The Pillar of Enera

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Eight youths leave the arctic to explore Enera, a world where the planet's fractured crust floats in the sky. They join other adventurers on the Isle of Dreams hoping to one day be inscribed on the Wall of Legends. While mastering martial arts and magic, they must discover who they are, fend off assassins, and prevent another Dark Age.

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** Enera combines the martial arts and immortals of cultivators stories, the adventuring and dungeons of litrpg novels, and the overarching battle against dark gods of western fantasy. It’s a world which has been twisted for the amusement of a voyeuristic god.

** The story of Enera’s second dark age is told through multiple perspectives, in the style of Game of Thrones. The first book, The Pillar of Enera, is fully published. The second book, the Claws of Kaygren, is being released.

** Updates on Monday and Friday, 6PM eastern time.

Cover art by Sarah Fernandes:https://sarahfernandes.artstation.com/

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2022
Author: Eric Vanderlip

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.6/ 5.0
Followers: 1,691
Views: 805,285

Chapters(290 total)

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(10)

drewhead118Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Wide is the gulf sometimes between web-novels and, well, "novel" novels... The Pillar of Enera feels the most book-like of any story I've yet read on this website, and I mean that in all the best of ways. The scale is grand, the style is unique and authoritative, and though the gears of the main story have only just begun to turn by the point I write this review from, there's ample promise of a sweeping, sprawling narrative that would fit right into the wider canon of epic fantasy.
A word of warning to the casual reader: the beginning portions of the story are very information-dense and expository. James Islingon's Licaneus Trilogy is the first similar work that comes to mind; similarly rich world, and a host of immortals shaping the world through crisis and beyond (although it's my understanding that this is also a staple of the cultivation subgenre, which I've never read any of).
To get to the score breakdowns:
Style: Strong writing and authoritative voice across the board. My one and only gripe is the heavy use of italics for frequent in-line character thoughts and a single character's dialogue. It makes it sometimes unclear who spoke or thought what line, and the amount of character thoughts might be a little higher than I'd like. That being said, the writing style was otherwise unimpeachable.
Grammar score: The writing was great from a mechanical standpoint. No flagrant errors, tense issues, or even sloppy-yet-correct writing. Everything here is clearly presented and economically desribed. What the author accomplished in 5 chapters here might have taken 10 chapters from a less experienced writer.
Story score: Rich worldbuilding, intricate politics, and that's not even to mention the really fun concept of the HEAVENLY DAO... I'd wager this author had three books' worth of planning docs and outlines, or they're one hell of an improviser. Readers who are used to fast-paced plot advancement might bristle at the depth of information, but fortunately, I'm not one of
Ink_PitRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Most fun I've had reading on this site in a long time.
Didn't expect a competent ensemble cast, much less one filled with compelling characters.
It's not often I pick a story up and think: "damn, somebody knows how to write," But this author definitely came out with something highly original and well constructed.
Highly recommend checking this out.
IslandwriterRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
You ever read a book and think, "Man that idea could have been done better," then started thinking about all the cool things you probably would have done in that system? Well this book is likely the cool things you've thought of!
Being a ninja in a magical world? Done. Only having talent in one attribute so you got to push that thing to its limit? Done. Reading the future and knowing everything before its done? Done. "Being a necromancy with such control that you don't need to eat, or sleep? Done
I could go on, but you get the point.
What an absolute blast of a read! Getting to know each character felt like opening a present, and learning about the world felt like an experience! Just the small part I've read has hooked me.
Character: We get introduced to a lot of characters in the first few chapters, but it never feels overwhelming. On the contrary I wanted more! Each person was interesting and well written.
Grammer: Not the best with grammer, but from what I've seen nothing blaring stands out. Solid work.
Style: The pacing is great, and the humor and emotion come out well!
Story: The point in the story im at feels like a hurricane of puzzle pieces waiting to show their potential. As any amazing work of fiction should feel like as it's reving up. Honestly just read it. That's the best advice I can give to accurately convey my thoughts on the story.
Final thoughts: I agree with the chorus that sing this works praises.
JusttryingtofindawayRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This story is a delight to read. The worldbuilding is well thought out, and there's some large info-dumps in the first few chapters that really let the author expand on the larger setting without detracting from the introduction of all the main characters. Well done.
Style: Its written in the third person as per usual for the site. The use of italics is an interesting choice to say the least, however my one gripe is that Simon speaks in italics while everyone else thinkgs in itealics. Its a stylistic choice, but one that is slightly jarring. Otherwise its perfect.
Story: As I said before there's a few info dumps. Originally I didn't like the whole "Heavenly Dao" is God thing but once it was explained I began to grow more curious and interested. It's a far better take than any other story I've read that contains a "Dao" style progression system.
Grammar: Fantastic. Perhaps only one error within the first nine chapters is insanely high quality for RR
Character: While their names might be simple, the characters themselves are not. By switching POV's and showing some of them individually the reader is able to get a real sense of each character. I look forward to seeing more of them. (Wise is the best!)
KanecaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Fantastic storytelling. Getting better and better. So many characters and plot threads and various powers that I have no idea how the author manages to keep it all straight. But they do. There's no plot holes or oversights that I've noticed. It's well written and exciting. It's high quality story telling.
TheMadProfessorRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Style: The use of language is very well balanced and easy to read and follow as you progress with the story. A lot of the information is given in dialogue which is nice to avoid info dumps and run on paragraphs which is nice.
