The Bear - First chronicle of the Children of the Bear

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Bryn Grey-bear is a monster of a man who always gets what he wants. In the midst of changing times in the nation of Valhym, Bryn's influence grows from a bandit to be feared to a legacy that has the potential to change the entire world of En. In this first chronicle of his family and legacy, the Bear builds his home and wicked roots dig deep into Valhym's icy soil. The world shivers in anticipation as Lyra Bryndottr and Fenrin Brynson are born. After all ill begets ill and the children of the Bear are destined to clash. See last part for a map of the World of En.

Please note the content warnings. Marked for graphic violence, sexual content, abuse, and torture.

Story can also be found on Wattpad.

Information

Status: Completed
Year: 2020
Author: Ladylibrary

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.5/ 5.0
Followers: 41
Views: 34,057

Reviews

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Community Reviews(3)

SilentRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This review is my first review so bear with me. :)
Character Score - 5 of 5 -So far I have read the first two books of The Bear and I must say I am quite stunned mainly due to the fact how evil and vile the Protagonists of these books are. If you are reading the book because of the Anti-hero tag, then you should still read the book but don't expect a real anti-hero, it is more so that the main character s are just so evil that they would only at some point play a hero so they can gain something in return. That said the Characters are in my opinion the strong suit of the books since they feel way over the top evil but the author still manages to make them seem believable, which Is just due to good character writing. And if you at some point question yourself why an author would write such evil Protagonists then just take a look at the Author's Bio.
Story Score - 4 of 5 - The weakest point of the Book is the Story in itself not due to the lack of action or anything like that more on the point that it is just really really fast-paced and so much stuff happens in an extremely short amount of time.
Grammar Score - 4,5 - I suck at Grammar, and I am not perfectly fluent, so I am nowhere to judge anyone, but I think that the Grammar is perfectly fine and I have not found many mistakes.
Overall - 4,5 of 5 - Overall even though the Author states that the Books started as a writing exercise turned serious the Book is definitely worth a read and one of the more enjoyable reads on RR with a variety of Leads who will all make you root for their enemies.
Jacob A ZuckerRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
"The Bear" takes the notion of an anti-hero to heart. There are very few redeeming qualities for Bryn. I was reminded of Toblakai from Malazan if anyone is familiar with the character. I haven't read enough of "The Bear" to know if Bryn will undergo a similar arc where he develops past pure bloodlust.
Style: The writing is great. No complaints there. It reads well, and it's easy to follow.
Grammar: Minor typos. Again, no real issues.
Story: The pace of the story is close to breakneck. It moves fast, which is completely fine if that's to your taste. For me, I find it doesn't give as much time for the characters to breathe and develop as I would have liked. It definitely feels like the plot is priliveged over the characters. Also, I was mildly disturbed by a particular scene involving beating a child so take the author's content warnings to heart.
Characters: I feel the characters are what is holding the story back a little bit. Especially Dyla. The meek, obedient wife is frankly quite frustrating in an otherwise compelling story. I hope she progresses further in the coming chapters (there's definitely hints that she will).
"The Bear" is a good story. Bryn is that mix of vile and (somehow) principled, that makes for an interesting anti-hero. The plot is set up well and I expect a lot of action and drama in the coming chapters.
SubmersedMushroomRoyal Road
★★★ 2.5
Well written, well thought out, but has little sense to it. Glosses over too many things, performs mental magic to hand-wave actual magic. Nothing has been explored, and Lyra is a false human playing as the cliche rebellious child. Fenrin is the, once again, cliche whipped dog who wants control. Bryn seems to have forgotten his original set of morals. His leaving behind of one child for the other makes no sense no matter his reason. Passion is here, but is not well put. The overuse of cliches gives no nuance, as you can predict character actions.
The synopsis seems to imply a cohesive Bryn, leaves a man whoes actions terribly vary. Bryn rules by might, but is not mighty enough to do much else than fight. A true cliche tyrant, who removes any charcter as soon as the author loses focus on him.