The Light Fanatics

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

The late Duke Alexios de Vaillant left behind more than grief. He left behind secrets. In a world where day and night hang on the swing of a cosmic Pendulum, one dinner party unravels everything House de Vaillant thought it knew. A conspiracy threading through dragon cults, vampire lords, and religious revolution, and an unsettling truth: the man they mourned may never have been the man they believed him to be. Now his widow must hold the family together. His sons must reckon with a faith built on incomplete foundations. His adopted daughter must decide what loyalty means when blood was never the thing that bound her. Together, they'll face down immortals, institutions, and the growing suspicion that every alliance comes at a price nobody's read yet. The Light Fanaticsis a complete literary fantasy trilogy adapted from an actual tabletop RPG campaign. The narrator editorialises and the footnotes have opinions. The plans work brilliantly until they absolutely don't. Content note:Some subplots engage with autonomy, power dynamics, parental neglect, and religious institutional coercion. These are treated with weight and inform character development rather than serving as spectacle.

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2025
Author: A_Morningstar

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.8/ 5.0
Followers: 57
Views: 20,017

Chapters(93 total)

What readers say about The Light Fanatics

“This author is helped me a ton on my own work, and their expertise extends to their own work—even in their earlier chapters. The characters feel real, the story feels full & the little attentions to detail that make writing human are there. There is a stark…”
A.X.RawlinsRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“This was a fun read, and I love the idea of a story built around a family working to help each other. A_Morningstar builds a very detailed mystery detective story involving politics, plots, and dungeon portals. The actions, settings, and characters are rich…”
Bards on the MarginsRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

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Community Reviews(10)

