Truly original worlds aren’t rare, but when there’s one which commands the attention like that of Pyrebound’s, it’s worth noting. This is a universe with two seperate worlds and two seperate suns, and on every fourth days the worlds trade places, and the wrong sun rises in the sky. Humans live on only one world, and the light of the wrong sun is deadly to them.
Of course, it doesn’t stop there. Pyrebound further enriches itself by basing its naming and mythology on that of Mesopotamia, instead of the European mythos we are (perhaps tiringly) familiar with.
The denizens of the mirror world are strange and not quite like any particular fantasy creature. Reshki like slimey monkeys. Bazuu like madscience birdpeople. Corrupted kurtushi flies that, if allowed to bite, leave you crippled if you’re lucky.
But the mark of exceptional worldbuilding, in my opinion, is an eye toward how human culture would warp under the influence of such a strange world. Cole doesn’t disappoint. The Dominion of Man is like a hardy sliver of townships fighting to survive, either holed up in Pyres and Hearths, or succumbing to magical mutation like the moonchildren.
Between the monsters, the well-reseached and inventive culture, and the intriguing magic system (to which humans owe their continued existence, but whose exact mechanics aren’t yet explained), Pyrebound’s world is a delight.
If any of that interests you, do give this serial a shot. It brandishes its worldbuilding early, and so you won’t have to read overmuch to decide if it’s your thing.
You might guess this is where the tone of my reviews shifts from the postives, and it is. For all my praise, you’ll note I’ve only really mentioned one aspect of the serial: its worldbuilding. It’s clear that the world is the focus of the serial, what it cares most for, and so it’s your curiosity (or lack) by which it will succeed or fail for you.
Aside from worldbuilding, Pyrebound is by no means a bad serial. It’s in quite good company, among web serials: it has a definite appeal which it leans on, and its remaining aspects are competently done.
But this makes reviewing it difficult. Something done badly can be criticized, something done well can be praised, but something done adequately? There isn’t much to say.
The prose is, in my opinion, better than average. It’s clear and flows, and not a chapter goes by without a nice image or decent metaphor. It’s not literary — but not everyone wants that.
That said, there is a persistent problem with the narrator keeping the protagonist Ram at arm’s length. In some scenes his thoughts and observatiosn are minimal, and it makes events harder to parse, because the protagonist is the barometer for what we should think and care about. Other times, the narration goes to paragraphs of not-entirely-dry summary. That isn’t wrong but it does sometimes feel like a sag, and even this type of distant summary can be spiced with bits of visual action.
The charcters are perhaps the weakest part (which is almost a compliment; when they’re there, they’re handled well). The protagonist is funtional, has hopes and fears. But honestly, he’s quite bland; he doesn’t tend have a very noticeable voice, nothing about him is especially distinctive. It’s easy to just forget about him.
Perhaps the biggest failing of the character is simply when they aren’t there. Ram’s parents are interesting — but they disappear early on from the story. Ram’s sister, and the temple she lives at, have a lot of potential — but so far it’s all only shown up once.
While it is a part of the story, that, (without spoiling too much), Ram doesn’t have many friends where he is. But it doesn’t stop the lack of characters for Ram to bounce off of from hurting the story.
The plot, meanwhile, is straightforward. But this is an area where reviews show their limitations most; according to the author, the plot is slated to grow ever deeper and twistier, and it looks like it while. But as it stands, it does move the story forward, and does make sense, and there is interest in what will happen, but it has yet to rise above compentence, in my opinion.
The themes, if there are any, haven’t shown up overmuch.
I might be able to go on, but I won’t, as I’m not saying much. What Pyrebound does well, it does great, what it doesn’t, it does okay.
None of this is bad; for as ever, Pyrebound doesn’t fall below competence in any regard. But nothing besides worldbuilding is a draw, and if the worldbuilding doesn’t do it for you, I don’t imagine anything else will keep you around, only keep you from leaving.
I give this story three and a half stars. But it’s a compromise rating; if you’re into the worldbuilding, Pyrebound could be a four star serial; while if you’re not, Pyrebound is a three star serial: better the average, while ultimately failing to fully distinguish itself from the ocean of other competent serials.