Songbird: What it Means to be the Hero

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Some people want to be a hero. Others don’t have a choice.

Rennyn has lived fourteen lives of heroics. But after seemingly defeating his greatest opponent, he had hopes for his fifteenth life; a life where he didn’t need to be the hero, where he didn't have to worry about some looming disaster. He was done being the hero—he just wanted to be someone normal for once.

Unfortunately, the rest of the world didn’t seem to realize that.

Faced with the fact that the greatest threat has yet to be defeated, he sets off on another adventure with an old friend and a few new ones. He doesn’t just have the struggles of the present to face, however—the past has found its own way of hindering his quest…

Information

Status: Completed
Year: 2023
Author: MoonlightGardens

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.8/ 5.0
Followers: 26
Views: 31,931

Reviews

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Community Reviews(4)

FirstNexusRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Overall, the 5/5 reflects my enjoyment and I really liked the story so far
Style: The story reads in the 3rd person, but in the more limited aspect, though I will say that I was surprised at the multiple POVs. The synopsis of this story made it seem like it would focus on our MC and while I do think the other POVs can expand the world (like Noa’s POV which I really liked) I do not see a reason for Kaylin’s POV so far.
Story: Easily a 5/5. Unique take on the reincarnation trope. Check. A fast paced story that isn’t bogged down by unnecessary worldbuilding that many fantasy stories suffer from. Check. A good use of the hero’s journey with a twist as our MC has lived through it many times. Check. Not much more the say, it’s well written.
Grammar: Nothing much to say here as I didn’t catch anything so far
Characters: The development isn’t all there, but that could also be because there just isn’t enough content yet. I personally haven’t formed an attachment to any of the characters, due to Rennyn’s apathy, Kaylin’s lack of depth and I just really don’t like Allyna’s personality. I do believe Rennyn is a very well written character and I do think Kaylin can be, but I just need more to see how fleshed out they can become
Overall, an interesting read and I’ll check back in the future to see how it’s coming along
k.cRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is a review of the early chapters I've read, but this novel has a lot of potential for growth. Reincarnation is a familiar genre on Royal Road, yet the author is able to add their own twist through the MC being reborn with characters that also remember their pasts.
Style: This is still a bit early to tell, but the author uses dialogue to help pivot a lot of direction for how the story goes. The dialogue is succinct and lets the character's personalities shine through.
Story Score: The author is still going through the world-building stage, but does it in a way that is creative without seeming like it's info dumping. I'm looking forward to seeing how this MC navigates his new life after reincarnation.
Grammar Score: Good grammar and can't find any typos. I can tell the author has proofread their chapters and nothing seems out of place to where it distracts from my reading.
Character Score: Likeable characters that have personalities that are plausible. I think the characters also act in a rational way and makes sense with where the story is headed. They show promise and I look forward to seeing how they continue on their journey.
HippioScipioRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
TLDR: Very Nice.
Style: The general style is good. Though the author is not afraid to explore their world from multiple perspectives, and while I know some will find this irritating, I am personally not a part of said group. I think the multiple POVs go a long way for characterisation, as well as making the world of the story more vivid – though I guess I could have done with less 2 paragraph-short flashbacks.
Grammar: No real issues that I could see. Good.
Character: I like the concept of the beleaguered-by-duty hero, and I especially like that though the hero is not pleased to hear the call of duty, he hasn't been made an edge lord anti-hero by it all and that is beyond refreshing. The trope of "people keep expecting me to do good things, but f*ck them" is very overdone by others, and the fact the author seemingly wants to have a deeper conversation than that is to their credit.
Story: The story is nice though I would personally like a bit of a faster-paced story. The main plot seems to be building to something interesting, and I think the themes are woven into it quite naturally.
MaloryRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
It has been lovely to come across a text that approaches reincarnation in a complex way. In far too many stories across RR we see death and then rebirth with barely any consideration given to the trauma that such an act is likely to leave behind. Sanderson does it well (of course he does!) in his novels, but I haven't often seen it done well elsewhere.
Songbird, however, manages to focus on this traumatic rebirth well. The characters are very aware that some times they make it, sometimes they don't, but that that they must always do their best in order to keep everyone else safe. There is some lovely interplay between the characters where they consider their relationships in the context of this.
Grammar is spot on. The writing and style is poetic, which obviously will not be for everyone, but it is certainly an approach that deserves your time. There are seven chapters thus far and I am eagerly awaiting to see what occurs in the coming ones.
Pleasingly, the author also has other stories that look like they have much the same approach - not in the same universe I do not think - so my next thing is to go and check those out.