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Chasing Sunlight
Jonathan Heights saw sunlight once. He must see it again.
At least, that’s what he claims when he charters an expedition east beyond the bounds of civilization. The Illuminated King has an abiding interest in such legends, while the Reflected Council is more interested in the treasures that they are convinced he has found, out there in the dark. The truth is shrouded and motives uncertain as Jonathan and the agents of both Crown and underworld take the airship Endeavor to the strange and exotic lands out there in the darkness.
Wonders and horrors both lie between the human lands and his ultimate things long-forgotten and long-dead, that which could not be recorded on any map. They are temptation and terror to the wise and foolish alike, but not to Jonathan. He only has one goal in mind, and will not brook anything that stands between him and sunlight.
At least, that’s what he claims when he charters an expedition east beyond the bounds of civilization. The Illuminated King has an abiding interest in such legends, while the Reflected Council is more interested in the treasures that they are convinced he has found, out there in the dark. The truth is shrouded and motives uncertain as Jonathan and the agents of both Crown and underworld take the airship Endeavor to the strange and exotic lands out there in the darkness.
Wonders and horrors both lie between the human lands and his ultimate things long-forgotten and long-dead, that which could not be recorded on any map. They are temptation and terror to the wise and foolish alike, but not to Jonathan. He only has one goal in mind, and will not brook anything that stands between him and sunlight.
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Published January 11, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 10, 2024
I won't say this is for everyone, but if it's for you, then it might be your favorite read of the year.
Plot - 10/10, Character - 10/10, Setting/Magic - 10/10, Writing - 9.5/10, Enjoyment - 10/10
The story follows a man driven by a desire to find sunlight, something he barely glimpsed during the death knell of a previous expedition into the unforgiving and twisted dark lands to the east. That's it. Something very simple and yet complex at the same time. The story journeys through a variety of wild and imaginative set-pieces, but maintains a steady pace and a consistent throughline: continue east, always east, to find the sunlight.
Something I appreciate about the author is their willingness to leave questions unanswered. So many indie authors fall into that trap of feeling the need to explain every single detail and ounce of backstory of every person and thing that enters the scene. That merely deprives me of the motivation to keep reading once the initial glamors of the premise fade. Inadvisably Compelled keeps us moving and lets the answers come in due time. Expecting but not knowing how a character will behave in certain circumstances creates the tension and drama that keeps me invested in a story.
The character work in this was amazing. Our main character is Jonathan Height, a gentleman explorer of a gas-lamp fantasy setting, who seems inspired by many Lovecraftian researchers. Beyond his singular drive, Jonathan seems to possess a wealth of knowledge relating to the occult and various creatures and cultures beyond the walls of civilization. Contrary to expectation, he also seems to have inhuman strength, the depths of which are ambiguous, yet he's not the only character with powers. The ruler of the city of Beacon is the Illuminated King, someone with abilities tied to the zint lights humanity uses to carve a haven from the encroaching dark. The King appoints a member of the Inquisition, Antomine, to accompany Jonathan and discover whether there is any truth to the myth of sunlight. Also along for the ride is Eleanor, a servant of the criminal underworld who uses strange powers in the shadows. The characters and their motivations are diverse, lending friction and drama every step of the way.
The setting is wildly imaginative and varies with each new location. Humanity lives in walled cities and relies on an artificial light of sorts called zint, which has achieved a holy status under the rule of the Illuminated King. It reminded me of steampunk sensibilities, but I guess zint-punk would be more appropriate. The various powers had no defined magic system, but seemed to rely on an individual's strength of will relating to whatever truth they had grasped up to that moment. But not all truths are equal, and men can be shattered by the weight of insight into contrary knowledge. Ironically, exposure to occult truths lends a degree of resistance to them in the future, but one must survive the initial exposure as well as the ensuing curiosity. Cue the Nietzsche quote.
The writing was gorgeous and managed to describe things in a poetic nature while still sticking to the point. Similar to how the main character single-mindedly pursued sunlight, the prose didn't go off on tangents, which is often a pitfall that leads to the dreaded purple prose.
As of 09Mar2024, the book could use an additional line edit as there were a few dozen mistakes. Usually they were subject verb disagreements resulting from earlier edits as the author likely toyed with one phrase versus another while editing. An unfortunate side effect of having such fantastic prose is that the mistakes stick out like a sore thumb. It was nothing immersion-breaking, and hopefully these slight imperfections are polished away in a future edit.
