The Chronicle of the Wolves

As noted in the author's comments, there have been revisions to the story.  From what I've read, the revisions made are outstanding.

Style: The storytelling by this author is wonderful.  You truly get to feel immersed in the world they're creating.  The pace is fluid but may be a little slow for some readers, although I enjoyed it tremendously.  Chapter lengths vary in line with traditional novel styles, so no issues there.

Grammar: There are a few small mechanics like verb tenses that were missed during the initial pass, but overall there's hardly anything to nitpick at.  Some missed or misplaced punctuation and relatively devoid of spelling issues.  Great work!

Story: The fantasy setting the author paints is magnificent.  From chapter one, you can feel the world come alive around you, smell the salty sea air, see the blacksmith rapping away, and hear the night sounds through Kveldulf.  There's a good plot progression after some strong world building in the beginning.

Character:  The characters are wonderful and feel alive.  They react naturally with each other and their surroundings and develop at a good pace.  The balance of dialogue and world description keep you immersed throughout. 

Overall: The story is wonderfully written.  I didn't see what the story was like prior to edits, however, I can say the author has taken great care in presenting their world to us.  I thoroughly enjoy the character names, the lore and culture presented, and the detailed descriptions of the environments we find ourselves in.  This title earned a follow from me!

The story has potential. You get the feeling that the world is deep and has a long history. But some issues need to be addressed to make the most of it.

There are some issues with word misuse, tense, some words missing, and quite a few grammatical errors that really pull you out of the story. Something like Grammarly might help minimize these issues.

Some of the dialogs seems off. Or not so much, off, but not exactly fitting within the setting. I think maybe it’s the familiarity between the two groups. They have never worked with each other and just sort of come together and seem to know each other's quirks. I’m not saying they can’t work together but there should be a bit of tension between two unknown groups.

The characters like to talk and there is a lot of dialogue but a lack of exposition, which in my opinion, sometimes makes it hard to follow what the MC’s are up to or where they are at. The author seems to be good at describing people, but very minimal description of things around them. This could be purposeful by the author but it can make it hard for some to follow the story.

The Author is going for a slow reveal. This is fine but does leave the characters feeling a bit two-dimensional in the early chapters until more is revealed about them and their past.

People that like serious high fantasy will likely enjoy this story.

This is one of the rare few novels in which the dialouge really hooked me, and that's out of quite a number of books.

The description of scenes and the way the words somehow flow into your mind really helps me FEEL like i'm in the scene, next to the port, crossing the Crimson Fields and seeing the bandit ambush. This is real good writing, and I'm definitely keeping some of the phrases and style of words being used.

Summary? Stop reading the reviews and jump right in, you won't regret it if you love the genre.

Style:

I note that the author has done a re-write, with clearer font at a larger size along with very descriptive text of the surroundings. This is a very good thing - much better than I can hope to achieve. Some readers might be put off by the elaborate showing of the environment, but it's a big plus in my book.

The reason why I cannot give a full five stars is because the format drastically changes after the rewritten chapters. I really think the author should continue the rewrite, though it might be a pain in the ass to do so. However there is clearly a diamond in the rough here, and I won't be surprised to see it do well in the future.

Story:

It is indeed a slow burn, I get the feeling of a drama shown on TV where the first few episodes are easy-going filler episodes slice of life. However, it ramps up fairly quickly, and our first big skirmish shows the peril and realistic danger of battle. Our main character doesn't come out unscathed, and this is yet another big plus in my mind - the author clearly shows dedication to his craft to ensure continuinty and logic.

Of course, there's magic, spells and sword-singing (which was described amazingly as well, by the way) which helps to enrich the story. Coupled with the little bits of world lore behind the statue, the Crimson Fields and the myths of legend, and you really get a taste of the flowing world the characters live in.

But why not 5/5? There's certain parts of the story I feel that was shoehorned in, especially the doctor and his family being killed. I get this feeling that it seemed to be a part that was added later in the story rather than the story being built around it from the get-go. This is a personal view and assumption, do not take my rating directly as objective.

Grammar:

5/5, no errors no flaws no issues, at least not up to Chapter 7.

