Scions of the Super-Wizard!

Information

Status

Hiatus

Year

2022

Author

wose

• Oscar Jr., again
  Mar 5, 2022
• Oscar Jr.
  Mar 5, 2022
• Flynn
  Mar 4, 2022
• Einar
  Mar 1, 2022
• Sita
  Feb 23, 2022
• Chandler
  Feb 16, 2022

Reviews

Community Reviews(5)

• TienSwitchRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Stardust the Super-Wizard was a public domain superhero that first appeared back in Fantastic Comics #1, published in 1939.
  This is a fun set of short stories in which a Stardust automaton gives access to his omipotent powers (terms and conditions may apply) to ordinary people with some hilarious, tragic, and ironic results, depending on the indivdual.
  The only recurring character in the two chapters so far is the automaton, a rules-bot that exists to train the users and lay out terms and conditions. It is an emotionless, walking rulebook that gives us a glimpse into the personality of Stardust, who we're yet to see in the story itself. I can't help but hearing Robot's voice from Invincible. The automaton is the perfect character to instigate, end, and accompany all these stories. We're the infallible mortals, and it just gives us the proverbial robe to hang ourselves for not following rules we agreed to.
  An indicator of good storytelling is that we get a pretty good glimpse of Stardust's personality despite him never actually appearing (yet. There's only two chapters, as of this review). From what we're told, he sounds petty, apathetic, and uninterested in enacting any meaningful change. He comes off as a god who can't be bothered to engage with our petty philosophies and ideals. I like that characterization.
  There's also the people who wear the uniform and become the scions, but they each only last for one chapter and they themselves aren't the true focus of this story. Though I particularly like Sita, the user of Chapter 2.
  The only thing I have to say is that this story seems to be mis-tagged. It's labeled as ORIGINAL, but the Stardust character is an existing hero from 1939. That's not metafiction; Stardust is an actual prior creation. That would make this fanfiction, unless the author is older than I'm assuming. That said, I don't know what the site rules have to say about public domain characters, but I'm pretty sure this still isn't ORIGINAL.
  Anyone who's cu
• VedoRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  What would you do if you were a God?
  The Author begs the question - and provides characters to demonstrate and you get to judge them. The common theme so far is the 'Mask.' Or rather the indestructible sky blue unitard. What happens to a person when they are given one of power? What happens when it is taken away?
  I think this can be a psychological experiment - from some respects, and I think the premise should be apprached thusly. Each a postmodern fable extrapolating on virtues and good intentions gone wrong.
  The Following Review of Technique is a comparison to other Royal Road Authors, as is my star awards.
  The Author by far exceeds my expectation of average in all departments. The story is intersting, and the style is unique. Grammar is not head scratching and characters are not characateurs.
  WIth that said - for the Author to take the story to the next level - to as polished story the following places I feel require the most consideration.
  Conciseness and sentence structure - I think the flow needs to be improved and a consistent style applied. Another draft - once it's completed should fix this.
  A consistent, known narrator - I think since it deals with multiple viewpoints, a consistent narrator is neccessary. Perhaps an omnipitent power that sits in judgement, perhaps the automotan hive mind. I don't need to know - but right now I am placing myself as the narrator, and the self-insert for that aspect makes me overcritical to the characters actions.
  Pacing - In the second chapter the pacing was rather nice - it followed a traditional theme and ended in ironic tragedy. I need a tiny bit more on the character to make it hurt more then it did, something truly unique that I can remember her by - I think a lame sense of humor would be good - perhaps two silly puns? Or - self-esteem issues - the balance between helping others vs helping oneself, she does die from it, it could tie everything together.
  The grammar is the last thing I would worry about here.
  Style - I
• jacksinnRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Oh my gosh, this is AMAZING!
  I'm someone that usually has a little trouble getting into sci-fi due to lexicon/world building, but this story is IMMEDIATELY engaging and easy to grasp while still so being rich and vivid. The banter between characters is wonderful, the humor is top notch, and there's all of these small details and observations that makes this so fleshed out and real.
  Absolutely love it.
• MajorianRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  This story is esssentially an anthology of people being given omnipotence and its consequences. It's full of dark comedy and it works. The characters stand out despite only being the focus of a single chapter so I commend the author in making it work. Of course if you want an overarching story with a central plot, you won't find it here. However it's a nice lesson on why most people shouldn't be given god like powers so I find it quite entertaining.
• S.N. KeirsteadRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  Style: This is essentially a series of short stores written in third person. I won't put in any spoilers, but one "character" shows up through all of them, so there is some connection between each tale. The writing style is concise, forgoing details in favor of getting the story told. Makes for a nice and easy experience.
  Grammar: Grammar is close to perfect. I did not notice any typos or grammatical errors from what I've read so far.
  Story: As mentioned before, this book is essentially a collection of short stories focusing briefly on multiple characters. Even though it is based on an old comic, familiarity with the reference material isn't needed to fully enjoy the work. The plots are relatively straightforward and even though the "twist" is evident in the first chapter, the way the twist is used for each of the characters is what makes the story enjoyable. Heads up though, this is not a normal "super hero" story, so keep that in mind if you're going in head first.
  Character: The characters aren't particularly deep or well-fleshed out, but upon reading the story it will become evident why. It fits the way the story is told. But what matters is that they're believable.