Sorcery in Boston

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

The timid daughter of some of the greatest spellcasters ever to have lived has found herself in another world, courtesy of magic gone awry. In Boston, Massachusetts, in the year 1935, she finds some kind souls in a hard era. In the heart of the Great Depression, as war looms around the corner, she seeks to find her place, and must come to terms with both who she is and what she truly desires.

Author's Notes:

This story is "complete," but I learned a great deal in the writing of it and feel it needs a massive overhaul. One day, I'd like to do so, but considering it's been years, probably not anytime soon. I'd originally wanted to do a second book, but my list of stories that I want to write is pretty extensive, so I'm not sure when, or even if, I'll do so.

Audience:This story is not for children - it contains some profanity, explicit sexual content, violence, gore, and significant adult themes. Most of these are handled delicately enough not to upset teens or adults (hopefully), as well as the graphic sexual content being skippable, hence the lack of relevant tags, but it is nonetheless unsuitable for youth. It's fairly slow paced, and focused on the development of very human, very flawed individuals.

Draft 1:Please be aware that this is first draft material. I do intend to eventually rework the whole thing, as mentioned above. If anyone notices any issues whatsoever with the story, please let me know (comments, dm, etc) so that I can improve the next version.

Writer's Pledge:I've taken theWriter's Pledge, meaning I had committed to completing this story. Which I have done! :D

Behind the Scenes notes:

This picture was commissioned from an inked artist by the name of DanP.

Up until the time of the protagonist's arrival, history has proceeded as before. Some places and characters have been borrowed from wikipedia entries of interesting figures from the time. I will make note in the chapter comments when such things come up. Naturally, I've taken a great deal of liberty with them.

In interest of respecting individuals, I've either attempted to portray them as accurately as possible, or modified them sufficiently enough that they're simply an inspiration, instead of a real portrayal. I've attempted to be as accurate to the era as possible, but I'm not a historian. If you're aware of inaccuracies, please, bring them to my attention so that I can correct them.---AI Disclaimer: This story predates AI (other than things like spellcheckers), and as such, absolutely no AI is used in any context whatsoever.

Information

Status: Completed
Year: 2017
Author: EllaWhyteTales

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.5/ 5.0
Followers: 374
Views: 869,397

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(10)