Character:

Wow, the dialogue really knocked me off my feet. I'm never one for truly grasping medival accents and what not, but this one really really felt like I was there, with the accents, slangs and sayings. The little songs and mantras that pop up along the way only adds more to the character backlore.

The interactions between the characters seemed to be a bit fast paced sometimes, and we are introduced to a whole host of characters fairly fast. It seems to be about three chapters for a total of seven characters in focus plus one villain if I'm not wrong.

However, the author somehow manages to weave it in nicely into the story that I never really felt like 'oh he's dumping a lot of characters', because there was a clear reason why the characters interacted with each other in the first place.

The lighthearted nature of the dialogue also serves to mask the deeper insecurities of each character, hinted at through conversations and 'gossips' from people around and through each other, which really serves to push as depth to the characters.

Overall, a clear 5/5 despite some format and story issues, but what a blast to read!

From what I have read so far, the story is off to a good start that pulls you in. It is shaping up to be a slow burn epic from the way the world-building reveals itself through its characters. If you like to slowly learn about the world along the character journey, then I highly recommend this. 

Style: The perspective stays consistent with the story. The pacing is a rollercoaster in a good way, meaning you will have slow moments and then you will have fast-paced moments that keep the story fresh.

Story: The author chooses to introduce the world through its characters and culture, which are deeply planned and thought out. It is well paced and delivered as the author begins to paint the picture of the world in your mind. 

Grammar: The grammar is great, and the bonus is the author does indeed go back and revise from the suggestions given. 

Character: While the characters may feel two dimensional at first, you actually come to learn more about them through their own actions and descriptions from the other characters. 

Overall: The Chronicle of the Wolves does indeed give you the feeling of a long ride ahead which is great if you really want something to sink your teeth into I recommend because the authors care and love can be shown through the writing as they continuously revise their old chapters and get better in the later ones.

The Chronicle of the Wolves is the story of Kveldulf Einarsen, who after years of wandering as a sell-sword, has returned to his ancestral land to help two friends form their own mercenary company.  Together, they'll stumble upon the efforts of an ancient enemy to finish a terrible conquest.

Style:  The perspective is consistent and smooth.  The pace is solid and exciting.  My sole gripe is with how verbose the text can be.  Some information is provided multiple times with different wording, which hurts the pacing.  (Hopefully this review is out of date and a round of editing/condensing has elevated the story to its full potential.)

Story:  Conversation and events flow naturally at a satisfying pace, driving the narrative along.  The worldbuilding and lore is obviously deeply thought out.  Overall excellent.  (If I had one suggestion, it's that sometimes scenes lingers too long on emotional moments.  This paradoxically weakens those by costing some reader interest.)

Grammar:  Decent, but there are some issues.  There are verbs with wrong tenses, relics from when sentences were reorganized.  Also many incorrect or missing prepositions.  Doesn't really affect readability.

Character:  Great cast.  Each characters has personality and a well laid out backstory.  Interactions feel natural and engaging.  Kveldulf makes a sympathetic and gripping protagonist.  No complains.

Conclusion:  Despite its issues, I recommend The Chronicle of the Wolves because of its solid core.  The intriguing setting is fleshed out.  The characters are compelling.  The narrative is exciting and brisk.  It's a fun read.

This story showcases the work of an author who genuinely loves fantasy and dungeons and dragons. He comes right out of the gate and tells us that this version is a draft he's in the process of revising - and you can really see the growth of his writing style and technique as he progresses over the course of the chapters.

I'm currently only on chapter 5, but this story seems to be setting up something epic here. The author has done an impressive amount of worldbuilding, which thankfully isn't conveyed through info dumps, but instead through conversation and little tidbits here and there. And while the story is still in the setup phase, I think it's going to become something great.

Style Score - The author paints a picture with his words, though occasionally the description is a little too detailed. But beyond that, he has a solid style perfectly suited for a slow burn like the Lord of the Rings. Everything is easy to understand and clear in the story, and it flows smoothly, especially after the most recent revisions.

Grammar - The grammar is overall solid, but there are some places where it could use improvement. This is probably the one weak point of the story, though the author is working on fixing it based on all the revisions.

Story - The story has drawn me in and I'm invested enough to want to see what happens to the band of adventurers. While they're mostly on the 'side-quest' phase, it's obvious something more grand is in the works.

