Tales from the Underside: Below

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

After a series of complicated subway line transfers, Isaac stumbles into the Underside, a fantastical parallel world inhabited by a hodgepodge of overpowered beings. He’s saved by the “god” of this world, Lilith, who decides to implement a stat system to save the Underside from further property damage. Four years later, this system is (roughly) in place, and Isaac is the unfortunate soul tasked with keeping it updated.

There's now aDiscordserver if anyone wants to chat and hang out!

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This story starts out as a chill, slow burn comedic slice-of-life that follows Isaac’s strange adventures in the Underside. It becomes progressively more serious as it goes on, eventually turning into a character study and developing a serious plot as Isaac learns more about the Underside, its history, and himself.

The first major section of this story (the "Below" arcs) is now complete!

Information

Status: Completed
Year: 2022
Author: greyly

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.5/ 5.0
Followers: 737
Views: 349,558

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(10)

Brandon DeeRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Style- The story is written in a way that’s straightforward and easy to follow. The author does a good job of breaking down what the different areas of The Underside are like so you can picture it. So far the story has a light hearted vibe but it feels like things will get more intense as it goes along
Story- The story follows a guy named Isaac while he carries out his job of traveling to different realms and updating the stats of the inhabitants. It’s a cool and creative premise. The author keeps you intrigued by introducing new places and people and hinting at things that you won’t get to learn unless you keep reading. I like that we get a quick view of so many different places early on and learn what a typical day on the job so like for Isaac.
Grammar- The grammar didn’t seem to have any noticeable issues.
Character- The characters in this story are vibrant and interesting right off the bat. Everyone that we’ve met so far has their own quirks that help them to stand out and feel like real people. The dialogue between them feels natural and fun
The setting and characters of this story are interesting and I’m excited to read more of it
Edge ValmondRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Style Score:
I do not grade style, but since I have to give something on it. Know it is in third person PoV. It is easy to read and follow, so you'll be fine with it.
Grammar Score:
Aside from an issue I found at the start, I believe this is mostly in order. So, it does well.
Story Score:
Honestly, it is a bit difficult to tell where this story is trying to go. It places a large amount of the weight on world building, which is nice. Though, the direction doesn’t seem to be established. I believe it is something about someone having to measure stats, which I guess is probably the point. It is nice for what it is, and as a LitRPG, it doesn’t hammer you pointlessly. So, this is another point in its favor. And if I was reading this correctly, there are multiple realms, which does imply more going forward.
Character Score:
For like half of what I read, it was difficult to gauge this. Due to their being very little dialogue, and the text itself not giving much. However, for the other half, you get a more solid idea. The different types of characters, their disputes and whatnot.
Overall:
The story is good for what it is, though doesn’t look to overachieve in any given direction. The prose is good, but could be better. As in the type of emotion it can invoke, I really couldn’t feel anything. The plot itself seems pretty straight forward. Someone going around gauging stats. The characters are probably the higher point here, and well in place with that. There is just one thing I noticed, and that is the type of stats. When dealing with very small numbers, someone wouldn’t be overpowering. Due to how things are calculated, so I found it a bit odd that was the word choice. Nonetheless, it works. Anyway, this is just my take on things. I’d recommend giving it a shot to see for yourselves.
GoldfetherRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I'm always a big fan of fantasy bureaucracy! As Peter Lesson writes in The Invisible Hook (2011), even societies outside the law such as piracy will develop complicated systems to ensure (mostly) fair play and that the society doesn't devolve into free-for-all. Seeing how this system of stats is adapted to and treated in the Underside is wonderful, and I'm curious to see how it develops further!
JustADuckRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Just a few chapters in, but the comedy really quacks me up. Excited to read more. I mean, cheese & quackers, I'll be referring all my family and friends to this. My uncle Donald, my cousins Huey, Dewey, and Louie, the whole duckin' extended family!
Jokes aside, it is absolutely a story worth a read!
MoonlightGardensRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
A unique story I’d recommend to anyone looking for something casual to read. Whether you’re looking for a humorous slice-of-life with plenty of characters to meet, something with game-like elements without too many stat boxes or skill contemplations, or generally just a good story, this is definitely something worth checking out.
Style (5/5)
There’s good descriptions to build images of the characters and their surroundings. Even while the story does tend to tell rather than show at certain parts (regarding details in the past, for example), it still keeps things interesting through the character telling it.
Story (5/5)
The story focuses on Isaac and his time spent running between the eight realms updating people’s stats… though really, it’s mainly just the running around part. Despite the possibly not-so-interesting-sounding summary, it still keeps the reader’s attention as we see what he does and the people he encounters. There's a relatively light-hearted air to it and pretty much exactly what it says it is.
Grammar (5/5)
If there were any grammar errors, they were minor.
Character (5/5)
The story does a good job at establishing and getting to know the characters. They’re interesting and entertaining, as well as being clearly defined and easy to remember.
