Title: Inheritors of Eschaton
Author: TMarkos
Rating: M
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Science-fiction
Status: Complete
Library Category: Original Fiction
Pairings: None
Summary:

The tear in reality led to a new world, one that promised fortune, prestige and a deeper understanding of the universe.

Those that entered found only death.

Four survivors are stranded in a strange and hostile world, at the mercy of forces they cannot understand. Their only path forward is to travel among the ashes of a broken and dying land searching for a way to survive, to endure - and to make their way back home.

Link: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/28741/inheritors-of-eschaton/chapter/430929/part-1-the-chariot

In a setting somehow similar to Stargate, some sort of dimensional rift appears on Earth that leads to a sand desert on another world. A military base is established there so scientists can research it safely.

They make contact with the local population and start to learn their language. Their civilization appears to be akin to the Middle East's during the Middle Ages: desert, nomads, oasis settlements and a few scattered cities. The technology level seems low. However, some people have objects, covered with inscriptions, that appear to defy the laws of physics and have different uses: everyday appliances, transport, weapons, etc. Clues seem to point to a very advanced civilization which was wiped by a catastrophic event in a distant past.

At some point the base is attacked, the rift closed and only a group of four people is able to escape: two soldiers and two scientists. Stranded in a hostile planet, they start to search for a way to return home. In the process, they embark on a journey that will lead them to explore this new world, collect local allies, get involved in its internal conflicts and put together the story of its fallen civilization.

The author puts a huge amount of effort in world building, to the point that its civilization is the real protagonist of the story. For readers who enjoy these details, things like its language or numbering system are lightly explored, without getting fastidious. Every chapter starts with a quote of some fictional work or folklore piece, a la Dune, and ends with a page of one of the four protagonists' diaries, which include maps, drawings of objects, transcriptions of the local writing...

Grammar is flawless, allowing for the occasional typo, prose and dialogue are competent. I found the pacing generally good, certainly a big improvent compared to TMarkos' previous webnovel, Grand Design.

Characterization is not the strong point of the novel, but it doesn't have to be, since the plot is more about the world than about the characters.

IoE explores some common themes in fantasy and science-fiction, I won't get into too much detail since it might get spoilery: violence and its moral quandaries, religion, magic, technology, a dash of anthropology and archeology... Nothing really original or groundbreaking, but very competently done.

I couldn't find a rating in RR, but I'd say M for some gore and profanity.

All in all, a very pleasent surprise to find a work of this quality in an archive like RoyalRoad, devoted to aspiring amateur writers. I have read much worse professionally published novels.

It ain't perfect, the first half until the first big reveal is stronger than the second one and the ending feels a bit rushed, but for webnovel standards it does get full marks from me: 5/5. It's also on Amazon as paperback and e-book.

 

Alright, I'm 17 chapters into this so far, and it's righteous. I have a bunch of theories about what happened to the world and the gate and stuff, and I'm hoping I'm pleasantly surprised with them all being wrong. Easy 5/5 for me so far, but I'll reserve rating the thread until I'm done with it.

 

This is sincerely good stuff.
Pretty original, told in an interesting way, people acting like people, slow reveal of a major mystery, good world building and more.
I'm only 16 chapters in, so it might disappoint later on, but I really hope not. Agree on the 5/5 so far, but I'll wait till I've read the whole thing.

 

If you liked it up to ch. 16, I think it's safe to say you'll keep enjoying it up to ch. 30. After that, YMMV.

I won't include any hard spoilers in the following paragraph, just my overall impressions about the rhythm of the novel:

Spoiler

From there the novel coasts naturally to an organic and satisfying enough conclusion, with a few dangling plot lines that aren't fully resolved, one of them rather conspicuous, you'll know what it is if you finish it. My main grip with the story is that I think it shouldn't take another 30 chapters to reach there, and the rhythm suffers for it. I don't feel the Idhytse arc or the inclusion of the Setelym add anything to the story, rather the contrary.

Still, the first 30 chapters buildup is fantastic, it got me hooked well and good and took me along for a great ride. I'd feel stingy if I took even half a star because the rest doesn't measure up to that lofty standard.

 

Alright, that was a trip.

This is the absolute truth. The characters aren't really what I'd call secondary per se, but they are more just there to provide observation about the world - things happen around them, and sometimes because of them. If you're a big character person, this might not be as much to your liking as other people's. But holy crap, is the world intriguing. There's just enough detail to everything where you're not really in the dark at any given point, and honestly I'm left wanting a whole lot more backstory on some of it - it kind of reminds me of the first time I read Hunger Games, where you're like "hey, how did everything get this way? What's the story with the districts? WHY WON'T YOU TELL ME THINGS?!?!"

Ending was slightly rushed I think, but I'm really not sure how I'd have drawn it out more I guess. It's meant to be action-packed and speedy, and it does that for sure.

5/5 for me.