The Virtue of Sin

Information

Status

Hiatus

Year

2023

Author

Golden Idun

• Chapter 3 - Lerenda
  Jan 19, 2023
• Chapter 2 - The Sight
  Jan 18, 2023
• Chapter 1 - Family Traditions
  Jan 17, 2023
• Prologue - The Little Imp
  Jan 17, 2023

Reviews

Community Reviews(3)

• Kanishka K. SinghRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  If not that, then what else can we call a story in which a father pushes his son into a world filled with magical beings?
  Jokes aside, the story does promise a magical world, ready for the exploration of the reader. The prologue is gripping, keeping you edge with every para. And though this thrilling experience does peter down for a couple of chapters, that is just the way of stories. To enjoy any experience, one needs a base, a knowledge, and an understanding what is happening. The author does that excellently, using the mundane experiences of the mc to build a base for him, and his environment, before pushing him into the world of magical, and fantastical beings. Literally.
  Coming towards the magic system, so far, it looks like the magic system is a mix between an inheritable, and an acquired system. There is mana. There are familiars(most probably). There are Unliving. And there are faes, and spirits. There are obviously going to some mages, and spells. And the prologue hints at some rather dark, and sinister magery(is that a word? If not, then it should be).
  The Style of the story is good, and consistent, matching with the tone set in the beginning. It still needs a bit of polishing though to make the sentences flow together with each other a bit better. On a similar note, except for some minor punctuation errors, which can be taken as a part of the story's style itself, there are not many grammatical errors.
  Unfortunately, this review is a bit early, so I cannot say much about the characters except that they are consisted up to this point, and do not feel like puppets. There is much room for their growth, which I eagerly anticipate to see. On a side note, I found one of the characters in the prologue to be more likeable than the mc. I like characters with flaws. The greater the flaws, the greater their room for growth is, after all. But hey, that's my personal preference. Don't let it influence yours.
  All in all, the story has a good start, and a great potentia
• Kali NaoRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  I have enjoyed reading "The Virtue of Sin" so far and am looking forward to reading more of it. The Prologue is a fantastic hook, carried hard by endearing little imp Kree, and I hope we can spend more time with him soon. The language is colourful and creative, if sometimes a bit indulgent. The main story is working for me, and I always love a creative magical system where powers are simultaneously limited to a domain of magic (a particular spirit to bond with) while also allowing a lot of problem-solving creativity in how those powers can be used. I am looking forward to seeing where this magic system goes in subsequent chapters.
  My only issue, so far, is with the MC himself. At this point, I have not figured out the actual motivation or drive of this character. So far, he feels more like an empty vessel ready to be filled by the calling of an adventure. I simply hope the calling comes quickly.
  Otherwise, I'm excited to see which parts of the lore get further development in subsequent chapters. There is a lot that has already been hinted at in the first few chapters, and provided that pacing and character agency can be maintained, I believe it will be a well written story and a fantastic read.
• TavrasRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  Three-word initial impression — Lively, ancient and magical
  “I find.” His father said, clapping his hands onto Amon’s shoulders, “A push helps.” as he shoved Amon headfirst into the pool of water.
  Style
  Idun uses very descriptive, flowery prose. It is genuinely beautiful, and paints an almost magical image even of the more normal elements in the story. We get some characterful proverbs such as “a Cherub’s chance in Hell” that show how thoroughly this world is drenched in Idun’s style.
  I had to dig deep to find any negative points, but I did find some. Sometimes there were a few too many adverbs and adjectives in one sentence. Except for this, across the board the cadence is great. Sometimes things get repeated, a turn of phrase gets used twice, a thing that’s already been mentioned gets brought up again.
  These are minor flaws and are easily fixed with just one round of proofreading and editing. These minor flaws dissipate visibly as the story goes on. Which, given that so far we’ve only got four chapters, is quite impressive.
  Story
  First off, let’s tackle the prologue. The story of the imp Kree is engaging, but I missed a motivation. The prose was strong enough to keep me reading, and so was the characterisation, but I can imagine that for others a narrative hook early on is really needed.
  That said, the description of the demon is amazing. Like the prose, it feels unique, yet typically fantastical. The story is written almost more as a fairytale than as fantasy, and I think that works in its favour here, creating a unique yet familiar feeling.
  This is less present in the story itself, which starts off in a small human city. I think that contrast shows Idun’s range as a writer well. The pacing is quite slow for a RR story, but not so slow that it becomes bothersome, and God, is it rewarding! After just a prologue and one chapter, Idun drops a twist that will get you hooked for volumes upon volumes. The strength here lies in the delivery, the time taken and the caref