A.X.RawlinsRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This author is helped me a ton on my own work, and their expertise extends to their own work—even in their earlier chapters. The characters feel real, the story feels full & the little attentions to detail that make writing human are there. There is a stark difference between this & a great deal of what I have read on RR. I plan to leave a longer review in the near future, but if you are looking for a new read for now, let this be the push that convinces you to try it!
Bards on the MarginsRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This was a fun read, and I love the idea of a story built around a family working to help each other.
A_Morningstar builds a very detailed mystery detective story involving politics, plots, and dungeon portals. The actions, settings, and characters are rich with details and hinting at future possibilities and machinations. I was left after each chapter wanting to read further not only to find out what the possibilities were, but how the family team was going to pull together to figure them out.
The grammar is impeccable with well crafted vocabulary.
The story and world is intriguing and nuanced. It has a lot to chew on for those that love a good fantasy mystery.
The characters are fun and distinct bringing their own clear voice and personality to the narrative.
I docked a mark on style though because the writing is dense with a lot of characters to keep track of. This can be a positive for some as there is a lot here to exercise the grey matter with, it is long, but never slow. I never found myself bored, but always eager to learn more. Unfortunately I have a memory of a goldfish so it was hard for me to track of the cast, and I know I'll have a real problem when callbacks come into play later on.
All in all, a very well written story with a lot of puzzle pieces being moved into place by lots of fun characters. Definitely worth your time reading, you just may need to take notes.
Ceron NightsbaneRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
A few chapters in i first have to point out the author paints a great picture with their words and i love the little tidbits of information added in the story. It gives it a nice depth to the world building.So far in the reading the character introductions are in depth and the little insights offer a bit of depth to everyone introduced. I am very much looking forward to reading more chapters and getting deeper into this world the author is painting.
Cynthia DawnRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Overall:This is extremely well written and well thought out story. It is clear the author has spent a lot of time focusing on portraying complex characters, a stunning world that captures the imagination, and weaving a story of deep political intrigue. While it takes a little bit to get into the story, once there, you don't want to leave. The immersion is total and complete.Style:The author has made some bold choices in the style of this story, but it absolutely works. The In the Beginning chapter paints a stunning picture to get the reader started, and while it might be considered an info dump, it most definitely invites wonder and curiosity. The pull out quotes scattered throughout also bring some useful aside information and a humorous tone to the story.Story:This story follows a noble family in a fantasy of dragons, heroes, and adventurers that's from a RPG game, which I have not played, but I'm definitely more curious about now. The author does a specular job of writing in a way that brings the characters and world alive, using description that makes me feel I'm right there in the story. The story itself follows the de Vaillant family political hijinks and discovering long buried secrets that have been hiding in their very home for years.Grammar:The text is clean, crisp, and nothing glaring that popped out to me.Character:The characters in this story are absolutely incredible. Laila is by far my favorite. She is a true puppet master. Nothing gets by her, and she is very much the queen of her home and city, even if not in name. Her children are also well done with clear characteristics that individuate them and makes each an intricate part of the story. The author does an amazing job at introducing a character and quickly giving the reader everything they need to know about them with in a short period of time, but does it in a way that seems natural and fluid. I do think though that some chapters are a little heavy with maybe introducing too many characters at o
D.P. GurbalovRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is really fun to read. The voice is witty and confident, and the world feels super lived-in.
Also, I think I identified several legit hook moments (baby Brand, the egg theft, the dragon attack, the public curse). Those are strong.
But chapters feel a tad bit too long because it keeps starting over. The time jumps make it read like multiple prologues glued together, so the story momentum resets every few pages.
If you want this to land harder, pick one opener (egg heist OR baby curse OR Isabella’s adoption) and let that be the launch point. Then go straight into the present and sprinkle the other timeline stuff later. Also consider trimming about half the asides and saving them for lower-stakes moments, because they are great.
This is just my personal opinion as an author on the very few things one might improve, and I might be wrong, of course, so feel free to disregard my comment.
Drew RoystonRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
If you are looking for an epic fantasy then this is for you. This is not the usual throwaway fare that you often find on this site. Come to this expecting something that reads and feels like a traditionally published fantasy and you won’t be disappointed.
Come to this expecting a measured buildup and rich worldbuilding and you won’t be disappointed. And what a world it is. It is incredibly rich with multiple species, numerous characters, and different regions hinted at. Magic is prevalent without it taking over. The Light Fanatics is set in an Alexander Dumas fantasy France (it even hints at “The Man in the Iron Mask”). It really works as a setting and it leans into the D’Artagnan world of political and church intrigue.
Style: This story is explicitly a novel that writes up sessions of an RPG game. As long as you understand that everything clicks into place. To be clear, that does not mean that it’s not a well written story though. The PoV shifts between characters, but that just gives us an insight into different people. To be clear though it’s done well. Within individual scenes you stick with one person so it’s technically very well executed. There are asides in the story in the form of footnotes that help to deepen the understanding of the world. Metaphors and similes are used frequently. Sentence length varies. All very strong. 4.5/5
Story: This is a story with layers and layers of intrigue. That is much of the point. Pretty much everyone has secrets and the unraveling of those is where the story takes you. At the heart of it is Laila the Matriach who it trying to hold her unruly family, and her husbands legacy together again constantly shifting ememies. For me one of the most interesting thing about this story is how so much of it revolves around the husband that died before the story even begins. The ripples of what they had done and their death are still being felt years later. Really well done. 4/5
Grammar: I’m no expert in this but I didn’t notice any majo
Elaie RossRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
okay first thing first the amazing ideas:
A Mechanical Universe (The Orrery)
" The idea that the universe is a mechanical universe and the way that you explain it is freakig flawless the day and night (the Pendulum) can't wait to write like you"
is it liking the heroes are fighting you? I mean you, the author.?
I liked the world telling like
Most saw it as an "overambitious chandelier" and "Here Be Inconvenience"
also, I liked (Agony vs. Ecstasy) Replacing a standard sun/moon cycle with a mirror reflecting Agony and Ecstasy was a brilliant idea💡
as I'm reading, I got hook up often yet,
it was bit overwhelming for me as normal reader it might be a normal for those who are on another level but for me, I was flood with info from the world building it might be because it is working like counter of my I idea of Mysterious world XD however it might be worth noting as you said before about your project.
and I was lost a little bit in the beginning because I was searching for someone as it was like God is telling us the rules of the world yet at the end, I like it.
I have critical point
with all of this info in the Prologue is it okay if someone skipped it? I see it as very important
and it is easy to be skilled as I was planning to do but I was geeking so what do you think of that point?
The pacing the pacing the pacing, I've repeated three times because I was saying it while reading it is very-well defined by your skills I can see years of experience flooding from my monitor so there's nothing worth noting on it just keep it like!!
specially the paragraph about the chestnut vendors is pure and clear atmosphere. It gives Pharelle as a city that is opportunistic and alive
small details that give a lot to me as reader
and for the protagonist Max I loved the way that you showed his personality and prospective making him see the fire as toy
about the Aeloria the queen interrupting the Ceremony
here's something weird happened I felt like this supposed to happened afterwords ...
Eternauta86Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The voice of the author is distinct, witty, and charming. Footnotes (or in this case, side-notes) add world-building and dry humor in a clever way and make the reading experience very entertaining with a meta-narrative device.The world-building is imaginative and grand. The concept of the Orrery, the Pendulum swinging between Agony and Ecstasy, and a world governed by "narrative convention" is a fantastic hook. The prose is polished and flows well, balancing the high-concept fantasy elements with a grounded, cynical humor that keeps it from taking itself too seriously.The Prologue and Chapter 1 cover a lot of ground: decades of history, births, wars, and ceremonies. Because of this, it feels a bit "zoomed out" at first. We are watching history unfold from a high vantage point (much like the gods mentioned).While this allows for an epic scope right out of the gate, I am eager for the story to slow down its timeline so we can get deeper into the heads of characters like Isabella/Ondine and Aurora. The writing is so strong that I want to linger in the scenes longer!The initial chapters are a sophisticated, cleverly written start to what promises to be a unique fantasy epic. The fairy tale retelling vibes mixed with a world aware of its own "Story" nature is an original and winning combination.
IncredibleCockroachRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I played Lambert, the family chaplain and cleric of Invictus.This work has not only been accurate to the characters that we played in the original campaign but also adds elements that weren't present our game that enhance their characterisation and the story at large. Noticing these changes has made for a delightful read as I reminisce about what happened and experience new additions for the first time.It also serves as a great introduction to the world of Eidolon (just as it was mine!) drip-feeding the unique elements of this setting that make it so engaging.The prose is excellent, the action is described just as I imagined it, and the over-arching plot is especially thrilling.I hope first time readers feel just as I did when I was part of the game!
JamesDonnyTRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
With a great initial hook - a family discovering that there's more going on around them than they were aware of - compelling characters, and a fascinating setting, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.The tensions that come from differing characters under varying influences, set against the family bonds that hold them together, also make for a great subplot as the story evolves.