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A Chronicle of Lies: Part 1: The Dark Sculptor
Vincent Cordell, a college student with schizophrenia, doesn’t want to be different. He just wants to lead a normal life, something his condition has never let him have. Voices whisper, walls bleed, eyes sprout in strange places. Getting a degree in electrical engineering is hard enough without worrying about falling into the abyss of his own madness.
But one dark night, the abyss pulls him in...
A supernatural entity strikes, and a simple car accident becomes anything but as Vincent finds himself thrust into a majestic, alien world where dragons stand on two legs, living and dying like men. And, thanks to a painful, impossible transformation, he is now one of them, stuck in a body he doesn't even know how to use.
An ancient evil stirs. Strange storms leave terrors in their wake. The natives of this world think Vincent has the power to save them. But he doesn't want anything to do with them or their myths. He refuses to believe they are real. After all, dragons and prophecies are symptoms of a broken mind...aren't they?
But one dark night, the abyss pulls him in...
A supernatural entity strikes, and a simple car accident becomes anything but as Vincent finds himself thrust into a majestic, alien world where dragons stand on two legs, living and dying like men. And, thanks to a painful, impossible transformation, he is now one of them, stuck in a body he doesn't even know how to use.
An ancient evil stirs. Strange storms leave terrors in their wake. The natives of this world think Vincent has the power to save them. But he doesn't want anything to do with them or their myths. He refuses to believe they are real. After all, dragons and prophecies are symptoms of a broken mind...aren't they?
- GenresFantasy
782 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 1, 2024
20 people are currently reading
54 people want to read
About the author
Abraham Carson
1 book10 followersAbraham Carson is a nerd, a gamer, a sometimes-musician and author. He is not very good at constructing his author profiles, but you should totally buy his books. (This profile is under construction)
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 13, 2025
You might like this book if you:
-Are looking for awe-inspiring worldbuilding
-Are interested in subversion of isekai norms
-Enjoy dark fantasy and body horror elements
-Are interested in reading about characters suffering from mental illness (in this case schizophrenia)
-Think dragons are pretty neat
To summarize:
A Chronicle of Lies is one of the most unique, inventive, and imaginative books I've read in a long time, with a uniquely belligerent protagonist, bizarre and beautiful worldbuilding, and an isekai scenario that delves deep into some untapped potential for the genre. Though it has some rough edges, lacking professional editing and being perhaps a bit too lengthy, the extraordinary story and thematic depth is more than enough to make up for any of those reservations.
Full review:
Note: any spoilers in this review are limited to events that happen in the first 10% of the book.
A Chronicle of Lies is about a schizophrenic college student named Vincent who's thrown unwillingly into another world. Now transformed into one of the land's draconic residents, Vincent must search for a way home.
This summary sounds like typical isekai fare, and indeed that's what I originally expected: a typical isekai, maybe a bit self indulgent, containing the usual tropes of the genre where the schizophrenic finds out his hallucinations were actually real the whole time or something. That underestimation of what I was about to read worked in the book's favor, because when my expectations were subsequently thrown almost entirely out the window, I was thoroughly hooked.
An awe-inspiring world
Vincent is an engineering student who suffers from schizophrenia, and who is doing all he can to overcome his condition. He's extremely concerned about one day becoming the maddened, violent stereotype so often associated with schizophrenia, so he wants to get his degree and succeed in life despite the odds against him. But after a violent accident in the real world, a monster that Vincent calls the Stalker steals him away and painfully transforms him into a dragonlike creature, dropping him into a dark fantasy world with a whole lot of trauma and absolutely zero explanation.
This world that Vincent drops into is called Falius--a strange place where landmasses seem as if they've been stitched together by massive threads and dragonlike humanoids are the dominant intelligent lifeform. The world itself is stunningly well developed. Locations and aspects of the world aren't just there to look neat, but to serve thematic purposes and compliment the lore of this world, which reminds me of how a story like Lord of the Rings handles its locales. For instance, the land itself being held together by threads perhaps reflects how the main character sees his own broken mind. A city with a striking design provides context to the surrounding lands by serving as a nexus for their lore and history. This is clearly not shallow worldbuilding. But best of all, rarely does the story give in to the temptation of explaining the true depth of these features, largely alluding to their inner workings, but leaving plenty of room for speculation. That inspires a welcome sense of wonder I don't see as often as I'd personally like in fantasy stories. Readers who are fatigued by popular scientific magic systems may find this book quite refreshing as a result. I could go further into the wonderous features of Falius, but to do so would be to spoil a lot since so much storytelling is done through them. It's best if you discover this world yourself, as Falius is sure to peak your desire to explore a new land.
In lieu of talking further about Falius itself, I'll talk about its dragonlike race. Soon after being dropped into Falius in his new draconic form, Vincent is pulled half-dead from a lake and awakens in the home of three Falians. Despite being cringey talking dragon people (Vincent's words, not mine), these dragons are strikingly believable as a culture. As Vincent watches them, confused, fearful, and unable to communicate, we see a great deal of consideration has been given to how a species with wings, horns, a tail, carnivorous teeth, etc would move and function in everyday life. As a small example, Vincent discovers that these Falians must put caps on their horns so that they do not accidentally turn their heads and take someone's eye out. They have to bind their wings on windy days so that they don't get blown over or dragged off by a storm. They chomp down their food rather than chewing it in small bites. Small practices like these present throughout the book and continuously add depth to Falian culture. It's made even more believable by standing in contrast to how much Vincent is confused by and struggles to pick up these habits. Throughout the book he knocks into things, trips on his own tail, bites his tongue, and can't find a comfortable sleeping position to save his life. Meanwhile, Falian culture has developed ways of dealing with all of these problems, and characters are always teaching Vincent how to exist in his new body. Combining that with just enough history, mythology, food, and customs makes for a society that feels real.
