The Nature of Predators

Information

Status

Hiatus

Year

2022

Author

SpacePaladin15

• Chapter 144
  Aug 23, 2023
• Chapter 143
  Aug 19, 2023
• Chapter 142
  Aug 16, 2023
• Chapter 141
  Aug 12, 2023
• Chapter 140
  Aug 9, 2023
• Chapter 139
  Aug 5, 2023
• Chapter 138
  Aug 2, 2023
• Chapter 137
  Jul 29, 2023
• Chapter 136
  Jul 26, 2023
• Chapter 135
  Jul 22, 2023
• Chapter 134
  Jul 19, 2023
• Chapter 133
  Jul 15, 2023
• Chapter 132
  Jul 12, 2023
• Chapter 131
  Jul 8, 2023
• Chapter 130
  Jul 5, 2023
• Chapter 129
  Jul 1, 2023
• Chapter 128
  Jun 28, 2023
• Chapter 127
  Jun 24, 2023
• Chapter 126
  Jun 21, 2023
• Chapter 125
  Jun 17, 2023

Reviews

Community Reviews(10)

• AlanharhaRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  This story gets all of the normal parts of the HFY feel, but at the same time it is grounded and realistic. It's a wonderful story with a rich concept and worldbuilding that has encouraged a sizable literary universe to spring up around it, with somewhere around 90 fanfics/side stories existing, with varying levels of compliance to the canon. As someone who is actually writing one of those fanfics, I am of course incrediably biased in favor of this story, but let's go through each of the different aspects of it and I shall try to share my opinions and any gripes that I may have.
  Style:
  Personally, I think that this is one of the more complicated sections due to the way that the story is presented, with the chapters written as memory transcripts from certain characters. This ties into the character score, but one of the ways that it suffers on its own is that it enforces a first-person PoV, which I personally find somewhat difficult and it heightens the misconceptions that some of the aliens have to the point that it starts to feel tiresome.
  Story:
  Given that the premise and execution was entertaining enough to spawn several dozen fan stories, it's safe to say that this is an area that is excelled in. Some things occasionally feel like they move to quickly, although the story doesn't necessarily suffer for it. One of the defining features has been that the political antics are more realistic than the standard HFY story, and with how bureacracy can be, I am especially glad that pacing of events was treated a bit more loosely.
  Grammer:
  the grammer of this story is flawless. that is all that I feel I have to say.
  Characters:
  As was stated in the style section, some of the characters suffer somewhat from the first-person point of view, but it isn't too detracting. The author has excelled in writing characters that you start out not liking ,and then either giving them a truly wonderful redemption and make you really like them, or managing to make them fall even farther do
• Gandalf_StormcrowRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I first read this story on Reddit. It's awesome.
  The eventual payoff that the aliens' fear is built on a lie is very rewarding.
  Worth giving a try. There are a bunch of deriative works on Reddit as well, some of which are pretty good.
  The aliens are all inspired by terrestrial lifeforms, which is necessary for the story's premise. I do wonder how throwing a silicon-based lifeform into the mix would affect things, but that's not the point of the story. Overall the story seems to support conservation of ecological diversity, and highlights the absurdity of extreme control methods. Space combat is pretty straightforward, no game-breaking weapons have shown up yet. The author keeps a pretty tight focus, which is good in this flavor of stroy.
• Unwitting BystanderRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I've always wanted a well thought out, methodical exploration of the, 'what if WE are the scary ones when first contact happens?' and this story does an amazing job of flexing out that concept. Every time I think, 'wow these aliens aren't written very well, why would they do that?' the story circles back around to some cultural conspiracy or biological tomfoolery that perfectly fills in what I thought of as plot holes or out of character actions.
• AnorielRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Hi there!
  To put it simply, this is a well written story, with tridimensional believable characters and an actual well built universe. Their actions and line of thought reflects their life experiences as well as the society they're born and raised into, and then, something that defies the commom sense of their society as a whole (Hint: Humanity) happen.
  Dont be mistaken by the early chapters, this isn't some power fantasy where humanity is overpowered and "if brute force didin't solve a problem, its because you're not using enough of it" nor is it a comedy of alliens being bewildered by Humanity antics, like most first contact Sci-fi histories out there. But yes, humanity will be shaking the galaxy.
  And when I say believable characters I mean it. As an example, you won't see rambo-like characters facing certain death with a grin. You will see soldiers, aware of what they sighned for and making peace with their life decisions. You'll see both politicians that actually care, and those that dont making hard decisions that impact the lives of billions. And most of all, you'll see people looking at their own personal morals, and acting on them. You may not agree with them, but you'll undestand them. You'll see a universe that isn't black and white, but shades of gray. Because yes, as a fellow sapient and sentient being, you probably already realised that life is messy, tragedy happens, feelings matter, and daring to hope and fight for a better future is aways worth it.