Character - The characters are the highlight of the story, and each of them has their own unique personalites. It's obvious the author has spent a lot of time giving them each their own interests and goals, and the introductions are a lot fun as well.  

I'll start with a word of advice that 'might' solve the very minor grammar issue. If you can find yourself a text-to-speech app and run your chapters through there (I use a paid version of Dragon Naturally Speaking) you'll catch most of misspelled words, or missing words. That alone should clean up most of what the other commenters are pointing out. You're on your own for homonyms though (the bane of my writing life).

Onto the good stuff and it's all good!

The story is writen in the vein of a classic epic fantasy with some throwbacks to class alocations/roles per party member who serve a particular function while adding a flavour to their combat style. It is writen in a single POV in third person, past tense, as one would expect for older fantasy fiction from which the author drew inspiration from. And what an omage it is!

The characters are diverse and well thought out, each showcasing a clear sense of personality and identity that is fully fleshed out and deep. I have a sense of history and comradery with these characters that I rarely find in new fiction these days. It nice to feel the chemistry between these characters.

The story follows a band of mercs who decide to form their own little group and pursue bounties. In this particular story, though it's dark depths has yet to be revealed, our heroes are in search for a bandit who may or may not have made off with the daughter of a local farmer. As our heroes learn more about their mark, their prey's sinister mechnations begin to weave through out the general tone of the story. Something is off... something is wrong... something is definately not right with this situation... and yet they dive deeper.

The chronicles of the wolves follows Kveldulf Einarsen as the exile placed on his family centuries ago has ended, and he returns home. He joins a mercenary company eager to bring back honor to his family, but soon finds himself on a quest to take down the monster that caused the exile of his family.

Style (5/5): I enjoyed the prose in this story. Each chapter is layered with some great descriptions that highlight nuanced qualities about the world, the lore, and the characters around Kveldulf. The writing flows very well and the descriptions are quite in depth and paint vivid pictures.

Story (5/5): I enjoy the set up of the story and the premise is easy to understand. There is a clear goal in mind, but of course, there will be many obstacles along the way. How Kveldulf manages to overcome these trials is something that drew me into the story.

Grammar (4.5/5): There are a few grammatical mistakes that don't detract from the story, but are easy to spot within the first chapter itself. The author did make mention that the chapters are rough drafts so hopefully the small mistakes get ironed out.

Character (5/5): The characters are great. Kveldulf's relationships feel methodically planned out by the author and every interaction feels intentional, giving a lot of personality to the inhabitants of the world. I especially like how Kveldulf interacts with his friends and the banter between them feels natural.

I would highly recommend this book if you like slow burn fantasies that take time to develop the settings and character motivations.

The Chronicle of the Wolves follows Kveldulf Einarsen as he returns to his homeland to help his friends form a mercenary company, only to be drawn into a fight against an ancient enemy who threatens to destroy their world. With new allies and their skills, they must do everything in their power to prevent this from happening.

Overall score 5/5: 'The Chronicle of the Wolves' is an excellent addition to the fantasy genre, and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys adventure, action, and intricate world-building. The author has created a rich and detailed world that is full of mystery, intrigue, and danger.

Style score 5/5: The writing style of this book is exceptional, with vivid and immersive descriptions that bring the world and characters to life. The author's prose is elegant and captivating, and the pacing is spot on, keeping the reader engaged throughout.

Story score 5/5: The story of Kveldulf Einarsen's journey to challenge a centuries-old declaration and bring about change is intriguing and well-executed. The plot is multi-layered and filled with unexpected twists and turns that keep the reader on the edge of their seat.

Grammar score 5/5: The grammar and syntax of this book are impeccable, making for a smooth and enjoyable reading experience.

Character score 5/5: The characters in 'The Chronicle of the Wolves' are multi-dimensional and well-developed, with distinct personalities and motivations. Each character has their own backstory and unique struggles, adding depth and complexity to the narrative.

In summary, The Chronicle of the Wolves is an outstanding novel that will capture your imagination and take you on a thrilling journey. The author's attention to detail and world-building is impressive, and the characters are memorable and relatable. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a great fantasy adventure! ♥