Most importantly, both Falius and the Falians feel like they've been around since long before Vincent's story began--a crucial feeling to nail in good world building. I'm happy to see that feeling has been achieved here.
A uniquely belligerent protagonist
As Vincent comes to grips with his new situation, he naturally believes all of Falius to be an extremely vivid hallucination caused by his schizophrenia. He believes that he's unconcious in a hospital bed and that he needs to wake up before he loses his mind. This isn't a case of thinking he's having a simple dream, and how Vincent deals with that makes him by far one of the most interesting characters I've read about in a long time. For an Isekai protagonist, Vincent is in a very unique position. His main goal in life until his displacement into Falius has been to overcome his illness and succeed despite it. He is terrified of losing his sanity and becoming the mad, violent realization of a schizophrenic stereotype. Being thrown into a world that he believes is a schizophrenic hallucination then is Vincent's worst possible nightmare. Because of this, he very quickly decides that he needs to actively rage against his new reality and deny its existence at every opportunity.
This results in a protagonist who is constantly angry, unable to take things seriously, often a total jerk, and an instigator of problems. Usually, readers avoid characters with those traits. They tend to be unbearably unlikable and frustrating to read about, but Vincent's strong motivations make for a dynamic that defies this rule. His behavior is entirely understandable given the circumstances he believes himself to be in. He's coping with schizophrenia in the way he always has, but now pushing those coping mechanisms to 11 in order to apply them to an entire fantasy world. Vincent wants to fall in love with the world he's found himself in, and with the people he's now become kin to, but he thinks that doing so will be a final step on losing his mind for good. In this way, a character who'd usually elicit nothing but contempt from readers instead elicits sympathy, and that sympathy may even transcend the page as sympathy for schizophrenics in real life, as it did for me.
Schizophrenia isn't the only character trait Vincent has, however. He is adamant about not letting the disease define him, after all, and the author makes an effort to accommodate. Vincent is an engineer: he's a problem solver and a logical thinker. Despite his insistence that Falius isn't real, he cannot help but examine the world and try to figure out how it works, even as he tries to resist taking an interest in it. It's hard to become interested in worldbuilding if the characters themselves aren't interested in the world as well, so this fits nicely into the structure of the story while still retaining Vincent's main apathetic motivation. He also has a soft spot for kids that takes precedence over his distain for the Falians and seems to connect back to his own traumatic childhood. It's good to see a character with complexity that mirrors the complexity of the fantasy world around him.
Vincent is definitely going to be a hard character to beat when I look back at the books I've read this year and think about who wins my own personal best character award.
A schizophrenic surprise
Soon after Vincent arrives in Falius, his schizophrenia begins to manifest. He begins to have full on conversations with a drill sergeant named Dave, he becomes extremely paranoid, and even gets a bit violent. This is where A Chronicle of Lies really sank its teeth into me. What really hooked me personally was not the world building, and not the character development, but the fact that as Vincent gets his bearings in this new world, he very much still has schizophrenia. I personally didn't expect that. I thought that surely Vincent's schizophrenia was going to be explained away as the product of two realities bleeding through one another or something. That way the writer would get to avoid the challenge of portraying such a complex illness. But no, Vincent continues to suffer from schizophrenia in this fantasy realm, just as he would on Earth. He has visions of a modern day drill sergeant following him around and shouting at him. He has out of body experiences where he talks to people from his past. Voices from nowhere pester him constantly, and characters are confused by him carrying on conversations with empty air. Seeing the writer take on the challenge of showing schizophrenia operating in a fantasy world like this was massively impressive to me.
Because schizophrenia in A Chronicle of Lies is not reduced to a simple plot device or character quirk here; it is instead shown to be a permanent and consequential disorder that deserves the empathy and respect of readers. It can't be fully cured by an Isekai event, nor by even the most powerful of elixirs (other than one, which only temporarily relieves it). That instantly hooked me to this book, as it's something I simply hadn't seen before and that I thought had huge potential. And indeed, I think that potential is more than taken advantage of here, as it makes for an engaging and affecting story from all angles: character, plot, and worldbuilding alike.
(It should be noted that there seem to be some narrative exceptions made to how schizophrenia works in this book. Most importantly, Vincent can often, but not always, recognize that his hallucinations are not real. He has also has had schizophrenia since he was a young child, rather than it manifesting in his late teens or 20s. As I understand it, this extremely rare, and perhaps not even possible in real life schizophrenia, so keep in mind that it is not a perfect depiction of the illness, and that exceptions have been made for the sake of readers who are unfamiliar with it.)
A Chronicle of Typos
I've done nothing but sing the book's praises so far, because I believe the book's qualifies vastly outweigh its deficiencies, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. And in fact, some of the book's problems are glaring.
First, this book has not been professionally edited. While refinement has clearly been made to the entire book, there are still various typos and clumsy pieces of prose from time to time, in addition to prose that could have been trimmed down. Editors are expensive, so I can't hold self published works like this to that high a standard, but do keep in mind you're going to encounter this while reading so you don't abandon the book at the first misspelling.
Second, this should really be considered two books. It's understandable why it wasn't split up. A lot of self published authors aren't able to afford the publication of one book much less two, whether it be for lack of time, finances, or otherwise, but I can see readers being rather put off by the book's length. I could probably use my physical copy as a deterent in a home invasion. So, if you're intimidated by this tome, I recommend trying to see it as two books rather than one. You'll be able to tell where the first one should end and the second should begin pretty easily.
