A Journey of Black and Red

This is one of my favorite stories here on RR. No stat blocks, just plain good fantasy writing. I feel like this is a great vampire perspective. Not weak willed, not squeamish or afraid to kill people, not overly fond of humans, but a much more "realistic" view of a vampire's life that still makes you love the main character.

I had no idea what to expect before I started this story, but straight from the beginning I was hooked because of this story's unique (on RR) and archaic use of vocabulary and sentence structure. I love the way it is told, it is easy to read and also incredibly fascinating.

I read all 26 chapters (so far) in one sitting because I was so drawn into the story and eager to find out where Ariane's journey to become a full fledged vampire would take her next. 

It is descriptive but does not suffer from long drawn out sentences. The action scenes are well written and informative of what happens and there's some good humour sprinkled here and there. 

Regarding grammar; I don't recall finding any mistakes however there were some typos here and there. They are few and far between so they did not deter my reading experience. 

Honestly, 10/10. Good job & keep on writing.

~ 

EDIT: Just reached chapter 70, the story’s still as great as ever. We’re now quite a bit further in Ariane’s journey and the pacing’s still the same. There has been no lack of intrigue, vengeance and Hunts among others. 

I first dismissed this as "oh, just another vampire story", but then I saw a recommendation and decided to read a few chapters.  A few days later I was fully caught up, and eagerly awaiting the next chapter.

Easily one of the best vampire-lead stories I've ever read, and in the top 10 of all things I've read in the past year.

The varying internal voice(s) of Ariane are particularly well done - I especially love when she's blood-drunk.

The title says it all. Easily one of the best stories on RR.  I read all the available chapters on here and then immediately became a member of the authors patreon page and finished everything they have written. My only complaint is I have to wait for another published chapter. Faster please! 

 I am not normally a fan of vampire stories but I find this one to be a story I look for updates for a couple of reasons.  First the MC is really well done.  LIkeable, realistic, makes mistakes and grows in knowledge and power slowly.  You feel liker her journey is your journey.   SecondI like the slowly developing world that while it has many normal vampire tropes, it still feels original and interesting.  I look forward to this story adding to its world.

It's one of the better things on RoyalRoad, a really fun read.  I just read the whole thing in one sitting. If you haven't read it yet, I absolutely do reccomend that you take the time to do so. 10/10 would reread

Basically the first Vampire novel I could ever sink my teeth into.

As of chapter 26, I have nothing but positive words to say about this story. Really looking forward to where the story is going; it’s brimming with potential. 

This is a story I didn't realise I needed until I found it.

This is a story of real vampires, they drink blood, sleep during the day and definitely don't sparkle. 

The plot is fabulous, exciting and interesting the main character has to fight for her victories and it doesn't get boring.

The characters are engaging and the non-human mentality is well done.

All in all, it's a good read and worth your time.

(review written after reading all 23 chapters currently available)

Finally a Story to at least temporarily stop my craving for Vampyr or World of Darkness storys.

With a nice pacing and good worldbuilding similar to WoD it is a nice read. 

My one criticism is that the first ark could have been a bit more detailed with one or two "missions" more or more discovery of the underlying workings of the supernatural world. At the same time it avoids the usual needed Infodump and such information can be included when needed.

I for one would enjoy a deeper look into magic at a later date, till then

Looking forward to MOOOARR :)

I think it would suffice to say that I pledged my support on patron after the first 60 chapters. But for anybody that would require a more comprehensive review, I will try my best at highlighting what makes this novel great, not perfect, but great. 

First of all, it gets better the more the story goes on, style wise, story telling wise, character and world building wise as well as plot wise. There are some less engaging and duller parts, though I dare say this is highly subjective, but the more the story progresses and the more polished everything feels.

I will try to keep this spoiler free, but in case I should fail in this endeavor, beware. You have been warned. 

Now into the heart of the matter. The start of the novel is a solid 10/10, the perspective chosen for it is great : not only does it allow you to share in the MC disorientation but it still lets you keep a comfortable distance that permits a wider understanding of what is going on. The result is the acute consciousness of the MC's predicament as well as a fair understanding of the general situation. It is so engaging and high in emotions that the end of the introductory arc left the second arc tasting blander than it should have for its overall quality.

For the characters, well, the MC isn't overtly original in its base model, though the coloring added and backstory give her unique quirks and peculiarities that make her either amusing to outright hilarious to simply badass as death, without falling into simplicity through the addition of obstructions and adversity throughout the entire story. All of that being masterfully thought through and brought to life by Mecanimus' incredibly elegant and refined writing style (did I mention it gets better the more you read.

Side characters are like-wise purposefully introduced and developed in such a way that you never find yourself wanting for more neither being fed up with anyone of the characters. Every arc finds closure, every character serves a complex purpose by the intricate but subtle development of personalities, little by little bringing you to a better understanding of everyone of them. I should also mention that the world-building is so well done that it feeds itself further. Indeed, the characters are never one-sided or simplistic and can always make a come back to bring more life and depth to the story and serve as highlights for newer characters.

The magic is soft, it is not clearly defined (as of yet) what it can and cannot do, yet it is powerful to be sure, and takes part in the story as one more element to a deep and complex world. Nor overpowered neither feeble, it is perfectly balanced, depending heavily on the user to determine the height it reaches.

It is overall a great vampire story, punctuated by many references to various subjects, be it litterature, language, civilisations, history of which the accuracy deepens that much more the immersion.

The vampire side of it leaves nothing to be desired and avoids cliché and overused tropes, but I will let you discover for yourself what it really means to be gifted eternal life, in this superbly reconstructed 19th century.