Mother of Learning

I can't believe that this has come to Royal Road. This is my all time favorite fiction ever. The story is amazing, the characters change and develop, and the world around the story  is well built without getting bogged down.

If you want an amazing story set in an awesome fantasy world with well thought out characters  this is it. This story is one of the few time travel stories that doesn't get stale or remove any tension, in fact when the characters learn about the nature of the time loop it dramatically notches up the tension. The only criticism I can give is that there are occasional mistyped words/sentences, and some words can be repeated a little too often or too soon. This doesn't keep the story from being the masterpiece that it is in any way. Go read this now.

I can't get enough of this story!

I have been following this story on Fiction Press for several years and I anxiously await every chapter release. The story, environment and characters are brought to life with a level of quality that is rarely seen in fiction these days. The Author's dedication to quality and substance in this story is on par with the Masters of the Golden Age of Science Fiction and Fantasy from the mid 20th Century.

Each chapter is something that you can sink your teeth into, and unlike most long form fictions or web serials this story has not suffered from any loss of pace or Author burnout.

The characters are fully fleshed out and their personalities are consistent throughout the story. The growth of the main character is not just in his personal power level either, but through his personality and how he views and interacts with the world and characters around him.

The story itself is amazing and I cannot recommend it enough. As I said above, I can’t get enough of this story.

The story started great, pulled me right in and kept me there. And then... went on... and on... and lost me.

In most stories (95%+) you can tell that the MC survives until the end of the story and in most also survives said end, simply because it is a story. Yet there is still plenty of tension. Somehow, poooooosssibly related to the very central mechanic, this story has even less tension after the initial chapters.

It just... petters out.

Usually my reading style is: Start - ignore rest of the universe - finish.

It worked for Harry Potter, LoTR, GoT, Malazan, and if you ever needed an example of straining patience with long-winded fluff: Wheel of Time. Among others. All of them and plenty of 'lesser' works (some of them on this site, some of them all over the place: Chinese LN's? Sure, read plenty).

This story though?

Don't get me wrong the start (and what I would have considered the middle, but now looking at the length of the story so far was still the early third) was amazing, but then... less so. Where is the tension? Where is the emotional impact? There are nudges of both, but...

Which in essence describes the story pretty well: "Good, but - dot - dot - dot"

By the time there are the 'great twists' I already stopped caring for most characters. As said before, usually I start a story and if I like it I just steamroll it to the end. There are stories that just turn me off pretty quick, but this one might be one of the very few where I read it a lot at first, then stopped, tried again later, stopped again, tried again a few more times, but simply did not manage to get myself to finish it. Not because it is 'bad', simply because it could not hold my interest anymore.

It turned stale so to speak.

That said, it still is a really good story, simply not quite my cup of tea. Usually not enough of a reason to write a review, and I don't mean to badmouth the story and it also makes me feel a bit bad...

BUT

Does it deserve status on the first page? Probably.

Does it deserve the top spot? Oooooooooh, no, sireee, most definitely not.

Why did I bother to write this possibly incoherent review?

A shit-ton of fans are further distorting an already twisted 'Best Rated'.

So in essence, I am writing this out of a heavy dose of pettiness.

Early on I would rate this story 8 out 10, while ever so slowly pettering out to a 5 out of 10 (until I stopped reading around Chapter 70 or 80) - or to use RoyalRoads standards: 5 stars to 4 stars.

On average 4.5, but -0.5 for pettiness (or to restore balance to the for-... to the overinflated other ratings - YOU made me do this!)

Tl;dr: It is a beautiful story full of wonder and possibilities, that somehow manages to become less. And - I feel filthy just typing it - 'overrated'.

Mother of Learning is a extremely well written story of Groundhog day in a Fantasy world.

Each of the repeats, how the little details change, especially the characters not involved in the time loop (And Xvim, well....)

This has gone right to the very top of my favorites among webfiction for many good reasons, only outdone by A Practical Guide To Evil in just plain epicness and poetry.

Do not miss reading this ever, it is fully worth it.

A truly amazing fiction, with logical mechanics

Great story with interesting plot and charactors. Well paced and quite long without being a slog. 10/10 would recommend.

What can I say, nothing except PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE continue to write this great book. The release has slow down significantly since MC woke up in the real world. I cannot imagine not being able to finish this book.

Among the most well-written among all kind of stories I have read until now.

Since the author has stuck with stuff he/she is good at, the story turns out to be a great read. For example, the planning for the plot and magic system, and no unneccessary moral or ethical preaching (which is very hard to pull-off in a story).

The plot is consistent, has a proper focus and is meticulously planned. How Zorian, the MC, and other characters get influenced by the time-loop is also something that's worth mentioning. And thus you'd grow up liking the characters, the system and the story. 

There are a number of memorable and intriguing characters as well, like the ancient lich. And all of them have some or the other role to play in the bigger picture and plot, which makes the story a delectable treat.

First 3-4 chapters may seem like a drag, because the hook isn't introduced until then. But I suggest that readers stick with the story, and I guarantee that they are up for an enjoyable ride.

As of Chapter 92 on authors Fiction Press.

Story: Nobody has created a massive and sprawling world thinking through the politics, society, technology, theology and culture of mages, sentient psycic spiders, liches and hilariously stone age humanoid wasps; and how all of them would clash or cooperate with each other in tribes or countries over contenents.  The story reads like it was completly planned out and executed with a goal in mind. Not a stream of consiousness.

   MC time loops one month for years of subjective time.  Exploring learning and going to war with anything that stands in the way of not surviving (he dies sometimes)but existing.  

Style:  The Narration is Excellent and is consistent in following the actions of MC and some of his internal thought processes.  The Narration style is consistent and feels like a narrator telling a story.  Not a drunk bipolar schizophranic telling lies in a bar.  The mechanics of how Nobody shows the story while telling it seems natural and seemless. Narration stays in the present tense throughout.

Grammar: Better than mine ^^.  You can go through dozens of chapters and not notice anything that would distract and stop the flow of the story.  Very rarely there is a mispelled word.  Syntax and word choices make for a flowing enjoyable read.

Character Score:  I think this is where the story really shines.  Other characters see actions and emotions of the MC,  react and judge him in diffrent ways because of it.  All characters feel like real and unique people that grow or dont grow as a mechanic of the time loop.

The premis is good.  The characters are equal parts enjoyable and annoying.  Magic, the fallout of absent gods and politcal intrige run wild.  Pick it up you wont regret it.  

I've been following this for years, and it never gets old. It has great worldbuilding, magic mechanics, plot, grinding, munchkinery, character development, and even interesting side characters. The writing is great as well, with scenes that really leave you empathizing with the characters.

Without any spoilers, this is basically the fantasy version of groundhog day, with magic and mystery. Even with the time loops, the protagonist's power levels are always internally consistent with the story and reasonable, and as of yet, I haven't seen any real plot holes or inconsistencies.

TLDR: 10/10 read it.