The Verdant Sun

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Xan Rais loves his life as a sailor. The ship he serves on is his home, and the crew are his family. As far as he is concerned, life is great!

But then a cruel twist of fate finds him washed ashore on a distant continent with nothing but the clothes on his back. Bereft of everything and everyone he once held dear, Xan must now find a new home and a new purpose. But first, he has to repay his debt to Taika, the young woman who saved him from freezing to death.

Their travels take them to the port city of Vaimea, where a series of chance encounters leads to Xan becoming the captain of a brand new kind of airship. It’s a thrilling life, to be sure – especially as he begins to unravel the mystery that led to him to getting stranded on that beach in the first place.

Follow the crew of the Verdant Sun as they adventure across the world of Garadana!

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New chapters get released every Tuesday and Friday at 9:00am MDT! Comments, reviews, and constructive criticism are all deeply appreciated. Please do not repost my work elsewhere without my written permission.

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Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2022
Author: Nicole Urban

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.3/ 5.0
Followers: 39
Views: 23,409

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(3)

Florian HannemannRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I really enjoyed the story so far. There are only four chapters out at the moment of this review, but I can't wait to see how the story keeps going.
I found the first chapter a little too slow for my taste, parts of the second as well. The characters weren't really shining in the beginning but somewhere around the thrid chapter I found myself deeply interested in Xan, his past and what the future will bring. The same goes for Taika.
The author has a nice way of writing, not too descriptive but with enough detail to paint the scenes vividly. The dialogue is done well and never really felt forced. Readers will also get introduced into the world slowly, without any big info dumb going on. I quite liked that.
All in all I it's a great story so far. A bit slow in the beginning, especially compared to some of the others fiction on this side, but that's all taste and preference. The cover could also be a bit more eyecatching, but that again is taste.
The writing is good, the story interesting and the characters believable. I hope the author will keep going like that!
greylyRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Edit: Since the writing of this review, the author has updated their story, so this review might not be the most accurate!
As of this review only 4 chapters have been released, but The Verdant Sun already shows a lot of potential through its strong writing and well rounded approach to its story, characters, and worldbuilding. If you're looking for a classic fantasy adventure, I definitely recommend giving this a try!
Style: The style strikes a perfect balance between having detailed descriptions and remaining straightforward. It never becomes excessively complicated or difficult to follow, but is also complex enough to paint a clear picture of the world. I found myself breezing through the chapters thanks to how clean and engaging the prose is.
Grammar: I didn't notice any major errors; this gets an easy 5/5 stars.
Story: We're still in the beginning stages of the story, and right now story beats are in the process of being introduced. The story hints we do have, however, are interesting and contribute to the worldbuilding. The only real complaint I have is that there doesn't seem to be an overall goal tying everything together yet, so I'm not sure which story thread is the most important. It feels like different pieces are being presented, but we don't yet know what the larger puzzle is. Seeing as this story is still just beginning, however, it's not a big enough issue for me to give below 5 stars.
Characters: This is also difficult to judge so early on. That being said, the dialogue is strong and the characters behave consistently. Taika is currently probably the strongest character; we know the most about her motivations, and her personality is very clear. Xan, on the other hand, is a bit more ambiguous. There's a lot of mystery surrounding him, which I enjoy, but it does mean that it's difficult to judge what kind of person he is. Even in Chapter 4 I felt like I was learning new parts of his personality. This is a somewhat unusual, but interesting approach to ch
CapwallcroftRoyal Road
★★★★ 3.5
A fiction that earns the notion of high fantasy, the Verdant sun appears to be a fiction bustling with promise and amazement.
At the time in which I write this review, there really isn't much in terms of chapters however I will note this is fiction with a lot of potential. The story starts out heavy and is slow, worldbuilding fashioning a highly developed and intricate landscape around the reader at a fast pace, however with a professional writing style, little to no grammatical errors and a potent underlying, the story make this an interesting tale. Following the travels of Xen, Taika and the mystery of the Ember Sangm Wild spirits and Xen's background one can infer that there is a careful and articulate plot waiting to be uncovered. I am a big fan of sky ships I must say and to be honest the creatures in this remind me of the golden compass with a blend of wheel of time. Naturally, the introduction of magic and the mysterious and alluring Verdan show there is much more to be disclosed. Xen's introduction, tiny details and the flurry of dialogue and beautiful imagery used throughout the fiction portray its potent style. I like the overall nature and generally most aspects. The story can seem a little dry at times,yet opens up with a firm underlying and good description for instance the game with Dogan, and the appearance of the snake. I will note the chapters so far are mainly build and it takes the appearance of something that is not a normal cheap fiction or fast-paced endeavour but a story that will divulge into more. The travelling and description aspects remind me much of the Wheel of Time which should be a compliment to the writer.
Now I'm going, to be honest, here there isn't much to review, only four chapters. We're seeing a world fashioned before our eyes and from what I see so far I have no semblance of doubt within my mind that this is worth a read!
Check it out!
Seems good!