I have some hope that maybe the author will do a rerelease someday with these two problems solved, but it might just be wishful thinking on my part. I personally think it would help propel the book much further.
In conclusion...
I can't recommend A Chronicle of Lies enough. It soared past my expectations, challenged my empathy, and provided an example of good worldbuilding and character development for me to recommend to writers. If they can manage to get past the rough edges, I think many readers will find this to be their new favorite book. I truly hope this story gains in popularity so more people get to experience it, and I can't wait to see the author continue this epic saga.
-Are looking for awe-inspiring worldbuilding
-Are interested in subversion of isekai norms
-Enjoy dark fantasy and body horror elements
-Are interested in reading about characters suffering from mental illness (in this case schizophrenia)
-Think dragons are pretty neat
To summarize:
A Chronicle of Lies is one of the most unique, inventive, and imaginative books I've read in a long time, with a uniquely belligerent protagonist, bizarre and beautiful worldbuilding, and an isekai scenario that delves deep into some untapped potential for the genre. Though it has some rough edges, lacking professional editing and being perhaps a bit too lengthy, the extraordinary story and thematic depth is more than enough to make up for any of those reservations.
Full review:
Note: any spoilers in this review are limited to events that happen in the first 10% of the book.
A Chronicle of Lies is about a schizophrenic college student named Vincent who's thrown unwillingly into another world. Now transformed into one of the land's draconic residents, Vincent must search for a way home.
This summary sounds like typical isekai fare, and indeed that's what I originally expected: a typical isekai, maybe a bit self indulgent, containing the usual tropes of the genre where the schizophrenic finds out his hallucinations were actually real the whole time or something. That underestimation of what I was about to read worked in the book's favor, because when my expectations were subsequently thrown almost entirely out the window, I was thoroughly hooked.
An awe-inspiring world
Vincent is an engineering student who suffers from schizophrenia, and who is doing all he can to overcome his condition. He's extremely concerned about one day becoming the maddened, violent stereotype so often associated with schizophrenia, so he wants to get his degree and succeed in life despite the odds against him. But after a violent accident in the real world, a monster that Vincent calls the Stalker steals him away and painfully transforms him into a dragonlike creature, dropping him into a dark fantasy world with a whole lot of trauma and absolutely zero explanation.
This world that Vincent drops into is called Falius--a strange place where landmasses seem as if they've been stitched together by massive threads and dragonlike humanoids are the dominant intelligent lifeform. The world itself is stunningly well developed. Locations and aspects of the world aren't just there to look neat, but to serve thematic purposes and compliment the lore of this world, which reminds me of how a story like Lord of the Rings handles its locales. For instance, the land itself being held together by threads perhaps reflects how the main character sees his own broken mind. A city with a striking design provides context to the surrounding lands by serving as a nexus for their lore and history. This is clearly not shallow worldbuilding. But best of all, rarely does the story give in to the temptation of explaining the true depth of these features, largely alluding to their inner workings, but leaving plenty of room for speculation. That inspires a welcome sense of wonder I don't see as often as I'd personally like in fantasy stories. Readers who are fatigued by popular scientific magic systems may find this book quite refreshing as a result. I could go further into the wonderous features of Falius, but to do so would be to spoil a lot since so much storytelling is done through them. It's best if you discover this world yourself, as Falius is sure to peak your desire to explore a new land.
In lieu of talking further about Falius itself, I'll talk about its dragonlike race. Soon after being dropped into Falius in his new draconic form, Vincent is pulled half-dead from a lake and awakens in the home of three Falians. Despite being cringey talking dragon people (Vincent's words, not mine), these dragons are strikingly believable as a culture. As Vincent watches them, confused, fearful, and unable to communicate, we see a great deal of consideration has been given to how a species with wings, horns, a tail, carnivorous teeth, etc would move and function in everyday life. As a small example, Vincent discovers that these Falians must put caps on their horns so that they do not accidentally turn their heads and take someone's eye out. They have to bind their wings on windy days so that they don't get blown over or dragged off by a storm. They chomp down their food rather than chewing it in small bites. Small practices like these present throughout the book and continuously add depth to Falian culture. It's made even more believable by standing in contrast to how much Vincent is confused by and struggles to pick up these habits. Throughout the book he knocks into things, trips on his own tail, bites his tongue, and can't find a comfortable sleeping position to save his life. Meanwhile, Falian culture has developed ways of dealing with all of these problems, and characters are always teaching Vincent how to exist in his new body. Combining that with just enough history, mythology, food, and customs makes for a society that feels real.
Most importantly, both Falius and the Falians feel like they've been around since long before Vincent's story began--a crucial feeling to nail in good world building. I'm happy to see that feeling has been achieved here.
A uniquely belligerent protagonist
As Vincent comes to grips with his new situation, he naturally believes all of Falius to be an extremely vivid hallucination caused by his schizophrenia. He believes that he's unconcious in a hospital bed and that he needs to wake up before he loses his mind. This isn't a case of thinking he's having a simple dream, and how Vincent deals with that makes him by far one of the most interesting characters I've read about in a long time. For an Isekai protagonist, Vincent is in a very unique position. His main goal in life until his displacement into Falius has been to overcome his illness and succeed despite it. He is terrified of losing his sanity and becoming the mad, violent realization of a schizophrenic stereotype. Being thrown into a world that he believes is a schizophrenic hallucination then is Vincent's worst possible nightmare. Because of this, he very quickly decides that he needs to actively rage against his new reality and deny its existence at every opportunity.
