Spirits Awakening

Information

Status

Hiatus

Year

2022

Author

Nataraja

• 39. The assault
  Jul 17, 2022
• 38. Attack plan
  Jul 17, 2022
• 37. Take over
  Jul 15, 2022
• 36. Finding Alek
  Jul 8, 2022
• 35. Infiltration
  Jul 1, 2022
• 34. Next steps
  Jun 24, 2022
• 33. Interrogation
  Jun 17, 2022
• 32. Side-tracking
  Jun 10, 2022
• 31. Investigation
  Jun 3, 2022
• 30. Aftermath
  May 27, 2022
• 29. Busted
  May 20, 2022
• 28. Under Cover
  May 18, 2022
• 27. Self-control
  May 13, 2022
• 26. The Association
  May 11, 2022
• 25. Scorched ground
  May 6, 2022
• 24. Enrolment
  May 4, 2022
• 23. Incarcerated
  Apr 29, 2022
• 22. Blood Rage
  Apr 27, 2022
• 21. A smell of blood
  Apr 22, 2022
• 20. The Wordy Serigraph
  Apr 20, 2022

Reviews

Community Reviews(10)

• 1212BRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Spirits Awakening follows a group of youngsters, finding themselves entangled in the shifting gears of the world, as the barrier between the mundane and the spirit world is upset.
  Grammar and style:
  This story is competently written. The prose itself flows seamlessly whole reading and does a great job of hooking the reader and dragging them into the story. I noticed a few typos, but they were unobtrusive and didn't impact my experience reasing this story at all.
  Characters and story:
  This story does a truly astounding job at introducing it's characters and world, as it runs through the mysterious disappearance of our main lead's uncle as its introductory plot line.
  Our characters feel... A tad like they're from a 'Young Adult' novel, with a heavy emphasis on the relationships — mostly the attraction — between them. But by God, they're from a good YA novel then.
  It's been barely over a dozen chapters and already it feels like the characters have several shades of gray and their unique strengths and weaknesses. Heck, there's already been significal characters development for one of them. And it all feels remarkably organic.
  The world itself is introduced to us bit by bit, mostly via exposition. Very good exposition at that, delivered mainly by a less than admirable mentor figure. It's both interesting in substance and manner of conveyance.
  All around: Very recommendable and a joy to read.
• BubulleRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I wouldn't say much about the grammar because I'm French like the author. Anyway, the English is good enough for me to understand the story, and to enjoy it.
  The story begins simply enough with a mystery: the disappearance of Rafael's uncle. But it quickly becomes more complex, and we understand that the real subject of the book is the discovery of shamanic magic, and the arrival of the MC in adulthood, with all the new responsibilities that this suggests. It is rather simple, but it works well because to this red thread is woven multiple subplots associating World Building and secondary characters. What was a classic coming of age story becomes deep and complex. And that's without mentioning the mystery of the presence of spirits on Earth! There is not much information on this subject yet, but it promises to be exciting.
  My favorite thing about this fiction is the characters. In most webnovels, and even paper novels for that matter, we have a solitary hero and the secondary characters are very... secondary. That is to say that they are only there to make the MC look good. In Spirits Awakening it is very different, all the characters are very developed with personal objectives and a history. Rafael is the hero of course, but we get just as attached to Alek, Jay, or even Tiffany. This makes the fiction very rich because the multiple relationships they have between them multiply the possible interesting interactions.
• BullerRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I personally don't read too much Urban Fantasy so my ideas about what it is supposed to be might be skewed. However, never have I seen the requirement of a genre being overall great, making me believe this might be something the fiction did by itself. Initial premise and plot points work well enough. Charactersiation was hard to follow first but became much smoother after the first two chapters. Initial doubts all gone.
  I didn't find any grammar mistakes but I wasn't really looking from them anyway. Overall a great story. 5/5
• GabyRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  My favorite books focus on the psychology of the characters. I don't really care about the world building, or even the storyline, as long as you can dive into the thoughts of the heroes, live their moods, their emotions, the questions they have about their life... Unfortunately, the genres where you can read this kind of psychological depth are not very common. It's mostly romances, or dramas, which I appreciate but it's a bit limited.
  With Spirits Awakening I found the psychological depth I need in a fantasy/mystery story. There isn't a huge amount of content yet, but I plan to keep up with the chapters as they come out. I can't wait to see how Rafael and his friends develop. The only thing that disappoints me a little is that the personality of the spirits is very simple (for now anyway), almost symbolic. Maybe it's because they are supposed to be newborns, but it would have been interesting if their "non-human" thinking was more present.
