To HelGate - The Legend of House Raithson

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Mikel Raithson is tossed into a world he's barely prepared for and he must first rely on his father's house retainers and then learn to stand alone to save his home, his family, and quite possibly his world. As a terrifying and mysterious disease ravages his family Mikel must make his way to the ancient and terrible rent in the world where all evil spills from - HelGate, in an effort to save his family, and as he'll find out, the entire world.

Ancient prophecies - Terrible Magic - Vicious Monsters - Lost CitiesMikel - Helsket - Calcifer - SylixThese are the names of heroes who have been and will be again, the saviors of more than nations or even worlds. Join them as they rush HelGate in an attempt to save Mikel's family before it's too late. Discover the secret source of Essentia and the deep workings of magic as Mikel learns of his true heritage and the folly that brought his bloodline low.

Will he survive? Will he be able to harness enough power to make an impact? Only time will tell.Join Mikel as he rushes HelGate and discovers how to save a world.

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2023
Author: Nick11179 (Nick Timm)

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.7/ 5.0
Followers: 49
Views: 22,463

Chapters(68 total)

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(10)

Bookman9Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
What an awesome start to an adventure that is helGate!
Story
Traditional Journey setting of recruiting more party members to tackle the end goal that is the HelGate itself. The story's pacing is very solid. There are no info dumps as the majority of the tidbits and background information are interwoven along with the point of interest's description.
Style
Transitions between scenes are smooth. Character dialogs are very real and believable. The scenes are also portrayed very beautifully with various lore surrounding them. Worldbuilding done in such a way has always been a great way to enrich various landscape descriptions.
Grammar
Perfection. I don't see any issues with it. Great job keeping it spotless.
Characters
The main protagonist is a strong-willed character who is not afraid to get his hands dirty. I am excited to see where this journey will bring him. Other characters are also very expressive with clear motivations and goals. There is no clear cut of black and white, so we may even see some characters that we initially thought to be a foe turned to be an ally in the future. Also, more bickers and banters between characters are welcomed. They are such a fun treat to read.
Keep up the great work!
C. M. ANTALRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Color me very pleasantly surprised...
I'm having a bit of trouble in how I'm starting this review because I would have a lot of praise to slather onto this, and it would come across as insincere I believe. But the truth is that I am very much impressed by the author's worldbuilding, prose, and character work as evidenced thus far into the story. Grade A stuff that shows a mature, confident writer that's got a great grasp on what he's planning to achieve with this story.
And I am here for it. Love the world so far, love the character dynamic - and the voices are wonderfully distinct and STRONG -, and even the hype starting up for this wonderful HelGate place of which people keep rambling about for eight chapters.
There are a few things relating to style that I would do differently and which I would normally comment on if I were beta-reading. But at the moment I'm enjoying the story quite a lot and, after the third chapter, I've pretty much dropped the pretense of looking for issues and just enjoyed the story.
If this were out as an ebook or an audiobook, I'm pretty certain I'd have bought it from the sample alone.
I'm really happy to be sharing a niche with this author and will be reading on as chapters accumulate.
If you want some strong fantasy with excellent world building and characters that will leap off the page, I don't believe you can go wrong with this one.
DarkodiaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I liked the how much work the author put into the immersive world-building and all the descriptions that painted a well-written picture of the setting and characters. The dialogue felt natural and flowed well, capturing the dynamic between Mikel and Helsket convincingly. Additionally, the hints of mystery and intrigue surrounding the expedition to HelGate added depth to the plot, leaving me on the edge of my seats. Furthermore, the underlying tension and sense of urgency surrounding Mikel's mission to find a cure for his father added depth to the plot, making it compelling and engaging. The story sets up an intriguing atmosphere right from the start, drawing you into this gritty, dark world with vivid descriptions and mysterious characters. The looming threat of danger and the sense of impending conflict keeps the tension high, making you eager to find out what will happen next. The blend of mystery, humor, and action also keeps the plot moving forward, leaving the reader excited to read more about it. Additionally, the descriptions of the maps and the history of The Continent add depth to the world-building, making it feel vibrant and alive. Overall, it's a captivating story that leaves you wanting to delve deeper into the journey of these characters.