If you haven't guessed, I thoroughly enjoyed this. I was on the edge of my seat all the way to the end, with a sense of foreboding as my Kindle counted down to 100%. I had the sense that the MC was an unreliable narrator and genuinely craved and feared the story's final line.
I loved the author's previous series, Paranoid Mage and can't wait for their next work Systema Delenda Est to become available.
Plot - 10/10, Character - 10/10, Setting/Magic - 10/10, Writing - 9.5/10, Enjoyment - 10/10
The story follows a man driven by a desire to find sunlight, something he barely glimpsed during the death knell of a previous expedition into the unforgiving and twisted dark lands to the east. That's it. Something very simple and yet complex at the same time. The story journeys through a variety of wild and imaginative set-pieces, but maintains a steady pace and a consistent throughline: continue east, always east, to find the sunlight.
Something I appreciate about the author is their willingness to leave questions unanswered. So many indie authors fall into that trap of feeling the need to explain every single detail and ounce of backstory of every person and thing that enters the scene. That merely deprives me of the motivation to keep reading once the initial glamors of the premise fade. Inadvisably Compelled keeps us moving and lets the answers come in due time. Expecting but not knowing how a character will behave in certain circumstances creates the tension and drama that keeps me invested in a story.
The character work in this was amazing. Our main character is Jonathan Height, a gentleman explorer of a gas-lamp fantasy setting, who seems inspired by many Lovecraftian researchers. Beyond his singular drive, Jonathan seems to possess a wealth of knowledge relating to the occult and various creatures and cultures beyond the walls of civilization. Contrary to expectation, he also seems to have inhuman strength, the depths of which are ambiguous, yet he's not the only character with powers. The ruler of the city of Beacon is the Illuminated King, someone with abilities tied to the zint lights humanity uses to carve a haven from the encroaching dark. The King appoints a member of the Inquisition, Antomine, to accompany Jonathan and discover whether there is any truth to the myth of sunlight. Also along for the ride is Eleanor, a servant of the criminal underworld who uses strange powers in the shadows. The characters and their motivations are diverse, lending friction and drama every step of the way.
The setting is wildly imaginative and varies with each new location. Humanity lives in walled cities and relies on an artificial light of sorts called zint, which has achieved a holy status under the rule of the Illuminated King. It reminded me of steampunk sensibilities, but I guess zint-punk would be more appropriate. The various powers had no defined magic system, but seemed to rely on an individual's strength of will relating to whatever truth they had grasped up to that moment. But not all truths are equal, and men can be shattered by the weight of insight into contrary knowledge. Ironically, exposure to occult truths lends a degree of resistance to them in the future, but one must survive the initial exposure as well as the ensuing curiosity. Cue the Nietzsche quote.
The writing was gorgeous and managed to describe things in a poetic nature while still sticking to the point. Similar to how the main character single-mindedly pursued sunlight, the prose didn't go off on tangents, which is often a pitfall that leads to the dreaded purple prose.
As of 09Mar2024, the book could use an additional line edit as there were a few dozen mistakes. Usually they were subject verb disagreements resulting from earlier edits as the author likely toyed with one phrase versus another while editing. An unfortunate side effect of having such fantastic prose is that the mistakes stick out like a sore thumb. It was nothing immersion-breaking, and hopefully these slight imperfections are polished away in a future edit.
If you haven't guessed, I thoroughly enjoyed this. I was on the edge of my seat all the way to the end, with a sense of foreboding as my Kindle counted down to 100%. I had the sense that the MC was an unreliable narrator and genuinely craved and feared the story's final line.
I loved the author's previous series, Paranoid Mage and can't wait for their next work Systema Delenda Est to become available.
January 9, 2024
A Fine Palette Cleanser for the New Year
Mix Bioshock, some steampunk, some LSD and a good old-fashioned adventure and you've got a wild and fun story to read in the cold winter months
Mix Bioshock, some steampunk, some LSD and a good old-fashioned adventure and you've got a wild and fun story to read in the cold winter months
November 11, 2024
4.5/5 [🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗]
The world that this story takes place in is wild. The reader, much like the inhabitants of this world, are left in the dark (pun intended) with regards to how the world works. The world is a dark, strange place with mysteries, oddities, and things that humanity can't fathom. While the story is not anything to rave about, I found myself always surprised at the incredible places that story would take us. This book very much embodies the idea of "it's about the journey, not the destination." I can totallly see this book isnt for everyone, but it very much was something I enjoyed.