  In any case, if you are not put off by a slow start, and a non-literary English, this is a delightful fiction. You get attached to the character very quickly. My favorite is Tiffany!
• Roof MonsterRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Overview: While the story has yet to take a pluge towards major action, it's first steps feel professional and confident with excellent supporting characters and a strong sense of direction early on.
  Style:
  The story is well written with a fair mix of internalized thoughts of the protagonist about what's happening as well as descriptions by other people that help frame very competent details about the setting and characters in it. The writing is very clear, with the main character having the right level of understanding motives and potential solutions to the central mystery presented in the first five chapters without being omnipotent.
  My only minor gripe with style is that some of the character introductions had a lot of expository information... sometimes a little too much as telling me so much about his cousin's mother and father breaking up made me misread that the uncle was her father. Same with Jay: some of the details about his home life would become obvious when he showed up with a bruise and might fit better as the characters think about how his mother can't leave his father.
  Grammar:
  With one comment as an exception, the grammar felt very smooth. Full marks!
  Story and character score:
  It's slightly unfair perhaps to rate this 4.5, as what's here so far is very strong. I feel like I know what's going to drive the story forward: there is a conflict between the MC and whoever or whatever has abducted or waylayed his uncle. I'm interested in that and a lot of other little details and interactions sprinkled through the story. Some of the characters seem very straightforward as presented, but where there are gaps the author does an excellent job at making me question why they are acting a particular way. His ex girlfriend and paulina are both good examples, where some details fall in line with what the character knows, but he correctly looks at their behavior and gives the readers questions I find interesting about trying to understand why they do things that he
• gliglithRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Melancholy, mystery, and magic are here for you in this story. It is unique in the stories I've read here on Royal Road in that I actually feel like I'm reading a published novel. It is well-built, it is intriguing, it will pull you and keep you in the world the author has weaved. We get a deep look inside our MC's head at all times, while also getting what I could describe as an empathetic view of the people in their life. A balance of descriptive language and natural dialogue allow us as readers to melt into the world around us and feel the emotions of the moment. The grammar is clear cut and easy to read, it is obvious who is talking when and it is easy to pick up and understand what is happening from section to section.
  The story, while still at its beginning, is budding nicely into something with intrigue coming from different directions. The worldbuilding and the research the author has put into it are evident. The reader can see beginnings of may different moving parts that will surely amount to something of epic spiritual proportions. The characters exist in the world and have families and lives of their own, and the MC cares deeply about their freinds and family. It is in my opinion in many ways an emotional work as it is a work of urban fantasy. Like I said in the beginning, if you told me this was already a book available in stores that I had just read, I would more than believe you, and I'd probably go and buy it myself.
• woseRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I am prefacing this review by saying that I am very picky with urban fantasy and dislike about 9/10ths of it, as most cases it is either juvenile power fantasies or D&D with a modern coat of paint.
  With that out of the way, I really enjoyed Spirits Awakening: its understanding and research of shamanism and the way its magic works is very comprehensive, which allows for its particular fantasy elements to have a whole different type of flavor. I expect things to get a little gruesome if the author is drawing from the lore and ritual of Siberian and Mongolian shamanism, but then again, I am looking forward to it.
  While I enjoyed the characters and the world, I have to warn any prospective readers that this story is a slow boil: there are a lot of characters and relationships that the author wants to show off, as well as to sell the idea of upsetting the mundane real world we know with the presence of the spirits. This might discourage anyone who is used to more "instant gratification" style of stories on the platform, but the way the story ramps up from the 4th chapter on will make the wait worth it.
  Lastly, I did find some minor issues with the grammar and dialogue at certain points lacked the snappiness that an exchange required but I'm willing to look past those issues. I can see the author is improving with every chapter so far so things are just looking up.
