High Skies Piracy

As someone familiar with Elliot's earlier work, I may have known what to expect when venturing in HSP. Good quality, fleshed-out characters, a great blend of light-hearted moments in dark settings and serious stakes and consequences. It didn’t disappoint.

High Skies Piracy is more than a solid read. It’s an enjoyable one as well. It does focus more on the characters and the plot than flying ships! aspect of the story but it still more than satisfied me.

Story:

I'll admit, it took me a few chapters to warm up to the story. The first two chapters danced dangerously close to the line of 'same old tired cliché of a generic character going through the same situation' but the following deviations and stubborn refusal to fall for the pitfalls this type of story and the characters in the cast can provide more than endeared it to me.

Indeed, at times I even felt like it poked fun at the reader (of all people) for expecting certain character stereotypes (Yin as a tsundere.). This was done subtly, and not visible to people not actively looking for it. That said, the overall pacing was on the fast side, as any respectable piracy story should be. This is maintained right up until the end, making it very suitable for binging.

The fight scenes are well-done, with actual shit happening instead of pages upon pages of purfekt dodges and counter-kill, beetch. People got banged up, shit got hurt and anchors were put through hulls. Cannon-sized shotguns were employed and common sense firmly sat in the corner.

Descriptions were on-point without rambling, and often lent very real life to the pages and the scenes within.

The flying ship! aspect of the story seems to have been silently ignored, often, as we didn’t get the mandatory entire wall-o-text chapter explaining every nuance about it as soon as possible. This might be because the MC, who had up until that point seen them as everyday things, didn’t feel the need. But, eh, I'll just blame the author. It's more to see him squirm that way.

Style:

Like I said, it took me a little while to warm up to the book itself, and the writing style. This is just through the first two chapters (for reasons I stated above). Once Elliot gets a chance to flex his muscles on his strongest suit, the gainsayers shall be hooked like they've got an an hor through them. Fast, on point with some very deep moments, it’s obvious the author knows what he's doing and very much enjoying it.

Grammar:

(Why do I even include this in my reviews?)
No complaints, moving on.

Characters:

In my opinion, the strongest suit of the story. The cast is varied, wild and fleshed-out. The villains and antagonists systematically refuse to fall for easy stupidity so common in One Piece knock-offs. Oh, they aren’t from, say, A Practical Guide to Evil, mind you, but time and thought was put into everyone.

I very much like Stephan, especially how his more down-to-earth personality and character sharply contrasts to the rest of the crew (and cast both large and smol.) Some people might whine about 'beta male' early on, but then i'd just look at them like a steaming cow turn landed in their hair and move on.

Stephan needs some time to establish himself, while the rest if the immediate crew is very in-your-face. Again, I like the contrast. Every member of the cast brings their own unique personality and background. None of them feel like cookie-cutter props.

Character progression is paced nicely, and not just for Stephan, for others as well. Having an entire damn roster of characters growing and evolving (while causing general chaos and getting into trouble) is no smol feat, and Elliot should be recognized for it.

Conclusion:

There is nothing wrong with High skies Piracy. No obvious flaws or failings. Nothing I can really criticize. That in itself makes this well worth a read. With solid action, great worldbuilding, and the oh-so snarky, helpful and insightful before chapter quotes (you'll see what I mean when the story drops a character on you out of the blue and you already know them without anyone having talked about them in-story) this is a resounding success.

8.8/10 would rob again.

It's like borderlands but driving a science/magic pirate ship! Albeit few grammar issues which could easily be fixed later on as the Author familiarizes themselves better with tenses, it is very easily legible and easy on the eyes with the text format unlike some word blobs I've seen in my time.

The overall story is very interesting with a world I can't wait to know more about, between the technology of the ships themselves, the society that makes them possible and the vastly interesting kinds of different characters atop them.

As for the characters themselves, between the, at first, rather average Protagonist... on his journey through a strange new world and cast, fresh characters like Torch and more keep you entertained as the Protag himself grows alongside them.

Whilst as a combat buff myself, the action could use some more spicing up in my personal opinion, but keeping it unbiased? It's well written and scripted with abundant fantasy elements to keep most readers jittering to continue.

This story is very much the "Putting base fantasy completely aside" sort, bringing enjoyment for both new readers of the genre and old with fresh ideas and creations by the Author whilst not going into too much detail too quickly, keeping you curious and guessing on what the actual f just happened.

If I had advice to give to the Author, is go through the early chapters and check on some rather jarring mistakes in the past to present tense. such as;

' They panicked as their clothes caught fire, bumping into one another and screaming as they patted themselves down.

Torch rose to his feet.'

The second sentence's start can feel like a hiccup, personally I would go for; Torch as he rose to his feet, "XxXx" he began digging into his coat before producing-

Like that it flows a bit better, other than some more of these scattered about the early chapters, good show sir! or madam! I don't know! :D

First off, I want to admit that I have a bias toward pirates and airships. Growing up a Final Fantasy fan, my love of the movie, Treasure Planet, and being a fan of One Piece all makes me a sucker for this setting and story.

That being said, this story has plenty of objective merits as well. The setting is detailed with enough worldbuilding lurking at the edges of the plot to hint that the author has thought a lot about the world. The maps provided with the story speak to that as well; they remind me of the maps I found in books I read during my childhood and teenage years.

The world itself has a lot of interesting fantasy elements that meld together to form an interesting whole. On their own, some of the elements aren't completely unique but in the context of the world, they made me wonder about how they fit into the larger picture. All in all, it's a great setting for a high flying adventure story.

As for the story, I won't say much but it does the job of stimulating a sense of adventure. Stephan works well as an agent for the reader to see the world through because he is a repressed pencil pusher at the beginning and must slowly open up to find who he really is while exploring the world in search of ancient treasure with his crew. Mystery, adventure, and action make the plot satisfying to read as it ramps up.

Lastly, the characters. I'll admit, at first, I wasn't as keen on some of them. Not because I disliked them but because they didn't catch my interest. However, as Stephan acclimates to the crew and life as a pirate and through POV switches, we learn more about each of member of the Tits Up! which reveals the individuality hidden under their archetypal surface. Additionally, Stephen himself isn't merely a vehicle for the reader. He has his own motivations as he grows closer to the crew and balances out the crew's high octane personalities with his own. They make a great cast of renegades with their skills, antics, and, most importantly, the familial bonds they build during the story.

Ultimately, this story is a fun adventure filled with interesting and likable characters. It reminds me of movies like Treasure Planet and Atlantis, and video games like Skies of Arcadia, most of the early entries in the Final Fantasy series, and a bit of Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. If you like any of those things, or just want a good magitech adventure story, I recommend reading.

I found the opening to be rather intriguing. The predicament that Stephan found himself in at the start of the plot was interesting; I wasn't sure at first how he would get out of it. From the very start, I found myself invested in Stephan's situation. It was easy to get a sense of how dire being held captive by the slavers was for Stephan. 

The characters introduced over the course of the next chapters all felt like they had distinct personalities. I thought that Yin in particular was a fascinating character. I interpreted her behavior around Stephan at the start to be a result of shyness. The dynamic she has with Stephan was interesting, which I think is a result of the way it was written. We have the scene where Stephan wants Yin to help him cook, as well as the one where Yin shows up to help Stephan with the two men. The scenes are spaced out in a way that I couldn't help but want more of Yin and Stephan's interactions.

Overall, the prose is solid and flows fairly nicely. I like the way the world is introduced as the plot progresses. It isn't too fast or too slow-- I think the pace in which the world is revealed is a perfect balance.

Pirates, fighting, enticing characters and magic!!! What’s not to love? 

The characters are very in depth, you can see the writer shine through, which I personally love to see in a story. 

I also find fantasy pirates to be a very intriguing concept! And so far I’m very impressed as it has all the regular components you’d find in high fantasy, but it comes with a twist! 

So far the story is very intriguing and I’m finding it hard to stop thinking about the characters! I think the writer does a good job at expressing the characters emotions and pulling you in, so you feel entangled with the character, and you really feel for them. 

The descriptions and landscape are great, incredibly rustic. It’s not hard at all to envision the story in your mind!

Overall, I can’t find many, if any faults in this story, especially giving it’s a web serial! 

Well done! 

This review applies up to chapter 15.

have read a fair bit of web based fiction, as well as fiction in general, and very few have managed to catch my attention. High Skies Piracy has done more than that, it has made me a fan, and I believe that it is more than capable of standing amongst the fantasy greats, online or otherwise.

Style 4.5/5

The style is light and breezy most of the time, but it’s also capable of becoming heavy whenever the story demands it. In other words, a near perfect fit, aside from a few passages that dragged on for a bit, but never enough that reading became a chore.

Grammar 4.5/5

Grammar is near flawless, with only a few hiccups here and there, though not enough to be distracting.

