Terminal

Information

Status

Hiatus

Year

2017

Author

God_is_Good

• Chapter 20
  May 11, 2018
• Chapter 19
  Mar 28, 2018
• Chapter 18
  Mar 7, 2018
• Chapter 17
  Feb 26, 2018
• Chapter 16
  Feb 14, 2018
• Chapter 15
  Feb 12, 2018
• Chapter 14
  Jan 29, 2018
• Chapter 13
  Jan 24, 2018
• Chapter 12
  Jan 15, 2018
• Chapter 11
  Jan 12, 2018
• Chapter 10
  Jan 10, 2018
• Chapter 9
  Jan 9, 2018
• Chapter 8
  Dec 29, 2017
• Chapter 7
  Dec 13, 2017
• Chapter 6
  Dec 1, 2017
• Chapter 5
  Nov 25, 2017
• Chapter 4
  Nov 4, 2017
• Chapter 3
  Nov 3, 2017
• Chapter 2
  Nov 1, 2017
• Chapter 1
  Oct 30, 2017

Reviews

Community Reviews(10)

• AnticeRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  The stroy hit's as hard as a hammer dropped from a rooftop. It's not your normal RRL fare, so be prepared for something tackling a serious issue head on.
  This is a story that makes you sad, very sad. and maybe a bit angry too. It's one of those where your empathy glands are threatening to burst on you.
  A must read for those who need some feels in their life.
• Ariana EvansRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  This story is one for the ages. You feel what the character feels and you get really upset and sad when the main character, Alyssa, does. This is an absolutely wonderful story!
• MovenpickRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I usually prefer to read fantasy, but I do enjoy works of fiction based on real life, especially emotive ones. Some names that come to mind include Bridge of Terabitha, Jeffrey Archer's works etc and today, a new name joins that list: Terminal.
  As a student currently majoring in Psychology, from the start till the latest chapter, there are quite a number of psychological issues and principles introduced so succinctly with good flow throughout this story.
  Spoiler: Spoiler
  They include crippling depression in Chapters 1 & 2, as well as uninvolved parenting in Chapters 5 & 6.
  Even though I've only just started learning Psychology, from this story, I believe that Ms Austin has done well in recognising that psychology is a discipline which perspectives are all highly interconnected, effectively demonstrating this knowledge throughout her story.
  Spoiler: Spoiler
  For instance, the main character Alyssa, experiences crippling depression after receiving major news that she suffers from terminal leukemia, which is only made worse by her mother's apathy towards her. In psychology, psychological disorders are often exacerbated/more likely to arise in individuals with poor social networks.
  Another good example would be Alyssa's negative reaction towards her best friend Marya as well as Joshua (which I presume would be her love interest hehe). Even though patients suffering from depression really require and desire strong social connections to alleviate their social pain, they often behave in counterproductive ways that put people off rather than gaining their affection.
  Enough of the boring technicalities. Even if you ain't interested in psychology, the emotional appeal of this story should be sufficient to keep you going, as Ms Austin does a good job of plunging the main character into a seemingly bleak and inescapable hell, and as the kind Samaritans we all are, we would love to see how she escapes the darkness and embrace the light once more, albeit with several meaningful st
• SovereignofAshesRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  How would you react if you were told you were about to die? What people would you let into your life in your last days? Would you have it in you to fight back or would you be lost in an endless sea of despair? These are all hard questions that many people would rather not have to look into if they were able to, but these are precisely the questions that this story forces you to confront.
  You'll find yourself plunged into the first-person viewpoint of a young woman named Alyssa as she must confront the most terrifying monster of all; her own mortality. This isn't the typical kind of story on RRL and it's very refreshing to see an emotionally powerful literary fiction on this site. This is a work of love by the author and it shows through in her ability to put you right in the viewpoint of Alyssa as we explore her reactions to her diagnosis.
  Each chapter feels like a crystalized memory that the protagonist of this story has collected from her final days. The prose the author uses is fluid as it washes over you with emotions and punchy in that it hits the heartstrings from the start. We are first introduced to Alyssa in the throes of grief and shock. Shortly after this, we are introduced to two central characters, Marya and Joshua. These two characters are night-and-day, and easily are metaphors for the different aspects of Alyssa's mindset as she deals with her own reactions. Marya feels like the social aspect who puts on a strong face, while Joshua is the inner nature that cries out for support and belonging. Alyssa's mother easily rounds out the cast as the personification of obligation to, and judgment from, members of our family in times of loss. This story shows just how alone a person can be, even if they are surrounded by people, when the unthinkable finally arrives on their doorstep.
  This isn't a story to shy away from, it's the story that we all are thrust into in one form or another in our lives. This is a tale that will have you crying while huddled in blan
• TheResonantWordsmithRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I've just finished ten chapters and wow. The greatest strength of this author is their ability to create vivid pictures out of words. Descriptive sentences allow you to be in the setting like you're actually there. I can still remember what Alyssa's living room looks like, while I can't recall what I had for lunch yesterday.
  The grammar story is impeccable.
  The dialogue makes sense. There's nothing that's said that makes me wonder where it came from. I like that the lense of the story is through the main character's thoughts, because a lot of what she goes through remains unsaid.
  The main character is dealing with a lot, and her reactions are not always the best, as one would expect from an 18 year old dealing with heavy issues. There's something very relatable in that.
  So far, there have been no chapters that felt like filler to me or that I thought should be cut. That is super promising and makes me want to savor the chapters as I read them.
  That being said, it's an incredibly sad story for most of those chapters so far. Holy crap, is it sad. The thing is though, this story is making me feel a specific emotion and that says a lot. I can't remember the last story that effected me emotionally.
  Overall, two thumbs up. I am very interested in seeing where this goes and will be bookmarking the hell out of this.
  Also if you want to enhance the emotion while you read, and probably break down and cry, listen to this while you go through chapters.
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziQ9GURNrUg&t=1114s
• Nise DarfRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  Hey, I read the whole thing.
  The story is well followed and i can firmly imagine what everything looks like in reality.
  To be honest, it all felt so real that it sounds like a real story!
  It was well written as well, the text made me go deeper into every chapter and it made me want to read even more! I'm rating it 4 and a half overall, only because the story doesn't look really suitable for this website. Even though there are thousands of different people and it's good that these kinds of stories can be found even here.
  I'll be expecting new chapters, i hope you write them fast! Patience is not something i'm keen of!
• acederequizaRoyal Road