Dfillion94Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I really like Nick's stuff. I've read some of his other stuff on Amazon and some of his short stories. If you like HelGate you should go check out his other stuff!
Now - to HelGate.
I think the characters are really great - very 3D instead of being thin and wishy washy. I like Helsket and want to learn more about his backstory. I think if you ever do followup or a prologue for Erik Raithson and his crew, it would be fire.
Your grammar is as always very good. I appreciate you not delving too deeply into everything and instead painting a good picture of the scene and the characters and moving to the action.
Style - well, I'm still here! That should be enough of an answer. I like your writing style. It's punchy but not abrupt - very fun to read.
Story - It's great. There's so much to think about here and it seems very deep and very legit. I want to learn about The Sunken Folk and find out how much they tie into the story. I'm guessing a lot!
PLEASE keep going! I now a chapter a day is a lot, but you're doing great. Thank you again and I'll be here reading :D
Edge ValmondRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Story:
It follows Mikel who is trying to save his father from a sickness. Making up his mind, he heads out to try and tackle HelGate. As the story goes along, it does well to sprinkle in information. Such as Mikel's past, his relationship with others. Magic, and how some interactions work. It also does well to give enough on some lores. However, as it moves forward. Mikel has to make some less than desirable choices. Everything is really towards him trying to save his father.
Style:
It is really a normal one, a third person past tense written one. You can get into it very easily.
Grammar:
Don't think I spotted issues here.
Characters:
This is likely the high point of the story. Which it does very well to give a great idea on others. Mikel's goal, his past, Helsket's part in it. These characters blends well together, and creates a more lively but sometimes a bit grim experience. I guess it is nice when all is said and done, and it works well. The interactions between them comes across as natural really.
Overall:
This is an immersive story, and I found myself just enjoying the ride. If there is one thing I highly recommend the author does is to space out the paragraphs. Just do that, and everything will be fine. Needless to say, I do recommend to check out this story.
Edit: The author made the story much more readable, so things are fine now.
FeynixRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is really good.
Style: The author has a way with words. The prose is fantastic and right from the getgo you see that the author has a grand vision for this world, and they expertly show you the vision through the writing. I'm currently writing my own story and there are so many lessons I could take away from this. The dialogue makes sense and each individual feels distinct.
Story: It's good. Real good. It's a bit of a 'slow burn' but not really. While it spends a good amount of time setting up the world and building up to the adventure, that time is not wasted. It's full of intrigue and excellent worldbuilding. It leaves you excited for their adventure. I'm 28 chapters in and need more of it.
Grammar: No issues at all here. The writer clearly knows what they're doing and everything reads incredibly well.
Character: This is the stuff. The characters are all well fleshed out and each of them feels unique. You get to spend a lot of time with the characters and the development is well paced. You get to peel back layers to each of them as you move through the book. Mikel is wonderfully flawed. He's inexperienced, he's young, but you get to see the growth and it's real and palpable. I'm trying to imagine the MC several books for now and it's likely going to be awesome.
The progression system is fun, and we're just starting to dive into it. It's a refreshing take that I really enjoy.
If you haven't already binged this story, you need to hop on it. You won't regret it.
Jd1994Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
So, it looks like this writer uploads regularly and I was able to find the latest chapter about commerce and beer in that area!
Mikel seems like a likeabel kid, and I wonder what the Callisto Jewel is used for. It's obviously evil... but to what extent? Is this a One Ring sort of thing, or is this something deeper? I don't get Sam vibes from Helsket, but he seems to eat well enough!
Telgil is cool - I want to hear more about him. I hope he isn't just a one and done character and we can delve into his backstory a bit more. This worlds version of being immortal is a cool premise and.
Who are the Sunken Folk? Tell us more!! They seem like evil elves or demons or something. It's cool that there's a lot of mystery around them. I want to find out more about them, but I don't want it dumped. I think a slow drip would be best with them and from the looks of it, we might get that. I like a mystery in my fantasy books!
Progression system? This is labelled as a Lit-RPG and I see some of the elements there, but nothign firm yet.
The story is compelling and the characters feel like they could be real. It's a heck of a thing!
Happy birthday nick11179! Here's your present!
LAScottRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Disclaimer: this is part of a review swap.
From the first chapter, just featuring two characters sitting in a bar conversing, it’s easy to see that world-building is the author's strength. They’ve put a lot of effort into crafting an interesting and comprehensive world without even leaving the scene. Reading on we get slow-dripped information about HelGate and what the main character wants from it, but in a way that makes it feel like a ghost story. Our perception about it and how bad it is comes in the form of hushed whispers underscored by a deep fear of it. We haven’t even gotten to it yet and we’re afraid of what’s to come. Even the promise of the reward for conquering it is only loosely defined but it carries the perception of hope.
The style makes for a very easy read. It's a slow burn, so depending on personal preference (personally, I love) readers may like/dislike the pacing. That said, it's clear that so much care went into characterizations because of the pacing. Also I always feel like slow burns have the biggest payouts so I’m definitely a follower now.
The cast of characters are colourful, fun and, best of all, well rounded. The author doesn’t give everything away up front but in just a few scenes shared histories and affection are apparent. Even the band of thieves who get less initial air time than the main three leave you with enough to keep you wondering about them, if not sympathetic to their situation. The main character, Mikel, is my favourite. His motives seem pure even if the outcomes aren’t. It’s for this reason that I say “seem”; we only know what he’s told us (through his conversations with his travelling companion, Helsket) but even that has me slightly skeptical. I think he’s only as honest with the readers as he’s being with himself, but that’s just my prediction.
There are no apparent grammatical issues, and it's apparent that the author puts a lot of care into their work. There’s been spots where the author is a bit dogged by spacing i
One Way JusticeRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Story: It’s a hero’s journey with a wild fresh-ish twist, blending the typical fantasy with a good bit of (bordering on grimdark imo, but maybe that’s just because diseases like ‘Rot’ seem to me particularly terrifying). There is no time to waste, both for Mikel and for the story to unveil its plot—the Helgate world is in utter disarray due to a mix of human (war, mostly) and fantasy-elements; though the first chapter takes its time worldbuilding, it’s quickly off to the races then in the chapters that follow.
Characters: Mikel is young and lacks in experience, making him the classic hero-to-be in tales like these... but he had best learn, and learn quickly, as there seems little room for error in the perilous path before him (despite a night of... well, you’ll see). By contrast, Helsket is the grizzled old veteran, imparting wisdom (in his own way) though initially unwilling; he seems like a hero who has had his day, but cannot ignore the summons of the new generation.
Style: It’s a high fantasy setting and that warrants some dense parts of description. The writing is good, painting a quite vivid picture of the lush and less lush surroundings. There is ample room for introspection and character development, which I always find enticing.
Grammar: No qualms, all good on this front.
Regolith42Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Style: More down to earth style of writing. Lots of short sentences as the various characters have conversations with each other. Good avoidance of the dreaded blob of dialogue trope where one character just turns to someone and exposits a full length novel of world building without pausing for breath.
Story: Intriguing mystery so far. There are short bursts of action so far, but it is mostly still in worldbuilding phase to where I've read. The world created is engaging so far, but there is still a lot of mystery in relation to the magic system. The action scenes so far are mostly used to leverage another round of worldbuilding up to this point. Definitely more of a slow burn from what I've seen so far. Still, there are hints that the action is picking up at this point, so the plot may accelerate as things kick into gear.
Character: Overall great characterization. All the characters we meet are complex and the characters are introduced slowly enough that the story has enough time to flesh them out and establish their relationships with the others before another is introduced. None of the characters are particularly heroic, even the protagonist. Keep that in mind if that was what you were expecting.
Grammar: No mistakes I saw. Overall well written sentence structure and technical aspects of writing.
Overall: I personally don't enjoy slow burns as much as other kind of stories, so I didn't enjoy the story as much as I could have. But I can tell it is definitely well written and shows lots of promise in the future once all the small hints start paying off. And if you enjoy slow burns then this is definitely the story for you.