This results in a protagonist who is constantly angry, unable to take things seriously, often a total jerk, and an instigator of problems. Usually, readers avoid characters with those traits. They tend to be unbearably unlikable and frustrating to read about, but Vincent's strong motivations make for a dynamic that defies this rule. His behavior is entirely understandable given the circumstances he believes himself to be in. He's coping with schizophrenia in the way he always has, but now pushing those coping mechanisms to 11 in order to apply them to an entire fantasy world. Vincent wants to fall in love with the world he's found himself in, and with the people he's now become kin to, but he thinks that doing so will be a final step on losing his mind for good. In this way, a character who'd usually elicit nothing but contempt from readers instead elicits sympathy, and that sympathy may even transcend the page as sympathy for schizophrenics in real life, as it did for me.
Schizophrenia isn't the only character trait Vincent has, however. He is adamant about not letting the disease define him, after all, and the author makes an effort to accommodate. Vincent is an engineer: he's a problem solver and a logical thinker. Despite his insistence that Falius isn't real, he cannot help but examine the world and try to figure out how it works, even as he tries to resist taking an interest in it. It's hard to become interested in worldbuilding if the characters themselves aren't interested in the world as well, so this fits nicely into the structure of the story while still retaining Vincent's main apathetic motivation. He also has a soft spot for kids that takes precedence over his distain for the Falians and seems to connect back to his own traumatic childhood. It's good to see a character with complexity that mirrors the complexity of the fantasy world around him.
Vincent is definitely going to be a hard character to beat when I look back at the books I've read this year and think about who wins my own personal best character award.
A schizophrenic surprise
Soon after Vincent arrives in Falius, his schizophrenia begins to manifest. He begins to have full on conversations with a drill sergeant named Dave, he becomes extremely paranoid, and even gets a bit violent. This is where A Chronicle of Lies really sank its teeth into me. What really hooked me personally was not the world building, and not the character development, but the fact that as Vincent gets his bearings in this new world, he very much still has schizophrenia. I personally didn't expect that. I thought that surely Vincent's schizophrenia was going to be explained away as the product of two realities bleeding through one another or something. That way the writer would get to avoid the challenge of portraying such a complex illness. But no, Vincent continues to suffer from schizophrenia in this fantasy realm, just as he would on Earth. He has visions of a modern day drill sergeant following him around and shouting at him. He has out of body experiences where he talks to people from his past. Voices from nowhere pester him constantly, and characters are confused by him carrying on conversations with empty air. Seeing the writer take on the challenge of showing schizophrenia operating in a fantasy world like this was massively impressive to me.
Because schizophrenia in A Chronicle of Lies is not reduced to a simple plot device or character quirk here; it is instead shown to be a permanent and consequential disorder that deserves the empathy and respect of readers. It can't be fully cured by an Isekai event, nor by even the most powerful of elixirs (other than one, which only temporarily relieves it). That instantly hooked me to this book, as it's something I simply hadn't seen before and that I thought had huge potential. And indeed, I think that potential is more than taken advantage of here, as it makes for an engaging and affecting story from all angles: character, plot, and worldbuilding alike.
(It should be noted that there seem to be some narrative exceptions made to how schizophrenia works in this book. Most importantly, Vincent can often, but not always, recognize that his hallucinations are not real. He has also has had schizophrenia since he was a young child, rather than it manifesting in his late teens or 20s. As I understand it, this extremely rare, and perhaps not even possible in real life schizophrenia, so keep in mind that it is not a perfect depiction of the illness, and that exceptions have been made for the sake of readers who are unfamiliar with it.)
A Chronicle of Typos
I've done nothing but sing the book's praises so far, because I believe the book's qualifies vastly outweigh its deficiencies, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. And in fact, some of the book's problems are glaring.
First, this book has not been professionally edited. While refinement has clearly been made to the entire book, there are still various typos and clumsy pieces of prose from time to time, in addition to prose that could have been trimmed down. Editors are expensive, so I can't hold self published works like this to that high a standard, but do keep in mind you're going to encounter this while reading so you don't abandon the book at the first misspelling.
Second, this should really be considered two books. It's understandable why it wasn't split up. A lot of self published authors aren't able to afford the publication of one book much less two, whether it be for lack of time, finances, or otherwise, but I can see readers being rather put off by the book's length. I could probably use my physical copy as a deterent in a home invasion. So, if you're intimidated by this tome, I recommend trying to see it as two books rather than one. You'll be able to tell where the first one should end and the second should begin pretty easily.
I have some hope that maybe the author will do a rerelease someday with these two problems solved, but it might just be wishful thinking on my part. I personally think it would help propel the book much further.
In conclusion...
I can't recommend A Chronicle of Lies enough. It soared past my expectations, challenged my empathy, and provided an example of good worldbuilding and character development for me to recommend to writers. If they can manage to get past the rough edges, I think many readers will find this to be their new favorite book. I truly hope this story gains in popularity so more people get to experience it, and I can't wait to see the author continue this epic saga.
July 4, 2025
This is my first time reviewing a book. All I can say is Wow. It's been a long time since I've been truly engrossed in a book. I actually finished it two weeks ago and I've been thinking about it ever since.
I admit I wasn't big on the idea of the protagonist turning into an anthrodragon. I thought it was going to get into some weird furry stuff but I'm happy to say this was farther from the truth. This is a damn good fantasy with fantastic worldbuilding, a great story, and a truly captivating protagonist who's bound to polarize some people.