The story pretty much revolves around and explorer set to find sunlight. The world is bathed in an eternal darkness and humanity lives in pockets of civilization. The world is very much steampunk inspired as they travel in a floating vessel/ship (think blimp). There is both magic and technology in this world as well as other races similar to humans and those that are anything but. The vastness and strangeness of the world is only surpassed by the secrets the darkness holds.
The story is very much linear as it's an adventure that goes from point A to B, but the magic of the story is in how unique the world is and how much lore there is to everything. I would definitely love to see more stories within this world.
The world that this story takes place in is wild. The reader, much like the inhabitants of this world, are left in the dark (pun intended) with regards to how the world works. The world is a dark, strange place with mysteries, oddities, and things that humanity can't fathom. While the story is not anything to rave about, I found myself always surprised at the incredible places that story would take us. This book very much embodies the idea of "it's about the journey, not the destination." I can totallly see this book isnt for everyone, but it very much was something I enjoyed.
The story pretty much revolves around and explorer set to find sunlight. The world is bathed in an eternal darkness and humanity lives in pockets of civilization. The world is very much steampunk inspired as they travel in a floating vessel/ship (think blimp). There is both magic and technology in this world as well as other races similar to humans and those that are anything but. The vastness and strangeness of the world is only surpassed by the secrets the darkness holds.
The story is very much linear as it's an adventure that goes from point A to B, but the magic of the story is in how unique the world is and how much lore there is to everything. I would definitely love to see more stories within this world.
September 15, 2024
I enjoyed the author's other two published series, so I am willing to give this a go.
Even though the blurb is not interesting me to.
This is weird. It took about a quarter(?) of the book for it to get interesting to me. Before that it was a Victorian Era (something)punk (not steam) novel, about a guy going on an adventure.
I'm about halfway through, and it seems to be about humanity hiding away in a corner, trying to survive, while surrounded by a bunch of eldritch beings.
Not sure how I feel about this, I'm not really into the horror genre, and while I know this isn't a horror book, it does have a lot of existential damage to one's sanity and mental well being.
I will finish this, but depending on how the second half of this goes, I might drop the series.
It is well written, but so far, sin't my cup of tea.
This seems to have been a one and done book. I don't see how their world be a sequel, nor would I read it. I can truthfully say that I am satisfied with how this ended.
I hope the author's next series is more enjoyable.
3/5 Stars
Even though the blurb is not interesting me to.
This is weird. It took about a quarter(?) of the book for it to get interesting to me. Before that it was a Victorian Era (something)punk (not steam) novel, about a guy going on an adventure.
I'm about halfway through, and it seems to be about humanity hiding away in a corner, trying to survive, while surrounded by a bunch of eldritch beings.
Not sure how I feel about this, I'm not really into the horror genre, and while I know this isn't a horror book, it does have a lot of existential damage to one's sanity and mental well being.
I will finish this, but depending on how the second half of this goes, I might drop the series.
It is well written, but so far, sin't my cup of tea.
This seems to have been a one and done book. I don't see how their world be a sequel, nor would I read it. I can truthfully say that I am satisfied with how this ended.
I hope the author's next series is more enjoyable.
3/5 Stars
January 31, 2024
Absolutely incredible book
I can't really define how much I enjoyed this book. It's been decades since I read something that enraptured me as much as it did. Just a fantastic story that got its hooks in me and pulled me along until the conclusion. I don't even want more. It was perfect and I want it to remain pristine in my memory.
I can't really define how much I enjoyed this book. It's been decades since I read something that enraptured me as much as it did. Just a fantastic story that got its hooks in me and pulled me along until the conclusion. I don't even want more. It was perfect and I want it to remain pristine in my memory.
March 15, 2025
I loved the strangeness and the concepts
Absolutely love this book - it so very different from the other books by the same author, really good. The fact that concepts can have a weight and an impact blew my mind away.
Absolutely love this book - it so very different from the other books by the same author, really good. The fact that concepts can have a weight and an impact blew my mind away.
August 24, 2025
A great Lovecraftian dark fantasy with excellent worldbuilding and rich grammar. So far, my favourite short story of this kind anywhere ever.
November 3, 2024
The web novel is entertaining, but really, I don't think I can rate it any higher. Like a meal at McDonalds: empty calories, you might feel a bit off afterwards, but it tastes Hella good while it lasts
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews