Unliving

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Volume 1 has been stubbed for publishing on Kindle Unlimited. Interested readers could find it in the link below:https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B0D1PV2ZQ8?maas=&ref=

For the longest time, Aideen Fiachna had only one prescient wish; to be the daughter her parents could take pride in.

The idea was a tall order, especially as her father stood at the head of the Templar order, and her grandfather asthePope. However, she endeavored to try nonetheless.

Yet fate had a different path in store for her.

For all her efforts, all her best laid plans, were but the broken off crumbs of 'one day'. That day, she was brutally slain by a vile, accursed undead being.

Though, not even restful eternity awaited her in death.

She awakened inside a coffin. Her coffin. During her own funeral wake. Discovering, to her horror, that she had risen. Notsomehowresurrected, no, but back in the form of that most hated of beings--the curse of undeath.

What will fate deal her next?

Chapters will range from 1-2.5k words, scheduled for release every day from Monday to Friday.

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Expect:

-Character progression in a journey of self discovery that spanned the ages

-World building

-Tragedy and Comedy in roughly equal measures

-Occasional action

Do not expect:

-Much in terms of romance

-Politics, barring passing views and mentions

-A lighthearted tale. This story will be a good bit grimmer than my previous one

Any comments, reviews, and criticism will be much appreciated.

And thank you for reading.

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This story is my original work and only posted on the Royal Road website. If you should find this story elsewhere or under another name, please let me know.

Also please don't be too hard on me when I make occasional grammatical mistakes, English is my third language after all. XD

Edit suggestions are very welcome though.

READ UP TO 55 CHAPTERS AHEAD ON MY PATREON AT https://www.patreon.com/Avitue

Information

Status
Ongoing
Year
2021
Author
Avitue

Tags

FANTASYMAGICFEMALE LEADCOMEDYTRAGEDYMARTIAL ARTSSLICE OF LIFESTRONG LEADPSYCHOLOGICALPROGRESSION

Royal Road Stats

Rating
4.4/ 5.0
Followers
1,161
Views
1,731,125

Chapters(671 total)

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(10)