The protagonist, Vincent Cordell, is not an easy person to root for. He's a jerk, he's angry, but once you get to know him and the reasons behind his anger, you begin to root for him whether you like him or not. He's a schizophrenic and he is afraid of losing himself to his madness. So he's actively hostile toward the world he's been truck-kun'd to. This makes for an interesting subversion of the prophecy trope since he believes the prophecy trope in this world is part of his madness.
The worldbuilding is some of the best I've ever read. It doesnt feel like your generic medieval fantasy with dragons in it. Falius feels alien and new. Some of the descriptions the author uses of the environments make me feel like I'm actually there. The characters feel alive and believable. They aren't just humans in dragon forms. Their anatomy affects their culture and its clear the author put a lot of thought into it. Little details like horn guards and belts that hold down the wings are just icing on the cake.
I never expected a book about anthrodragons to be scary. But chronicle of lies can be terrifying. Without spoiling anything, some of the scenes with the antagonists had me squirming inside. There's a scene in the second half of the book that did such a good job with the buildup and the horrifying sequence that followed. I had to keep my lights on.
Read this book. Its huge, but I finished it in four days. Hope the author makes a sequel!
December 6, 2024
This is the book that finally made me create a Goodreads account because there are no reviews and it deserves one (and many more).
I've been disappointed in the past by various self-published novels that I picked up because the premise intrigued me, and it's difficult to find the really good stuff in the sea of mediocrity and wasted potential. This one was truly a once in a blue moon find and I'm glad I gave it a chance based on gut feeling alone, because that's all I had due to the lack of ratings and word of mouth on a newly released book.
Too many times in some isekai stories I've tried to read, the protagonist seems to shrug their past life off and start to game the system either figuratively or literally, and the story devolves into what feels like a video game even when it's not strictly LitRPG. This isn't one of those stories: it feels like an organic, immersive adventure and I can't overstate how much I loved the reluctant, disbelieving MC as a concept. Vincent's reluctance to engage with the world because of his fears that it's just fueling a delusion was a refreshing change of pace.
Another praiseworthy aspect is the worldbuilding: this isn't your generic pseudo-medieval world that you can navigate with your meta knowledge. It's new, unpredictable and beautifully alien in many ways, but human enough that it feels relatable.
The prose is competent, catchy and generally flows well with minimal typos and style gripes, and paints vivid images in my head with the descriptions. I also enjoyed the use of unreliable narrator in the form of Vincent's hallucinations, which added a surreal feel and a sense of subtle paranoia throughout the book, without being overbearing. It felt very organic and vowen into the narrative.
If you're on the fence because of "furry stuff", I wouldn't worry. The book is full of lizard people but they're not just animal stereotypes slapped onto humans for the sake of it: the author has put some thought into the worldbuilding and how their physiology affects their culture, including things such as an instrument that takes advantage of having essentially an extra pair of limbs—a beautifully written little scene by the way!
I adore fantasy that doesn't reveal the mystery too early. There are no excessive exposition dumps and you're gradually guided into the mystery while answers remain scarce, slowly building up the tension and a foundation for Part 2 which I'll be picking up on day one when it (hopefully) releases.
To add to the last point, there was a great sense of strange, otherworldly danger to the world at times. Without spoiling further, think of those scary, almost horror-like places and environments that are dangerous because... That's just how they are? There's no explanation which adds to the mystery and tension. It was a relatively small part of a lengthy book but it gave me similar vibes to some classic fantasy and I wanted to give it a shoutout.
All in all, I devoured this book in a few days and it was one of the more memorable reading experiences I've had in a while. It's not "great for a self-published book", it's simply a great book without such disclaimers needed and I feel like 5 bucks for the ebook was robbery, except that I was the thief. At the same time I do realize it might be an acquired taste but it just hit all the right spots and if the premise sounds even vaguely interesting to you, I can say that to me it fully delivers on it.
Go read it and support an indie author! (I'm in no way affiliated with him, just to be 100% clear).
I've been disappointed in the past by various self-published novels that I picked up because the premise intrigued me, and it's difficult to find the really good stuff in the sea of mediocrity and wasted potential. This one was truly a once in a blue moon find and I'm glad I gave it a chance based on gut feeling alone, because that's all I had due to the lack of ratings and word of mouth on a newly released book.
Too many times in some isekai stories I've tried to read, the protagonist seems to shrug their past life off and start to game the system either figuratively or literally, and the story devolves into what feels like a video game even when it's not strictly LitRPG. This isn't one of those stories: it feels like an organic, immersive adventure and I can't overstate how much I loved the reluctant, disbelieving MC as a concept. Vincent's reluctance to engage with the world because of his fears that it's just fueling a delusion was a refreshing change of pace.
Another praiseworthy aspect is the worldbuilding: this isn't your generic pseudo-medieval world that you can navigate with your meta knowledge. It's new, unpredictable and beautifully alien in many ways, but human enough that it feels relatable.
The prose is competent, catchy and generally flows well with minimal typos and style gripes, and paints vivid images in my head with the descriptions. I also enjoyed the use of unreliable narrator in the form of Vincent's hallucinations, which added a surreal feel and a sense of subtle paranoia throughout the book, without being overbearing. It felt very organic and vowen into the narrative.
If you're on the fence because of "furry stuff", I wouldn't worry. The book is full of lizard people but they're not just animal stereotypes slapped onto humans for the sake of it: the author has put some thought into the worldbuilding and how their physiology affects their culture, including things such as an instrument that takes advantage of having essentially an extra pair of limbs—a beautifully written little scene by the way!
I adore fantasy that doesn't reveal the mystery too early. There are no excessive exposition dumps and you're gradually guided into the mystery while answers remain scarce, slowly building up the tension and a foundation for Part 2 which I'll be picking up on day one when it (hopefully) releases.