  So If you're looking for realistic non-human sapient characters with a far differently view on the universe, this is a story for you. If you ever think that the universe portrayed isn't realistic and I'm just trolling, well...
  Little rant bellow, only read if you're not sure its worth a read. It is, in way, a "spoiler", but a really soft one.
  Thanks for reading \o/
  Was kinda sad to see so many early reviews throwing this one under the bus, my impression was that they were looking for a power fantasy like s
• TheInkedTailRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I loved this story, it does a great job of painting the big picture through the senses and thoughts of individuals. I also think its really cool how the story is never told from the humans' POV, only the other species. The author did very well portraying prey species and I felt like I was able to visualize everything vividly.
  I have to say my favorite characters were Sovlin, Onso, and Slanek. It sort of sucks what happened to some of the characters in the end, but life isn't always good, so it's accurate in that sense. In the end I'm glad I found this and finished it, because it's something ill probably come back to read.
  There are some parts that make you question, "oh, that doesn't make any sense," or "why would they do that?" You just have to remember that its a fiction, one set in the future too. Overall, it tells a great story from many angles with many different view points. You should at least read through the first few chapters before you try go pass on it.
  I'd like to personally thank the author, because this got me into reading and I'm even making my own stories now.
• TFD123Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Out of all the space opera fictions I have read, this is the only one to make my chest physically ache with empathy.
  The characters are among the very best the genre has to offer, and the way the author writes them makes them seem so real, with their own clearly defined ambitions and flaws. Most crucially, the characters can and do make serious mistakes that don't come with a clean resolution, and which haunt them for the rest of their lives.
  The setting is also interesting, with near infinite potential for future stories and spin-offs. The space and ground battles are well written, and do a good job of selling why humans and those who become our allies are a force to be reckoned with.
  The final point I will raise is the way the author portrays society-wide acts of violence and repression, which I thought was done in a very grown-up and responsible way. Added to that are multiple disruptive and dangerous technologies which are introduced as the series progresses, that mix to result in no end of moral dilemmas which will keep invested readers up at night.
• GreyMattersRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Absolutely loved this series! As with any good story, the worldbuilding is compelling and the character chemistry is on point. What sets this apart from a lot of other works, however is the complex and in depth focus it has on the implications of its world building and themes presented.
  My respect and thanks to the author for such a good story! I will be sure to follow it to its completion.
• BuenoSama9494Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I have been reading the story as a guest and previously I readed on Reddit. It's by far the best original work I ever came across and I can guarantee you I don't read few of those. The characters fell human to a degree I never thought it could be acheived, but you did it. I'm currently on chapter 49 so spoilers advised. In the first chapters, I loved how Tarva though that smiling was a threatening gesture. I loved how aliens saw the simulations of humans getting wasted in a fight and their opinions were completely different to the Chinese and American generals. I love how believable captain Kalsim beliefs were. That's how you make superstructure. It was so realistic! I didn't like, however, that Sovlin had a redemption. Dying with his hatred seemed more believable to me, but doesn't change the fact that this is top tier writing.
• ColossalRendersRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  One of the most successful series on r/HFY, and for good reason. A bit overhyped, if you ask me, but certainly not a bad story: very bingeable, with wide and varied plotlines that are mostly consistent in quality. Theres an entire decently sized community surrounding this work on Reddit.
  It’s no literary masterpiece but it’s a solid work with solid entertainment value.
• AmazingNK2080Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  The humans are not ridiculously overpower and actually have personality. The aliens are cute and have they own role, unlike others hfy stories where alien are just for plots convienent and dumb as f.uck. And I really love the interaction between the humans and the aliens, it just so adorable!