There have been virtually no time skips (other than occasional sleep) because MC's life has become a frantic race to stay ahead of the consequences of her wish, a lot is happening all at once.
Briar MossRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
In a world of magic based on the conception of self and a core desire, what if those two were in almost direct conflict?
A petal perpetually falling yet never to land, wilted and wan, among the fallen leaves.
If a flower is only beautiful because it will wilt, if scarcity is the core of value, then let us rebel against the tyrannical skies.
Let the flowers wilt eternally, for the s̶k̶y is not the sky, self is a lie, and together we can rot in glorious agony.
That'll show those flower-buying posers.
That said, great story, I am intrigued and will wait with bated breath for the next adventure of your Lil Calamity.
CarbonCopyRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
A make a wish girl is granted the ability to become sailor moon... or maybe sailor Hades. Her new powers night allow her to live another day, assuming she can eat the hearts of enough monsters that kill in this world while hiding in a world unique to them that makes as much sense as an Escher painting.
The worlds are dark and evocative, but be prepared to reread paragraphs or pages otherwise you may miss out that the action is taking place on the underside of clouds in an upsidedown candy land.
The characters are children but have amazing depth. The world is magic and wonderous, but messed up dystopian paradise. Dorothy and Alice would both feel at home here, though it's more messed up than the rabbit hole and far more dangerous than Oz.
DivineEternal1Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This story is easily good enough for publication by a traditional publisher. Great worldbuilding, A plot that makes me not want to stop reading, and the MC is written in a way that make you sympathize with and cheer her on and see her happy.
Just wish the Harbinger fights were a little shorter. They're still good, don't get me wrong, but the MC dealing with real world stuff is my favorite parts of the story.
Isaac0Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Absolute banger. The only flaw are the slow uploads. Liadain somehow both manages to be an absolute menace, absolute girlfailure and permanently ill. Grumpy and precious.
Guess i gotta find some more stuff to yap about for the word limit. How about the worldbuilding. Although set in modern times theres a ton of curious magical additions. Also the enemies are pretty cool and often smart.
KadathRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I love a series where each chapter fills your stomach with another spoonful of dread. Sometimes the dread is mortal, sometimes it's existential, sometimes it's social. With Liadain, it's all 3 baby!
The worldbuilding is intriguing and is a mystery in and of itself. Worldly archapelago overseen by broken children?
A pelagic purgatory in a goddess's gut, with the uncompromising sun inspecting her dentistry?
We dunno yet! Ain't it cool?
Lemon snakeRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I really don't understand how I could have missed such a diamond among light novels... But here it is.
I'm sorry in advance if sometime, my review seems a bit made out of a broken English.. It's kinda not my first language
This story vocabulary is rich, I know it sounds wierd but the repertory of the writer, it's way of writing, it's just something you very rarely find anywhere else.
I have to admit, I had, from time to time, needed to re read 2-5 times each chapters. Not because it was bad, but because of how much new things I could see about the story. .. it's hard to describe, it's as if, at the first read, you're transported and immersed by actions etc... As if you were taking all in . A bit "blurry". But at the second read, you see details that you didn't notice before. They were always here, you've read them, but you now can thanks to the first read.
I would say, for me, it's overwhelming, but in a good way. Like looking at a very complete and detailed painting and the more you spend time looking at it, the more you see.
I got really attached to the MC, I can't put a finger on why, but it must be thanks to how her POV is conveyed. There really is no feeling of "distance" or "observer syndrome" kind of thing when you follow the MC.
The world building is interesting. A very contemporary theme with sparks of magic. Not overt, overwhelming and dominating like a lot of fantasy like lightnovels.
Overall? I'm hooked, and I recommend to read this. There are not a lot of "chapters" but expect each of them to be huge and fascinating (I think to the point of reaching the word limit of RR).
Michael WhitmerRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I found this because a recommendation from another authors story and I am so glad I did. This has such an interesting premise and enough world building to make you think about your own reality. the writing is consistently good and matches them with what I've seen some other stories written lately have been. which is a world where bad things happen for no real reason except humanity sucks. but despite all that there are good things in the world and you just have to sometimes push through the bad to see the good. Overall an amazing story and I can't wait for more
Papa LegbaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The author has an amazingly vivid way of wording things that leads your brain on a wild ride that while set in a contemporary setting gives wonderful Sailor Moon meets Cthulhu drizzled in Alice in Wondland vibes interspersed with the mundane quiet horror of a dying child. Not content to simply alter a couple of things or draw a new setting whole cloth, the author settles into a nice uncanny valley area that adds to the surreal feeling. Definitely recommend.
WINFINITYRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Really great story. The worldbuilding is fascinating, and I love Liadain's chatacter. She's really interesting too, especially her powers, and her flaws are well written. It's also been a ride seeing her slowly seem to get better and then dive right back into the deep end haha.
Only thing is Id say sometimes the story drags on for a little too long but other than that it has kept me gripped. I otherwise highly recommend reading this!!!! You will not regret it. The only thing you'll regret is being caught up and having to wait for new chapters lol