The Uncertain Adventurer

Information

Status

Hiatus

Year

2022

Author

a.c.rockatansky

• Chapter 2 - An Interrupted Lesson
  Jun 15, 2022
• Chapter 1 - The Mysterious Stranger
  Jun 15, 2022

Reviews

Community Reviews(10)

• teloscientistRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Overall, I am just loving this story and the main character in it. I can't wait to see who she becomes.
  Story: I quickly felt that I understood the world in which the story takes place. It was familiar enough that I could place it but had enough variation that it was distinct. similarly, I have a good sense of the relationship between the characters, their family, friendships, and the overall context of the world.
  I am also intrigued by the magic system, which is very much branching and one-tracked so that your choices have real consequences. Especially the particular class that the MC chooses, which has immediately obvious social consequences, but promises a range of potential that will make for great storytelling.
  Style: The writing has the central feature that I care about most in a style which is that I am completely into the story and not the writing. The writing does not distract from the story because it is more flowery than is required, but it also doesn't distract from the story in that it is awkward and unwieldy. It does its job extremely well. there are moments when it even shines, but mostly it just leaves me pleased to be reading it.
  Character: I like the characters. This is extremely important to me personally. When I'm reading a story, if I don't like the characters, I'm not going to like the story. I might appreciate its cleverness or its worldbuilding or its evocativeness, but I'm not gonna like the story.
  I really like the main character and the sub-characters (so far 10 chapters in) and I am excited for the story to unfold. I can't wait for the next chapter, because I want to find out how the character develops. Specifically, this is a character who has historically been extraordinarily conventional and within the box who is stepping outside the box and needs to learn to own who she is. I am excited to go on that ride with her.
  Grammar: To be fair, I'm not much of a grammar freak. That said, when grammar is awkward or inappropriate, it always anno
• FaedrithUrosashiRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Style
  I've only read the first four chapters so far but I'm really impressed with A.C Romagnoli's command of the English language. The prose is elegant in that it doesn't bog the reader down in excessive descriptions yet the images painted on the mind's eye feel vivid and full. Romagnoli's skilled wordsmithing makes for delightful and fluid reading.
  Story
  I felt drawn into Rowena's story almost immediately. I'm very curious to learn more about the mysterious Heartstone event and see where the encounter with the mysterious stranger will take Ro and her companions. I'm also quite interested to learn more about this world, and about how the class and sigil system works- seems like an intriguingly unique approach.
  Grammar
  As I said before, I feel Romagnoli has a powerful command of English prose and so it's no surprise that I found zero grammatical issues caught my eye. Very well edited indeed!
  Characters
  I think this is where The Uncertain Adventurer really shines- in just four brief chapters, Rowena, Calla, Kieran, and even the secondary characters all feel very vivid and three-dimensional to me. They each have unique voices and mannerisms that make them feel interesting and real to me. I'm really looking forward to learning more about them and where this adventure will take them next. Hail! Further up and further in, A.C. Romagnoli!
• JEPayneRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  The story kicks off strong, drawing you in through the quality of the writing and the compelling characters. Tragedy strikes almost immediately and, through guilt and despair, sets the unwilling protagonist on a path she would never have wanted but felt compelled to follow all the same.
  Style - brilliant, professional prose. The pacing is perfectly measured, not too slow but not forcing the reader to drink from the fire hose of information either. The world is effectively built, it feels real and unique, more so than most other LitRPGs on rr.
  Story - poignant and tense. From the moment disaster strikes we follow the protagonist through her grief, trying to rationalise and move on while the people around her fall apart. The process is authentic and raw, and draws the reader in, emotionally hooking us before a drastic decision kicks the tension and tempo right up!
  Grammar - great! No issues I could see.
  Character - fantastic character development. I've mentioned it a few times but the emotions feel real and raw, the protagonist's masked pain and her attempts at coping through looking to the future, even though we know its a future she'll never see, feel poignant in a way that not many authors can achieve. The supporting cast all feel like real people with their own personalities and motivations rather than being foils for the protagonist or vehicles for exposition.
  I highly recommend everyone read this!
• MavTechRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Author does a wonderful job in just a handful of chapters introducing likeable characters and a magic system of classes, subclasses and skills.  Hints at a bigger picture are spiced throughout.  I look forward to catching up to the most recent chapters but wanted to say i really like this.  I will update the review when i'm caught up.  thanks to the Author.
• PlatypusTRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  This story had me in its clutches straight from the start. A unique world, a novel magic system, and excellent characters. The writing is silky smooth and is a joy to read.
  Style: I really enjoy the writing style. The author keeps things fresh, and there were several words I had to look up, but their use felt natural, not a rampaging thesaurus.
  Story: The story is excellent. There is some great world-building but it's tapered throughout the story so it is never overwhelming, or an info dump. The author makes great use of a tragedy and examines several realistic responses to grief.
  Grammar: The grammar is near perfect, and nothing jumped out at me or took me out of the story.
  Characters: This story really shines with the main character. Straight off the bat you get a feeling for who she is, and you start to care about her. Several of the side characters were also well done, and I look forward to seeing how they find their place in the story. Even the characters who are only there for a scene or two feel realistic rather than a placeholder or cardboard cutout that other writers fall back on.
  Overall, this has been a joy to read. I care about Ro, and I can't wait to find out what happens to her. I'm also addicted to the fantasy world that has been created and I want to find out more about it. This is definitely a story I want to see through to the end.
• Roof MonsterRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  This is a very strong start to a character driven novel that has a few LitRPG elements. The focus is on the young adult main character facing sudden uncertainty with her plan for life as tragedy strikes and even in four chapters the author has done a good job getting me to know Rowena.
  Grammar:
  Full marks as I didn't spot any errors.
  Style:
  Prose is natural and there's a good balance between world details, dialouge, and the main character's inner thoughts. I feel like I'm getting the complete picture of each scene and event.
  The only place that I think style could be stronger is at the inciting incident in chapter 2. The narration tells us the main character heard and felt an explosion instead of building from the confusion and moment by moment reaction of the MC into clarity. It's a place where changing the style a little would have helped support the mood of the story and cement at how disruptive this event is.
  Story:
  Each chapter feels like it serves a function and I feel like I can see places where the story will expand and explore the world. I like that there's a lot of social consiquences for the level system, and I feel like there's several conflicts brewing. System details hint at social implications for the stories classes which makes me interested to see what happens when the story moves from small village into larger settings.
  My only critism for story is that I was waiting for the four chapters to present me a conflict the main character adresses directly. As of yet, I feel they are a little reactive to events, and I'm ready to see her engage with these looming problems. I can see two or three different plot points that will almost certainly challenge her (no matter what she decides to do) so I'm ready to click chapter 5 and read about the main character grappling with what she really wants and what she needs to do (or sacrifice) to get it.
  Character score 5/5:
  There's a handful of characters introduced, with the main character's family and her best frie
• VyStarlitRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  The story has just kicked off and it does with a bang. We're introduced to Rowena and a world where class are something you get during the slection process at 16. Right away I liked how the class and subclass system is set up. It's very interestign and it sounds like there is even more worldbuilding to see. It made me very interested in the world.
  The story itself soon goes up a notch when things go sideways and a new mystery is int eh air. I'll definitely be reading on to see where things go.
• crowrush204Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  I feel like many LitRPG authors struggle with introducing the story, yet this one does it wonderfully. In many LitRPGs, the protagonist is already at a certain level or, for some reason, they never encountered the system. In the uncertain adventurer, the user can choose a class and subclass at the age of 16.
  The classes and subclasses are not particularly unique, but they're still thrilling to explore and go in-depth. We see familiar titles like assassin, magic-user, and warrior. They're generic for a reason, that being because they're good.
  Grammar-wise, there are no problems.
  I half-expected the system to be another "pick a class and get it" type, but even as our protagonist is picking her class, she experiences visions of the classes, which is engaging.
  The characters are very likable (some very dislikable) and realistic. It isn't entirely focused on the protagonist but also on other characters.
  Overall the story has made a superb set-up, and I'm excited to unravel the mystery of her brother's death.
• luda305Royal Road