To add to the last point, there was a great sense of strange, otherworldly danger to the world at times. Without spoiling further, think of those scary, almost horror-like places and environments that are dangerous because... That's just how they are? There's no explanation which adds to the mystery and tension. It was a relatively small part of a lengthy book but it gave me similar vibes to some classic fantasy and I wanted to give it a shoutout.
All in all, I devoured this book in a few days and it was one of the more memorable reading experiences I've had in a while. It's not "great for a self-published book", it's simply a great book without such disclaimers needed and I feel like 5 bucks for the ebook was robbery, except that I was the thief. At the same time I do realize it might be an acquired taste but it just hit all the right spots and if the premise sounds even vaguely interesting to you, I can say that to me it fully delivers on it.
Go read it and support an indie author! (I'm in no way affiliated with him, just to be 100% clear).
December 2, 2025
I’ve immersed myself in the indie publishing scene for the past few years, reading traditionally published books from large corporations less and finding more excitement in what my peers are producing. Arguably, there are different spheres of indie writing, not unlike distant worlds beyond the veils that seldom overlap or interact with each other. In that sense, Abraham Carson’s book came to my attention months after its publication on Kindle,and some time after its serialization on RoyalRoad. But having read it, or rather devoured it, I find myself feeling that it’s one of the best books I’ve read this year, and one of the best indie books I have read in my life.
Part of the joy of this book was going into it semi-blind, as I only had the broadest outline of the plot and how it reminded me of another work (more on that later). It is a slow burn story that unrolls slowly and carefully, like a feast being served bit by bit. Subsequently, I will not be discussing the plot in much detail. Portal fantasies have had a bad rap of late, particularly those that play with the tropes around games and power fantasy (generally titled isekai, due to their proliferation in manga and anime). But A Chronicle of Lies - The Dark Sculptor is a reminder that the genre has always had an appeal, and can still deliver stories with depth.
A young and mentally exhausted student named Vincent Cordell is driving home during a terrible snowstorm and finds himself in a car accident, impaled by a deer that collided with his vehicle’s windscreen. Between life and death, a malicious eldritch entity attacks him and draws him into another world, painfully and horrifically transforming him into an alien being the process.
On the other side, he washes up on Falius, a strange and wondrous world best left explored by the reader. But now, in the form of a blue humanoid dragon, a stranger in a strange land, Vincent must learn to survive, find a way home, and regain his humanity. The story is structured like a type of ontological mystery in that the reader and protagonist must pick apart the world and plot by themselves, bit by bit, as the story and its direction is not immediately clear. But things are not simple for our hero.
Many protagonists, finding themselves in such a situation, would try to enjoy themselves, find a place in this new world, or just seize the role of being a hero. But Vincent sees Falius as a snare, and refuses to believe it to exist. For him, doing so may lead to the death of the self, for in the real world, Vincent was diagnosed at a young age with congenital schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and has been struggling with mental illness all his life. For him, accepting that Falius is real would be tantamount to defeat, giving in to the visions and voices he’s heard all his life. Armed with a degree of intellect and education, he wants to pick apart a world that is as dangerous to him as a gingerbread house from a fairy tale.
Older and wider-read fantasy fans might note that the set-up sounds similar to Stephen Donaldson’s Lord Foul’s Bane, and the first few books of the series known as The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever, and I suppose that might be the biggest hurdle for many. I feel that Carson (aka Mekanip on social media) has a strong authorial voice, giving life to his characters and the world he created for them, and Vincent’s perspective is compellingly written with depth and consistency. It’s not the same as Donaldson’s protag’s perspective. Secondly, the world and overall plot is very different, so the more you read, the less the stories overlap.
Another thing that distinguishes the story, I feel, is the dramatic tension in the narrative. The first chapter is from a Falian’s perspective; this and other context clues imply that Vincent, despite his skepticism, is not there not just in mind, but also in body and spirit, giving more weight to his predicament. He is not going to wake up in a bed like Dorothy in the movie The Wizard of Oz. Vincent’s predicament is not that tidy.
This lack of ambiguity to his situation works better for the story, as it makes the hero more tragic. Playing up the ambiguity, as the early Covenant books does, would not have had the same effect. Also, Covenant’s disbelief led to the character indulging in rather nihilistic and controversial acts, while Vincent is unable to let go of his frayed compassion for the beings he believes only exist in his mind. Character is what you are in the dark, and Vincent proves to us that he is, in many ways, a good person, despite his faults.
But as protagonists go, Vincent might be another hurdle, as his mental illness is compellingly written but also realistically drawn. A tragic figure whose life had been agony even before his transmigration, he is not beyond lashing out and mistrusting those around him, though the more we see of his life, the more you see why. At times, he acts like someone fairly logical and intelligent, and other times, as someone who is ‘off his meds’ with no control over his body. Though not completely unlikeable, it might make him unsympathetic to some readers. At least twice, he attacks someone who tries to help him due to his inability to control his emotions, and the Falians do not always know how to respond. In their society, mental illness manifests as ‘the Bane,’ which is fatal for their species. Vincent being immune to it is tantamount to him walking on water. Luckily, the book has an amazingly huge cast of supporting characters, all of them memorable, and its world is deliciously fantastic, and the action scenes, when they come, are breathtaking.
I should also mention that this book is very, very dark. There are parts that feel like they came straight from a Stephen King horror novel. The evil that drives the main conflict for two-thirds of the novel is extremely evil and outright cruel and sadistic.