  • Stunt MonkeyRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    This is a fantastic read, overall its an excellent look at both the good, and the bad, sides of potentially living forever and all the things that brings with it, as well as just being a brilliant story of nations and those who rule them. Pretty much all of the characters are very well written, the politics, the interplay between the various states of the world, and even the mass battles are believable and deep enough to move the story and plot without bogging things down in 'turn by turn' like some stories can do or being less fun than those parts which focus on the actual character dialogue and stories. Overall it's well worth reading if you're interested in a darker toned (but not endlessly grim) story, and very definitely bingeable!
    Even the various undead, whether they be unique or the more 'standard' types, come across really well as their own thing not just 'skeletons and zombies', something that a lot of 'necromancer' stories seem to fall down on (the minions are important to the story even if they're mindless!), speaking of which... who doesn't want to read about giant skeleton puppers!
    Whether you want battles, politics, personal growth, vengeance, or even a bit of kissing in your stories... it's here!
  • Usually PresentRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    The author has writing the fantasy slice-of-life style down pat. They do a great job of bringing the reader into this world, with all its warts and wonders shown clearly. They have an excellent sense of world-building, with many interesting corners and oddities available to peruse, building off an intriguing magic system that retains consistency so far through the current chapters and through the previous book.
    STYLE: Slice-of-life, following the protagonist through their long journeys, trials and triumphs, Fantasy with a strong internal consistency. Most sections have significant dialog, which is a positive in my mind. Very few info-dumps, and none more than a portion of a chapter.
    STORY: Entertaining, at least in my opinion. I've yet to run across inconsistencies within the text, even when seperated by hundreds of chapters.
    - and hundreds of years! Spoiler - the protagonist becomes immortal early in the story
    Grammar - clean and correct - barring idiomatic dialogue, which is only fair. If this were a truely disjointed setting, I would have expected the dialects to have been even more divergent, but there are story reasons that help counter that.
    Character - the protagonist is shown growing through their life, dealing with adversity, and retains a consistent core persona even as other portions of their life change radically. Quite well done, in my opinion!
  • GershRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    incredible story with great worldbuilding so far that still has so much to offer. The power system itself is great, and although there is no grand training to reach a goal, there is also no issues with the power system whatsoever. Although mortality seems overpowered, it really isn't too bad and can be dealt with. The story is told in the first person, which may make it difficult for some, but the author is very good with their word use. The only plot hole I can find is why Nec Aarin hasn't taken over the two countries earlier.
  • InkyBuizRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    Unliving is set in an area rife with strife between lichdoms. The epic does away with prejudice against the poor church as well as necromancers, to weave an intriguing playfield for THINGs to happen. Such as the death of one girl, creating a new magic. The reader follows said girl - Aideen on her journey to mastering her newfound power.
    Unliving definitely is a must-read.
    Before I get carried away, let's start with critique. The introductory chapters - as all stories from Norse sagas and the Bible to The Wheel Of Time do - establish an emotional connection between protagonist and reader. Afterwards, a novel should introduce problems and tension while cementing the characterization, but instead, Unliving appears to stop halfway through step one and alienates the reader with worldbuilding and unemphatic slice-of-life from the neutral observer perspective. That absolutely killed the red line and violated the show don't tell rule hard. A more intimate characterization only occurs after about two dozen chapters.
    I would have preferred to have the worldbuilding explained during the training montage in little bits. Perhaps using dreams or actual human interaction, such as dialogue, as a medium.
    Generally, frequent time jumps in the introductory stages screw with the readers' perception of the story. This is no different. A common approach to prevent the disjunction is to implement one big time jump, followed by the protagonist reminiscing or some other method to recap notable events. Still time jumps are to be avoided at that stage, a solution would've been to start at the march of Ptolodecca to Junora and SHOW the characterization, through interactions. Explaining backwards from there on, merging with the battle scene at a later point.
    I can only encourage the reader to power through these chapters, because the meaty bits are sooo worth it. The reader can experience some political intrigue, and powerplays between nations. Topped off with an amazingly plausible rendition o
  • Lemon snakeRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    I have to say, I like the story.
    Yes, many people says the MC is in the backseat(which is true from time to time), but what I see is a convenient way to justify her abilities, knowledge and character (To avoid the " I was born an immortal rightful God with otherworldly knowledge" you know. ) while we get introduced to the world.
    In my opinion, it is a smooth and convenient passive way of world building ~
    So note that the observer of a world POV is what you should expect reading this story. An observer that influence the world tho.
    Some may have an issue with the MC being overpowered but I would argue that she doesn't  seem to go full power trip, ready to murder everything in a repeat grind.
    Instead, we are following her journey to discover the world, herself, other unliving and species with their own morals, lore and aspirations.
    You really feel that the story is not a throwaway, more of something that was written with care. At the beginning of each chapter is an historical record or a quote or just some tale that deepens the lore.
    What I really loved is that you feel the sadness of the MC being what most would love to be: an immortal.
    The chapters truly are treats for people who needs something good to read in their free times.
    Keep up the good work, Avitue!
  • Mercury313Royal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    I absolutely love this Story and it's writing style! Sadly can't make an advanced review because I don't have the knowhow to rate it correctly.
    Because of wordcount I need to write this part. It isn't of any importance to the reader of this review at all and whatsoever. Have a great day or night. I'm off.
  • One-eyed MikeRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    I'm really enjoying this for several reasons.
    The concept of Aideen being unliving is well worked out. I'd have preferred less of a time-skip, while she trained, but that's a small price to pay.
    I like the idea of the heroic lich who is genuinely loved by his mortal citizens, without pressure or magical finagling. (Although a vicious enemy to anyone who hurts his people.)
    I'm also amused by the Irish twist to many of the names. I bet almost no non-Irish person can pronounce Aoife. I hope her cousin Caoimhe turns up soon ...
    And I hope the story keeps developing well.
  • The Random CatRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    The best way to know if the people are happy in a nation,
    Is to find out if they would war for that nation.
    This a wise person hath once said,
    And this we do see in this book of the living and dead.
    Many may say that a necromancer rules only with fear,
    Yet the people of the Lichdom of Ptoledecca know no fear,
    Instead they be happy as can be,
    In this book that inverts my understanding of the undead as it be,
    A Treatise of Culture and Otherworldly History,
    Depicted through fantastical storytelling as we unveil the mystery in history.
    Style? It is one fascinating to read,
    As we see not just a cast but also their creed,
    Their nationality and species but not as lore,
    No, No, No, it is hidden within the story like I have never seen before,
    I found that with the world I was familiar,
    Even though I hath not read any book similar,
    With Liches and Therians,
    Wraiths and Humans,
    It be a world unto itself through and through.
    Story? Though slow in progress,
    It bore me not with its slowness,
    Instead it add to the story,
    With excerpts occasionally lory,
    But still part of the story.
    Grammar? Why not a mistake did I find.
    Perhaps because the story consumed my mind?
    Character? Real they be, fleshed out like their history,
    Some relatable, some not but perhaps that is because of their normalcy?
    After all, even in real life there are people I fail to understand.
    So finally I say to you, READ THIS BOOK!!!
  • AlighierianRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 4.5
    Whilst it's still early on, Unliving is shaping up to be a pretty good story. It's remarkably light-hearted in its own way, despite the casual murder, mayham, and assisted termination of the trial period known as 'living'.
    The few grammatical errors I noticed, tended to be of the typo/autowrongifier-category, though I'm no English major and it was 5-7am when I binged the current chapters (1-20).
    The characters fit the setting quite well so far. Whilst they could be fleshed out a bit more, I think it's a good start, and the rest has to happen naturally over time.
    I do think the main character's affinity is done in a pretty interesting way. It has pros and cons; hilariously overpowered in a way, yet not at all at the same time. Additionally, with how the world itself also adapts to a thusfar unseen affinity, as it has in the past, keeps it from looking like a 'lol MC plotshield'-affinity, which tend to exist solely to make the MC special.
    As a participant in the 2021 Writeathon, chapters are currently being added at a rapid pace. Here's to hoping the story continues - or naturally wraps up, if/when applicable - after this period, as it's certainly a good read that deserves to continue.
  • baelrathRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 4.5
    Good characters. They seem almost too good so far. We haven't seen the "enemy" yet, though i wonder if its going to be politcal rather than ethical.
    World building is good. Nice touches in how everthing welcomes the dead. How it intergrates with every day life.
    Too soon to right up on actual plot or the like. But its easy reading chapters and some sprinkled humor throughout is enjoyable.