  Will be keeping an eye out for this one.
• D.N. NewynRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  If there's something Nataraja has done really well in his first three chapters of 'Spirits Awakening', it would be the sense of mysteries he's been able to exude. In the first chapter, we're introduced to Rafael and his seemingly normal family and circle of friends. But following the disappearance of his uncle Leonard, we slowly learn that things are not quite what they seem. Every new character introduced seem to have something about them that contributes to the mystery (which I assume would have something to do with shamanism) which makes me want to learn more about them.
  The author manages to keep the story going well and not confusing even though he introduces quite a few characters in a span of a few chapters. The style is simple and easy to follow, though the first chapter can be condensed a bit so we can get to the main fantasy parts quicker.
  The characters in this book feel real and relatable, with real flaws and struggles. I don't like the main character Rafael too much because I feel like he's a bit bland, but I like his observations of other people and being able to form his own opinions. The downside of introducing many characters at the beginning is that some of them are bound to be under-developed or it can mess with pacing. I think Fanny, Jay, and other supporting characters are developed enough, and the chapters aren't dragged out too much, so in my opinion the author has done a decent job so far.
  There's little about Shamanism up until this point, and I expect there to be more in the chapters to come. A danger with a slow start like this is that you have people picking up the story because of the promises of shamanism, but they might not stick around if they don't get it right away. I think there are ways the author can incorporate more information about Shamanism without having to change the settings in the beginning chapters.
• Dylan KingRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  Story:
  Spirits Awakenng is an urban fantasy story centred so far around the disappearance of one of the MCs family members and the increasing numbers of spirits being born into our world. Its a refreshing break from the standard affair of RR and is well paced and never shies away from a mystery, without ever feeling confusing. I've really enjoyed the gradual revealing of this stories' secondary world.
  Style:
  The prose is solid, if a lacking a little flair or a strong authorial voice. Crucially however, the prose doesn't interfere with the reading experience, and is clean and fairly tight.
  Grammar:
  No issues here besides a few easily edited typos.
  Characters:
  Probably the part of the story I struggled the most with. Raphael is decently likable--but he's just not that interesting.The other characters also feel incredinly underdeveloped, though it is still very early in the story for an ensemble cast to have fully-fledged personalities, but it would ne nice if they didn't feel quite so much like encountering cardboard cut outs.
  Overall, I am really excited to see where this story is going. The competency of the prose and uilding f mysterys promise good things, I just hope the author can continue to improve his ability to write fully developed and likable characters.
• _GlassesRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  Spirits Awakening is an urban fantasy quickly setting up a changing world of new realities and the main character, Rafael, dealing with a world only his uncle seemed to be willing to believe in.
  I think that the story is setting up a lot of mysteries, both big and small, that will have an impact on Rafael and make for a great read, and I think the author has the skill to see it through!
  Style & Grammer
  The style and grammar are good and solid, with the author willing to quickly alter and correct mistakes. Just from reading, I wouldn't be able to tell the writer was from a non-English speaking background.
  I think there are moments where the descriptions could be a bit more efficient with how many words are used to get across character interactions, but that's more of a personal gripe on my part.
  Story
  I'm extremely interested in the story and what the MC will have to face of with. I'm looking forward to how the entities of Spirits Awakening impact MC's issues with his relationships and the other characters as well. A lot of stuff has been set up with implication and various warnings, so I think that a rule or two is going to get broken eventually, which I'm excited for!
  Characters
  The characters are a blast and bounce off of each other well, with the uncle quickly set up as a more mysterious figure, perhaps with his own goals beyond what we currently know, and is currently not around.
  The MC and his friends all seem 3-Dimensional and have their strengths and their flaws, but one thing I will say is that the dialogue, while natural, is a bit too fast. Quick conversations is good, but for emotional return, longer and more throughful silences between actions, especially if one person is sad, would be good.
  Still, really like the characters and their interactions.