Silas Tine's Leagues Under.

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Generations after humanity sought refuge in the ocean's depths to avoid extinction, Thulani lives a quiet life in the isolated deep-sea city of Joberg. Life in the abyss is harsh but steady—until he uncovers a critical flaw in the city's life support systems. When his warnings are dismissed, Thulani finds himself entangled in a web of conspiracy, caught between ruthless pirates, gangsters, and corrupt politicians. With the city's survival at stake and his girlfriend's pregnancy endangered by the failing air supply, Thulani must navigate these dangerous waters to restore order before it's too late.

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2024
Author: Silas_Tine

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 5.0/ 5.0
Followers: 32
Views: 8,090

Reviews

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Community Reviews(2)

HydeDaggerRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The first thing I will address is the story. It is the true standout - and the reason why I've left full marks for overall. It reminded me about Silo and also Fallout's vault ministories - MC is trapped in an enclosed environment where certain incumbent powermongers have set up an exploitative practice, and MC eventually uncovers the plot and attempts to shed light on the cruel practices of such powermongers.
And the enclosed city of Joburg potentially raises a dilemma that every citizen has to grapple with - can you really afford to rock the boat too violently, if you are yourself one of the passengers?
This makes for a really good set-up and from what I've read the author navigates it skilfully in Leagues Under. Every group has their own allegiance and loyalties; every person has their own motivations and will fight like hell to survive. The writing also hints at a wider world which I'm sure is just starting to be explored.
Granted the story is still ongoing, and I do hope to see it develop further in terms of grappling with the moral dilemma of the whole thing - is it ever justified to kill the weak and unproductive to ensure the continued survival of the whole? Wolves do this, as do certain older societies, like the Spartans - is it really evil, or is it necessary?
Moving on to the style: author really knocks the ball out of the park with the visceral and sometimes beautifully laconic, yet metaphorical, descriptions. You can feel the kinetic energy of tactical group violence play out, and it's always satisfying. Death scenes are satisfyingly brutal. Very much so. I will say however that sometimes it's difficult to place yourself because the POV shifts occasionally between different persons, and sometimes I found myself confused exactly which environment I found myself in. Nevertheless it is fairly easy to place yourself after a moment's consideration.
Also on style: this story is definitely hard-sci-fi, and I am suitably impressed by the technical handling which
evilfish224Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
So far this story is pretty good, it feels a lot like a sci-fi except it is set deep under water and not in space. I like that quote a lot. Great story so far!
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