The Reluctant Ranger

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Five years ago, humanity learned they weren’t alone in the universe. Hopelessly outmatched, the Earth’s armies fell to the unending onslaught of the machine menace, The Sylan Empire.

When all hope seemed lost, a group of brave warriors emerged and fought back,holding the line against the coming doom.Teams of these warriors began to appear across the globe, fighting off the Sylan at every turn. They were not invincible and many of these Rangers lost their lives defending humanity from the invaders.Minneapolis had no Ranger team despite many incursions by the Sylan.

Nicole Hayes struggled to find her way after losing her parents in the last incursion, but a chance meeting at the annual Renaissance Faire set her on a different course.One she didn’t want, but would take up anyway, because if nothing else, it would give her inevitable death meaning.

She is The Reluctant Ranger.

What to expect:

Lots of sentai inspired action and a fair bit of violence and gore.

The Rangers don't always have clean wins and sometimes innocents pay the price for it.

Nicole is an openly gay woman so expect a WLW romance subplot.

The characters drive the story, so I try to give them time to shine outside their uniforms as well as within.

Nicole is not in a good place mentally at the start, give her time to find her footing.

Posting Schedule: Every Monday at 3pm Central Time

I have over 70 chapters drafted at the time chapter 1 is going live and I am doing a thorough edit pass before posting each of them. I plan to drop the first ten chapters fairly quickly, then scale back to ensure I can maintain the same level of quality hopefully though the end of the story. (Which I'm not even going to attempt to estimate, scope creep is already getting to me) I intend to keep a minimum of a ten chapter lead for those that support me on Patreon. (Though those chapters won't be as heavily edited as those going live for the public)

Cover art provided by the absolutely adorablePennytail!

[participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge]

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2024
Author: Pen Dragoon

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.7/ 5.0
Followers: 460
Views: 103,622

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(10)

A ProofreaderRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I mostly know Pen from their Worm fanfictions "Section 9" and "Inheritance",which I enjoyed thanks to the action and Yuri cuteness, so when I learned they made a Ranger story I decided to check it out. Suffice to say, I'm really enjoying it. The characters are likeable, and the action is good, the lore is interesting, and one of the main antagonists is an alien goth elf with an interesting motivation, which is nice.
That said, it is much darker than Power Rangers normally is allowed to be, with depictions of gore, massacres,child death, child abuse, p*dophilia, attempted *ape, bigotry, and a suicidal and depressed POV Character with self esteem issues akin to Taylor Hebert (Don't worry, the power of friendship (and Yuri) helps her get better)
But yeah, it's a great story, and I'm looking forward to reading more as it's uploaded.
AmestrisDuranRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I've been following this story since early access on Patreon, and I love to see it doing well here on Royal Road! I love the protagonists, the alien invasion plot is appropriately looming overhead, and the viewpoint character, Nicole, has a very toxic "friendship" with the alien general. The action goes hard, Nicole gets injured in fights, the mystery of where Ranger powers come from is compelling, and the prose is as fantastic as usual for Pendragoon!
LeoMadaraRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Found this story from the author's previous works and honestly this fic is well made and has an enticing plot with relatable characters. The author has a habit of ending on cliffhangers though, so if you hate those it might be a bit of a problem. Otherwise The Reluctant Ranger is a good story that's worth the read.
LokeErBest HDRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I'm not one for reviews so i'll make it quick.
i wasn't really feeling the first and second chapter but i had hope it would get better and i am so glad i stuck with that because this might be one of the best pieces of fiction i have ever read. especially the fight around chapter 30, it had me on the edge of my seat with my heart pounding.
not many fictions if not all fictions i have read over the years had made my heart beat so fast.
Qudos to you Author and thank you for this masterpeice!
LunarSongRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
much like the title says, I love it. it feels like Power Rangers but with.. more realism. I don't really have a whole lot to say but I do enjoy this story a lot. I really like how the focus group fantasy themed. What else? I'm excited for the overall future of this story. I really like Power Rangers so this story really appeals to me.
MyrmorRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
There are many reasons why I enjoy this story. The wonderful cast, the compelling worldbuilding, the engaging and rich story, and so much more. But I think the way this story stands out is in how masterfully it uses - and knows when not to rely on - tropes.
Tropes and other genre conventions can be a mixed blessing. They're popular for a reason, and the familiarity makes stories easier to get into and follow. However, if you rely on them too much then your story is going to end up lacking originality.
That is not the case with The Reluctant Ranger. The author uses them to better effect than I can recall seeing in any other story on Royal Road. Rather than falling back onto them for structure or substance, they're here to invite the reader in.
It's easy to grasp what's going on initially - there's an alien invasion, and Super Sentai-inspired heroes rise to fight them off. Clear villains, clear heroes, with an established dynamic everyone is at least passingly familiar with. Plenty of familiar concepts aid in getting into the story quickly.
But that's where the reliance on tropes end, and the very much original story begins. Because these heroes are still people, and they have their own lives and stories outside of their costumes. And the aliens? Well, they're no faceless, mindless force either. There's more to them than meets the eye too. The longer you read, the more you realize the depth and complexity of this story.
Each aspect of the story drew me further in, in their own ways. Nicole and Grace's personal journey, their path forward as Rangers, their relationships with the rest of their team, the wider story of the alien invasion that follows rules that seem to make no sense... I can't wait to see what happens next.
Style:
The story is written in a way that really pulls you in and makes you want to keep reading. It manages to be funny and heartwarming when it wants to, without taking away from the immense tragedies happening elsewhere in the story. It's just as g
ROTCEHRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This work stands out as an exceptional piece with an incredibly compelling protagonist and a meticulously crafted world. The author has skillfully created a universe that feels both immersive and engaging, making it easy for readers to lose themselves in the narrative. One of the strongest aspects of this work is the author’s consistency and dedication to updating the story, which is done at a steady pace, ensuring that fans are never left waiting too long for the next installment. This commitment to maintaining a regular update schedule is something that really sets the author apart and enhances the overall experience for the reader. I can wholeheartedly recommend this work to anyone looking for something new and exciting to dive into.
If I had to point out one downside, it would be that there’s never quite enough! Fans are always left wanting more, but that’s a sign of how gripping the story is. Fortunately, for those who can’t wait, there’s the option to support the author on Pat*eon for even more content.
In conclusion, this is an amazing work from a truly talented author. If you’re interested, I highly suggest searching for more of their fiction online. You won’t be disappointed!
SeriousBlueJewelRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
An interesting Gay as a rainbow ranger story, where the rangers are flawed people, as are the enemies. This story dives into the morality of each character and the more complicated reality of colorful heroes in this world, where not every ranger is good, and not every enemy is evil. With a good portion of the cast having complex shades of grey.
ShyMaskRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Great story, I love the pacing done by pen dragon here, the chapters feel grea, they have long and meaningful insights into Nicole life, i just wished more of there dynamics are shown, but you should give it a read! I haven't seen much but 11 pages in and I'm hooked, I'm sure they'll be more of them anyway.
Spiffy PandaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Not only gay as in woman loving woman characters, but the characters have lived the American gay experience.
It is clear the author knows what the queer community is like in the US and represents it well. This does include the darker parts, especially in the beginning.
The Ranger side is also feels right, with the biggest oddity being the teams theming being very targeted at Tabletop ~~and Tablebottom~~ fans, more then corporate overloads would normally lean.
Two critics:
- no Casscadia Rep, we have the most trans people per capita in the US. We are also very non-monogamous. Give us a shout out.
- I got a letter from the marketing department that says it needs more toys and accessories. They said they will make a "redeco of an pony apple farm truck" if their demands are not met.