The Clockwork World: The Alloy of Time (A Steampunk Progression Fantasy Novel)

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Dellen Northcote reachednearthe apex of his craft as an Aetherforged.

Even a master miscalculates at times, and when Dellen does so while forging the Alloy of Time, it sends him into his own past, before he began his Aetherforged ascent.

Now, he's trapped in a time loop that sees Copperopolis, his home, destroyed. Armed with only fractured memories of hisfuture, Dellen must begin his journey anew,re-learningto master Electrical Aether, and reclaim what he lost.

Posting Schedule: 1 chapter, M-W-F. Currently operating off of a 100-chapter backlog.

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2023
Author: scrivenerlex

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.6/ 5.0
Followers: 198
Views: 78,488

Chapters(103 total)

What readers say about The Clockwork World: The Alloy of Time (A Steampunk Progression Fantasy Novel)

“This is steampunk that borrows some of the trappings of Cultivation. The body is improved with steelskin, the mind with a Thought Engine, and the Qi is replaced with Aether. The Story: it starts with a genuinely atmospheric forging scene where Dellan tries…”
CardinalRRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“Okay, I’m going to out myself as oblivious here, but I went into this story thinking it was called The Alloy of Time, and I was enjoying my ride through the first chapter with all the references to exotic metals, mysterious energies, and arcane techniques.…”
J.DrudeRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

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Community Reviews(6)

CardinalRRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is steampunk that borrows some of the trappings of Cultivation. The body is improved with steelskin, the mind with a Thought Engine, and the Qi is replaced with Aether.
The Story: it starts with a genuinely atmospheric forging scene where Dellan tries and fails to forge himself, drops us into the Refinery onto a mountain of dead mechanical limbs and bodies, then escapes into Dellan's own past in the cog city of Copperopolis. He's supposed to right some unspecified mistake.
Dellan's challenges begin immediately as he's lost all of his old enhancements, his memories of the past are scrambled due to the loss of his Thought Engine, he's inherited a destitute noble house due to his father's death. Fortunately, he's accompanied by Gilgamesh, a clockwork construct loosely analogous to a Guardian Amgel who didn't intend to go back to Earth with his charge, who assists him in his quest to become Aetherforged.
A week later, Dellan dies, falling on a cog into a chasm amidst exploding airships. Then he comes back, because he still hasn't fixed that mistake, and this is also a time loop story.
Characters: Dellan is very believable as the sort of master craftsman who's exploring his work anew thanks to memory loss. He's logical about hiding his memory loss and acquiring the knowledge he needs.
Personally, I liked Gilgamesh. He's a great 'straight man' for Dellan's scientific approach to iterative testing the time loop. They've got great banter. Here's a taste:
Dellan: "Can I manipulate the time loop?”
“Stop right there,” Gilgamesh said. “You can’t even sense Chronometric Aether. You sound like a three-year-old who thinks they can do calculus.”
Style: It's rare for me to praise this on a Royal Road story, but this story has really good prose. Rich description that sets the scene without veering into purple. Pacing and characterization that could honestly be traditionally published.
Grammar: Excellent.
J.DrudeRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Okay, I’m going to out myself as oblivious here, but I went into this story thinking it was called The Alloy of Time, and I was enjoying my ride through the first chapter with all the references to exotic metals, mysterious energies, and arcane techniques. The author knows how to paint a picture and draw you in without drowning you in new terms or names of places too. The exposition was natural as can be.
Then when I made it to chapter 2 and scrivenerlex started to describe the city to me...
There was this moment where I sat back in my chair and processed things for a bit, and I said to myself: “Wow, are we some kind of clockwork world right now?”
Only as I started typing this review did I see the full title and realize.
This is a time loop story that takes the concepts of cultivation and progression in a cool direction.
The MC is a smart guy, and he handles the amnesia and disorientation of being forcefully stripped of centuries of knowledge and stuffed back into his old body logically. The man pretty much has to figure out his entire life again with the added fun of having to figure out the mistake he made that brought him back to this time in his life.
Refreshingly, he doesn’t have to face the challenge alone. He’s got a clockwork buddy that followed him from outside the timestream, and said buddy is not particularly happy to be there.
All in all, Clockwork World: The Alloy of Time was well worth my time. It’s different and imaginative, and it earned my Follow.
afm242Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
New to this genre I did not expect to be drawn into The Alloy of Time and Dellan’s story so quickly. At least for me, I found the story refreshing and different from other fantasy that I’ve read before. Copperopolis and the concept of a clockwork world is fascinating and provide an intriguing backdrop for this time loop story. The author succeeds at keeping the reader engaged and eagerly awaiting the next chapter.
lost_scribeRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I started reading Alloy of Time based on a friend's recommendation. The concept is fascinating - a Clockwork world where people can effectively upgrade themselves and arguably evolve by becoming aether-forged, converting flesh and bone into a stronger/better alchemical anatomy based on their particular affinity. But that is not the heart of the story, it is merely the starting point.
From the beginning I found the story intriguing. By the time I was two chapters in I absolutely had to know what came next.
The author's world building is thorough and it is clear that a lot of thought went into how the world would function and by what rules. The level of detail is balanced, being neither excessive nor filler, but allowing the reader to see a vivid and detailed picture of the story in the mind's eye.
From the author's summary, the main character - Dellen - is an aether-forged, who as a result of some unknown error made while forging the alloy of time, has gone back into his past where he must fix an unknown wrong or error that he may or may not have caused. Dellen is stuck in a time loop until he fixes it... or doesn't. The time loop is finite, but of unknown duration and Dellen is left without his upgrades, his knowledge and the memories of his experiences and history. Will he have enough time to rediscover forging, identify the problem to be fixed and do so before the time loop ends? I don't know, but I need to.
Dellen approaches his situation methodically and logically, although sometimes his choices are dictated by a logic that only makes sense after the fact. The dialogue is well written, and the banter between characters is most often clever.
I have devoured every chapter posted to date, and I'm fully invested in Dellen solving the problem, ending the time Loop and seeing what becomes of him after. The only problem is waiting for the author to get us there. But I am absolutely along for the ride.
ShyBoyRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
despite the fact that in 45 chapters we still don't know that much about the loop. Or most main plot-lines. There's just too much fun in all the things that we get instead, so, in no particular order, let's list at least some:
1. Dellen and Gilgamesh' dynamic. The main duo is quite interesting, Gil is grounded, where Dellen's crazy-rushed. Dellen's a gritty visionaire, who moves forward persistently, while Gil would move only after several (hundreds of) checks were made. Their conversation are really nicely woven into a narrative and I liked the flow from the start.
2. The fall. Dellen's a former master, now incredibly weakened, who pretty much lost all the knowledge (which is nicely explained, for a change) he had, along with the power he posessed. This makes him learn along us, or us alonside him, rather.
3. The premise, that even masters miscalculate. True, and thanks for having a fallible MC. Too rare, these days.
4. THE SETTING. OMG, THE SETTING. Let me put it in bold: COPPEROPOLIS STEALS THE SHOW. When descriptions are made, they are slick and vivid enough, visceral enough to even feel like you see this, very nearly are there.
Summarising:
Flawless grammar (5).
I love the main duo and side characters are easy to grasp. And, TBH, so far are quite distinct - while shallow: no depth seen in nearly anyone, perhaps Lady Victoria escapes that. Both sentences ring true despite side characters numbering already around 20. Verdict: 4,5.
Style relies on descriptions and these WORK SPLENDIDLY. 5. Quasi Victorian era blends seamlessly with steampunk. Adding Aether-infused cultivation with alloys and clockworks just makes the blend tastier. We don't shift POVs, there're no interludes, we stick with Dellen all the time, and interestingly Gil even sometimes has to step away.
Story: weakest link so far (3). This is actually an EARLY REVIEW, for a lot now hinges on the mystery. 45 chapters in, so pacing... look at yourself and do better. Factions begin to be drawn, however ev
hiraeth.wrtRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
A debut well worth your time.
The Alloy of Time is a cultivation time-loop drama set in a steampunk, clockwork world that paints its scenery so well it’s almost tangible. It’s a unique setting that oozes flavor with every new setpiece, and the author’s attention to detail bleeds down into the most meticulous minutiae, like the central city’s commutes have varying times due to the clockwork motion of the districts. But most importantly, none of this detail is ham-fistedly shoved to you in purple prose or needless exposition. It’s lovingly built up a piece at a time through the lens of Dellen, a driven and socially clever amnesiac noble who races headfirst into investigating the nuances of the time loop he’s trapped in.
To spoil nothing of Alloy’s plot or surprises, I found the quick pacing to be gripping, the dialogue enjoyable, the story to be rife with good twists, and the prose a very strong mix of clever writing that doesn’t get lost in its own sauce. Not to mention, it’s all bundled in a wholly unique world that you can truly tell the author has spent their time thinking about- and one whose unique elements develop very organically.
The only reason I give Alloy of Time a 4.5 instead of a 5 is the scattering of minor typos and the middling first chapter. First impressions are always important in fiction, and I personally found the first chapter to be a bit of a turn-off to an otherwise excellent tale. If you’re passing by this story at a glimpse, I heavily recommend reading at least through the second chapter. That’s when it really sunk its teeth in for me.