  ★★★★ 4.0

  The start and premise is very strong but then once we get to the plot, things go odd.
  Basically, for one week a year, the stone that grants young adults their classes is activated. The protagonist has always dreamed of getting the merchant subclass. As the story begins, there is an unexplained explosion that kills the protagonist's young brother. Additionally, after the explosion, the magic stone has an unusual appearance that might be damage. (I phrase that specifically because it's never established where the explosion comes from and if the explosion damages the stone). A friend foolishly sneaks out to use the stone one night and goes into a coma for 5 days. The town council decides that no other eligible young adults will use the stone this year because it's dangerous.
  This is where it gets weird. The sister (who has an anger issue) is absolutely convinced with no evidence that the explosion was caused by a mysterious magic user they know was in town. This has been reported to the town council who are going through official channels to locate and question the man, but the sister says that isn't enough. She argues to the protagonist that she should gain a class not merchant related and go hunt the man down.
  Frankly, so far the plot screams witch hunt, a small community desperately seeking to find someone to blame for a tragedy. On top of that though, we have a promising merchant forgo all of her life plans based on little more than supposition. We'll see how that pans out, but I wouldn't be surprised if the moral is that angry teens make bad decisions that could hurt the rest of their life. Like the best real world metaphor I could think (though it's still rough) of would be tattooing a 9-11 memorial onto your face so that you'd never forget.
  In any event, the whole witch hunt is a very odd theme. I'm not sure whether that's intentional or unintentional. But the way it's currently set up, the story could end with (1) the magic user having nothing to do with the ex
• BedwigRoyal Road

  ★★★★ 3.5

  This story is written very well. Ther grammar is, as far as I can see, basically perfect. Everything is easy to understand. The writing flows smoothly.
  The characters are alright. The two, maybe three side characters sort of just...exist. They do things, and help the MC, but they don't feel like actual people, just cardboard figures that follow the MC around. The MC herself is a conflict. She's presented as mature, calm, and intellegent. So far, it's more like she's being taken care of by her background friends. She's focused on one singular goal, while ignoring many things.
  She is, in my opinion, unlikable, self-centered, and bosy. But there might be character progression later on.
  She chose a random class and subclass in a spur of the moment -though she did just lose her brother, so there's some wiggle room for that.
  But the class she chose is despised and mistrusted by all in her country, and she herself hates it. Then next is the usual 'I don't want to hurt anyone, so I will harm myself with bad choices' cliche, along with the 'secret super master living in her mind', and the 'I hate my past decisions, so I will now ignore the strengths of the choice I made'.
  The plot itself is interesting and has a good twist, though, and a conspiracy has just been revealed. So that'll be interesting to read.
  There is some worldbuilding, though limited, because MC and her friends are basically backwater village bumpkins learning of the wider world.