Slippery.JohnRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Isaac has the odd Job of manually updating everyone's status screens that asks for it. That means traveling to the Underside (a different dimension) and to one of the 8 realms therein, meeting many of the rather peculiar and eccentrics characters that live there.
Now, the only problem with rating it at this point is that Isaac is trying his damnedest to keep the Underworld at arms length. His reluctance absolutely fits his character, don't get me wrong, and there have been some hints as to why he is even doing this job in the first place, but it also feels like 'the main' story has yet to really start.
So yes, early days, but what is there is a real treat and it's likely only going to get better. Yay for that. Also, first time in months that I actually really enjoyed the world an author has created!
Uncharted BloodlinesRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I'm twenty chapters in and happy I started Tales from the Underside, an impressive gem on Royal Road. I loved the whole idea of Isaac traveling the trains in the Underside. As a high compliment to the author, it reminds me of aspects of Neverwhere, but it has it own unique characters and story to tell in a slow burn slice of life way, in the very impressive 1st arc.
STYLE: The writing style is great, with neat chapters that are almost like one-off stories. The characters are well fleshed out, and the story flows well. The world-building is one of the best aspects of this story, and the author does an excellent job of describing the different areas of the Underside.
STORY: The story follows Isaac as he travels to different realms and updates the stats of the inhabitants. It's a cool and creative premise that keeps you intrigued by introducing new places and people. The characters are vibrant and interesting, with their own quirks that make them feel like real people. The dialogue between them is natural and fun. A stand out for me was demons complaining to one another and the level of bureaucracy Issac and the folk of the Underside have to endure.
Grammar: The grammar is excellent, with no noticeable issues that distract from the storytelling.
Character: As mentioned earlier, the characters are so relatable and enjoyable to read. I loved following Issac and his interactions with Lilith and Mortimer. Also, there are some cool creatures you wouldn't expect to find on a train.
Overall, the author's attention to detail is impressive, and the story is well thought out. It's exciting to see how the system of stats is adapted to and treated in the Underside, and I can't wait to see how it develops further.
For me, the Underside is an engaging and well-written story that is definitely worth reading. The author has done an excellent job of creating a unique and intriguing world, and the characters are relatable and enjoyable to follow. I highly recommend this story to anyone
DiviknightRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I can already see this being an obsession to read. The story flows really well and the world building is interesting and thoughtful. I'm really curious to see how the next arc pans out since I'll finished the intro arc, but so far so good.
Style - So, the style of writing is very clear once you start reading the first chapter. I love how much thought goes into the descriptions of the world. My only nit-pick is the walls of exposition, but that's just a personal preference of mine and not a reflection of any shortcomings of the author.
Story - The story, so far, has no real over-arching drive so much as just being an intro into the world and it's many wacky characters. But I dig it as a sort of slice of life progression story.
Grammar - I really didn't see any grammatical mistakes. Seems that the writing has gone through a thorough edit. Very nice.
Character- You can see the intricate planning that went into writing the details of the many named characters throughout, and the short encounters with everyone was leaving me wanting more! I hope the more I dive into the book and it's arcs, the more characters are interacted with (I love dialogue!). The main character is interesting, having a clear personality and major opinions on most, if not all, other characters he interacts with. And the chemistry between the main character and the "god" is awesome!
All in all, excellent start to what I hope continues to be a great story full of compelling and memorable characters!!
DrimRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I'm normally not a fan of power-scaling, in fact I hate the entire concept, but Tales from the Underside completely turns it on its head, into an interesting and surprisingly wholesome experience.
Style: Written in 3rd limited, the style flows pretty well. There are a couple of sentences that could be structured better, and some out of place details that are given, but otherwise the style is great. Every chapter so far has been neatly organized into its own almost one-off story.
Story: The story is simple but very charming, a man tasked with measuring the stats of fantastical creatures so that they can settle their disputes with with predetermined battles. Since the plot is very loose, the story is mostly carried by its characters. But they do a great job at that, making you look forward to progressing the story just to see who you'll meet next.
Grammar: No real issues that I saw, sometimes a superfluous or missing comma, but nothing worth losing points over.
Character: As a character driven story, this is really where it shines. Every character I've read so far has a quirky and unique personality of their own. Each character is as unique as the last.
I quite look forward to Isaac's continued exploits performing his underappreciated civic duties.
Cynical StrangerRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
This story follows the adventures of a normal guy in a parallel dimension similar to "the Planes" of DnD in lots of ways. He has the tedious task of maintaining a game-like leveling system put in place by an idiot goddess to stop the powerful inhabitants of the Underside from trying to kill each other all the time. It had me laugh out loud many times with ideas such as murderous demons venting their rage by going to the gym because they can't kill anymore. The chapters are pretty short as well so I see no reason not to check it out.