The Book of Spite

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

In Numera, where mages serve as either weapons or tradespeople, children are tested between the ages of 15 and 18 for magic aptitude. If they're able to use mana, they're bundled off to the capital, where they receive a mandatory education from the kingdom's academy and an illustrious, if narrowly tailored, career in service of the king. Zeek, a troublesome orphan raised by the village herbalist, arrives at the testing ceremony with no expectations other than a wasted afternoon and the remote chance of a celebratory feast. But when it comes time for his test, things begin to go awry, and no one but Zeek is able to see the bizarre result.

This is a story about a boy, born with magic, who gets swept up in a dangerous mystery going back to a legendary age of lost magic. Follow him as he uncovers long-lost secrets, becomes embroiled in politics, and learns a type of magecraft thought to be nothing more than myth.

Hello and thank you for taking the time to read my story. I've been a long-time fan of fantasy, both indie and published. I found this site after binging Legendary Moonlight Sculptor a few years ago. Now I want to try writing something of my own. Feedback and criticism is very welcome. That said, here is a more detailed explanation of what I hope to write.

Main Character: Intelligent, rational, brash from age, and, eventually, tempered by the experiences you'll read about.

Tone: Mystery, adventure, and action as the story builds. I really like books that let people speculate about what will happen.There will be comedic elements, but that won't be the focus. There will be fighting and death, but it won't be written gruesomely.

Story: I want to write this till the end. A pet peeve of mine are diversions from the main story. I'll try my best to make sure every chapter has relevance to the plot. That said, I have a few arcs in mind and each will take time to tell fully. I most enjoy stories that lead up to a moment you remember, and leave you satisfied.

What you will not find in this book:

1. Harems

2. Magic without rules

3. Endless side quests

4. Slice of life

5. Sexual assault

6. Gore

Updates Monday-Wednesday-Friday (Subject to extra chapters when real life permits)

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2022
Author: Stifled

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.5/ 5.0
Followers: 130
Views: 30,050

Chapters(29 total)

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(4)

BentRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The story is off to a good start after the first 9 chapters on the first day. It paints a coherent picture of a fantasy world where the lives and education of mages are controlled by an authoritarian state. But the main character, Zeek, has come into possession of the mysterious "Book of Spite" which has its own training program that works much more effectively than the country's official system, so he must also learn to keep his special abilities secret in an environment that may be hostile. The story is well told and the characters have depth. I look forward to following Zeek's development and his uncovering of mysterious secrets.
hovenRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
So the story is still in its early stages. The main character is a bit of a trouble maker (though not a malevolent one) who tests postive for magic. He comes into possession of a magic book that gives him alternative training. Worldbuilding, progression fantasy, and conspiracies ensue.
If that sounds fairly generic then you have probably read a lot stories on this site. However what makes this one really good is that it has that certain "something" that just makes things click.
The characters have a depth to them, as does the world. Things work a bit differently but it all makes sense within the context of the fantasy realm we are taken too. Characters and Institutions ring true. The characters thus far continue to surprise me and force me to care about them, leading to 5/5 character story.
No one seems one dimensional and though it plays with a lot of common tropes it doesn't feel bound by them I get a fair amount of pleasure treading down a familar narrative structure while still not knowing how its going to play out but trusting the author to continue to do a good job of it. So far the main character has an advanced method of using spells that seems theoretically superior to the normally used methods. However we haven't seen a hint of power fantasy wish fullfillment, instead we get an exciting conspiracy story with a stronger emphasis on social interaction, observation, and cleverness when working with incomplete information. The story is still developing and seems quite promising 5/5.
Style wise the author has excellent flow, the story is easy to read and he is great at showing rather than telling. There is enough information given to see things vividly and every chapter does a wonderful job developing an atmosphere with a distintive energy fitting the situation. 4.5/5
I normally don't care too much about grammar as long as problems aren't egregious so it is entirely possible that I missed something, however I noticed no problems with the grammer in t
nzswc3iRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
Without being too much spoilery, this seems to be a post-collapse kind of story, with our mc (and his companions) trying to figure who/what he is, and what happened to the country. And there's a book with a strong character.
All information about the collapse is being actively removed, and information about the world before is passed as legends/fantaisy or actively removed. Our mc appears to be extremly linked to the pre-collapse world.
The grammar and style are good. It reads nicely. Nothing much to add, other than it's on the better side of things.
The world is nicely introduced and seems fleshed-out. The story has almost immediatly a purpose (albeit one quite vague for now, tho it's a very strong driving factor for our mc).
The initial setup (what caused the mc to encounter some of the secondary cast) of the story is pretty far-fetched a rely a lot on coincidences/luck. (this is not a positive nor a negative, simply a statement). It does not bother me much if it stays at the initial stages, so as to get the story started, but if it continues or re-appears later it might get a bit annoying. (there's still a lot of unknown and possibilities for upsets, but the mc has a bit more knowledge and the ability to act now).
The secondary cast of character is overall correct. Outside a few defining traits (think dnd alignment + a short backstory), there isn't much. Yet (hopefully). But for now it gets the job done.
Overall, I'm glad I stumbled upon this story, and I'm waiting for more of it!
FlamingFalconRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
It's a pretty good story. Well built world with good descriptive imagery.
Enjoyable character interaction.
and I'm looking forward to there being more to read.
It's not quite long enough for me to quite discern a true rating, as that will depend on how the novel progresses, it's got a good amount of options through the mystery developed. And also the greater world surrounding where they are as well as the depths of magic as it is portrayed.