RedKnight2NRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
So after powering through this in a few days I must say it is some of the best writing I have found on RRL. I loved the concept and the story. Your writing forced me to feel plenty of emotion... including extreme loathing for your MC. I don't think I have encountered such a weak-willed charector in ages. With that said, it is done well. I love the story and look forward to more.
mysticfauxRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
What is this story about? well, read the summary. [Minor Spoilers Ahead]
I love the original setting, a magic world mage going into the cusp of the great depression. It's something I would have never thought of, and I'm sure that when this story gets the recognition it deserves, It'll become a flagship for more ideas.
Pros [as of chapter 18]
The characters feel alive as if you were reading their thoughts and their actions that they take make sense. The problems that the cast face are complex and at the very heart also, emotional.
I have not noticed a problem with style or grammar, as I had read through it with ease, as I'm not going to re-read for those, you'll have to take my rating on these departments with some salt.
Cons (Kind of)
It may feel frustrating when a character feels incomprehensible or naive, But I say it adds to the author breathing life into his characters, There were many a time when I thought "What the hell is she doing" "What the hell is she thinking" and "Why doesn't she try to learn a bit of the common sense of the people around her and try to learn more about them
Spoiler
Causing conflicts to occur?"
But when I think about, She's only human. (Insert Song)
DragrathRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This work as of chapter 25 is one of the most outstanding works I have seen on this site with the sheer investment the author has shown for her worldbuilding given a highly developed and advanced magic system human characters each with distinct personalities ideals and character development.
The Historic setting has been well reaserched and kept up to the period showing deep cultural biases between Aera and those around her as she comes to grip with her situation, what she wants and her ideas on how to achive it. This combined with her dependence on her magic, heavy noblesse oblige bias towards the powerful, and lack of understanding of technology all come togetehr to really paint her as a flawed but relatable character.
This series doesn't shy away from issues such as morality culturally engrained biases among other things.
If you are looking for an engrossing read full of complexity I recomend this series but if you want a quick power fantasy then look elsewhere.
This review probably doesn't do this series the full justice but it is the best I can come up with. Overall superiro to many of the top rated fictions here given RRL's score inflation so I am left with no choice but to 5 star everything.
EristoRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The plot is about a girl from a magic world ending in our world after a magic accident, being unfamiliar with the new world, but mostly because she is very low in self esteem, she follow the judgement of those around her and hide her magic.
The novel is about self-discovery, where the MC learn to think for herself, and use her judgement if she should use magic or not.
the author has also put lots of effort into fitting the story into our history for most of the novel.
Flawlessweak2Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The Pledge brough me here.. demm.. and it's on Hiatus >.< xD
AfforessRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
I'm not usually a fan of first-person stories, because I find authors use them as a crutch to hide amatuer writing. This is the not the case here, the first chapter is a solid introduction to the story. It's hard to judge the characters and plot based on the first chapter alone, but so far so good.
I'll update this review as the story advances.
TheLeakingPenRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
In a twist on the normal out of this world plot, Aeras, a young mage of promise and power, is accidently flung into our world, into post Prohibition Boston, to be specific. In a land of dirt and peasants, she is determined to make a place for herself, while doing what it takes to get home. She quickly attracts a group of followers, delighted by the magic she weilds, and worried about the naivety in which she weilds it, and willing to help her. She could easily use her power to rule the land, using her newfound minions to make her way. If only she wasn't so NICE!
HumanprototypeRoyal Road
★★★★ 3.5
The Good- This combines two favorites of mine, historical fiction and transported to another world stories. The plot is a twist on an old favorite as well as being unique and well-written. The supporting cast has quite a bit of depth and "realness"to them.
The Bad- The more I read the more frustrated I was getting and I couldn't quite put my finger on why. Until I realized it was because the MC has every charater trait. Brave, cowardly, arrogant, humble, naive, worldly, rebellious, obedient, etc. Much of the story hinges on how the MC will act in a particular moment and what would happen next always felt like a coin-toss to me because of the omnicharacter of the MC. The more I read the more forced elements of the plot felt.
JimjamRoyal Road
★★★ 2.5
The premise of this story caught my interest. Typically, stories about world travellers are about people from Earth finding themselves in a magical world. Here, we see the opposite – a magicians is transported to Earth, and has no idea what’s going on.
The story itself is well-written. I’ve no problems with the author’s style, and I can’t remember any grammatical or spelling mistakes
The story is basically a reverse isekai: the main character, Aera, finds herself in 1930s Boston, USA. She’s the daughter of powerful magicians, who were trying to create a portal to another world, before and accident sent her to Earth. She needs to learn how to survive and use magic in a world where it doesn’t exist. It’s interesting, though I found it disappointing that the author didn’t include more of a historical backdrop. During the 1930s there was the Great Depression, rise of fascism, changing values for what it meant to be a woman, “separate but equal,” etc. most items are mentioned in passing, and don’t really have an effect on the story.
The side characters are okay for the most part. I found them to be pretty superficial – what you see is what you get. Basically the main character’s friends are good people, those who oppose her are bad. The main character, unfortunately, is in my opinion the weakest part of the story.
She panics and shuts down very easily. She lives in a fantasy world (metaphorically speaking) where she can solve everything with her magic. Her friends repeatedly warn her it’s a bad idea to let others know of her powers, but she does so anyway. She claims that she can use magic to erase memories of her if she’s in danger, but she never so when it’s most pressing. She looks down on technology (because magic>tech), and then it almost gets her killed. Some of these can be explained by her having grown up in a world where her family was powerful and she didn’t have to hide herself. But after years of living in Boston she should realize when it’s a good idea to us
Ashes1Royal Road
★ 0.5
The Mc is so idotidic and passive, she should have been dead in the first day. she has so many tools and fucking magic, but can bairly choose to wipe her own ass with out help. It is frustrating as all hell.
This story has promice, but need to be rewritten