I also should add to this that this book was rather laserfocused to appeal to me, as it shares the motifs I not only like in what I read, but also like to explore in my own writing. It may be an explanation for why the book ‘spoke to me’ and why I gave it high praise, and why someone else’s mileage may vary.
The theme of keeping one’s self, especially in our rather warped world of late, a world filled with competing views and propaganda meant to sway us, Vincent’s plight will find purchase with many readers. Others would enjoy the lush worldbuilding and characters. I enjoyed this book immensely, and I am looking forward to the next book, and hope it arrives soon.
Part of the joy of this book was going into it semi-blind, as I only had the broadest outline of the plot and how it reminded me of another work (more on that later). It is a slow burn story that unrolls slowly and carefully, like a feast being served bit by bit. Subsequently, I will not be discussing the plot in much detail. Portal fantasies have had a bad rap of late, particularly those that play with the tropes around games and power fantasy (generally titled isekai, due to their proliferation in manga and anime). But A Chronicle of Lies - The Dark Sculptor is a reminder that the genre has always had an appeal, and can still deliver stories with depth.
A young and mentally exhausted student named Vincent Cordell is driving home during a terrible snowstorm and finds himself in a car accident, impaled by a deer that collided with his vehicle’s windscreen. Between life and death, a malicious eldritch entity attacks him and draws him into another world, painfully and horrifically transforming him into an alien being the process.
On the other side, he washes up on Falius, a strange and wondrous world best left explored by the reader. But now, in the form of a blue humanoid dragon, a stranger in a strange land, Vincent must learn to survive, find a way home, and regain his humanity. The story is structured like a type of ontological mystery in that the reader and protagonist must pick apart the world and plot by themselves, bit by bit, as the story and its direction is not immediately clear. But things are not simple for our hero.
Many protagonists, finding themselves in such a situation, would try to enjoy themselves, find a place in this new world, or just seize the role of being a hero. But Vincent sees Falius as a snare, and refuses to believe it to exist. For him, doing so may lead to the death of the self, for in the real world, Vincent was diagnosed at a young age with congenital schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and has been struggling with mental illness all his life. For him, accepting that Falius is real would be tantamount to defeat, giving in to the visions and voices he’s heard all his life. Armed with a degree of intellect and education, he wants to pick apart a world that is as dangerous to him as a gingerbread house from a fairy tale.
Older and wider-read fantasy fans might note that the set-up sounds similar to Stephen Donaldson’s Lord Foul’s Bane, and the first few books of the series known as The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever, and I suppose that might be the biggest hurdle for many. I feel that Carson (aka Mekanip on social media) has a strong authorial voice, giving life to his characters and the world he created for them, and Vincent’s perspective is compellingly written with depth and consistency. It’s not the same as Donaldson’s protag’s perspective. Secondly, the world and overall plot is very different, so the more you read, the less the stories overlap.
Another thing that distinguishes the story, I feel, is the dramatic tension in the narrative. The first chapter is from a Falian’s perspective; this and other context clues imply that Vincent, despite his skepticism, is not there not just in mind, but also in body and spirit, giving more weight to his predicament. He is not going to wake up in a bed like Dorothy in the movie The Wizard of Oz. Vincent’s predicament is not that tidy.
This lack of ambiguity to his situation works better for the story, as it makes the hero more tragic. Playing up the ambiguity, as the early Covenant books does, would not have had the same effect. Also, Covenant’s disbelief led to the character indulging in rather nihilistic and controversial acts, while Vincent is unable to let go of his frayed compassion for the beings he believes only exist in his mind. Character is what you are in the dark, and Vincent proves to us that he is, in many ways, a good person, despite his faults.
But as protagonists go, Vincent might be another hurdle, as his mental illness is compellingly written but also realistically drawn. A tragic figure whose life had been agony even before his transmigration, he is not beyond lashing out and mistrusting those around him, though the more we see of his life, the more you see why. At times, he acts like someone fairly logical and intelligent, and other times, as someone who is ‘off his meds’ with no control over his body. Though not completely unlikeable, it might make him unsympathetic to some readers. At least twice, he attacks someone who tries to help him due to his inability to control his emotions, and the Falians do not always know how to respond. In their society, mental illness manifests as ‘the Bane,’ which is fatal for their species. Vincent being immune to it is tantamount to him walking on water. Luckily, the book has an amazingly huge cast of supporting characters, all of them memorable, and its world is deliciously fantastic, and the action scenes, when they come, are breathtaking.
I should also mention that this book is very, very dark. There are parts that feel like they came straight from a Stephen King horror novel. The evil that drives the main conflict for two-thirds of the novel is extremely evil and outright cruel and sadistic.
I also should add to this that this book was rather laserfocused to appeal to me, as it shares the motifs I not only like in what I read, but also like to explore in my own writing. It may be an explanation for why the book ‘spoke to me’ and why I gave it high praise, and why someone else’s mileage may vary.
The theme of keeping one’s self, especially in our rather warped world of late, a world filled with competing views and propaganda meant to sway us, Vincent’s plight will find purchase with many readers. Others would enjoy the lush worldbuilding and characters. I enjoyed this book immensely, and I am looking forward to the next book, and hope it arrives soon.
October 21, 2025
Great effort! Book was a joy to read from beginning to read.
I appreciated just how stubborn the MC was with his situation, and mostly realistic reactions to everything around him.
Side characters were fun, hopefully in the future we get more perspective chapters of them.
Can't wait for part 2! Hopefully this blooms into a full series, as I can see the potential for it.
edit: accidentally published this a second time, whoops!
I appreciated just how stubborn the MC was with his situation, and mostly realistic reactions to everything around him.
