The Charlie Foxtrot Files

Information

Status

Hiatus

Year

2023

Author

Heliotrope

• Charlie Foxtrot And The Wrong Turn At Albuquerque
  Mar 19, 2023
• Charlie Foxtrot And The Dread Signal
  Mar 14, 2023
• Charlie Foxtrot And The Cast Shadow
  Mar 11, 2023
• Charlie Foxtrot And The Bear Witness
  Mar 8, 2023
• Charlie Foxtrot And Magick In Theory And Practice
  Mar 6, 2023
• Charlie Foxtrot And The Fight In The Dog
  Mar 5, 2023
• Charlie Foxtrot And The Rude Awakening
  Mar 5, 2023

Reviews

Community Reviews(6)

• LoneLeafRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I'm a bit out of my depth for comparisons with this title, but for anyone looking to dabble into the mind of teenage (magical) girls The Charlie Foxtrot Files is a witty, tongue-in-cheek adventure that shows great promise in these early chapters.
  The characters we've been introduced to are well-realized, emotionally resonant and an absolute treat to read with believable dialog, coherent thoughts and the right kind of dated references. Grammar and word choice are the perfect blend to convey the intellect of our active players while still retaining the largely light-hearted tone of more slice-of-life fictions; I'm looking forward to seeing emotions boiling over as things intensify narratively.
  The story itself is still in its opening act at the time of my review, the board is being set, players introduced and fantastical elements introduced. So far, I'm amazed at author Heliotrope's subtle deviation of our own mundane timeline and their attention to fine detail and consequence— both themes I suspect will play a central role in the developing narrative. And while the plot is kicking into motion I've realized, the characters alone are more than enough to drive the story and keep me hooked.
  Stylistically, I'm at a bit of a loss. I'm out of my depth and I'm having a great time reading. Reading Charlie Foxtrot is like discovering a new genre of music to me: its upbeat, fun and created in a completely different headspace than any I'm familiar with. I want to say there are elements of slice of life, intrigue, thriller and YA coming of age all mixed in there, but the sum of these parts that is this fiction is so much more than these components. Thus, I don't really know what I'd call it— other than a good time or a fun read.
• Righteous HamRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  A fun and surprisingly complex story about a young girl who discovers that magic may be real but it only seems to offer more complications to life.
  The prose is strong and the author demonstrates good technical writing ability having few if any spelling or grammar issues making the story a breeze to read through.
  The characterization of consistent and distinctive with both Charlie and Bentley having distinct voices and personalities.
  If you like magical girl stories give this one a shot and if you don't like magical girls stories, still give this one a shot as you'll find it's different enough from the genre conventions that it might just delight you.
• Tenacious TortoiseRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  The world of Charlie Foxtrot explores questions common to all of us, through the eyes of a young teen girl. The setting is believable, liberally sprinkled with sensory and historical details that make it come to life.
  Breadth of vocabulary and complexity of sentences mesh naturally with the way Charlie thinks. Chapters and characters are well-developed and suspenseful, leaving room for details to be revealed as the story progresses. The chapters seem like natural reflections of Charlie's feelings and thought-processing of each new development, and what it will mean for her and for the world to come. Readers can easily enter into the sense of adventure right along with Charlie!
• sirenensangRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  You ever want your sense of genre or convention just thrown out of the window wholesale? You're in for a treat, then, because i certainly witnessed a defenestration here with this unholy alt-history sci-fi / magical girl abomination.
  It is a beautiful monster, as well, for the style the author employs is realistic as well as whimsical in it's out-there-ness, the characters are witty and adorable as hell, and the alt-history elements come through just swimmingly, even for someone like me, who doesn't have a complete history in mind of... US space flight?? What???
  Yea this was definitely written by a nerd, for nerds, and never let them tell you that is something bad.
• touchmikeRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  An absolute blast so far. Certainly after magical girl gunslinger became such a letdown.
  The setting feels rich and ripe to explore, with worldbuilding sprinkled around by showing and not telling. I feel like the setting in the sixties allows for a good balance between being relatable for us nowadays and not having to handwave away all the complexities today's technologies would introduce to a secret society.
  The diction is fun, with an emotive point of view. Lots of outbursts, which made me have to reread a sentence or two.
  There's an interesting and unique twist to the magical girl powers.
  Finally, given that the alternate history setting so far seems decidedly political, I have hope the author includes some interesting bits around the influence of the magical girls on the global superpowers of the era. We'll see.
  Can't wait for more!
• CapaluchuRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  The stylized construction of this story is just amazing.  The voice the author gives this piece of fiction is so utterly unique.  It is like someone took a golden age science fiction story, mixed in a dose of steampunk swagger, and then wrapped that around a more modern trope.  Heliotrope is a very talented writer and a joy to read.