Story 5/5

The story, at first, seems reminiscent of Black Lagoon, with a hapless every man thrown headfirst into piracy. But then chapter 4 comes along and the story starts introducing its own unique concepts, as well as its own identity. The worldbuilding is top notch, (I especially love how, without engaging in an infodump, the reader is made to know about the Concord’s position relative to the rest of the nations) the story is engaging, and the action scenes are sufficiently swashbuckly (if that’s even a word) that they never feel dreary, but also capable of handling violence in a way that feels proper, not gratuitous. (That’s not to say that there isn’t a lot of violence, there is. It just never feels like it’s inappropriate, or hamfisted.)

Characters 5/5

If Royal Road allowed for 6/5s I’d have put that here. The characters are, simply put, the strongest part of this story. If, for some reason, the story had been not as good as it was, I would’ve still continued reading just to see the characters interact with one another, it’s that good. (Slice of life AU please, Mr. Moors! jk).

At first, the characters appear to be your generic pirate crew archetypes, with Quintilla in particular being the badass female captain archetype reminiscent of Fate/Extra’s Francis Drake amongst others. But as the story continued, the characters grew into their own, filled out the other traits that sticking to the archetypes would have never done, and they became people in their own right.

Furthermore, not only are the characters believable and likeable, their chemistry is as well; the interactions between the crew are amazingly well realized, and like I said, I would totally read a slice of life AU with these characters in the starring role.

Conclusion:

A fun romp through a uniquely and masterfully realized world with amazingly written characters. If you aren’t reading it already, do it now. You’ll be glad you did.

I love the idea of the novel, it is set in a great world and the author builds off the foundation he made. 

The story flows well, it is well written, and with okay grammar. 

I will love the map at the start, gives a clear picture of the world we will be traveling. 

Great character introduction and the intricate with each other, showing the chemistry that they have with each other. 

Great story with exciting characters filling out a great world.

I love the found family we have here, and i also like how each of the characters undergo their own arcs that explain their interpersonal relationships with each other. You get enough PoV's to really get to know them, see how and why they act the way they do and what makes them tick.

That being said. The MC has a habit of getting a bit lost in the dialogue. He is often a spectator to the more whacky characters antics. This is especially true in scenes taking place on board ships. Where the crews knowledge, teamwork and skill is on display. Meanwhile the MC kind of just.. exists.

That being said, combat is done excellently. fast paced and frantic conveying the motion of the fights through simple and easy to understand language. Though i did have to look up a few weapons being used later on as they get quite exotic. We do get to learn with the MC about much in this world. But after the first couple of arcs, and most of the learning is done, the problems i meantioned earlier start to arrise.

9/10 for the first 28 chapters

8.5/10 for the later chapters as stephan is forced to share the spotlight more.

I tried to resist reading this fiction. 

I saw it appear on Trending one day, was interested by the name and the cover, and checked on the reviews, which were all positive. Even one from L Nimbus, who doesn't know me but who I recognized from floating around this site as a man of culture and taste. That tipped me over the edge.

Still, I was nervous. This looked... well, how to put this delicately? Good. Filled with all those things a good story is supposed to have, like character development, an interesting cast of characters and original setting. But I was nervous. Because I've been subsisting off of LitRPG, isekai junk food filled with all the generic tropes you know and love, and which take virtually no effort or thinking on my part. I try to maintain a certain standard for grammar and syntax, but beyond that I'll consume about any junk that limps its way onto the Trending page. Was I really ready to read something of... merit? With an MC that's not the generic isekai insert that takes no effot on my part? With a world that doesn't conform to all the tired tropes?

Then one day, the answer turned out to be yes. Barely, but yes. So I read one chapter. It was as bad as I'd feared. A main character that doesn't instantly know everything they need to be an awesome badass and... (throws up in mouth a little) room to develop as a character. That almost clinched it for me. But I read on. And again. And now I can't stop.

So you should give it a try.

Written after chap 15

Already a lot of reviews talking about the good things here so I won't add much.

Great worldbuilding with maps! It's clear to me how much detail and attention the author put into this story.

Style and grammar are very good and smooth. If there are any mistakes, I don't even realize it.

The shinning thing about this novel is the characters. The chemistry between them, how the interact with eachother really clicking it for me.

The pirate crews have their own types, their way of talking, and clear characterization. The author synthesizes gold from a bunch of normal ingredients like an alchemist!

My only regret is there was no pirate ninja assassin. (at the moment) ^^