Side characters were fun, hopefully in the future we get more perspective chapters of them.
Can't wait for part 2! Hopefully this blooms into a full series, as I can see the potential for it.
edit: accidentally published this a second time, whoops!
January 20, 2025
This is the book that has gotten me back into reading since my Percy Jackson days around a decade ago. There is so much I love about this book that including it all in the detail I'd like would be its own novel so I'll try and be brief.
The premise is something I've always been into but this simultaneously very realistic and different take on it really hooked me into it.
The world is immaculately detailed and enrapturing to read about and yet it feels as though there is so much more to explore beyond what's on the pages that it leaves me incredibly excited to see what else is out there in this world.
The characters are all both interesting and entertaining with such a wide range of personalities that have all had enough care put into how they each think and feel that it's easy to see them as real people that have lives beyond the events of the book. Vincent in particular makes for a fantastic protagonist who was fun and relatable. His internal journey throughout the story was both fantastically written and something I was able to really strongly connect to.
The story starts slow but that time spent with the little things just later serves to give a real sense of both scale and importance to the larger and more vital parts of the narrative, just like how the time spent in The Shire and around campfires allows The Lord of the Rings to feel so grand in scale and viscerally emotional during those important moments. As the narrative slowly revealed its hand there were satisfying answers that led into even more interesting questions that, after the simultaneously fulfilling and open ended ending to this first installment, has left me ecstatic to read more when the next book comes around.
10/10 from me. As of the time of writing, this is my favourite book ever.
The premise is something I've always been into but this simultaneously very realistic and different take on it really hooked me into it.
The world is immaculately detailed and enrapturing to read about and yet it feels as though there is so much more to explore beyond what's on the pages that it leaves me incredibly excited to see what else is out there in this world.
The characters are all both interesting and entertaining with such a wide range of personalities that have all had enough care put into how they each think and feel that it's easy to see them as real people that have lives beyond the events of the book. Vincent in particular makes for a fantastic protagonist who was fun and relatable. His internal journey throughout the story was both fantastically written and something I was able to really strongly connect to.
The story starts slow but that time spent with the little things just later serves to give a real sense of both scale and importance to the larger and more vital parts of the narrative, just like how the time spent in The Shire and around campfires allows The Lord of the Rings to feel so grand in scale and viscerally emotional during those important moments. As the narrative slowly revealed its hand there were satisfying answers that led into even more interesting questions that, after the simultaneously fulfilling and open ended ending to this first installment, has left me ecstatic to read more when the next book comes around.
10/10 from me. As of the time of writing, this is my favourite book ever.
July 22, 2025
A Chronicle of Lies was an incredible joy to read through . This book has many incredible scenes and characters and is filled with an amount of depth that was unexpected.
I can wholeheartedly recommend it and there are many reasons as to why be it the Protagonist or the side Characters, the fantastical world that pulls you into its wonder or the the incredible darkness this book is willing to portray.
I expected something different before reading but I was left positively stunned.
The only complaint that I have is that I can’t read the next part of it at the moment but I’ll wait patiently on that.
I can wholeheartedly recommend it and there are many reasons as to why be it the Protagonist or the side Characters, the fantastical world that pulls you into its wonder or the the incredible darkness this book is willing to portray.
I expected something different before reading but I was left positively stunned.
The only complaint that I have is that I can’t read the next part of it at the moment but I’ll wait patiently on that.
July 26, 2025
Vincent is one of the most interesting protagonists in any of the books i've read lately, while the worldbuilding itself has the amazing quality of presenting fantastic things and then twisting them to the point where every fantastical revelation feels like it's also a horrible danger. It's been a long while since i read a book that kept me hooked and longing for more such as this one.
PS. sorry for bad grammar
PSPS. looking forward to the second part ^^
PS. sorry for bad grammar
PSPS. looking forward to the second part ^^
October 19, 2025
I'm not even a dragon fan, but the vivid and creative storytelling and world-building kept me along for the adventure. This is a reluctant-isekai, which can always be a tad frustrating, but the character's reasoning is sound, and you can't argue with his logic.
It's a fun story and HUGE. It's like buying two or three books for the price of one. Can't beat that bargain.
It's a fun story and HUGE. It's like buying two or three books for the price of one. Can't beat that bargain.
November 14, 2025
Now, let’s see where to start…
How about the realism of mental illness? How about the beautiful description and portrayal of an asshole? How about the fantastical world with interesting sets of rules and fascinating biological questions?
Least to say, there’s so much about this book I could say that would take me eternity. The writing is clean, the story is interesting, and the main character is someone you feel you just have to hate, but of course, have to root for.
The writer clearly knows how to make emotional situations that capture the pain and confusion that comes with being thrown somewhere you’re not while having a severe mental condition. Specific, but very educational.
Schizophrenia has always been a wonder for me, and it’s incredible to read text that describes it in the most raw and skull splitting fashion.
Needless to say, bravo. I’m looking forward to future installments.
How about the realism of mental illness? How about the beautiful description and portrayal of an asshole? How about the fantastical world with interesting sets of rules and fascinating biological questions?
Least to say, there’s so much about this book I could say that would take me eternity. The writing is clean, the story is interesting, and the main character is someone you feel you just have to hate, but of course, have to root for.
The writer clearly knows how to make emotional situations that capture the pain and confusion that comes with being thrown somewhere you’re not while having a severe mental condition. Specific, but very educational.
Schizophrenia has always been a wonder for me, and it’s incredible to read text that describes it in the most raw and skull splitting fashion.
Needless to say, bravo. I’m looking forward to future installments.
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