The Gunsmith of Avengard [Progression Fantasy]

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

In the wake of a roiling continental conflict, refugee Scipio Kalataunus finds himself enlisted for Avengard's war effort. As a bid to fuel his ambition of someday becoming a master mason and building his own masterpiece, he enlists in the far-off War College of Engineering as a Sapper. The war, ever hungry, comes to a head as the Empire of Sevisk and its dragonriders conquer Avengard, turning Scipio's sister into yet another prisoner.

Scipio invents a deadly new weapon with the help of an Exiled God, deserts the War College, and joins an unlikely band of adventurers as they make their way back to the broken city of Avengard so that he may find his family and save his loved ones -- or die trying.

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2024
Author: Ptolemis, the Bard

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 5.0/ 5.0
Followers: 41
Views: 10,406

Chapters(18 total)

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(6)

AustenKeatsRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This story starts off relatively calmly, presenting characters that are easy to connect with. The calmness is abruptly shattered by an intense development that thrusts the characters into a rapidly changing world. The world has elements of beauty intermingled with destruction and even despair. The style, story, and characters are all excellent, and I am commenting on each below.
Style: The prose is well-written and conveys the rich detail of the world and characters. It flows smoothly and is a good balance of description and dialogue. It brings the reader in and is very immersive.
Grammar: I found no issues here.
Story: The story appears quite deep even from the first word. It is clear that the author spent a lot of time imagining and creating this world. The narrative and pacing keep the reader engaged.
Characters: This was my favorite part of the story. The feeling for the characters enriched the narrative and gave a great sense of meaning to the events. The characters interacted realistically with each other and their interactions helped to elucidate more and more about each one.
Overall, this is a great start to a promising work. I would recommend to any fans of war/military fantasy and just fantasy in general.
TheCrimsonEclipseRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This story has a really immersive world with a rich history and a strong sense of atmosphere. The main character’s journey is intriguing, and I enjoyed how the setting of Avengard is brought to life through the descriptions of cathedrals, masonry, and the overall city. The detailed world-building, especially the focus on architecture, gives the story a unique angle. The interactions between characters feel genuine, and there's a nice balance between dialogue and inner thoughts.
I liked how the story blends a mix of personal stakes, such as the main character’s grief over his mother, with the larger-scale conflicts like the war and the mysterious powers that surround the city. The introduction of characters like Delmar adds depth, and there are some touching moments of camaraderie throughout.
That said, some parts can feel a bit dense for some people with the long passages of history and backstory. It's interesting, but at times it slows down the narrative. However, as I said, I love that kind of stuff and the author does such a great job explaining things that to me it didn't cause much issue if any at all.
Overall, I think readers who enjoy richly detailed fantasy worlds with a lot of lore will appreciate this. The use of magic, religion, and the theme of loss woven through the story keeps it engaging, and I’m curious to see how it all plays out in future chapters!
emmmeeeseRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Honestly, this story was extremely fun to read. I started it as a review but I do intend to keep reading as it is one of the better on this site, I believe.
The style and grammar were great. I honestly love the author's writing style and many of their choices in telling the story: specifically their use of scene vs summary. This is a very fast-paced story, with the passage of time also progressing extremely quickly, but it is done well with the author knowing they do not have to show the reader every single scene in between all of the 'important' moments.
This story had a fantastic beginning. The author managed to garner sympathy of Scipio, the MC, and establish his goals in just one sentence within the first chapter. It feels like every sentence mattered.
The worldbuilding of this story is fantastic. You can tell that much thought went into every aspect of the world. The author knows how to use their world to set up suspense and tension for the rest of the story. I especially liked the mystery of the Lady of Loss.
That being said, however, I do think the story's overall character work was a little weak. Many of the side characters feel like caricatures, but it could also be because I am writing this review very early on into the story. There is definitely potential. Our main character, Scipio, while sympathetic, is also very narratively distant which I thought was interesting but does make it hard to flesh him out, especially as time is moving so fast in this story. Sometimes it felt as though the internal conflict vs external conflict were extremely distant from each other. Again, this is very early on into the story and I can tell that the author has great plans for these character arcs.
Overall, this was a great read and I would highly recommend to any fantasy lover out there!
longwindedone1Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This review comes after reading the first seven chapters of The Gunsmith of Avengard. I apologize for any spoilers.
Story:
This story follows a refugee and MC, Scipio, as he navigates life in the city of Avengard. After the destruction of his hometown he and his family seek refuge in various cathedrals. As the city prepares for war, Scipio has a desire to build something meaningful. The city is attacked by some "Seviskian" forces (including the dragon, Ignisclaw). There are some really tough decisions that the MC has to make about his mother's illness.
Style:
The story explores themes of loss and morality. The overall tone is fairly somber, told in first person point of view (from Scipio's POV). But if you read the story, you can totally get why. It is fitting. This is not a comedy or a romance. It is a survival tale in the truest sense.
Grammar:
I don't tend to capture mistakes of grammar and punctuation unless they are drastic, as I consume my Royal Road stories using the audio function from the app. That said, I didn't notice anything that took me out of the story while listening.
Characters:
I've mentioned the MC already. In addition to Scipio, there is Isidora (who takes care of their mom). There are a few people in Avengard that are mentioned: Javis (a master mason), Kirshka (an herbalist, Nyx (the mage who defends the city from the dragon), and Delmar (a man the MC meets after the dragon attack). There is also Ignisclaw, the dragon. Some of the best parts of this book are either based on a characters' love of another character OR in a character's defense of the city. I particularly liked the magical elements of the confrontation between Nyx and Ignisclaw. 5/5 Do recommend!
sarkovinyRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I love the story so far! I'm a big fan of the "usual" fantasy series that you'd expect from a normal book store, things like The Witcher, or Mistborn, The Name of the Wind, and I think this story fits that same mold, and I can't wait for it to develop more and eventually finish and go through edits eventually.
The story's basically about the MC discovering gunsmithing, basically, and having to deal with the sort of responsibility that comes with. I like how he's sort of like the guy who invented dynamite irl...or maybe Oppenheimer.
The prose itself is well-done, with a good rhythm to each sentence and a fair balance between exposition and action. You get to immerse yourself into the world through the prose, and so it's a light read even if the story's heavy on plot and characters.
What I probably like the most about the story is how it builds up big scenes...each chapter has a punchiness to it, and each chapter serves to either build up big set pieces down the line, or to deliver on those promises and serve up a scene that's just action-packed, meaningful and enjoyable. It's like the binge-read-iness of a usual Netflix story, but also the pay-offs that you'd expect from a normal fantasy novel.
Kudos! Would definitely recommend.
sumikkoberlinerRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Ptolemis is an amazing storyteller. It's easy to feel the magic, violence, and uncertainty that the characters experience through the story's extremely visual scenes and dialogues. There is the right amount of build up in each chapter that keeps you wanting more. Can't wait for the next chapters to be released.