  ★★★★ 4.0

  This is my review up until chapter 5.
  To be honest, in my lfe, I have seen and experienced myself leukaemia patients handling their lifes and their struggles with their loved one. So, I'll based on that bias when giving you the review. Some of these people were my friends and people whom I known for quite some time.
  TLDR: go to the bottom, alright :)
  Style: 4.5/5
  I like your style. Proper pacing with good details in between. It's juicy with enough spices sprinkled around.
  Story: 3.5/5
  Reading your synopsis, I might take this as one person POV, which is the MC herself. Honestly, I think the MC was just being too drama queen. The silent-type mind you. If as if she wanted people to read her mind all the time and she was not willing to do the same to others. There was no benchmark of her actions. Spend a day or two with leukaemia patients and you will see what I mean. If she wanted to lash out, let her lash out. If she wanted to seclude herself, she will seclude herself from everyone. Not going to school would be a good indicator.
  I don't mind if you elaborate more on certain things; for example about her memories of other people. Alyssa is 18 years old and had a previous life before she was diagnosed with leukaemia, right? So, it would be good for us to actually correlate what was happening to her now versus her previous version. So we can compare. And that comparion would make Alyssa's story more compelling.
  I knew people change 180 degrees when their life when given a turn for the worse, but Alyssa needed to do more than just being the depressed and taciturn self. Was she bubbly? Cheerful? Helpful to the point service above self? Or loving daughter? A dependable friend? Nothing was told except that she did not act like before. Like how before?
  By the way, no doctor will allow test to be taken on children below a certain age without their guardian's consent. Taking a bone marrow test involved high-risk and extremly delicate surgery. It's not like a needle being insert
• AoisatanRoyal Road

  ★★★★ 4.0

  Ok so this is more an opinion than a review. Only read to ch7 but the whole viewpoint is a little too dreary for me. Also everyone seems to be angry. Not sad. Angry. Which feels a little out of place. If one or two characters were the angry type then ok, its their character. But if everyone is angry seems the whole world is angry its a bit jarring i guess.
  Sentence flow grammar and everything is superb though. Then again i guess its just preference. I usually read for escapism so....
• VolosRoyal Road

  ★★★★ 4.0

  As of Chapter 14.
  It’s refreshing to find both an actual tragedy and a romance that’s not also trying to be a comedy.  Further, it’s even more unusual to find one so well constructed, and from such a young author.  The grammar is easily within the top 10% of the site, with the occasional word substitutions being only mildly jarring.  As others have noted, the work drives hard towards both sorrow and despair.  For the most part it succeeds in this task, but there are concerns for those of us who struggle with the willful suspension of disbelief.
  First, it is quite evident that many scenes are overly simplified—either from the author’s own lack of experience, or for literary convenience (more often the later).  There is a clear teenage target audience, and I think the fiction excels within that expectation.  This leaves, however, some characters within one dimensional “foil” roles, and their behavior can be unbelievable to the point of pulling a reader out of the story.
  It should also be noted that the story is becoming more reliant on Christian themes and is likely to contain multiple conversion narratives by the conclusion.  I applaud the attempt at a difficult subject, and, as a Christian, I don’t find these sections objectionable. They did come off as a little heavy handed, however, and didn’t ring true to how discussions of faith pan out in the real world.  My hope would be that non-Christian readers would be able to read through these sections in pursuit of the deeper narrative, not drop the work out of hand.
  My only other concern is a desire to bring the story to a “happy” ending when it has the makings of a solid tragedy.  I believe it will be much more interesting for the other characters to sacrifice themselves for the main character, but that ultimately such sacrifice is fruitless and causes them material harm (if not religious and/or psychological gain).  For now, I will continue to follow the work in hopes of a clear resolution.
• ryxraldRoyal Road

  ★★★ 3.0

  Terminal explores several issues that are difficult to confront and accept in real life - terminal illness, dysfunctional family, losing close friends, and religion. Treating any of these issues  with the degree of gravity and thoughtfulness that it deserves on its own would be difficult enough, which makes this story a rather ambitious endeavor that the author should be applauded for taking on.
  Style
  The story is written from the main character Alyssa's perspective, which is effective in bringing the reader into her world and showing the reader how she thinks. However, this technique is not without its flaws here, particularly in highly emotional moments when Alyssa's mental state is less than stable, leading to a loss of coherence and a tendency to wallow in angst gratuitously. This may be the effect that the author is trying to achieve, giving the reader a close-up view of how someone in Alyssa's position feels and thinks, but it has to be done with care, without sacrificing the readability of the story. If this aspect of the writing could be strengthened, the use of first-person perspective here could be a powerful tool for exploring Alyssa's emotions.
  Rating: 3.5/5
  Story
  The plot consists mainly of Alyssa coping with the revelation that she has little time left to live, with subplots that deal with her relationship with her mother and her friends fleshing out the story more. I can appreciate the focus on interpersonal relationships here, as these are clearly important to Alyssa and are one of the huge themes that are being explored here. However, I did think that the transition between Alyssa dealing with her terminal illness and her relationship with her loved ones could have been developed further. As a reader, I was expecting that she would come to some form of resolution with regard to her illness before she started dealing with her relationships, even if that resolution was to ignore it altogether and go on with life. Instead, after chapter 8-9, she seems