Story: Conversations were excellently written and everyone has their own voice to differentiate them from others. And you want to know what happens next with the characters in the story. The world is also fleshed out with thought given to the lore to help influence how characters would react to the situation in a natural way
Grammar: I couldn’t find any major grammar issues that needed to be addressed. The use of language was well done and really helped to give the writing a voice that makes you appreciate being along for the ride.
Character: Excellent cast. The major characters were presented in a way that made them feel believable and grounded. Without going into details and spoilers, Simon is my favorite character and I loved how his introduction scene did so much to set the story and give it life with little effort.
Conclusion: Absolutely a wonderful read, and cannot recommend it enough. This is an amazing story.
ash-saltzmanRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Overall: It is a story that start pulls you in an makes you immersed in the world from the first chapter. If you are intrested in a story with intresting concepts, amazing world building, and diverse characters, this is the story.
Style: The style is one includes switching between multiple diffrent pov and reciving entering into the persons thoughts. This switching diffrent pov's can can require some figureing out sometimes after you switch to a new pov. This however is minor and with some context clues you can figure out whose pov you are in.
Story: Has parts that are very intresting consepts as well as somethings that are familar that make the story intresting and compelling from the start. An exsample of an intresting consept is the main god The HEAVENLY DAO which is one that I have never seen before and which acts are dictated by the fact that the more people belive and wonder about things the more those things come true. Where as one of the more familiar concepts, is one of which you have children with mysterous origins.
Grammar:Everything looked good and read even better.
Character: The characters are all diffrent and intresting in there own ways. They are all young children that were trapped in the artic and were trained into skilled warriors. These living conditions and training all caused them to develop very diffrent from eachother. This causes you to have a diverse and intresting cast, and pared with being able to see there pov leads to feeling more engrossed in and connect to the characters on a deeper level.
HarryTheGreatRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Even though I am only at Chapter 5, I feel like I have an expansive knowledge of the world and the origins of every character (thus far).
I already want an in-depth prequel of "The Fracture" and the rise of our hero group! This might be touched on later on in this novel too. Again, I am only at Chapter 5 so far.
This style is unique to the other books I have read here, I like that the sections are labeled as the POV they are coming from, that helps a reader to keep everything straight. I enjoy the inner monologue we get from each character as scenes are played out. We get honest thoughts and feedback about what is happening. It is written beautifully and fluidly. The characters and their motivations make perfect sense.
Grammar is excellent, I couldn't find one single mistake, although I was so immersed in the story I'm sure I was devouring it too quickly to catch any mistake if there even is one. I am also really enjoying the vocabulary, making me think and even look up new things I have never come across before, (I.E. a chimera)
The story is imaginative and also touches on many things that we fantasy lovers know of, and puts it all together in a new exciting way. The concept of the heavenly DAO was incredibly useful for the story to have a higher power above all of the heroes - and villains - in the story. It reminds me of the Oribos section of World of Warcraft. It brings the balance of good and evil in the world. This book begins with a clear mission from the start and sets us up for what I am SURE will be a thrilling adventure.
Characters are plentiful! I enjoy how unique each one is, and the writer explains each personality and motivation very clearly from the beginning. It was slightly overwhelming when all were introduced at once, I reread the introduction of the children 2 more times to be able to keep them all sorted in my mind. I really enjoyed how we get introduced to our first major villain in the story. I am really curious to keep reading to see how our
LuapRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
It scratches an itch for xianxia and magic while providing such an interesting story. The way the perspectives switch feels so natural and allows the characters room to grow and become more personal. It’s in my top two novels and it’s not number two. Book One had me entranced from beginning to end with Book Two currently doing the same. I love seeing all the threads of a story weave together and this story takes this concept and runs with it so well. Truly a diamond in the rough, sat down and read it for like a solid 6-7 days in between my free time because it just kept drawing me back in.
Maou RazonicaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Story: I absolutely love the world building that has gone into this, it feels very unique, and yet familliar.
In particular, it has the common trope of a God-like figure that has near absolute power, and a penchant for entertaining themself, which results in many shenanigans.
As should be obvious, that is a blatant plot device. Not something I typically enjoy. However, what I can say is that the way it is executed here actually incorporates it in a way that doesn't make me roll my eyes out of the convenient excuse to move the plot along. Which it is still is very convenient, don't get me wrong, but not in a way that feels forced and is instead organic.
Character: To start off with, the story bites off a bit more than it can reasonably chew in such short time, making it hard to keep up with all the introductions, however there were some clever workarounds in order to make it more managable that I do appreciate. Particularly with the character's naming, and the reasoning for it.
The setup for the characters and their backstories are all so varied and unique, and I find that each of them would make for a compelling main character of their own.... Which brings me to style.
Style: The dreaded multiple character lead tag. Now, here's the thing, with plenty of stories, I also do roll my eyes whenever I see the dreadful "Interlude" sign hanging over a chapter. That's because it often feels like a necessity, an info-dump perhaps, and it's probably all the more jarring with first person POVs because the interludes typically switch to 3rd person, but that one's beside the point.
In this story, the change in perspective isn't just a necessity, but it's the very premise, and as such great care have been put into it.
Give it a chance. Like I said, most of the main characters that get a PoV are charismatic enough to hold a series of their own, the concept behind them complex enough to be explored.
Grammar: It's fine, does its job. Eloquent enough for me to think the sentence struc