What Lies in the Foundry - A Steampunk Detective Novel

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Jeremiah could tell the moment he saw the case file that this was going to be something big. Two missing engineers, and at least one gang involved- plus, a top secret government project.

He'd tried to keep his head down and his nose clean since leaving the Silvers, but he couldn't pretend he didn't miss the thrill of the chase. It should have been straightforward enough, especially with the help of two street-savvy wildings: fast talking Gliridae and Big Bad Bill.

But the deeper they get, the greater the danger they find themselves in - and the more Jeremiah's old life threatens to swallow him whole.

Information

Status: Completed
Year: 2024
Author: MeercatWhisperer112

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.8/ 5.0
Followers: 18
Views: 5,983

Chapters(17 total)

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(5)

CoconutPirateRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I am glad I picked up this review swap. I just enjoyed reading this one quite a bit. The vibes it gives off are "film-noire" mixed with a healthy dose of animal people and steampunk. It just feels fun and not tonally dissonant.
Style - Honestly, no big gripes here for me. I like the style it's written in. The places and people are well described. The tone feels very mysterious without sounding stupid. It feels like I have a glass of whisky in one hand and a cigarette in the other as I read this story.
Story - It's hard to rate right now because it's very early days of this story. But I think the general concept seems intriguing. There's some gang tension in this town and 2 foundry workers have disappeared with a file from their employer. This is going to continually escalate and lead to more and more shenanigans. It seems pretty classic, but with some fun twists thrown in.
Grammar - Nothing big. There's a few sentences that are worded funny. And a few moments where there are weird jumps. But nothing that makes me sad to read.
Character - The main character trio is really fun. There's big guy, little guy, and medium sized guy. They all have distinct character traits and only the main character is a little boring. But that has more to do with the structure of the story; he is meant to be a little mysterious right now.
If you're looking for something streampunk and a little different than most things on RR, I'd really recommend giving it a try.
Lack of PoochlineRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
And the guy with servo wings but he is not important.
Okay he's the MC, but have you read about Gliridae, our silver-tongued cupcake?
And Bill? Absolute unit.
"But, Lackie, what the heck are you talking about?"
Ah, yes, reviews need context, don't they?
Then let's go provide some.
What lies in the Foundry is a decently written, straight to the point detective story set in a steampunk word rife with gangs, corruption, and apparently furry musicians in horrible purple suits.
So let's go over the categories, shall we?
Characters: They are distinctive, they are endearing, each with their own life philosophy and outlook on the whodunit at hand. They all want the money for their own reeasons: William wants to marry, Jeremiah wants to get everyone killed... i mean complete his medical training, and Gliridae wants... well, i have no idea what OUR WORSHIPPED DORMOUSE wants exactly. Maybe a new sax? I have no favoritism for any of them. At all.
Jokes aside, they are all pretty human and relatable, and the antagonistic forces are not cartoonishly evil, but rather your run-off-the-mill corrupt officials and gang members. It's realistic rot, with forces the protagonists want nothing to do with interacting with them in ways that either benefit both parts involved (The Silvers/police) but aren't precisely moral, or straight up assesination attempts fit for the mafias of the city.
Style: Quite nice, flows well, has some weird sentences but nothing really offensive. The character voices are well stablished, you never doubt who is saying what. Sometimes I found myself wanting a bit more of description of the steampunk city besides it being mostly made of glass and copper, having lowtown and midtown areas, and having bars fit for detectivesque work. But i guess that will slowly unroll in the upcoming chappies.
Grammar: few mistakes, mostly fine. Not worth talking about.
Story: It's a detective story with a mystery involving a government project, several gangs, a corrupted police
Rowan NettelRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
What Lies in the Foundry is a wonderful steampunk noir romp following an excellent cast of characters in a vibrant world.
It starts off, as many detective novels do, with our main character Jeremiah - a cynical former lawman who turned private eye -- getting a job to investigate the disappearances of some engineers. It seems like a simple enough job, and he gets to it with the help of his friend Bill, an infamous part-rhino with a mechanical arm.
Of course, things don't go as smoothly as they should, and along with a part-mouse musician named Gliridae -- who introduces himself as a part time saxophonist and part time master of espionage -- they end up in a sprawling conspiracy involving many of the town's major players.
Stylistically speaking it's a blast. The writing is witty and snappy, especially during action sequences. Beyond that, the story does a fantastic job of showing off details of the world without laboriously having the characters point them out or talk about them. The city of Boravica is full of life and mystery, and the wider world it hints at is tantalizing too.
Grammar wise it's solid, albeit not perfect. I've noticed a few dropped letters or words here and there, but they're not particularly distracting or important. The majority of the work is clean as far as grammar goes.
The story itself is fast paced and keeps moving, which makes sense for a detective novel even if I personally wish that there was just a hair more time to breathe. There are also a decent number of flashback sequences that do a great job adding extra context or flavor to scenes, and they spin together a solid narrative.
However, where this story really shines is in its characters. The three main characters -- Jeremiah, Bill, and Gliridae -- all have powerful and distinct voices, aspirations, shames and shortcomings. None of them are perfect and none of them pretend to be, and their interactions with one another are genuine, raw, and thought provoking. They're proper denizens of
emmmeeeseRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I want to say that, overall, this is a great start to the story and gripped my attention. I would definitely recommend to many different sorts of readers.
Story - This story sets itself up as a mystery/crime plot. Yet I am glad to say that it is not entirely focused on that; it is also a story about the characters' pasts and how that catches up to them. It has as genuinely strong set-up. Also, the world-building is extremely interesting. The steam-punk elements are great, but I can tell that the author has put a lot of thought into the complexities of the world.
Character - Jeremiah, our protagonist, is a sort of dutiful yet somewhat close-minded character; this is not a criticism. I actually find it refreshing to find a protagonist that is not berated with his own faults yet are subtly written. It is clear that he will become an easy vessel to progress the story forwards. Our side characters are also well-developed with easily distinguishable personalities and histories which are hinted at in these first few chapters. The group dynamic proves itself to be one that I am sure will grow to be an extremely lovable trio.
Grammar - Compared to many other stories on RR, the grammar is consistent and well-done. It is clear this author has experience with the craft of writing.
Style - I never quite know what to put for this part, but the writing is clearly polished and concise. The story moves at a great, efficient pace that is extremely readable.
SvenwritesbooksRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
If you’re looking for a fun, fast-paced story with engaging characters and plenty of bingability - you’re in the right place.
Style: The more dialogue-centric storytelling works well with the pace and narrative I believe the author is going for. Important exposition is delivered through a combination of conversation and internal character musings rather than the usual long-winded info dumps, which is something I rarely see these days both on and off of RR. Massive props, on that account. Coming across a story that provides proper context and inference is beyond refreshing, especially when other narratives seem bent on insulting their audience’s intelligence. That being said, a little more scene description would really make it shine, especially in regard to the city. The opening paragraph sets the atmosphere well and I would love to see more of it.
Story: While the story has closely followed your typical crime noir set-up so far, the world and characters give it enough flare to make it unique. It does give me some Gotham-esque vibes in terms of the various gangs and shady government projects, which is interesting. It's fairly early on yet, but I'm definitely eager to see how our main character and cast navigate the crime and underworld politics.
Grammar: The grammar is my main gripe, but by no means is it atrocious. Honestly, it's leagues above some traditionally published work I’ve seen recently. There are a few formatting issues, overused words or expressions and awkward sentences, but they’re few and far between enough for it not to pull me out of the story. All it really needs is a quick editing polish and it's solid.
Character: What Lies in the Foundry has been a remarkably charming read with a thoroughly entertaining main trio. Each character, from their appearance to their personality, is unique. It’s easy to distinguish who everyone else is solely based on how they speak, which I thought was pretty fun. Some are obviously more engaging than others, but again