Wednesday, December 1, 2021

"Night Rider: a Story of the Legacy" by R.G. Roberts

Note for New Readers

I signed up through Holidailies, so if you're checking out those entries — Welcome! On this blog I find one Kindle Vella story (almost) every day that at least passes my minimum requirements and try to direct people who might be the audience toward it.

If you've never heard of Kindle Vella... you're in good company! Amazon hasn't done a great job of promoting it to anyone who isn't an author. Vella is a serial platform — instead of curling up with a book, imagine catching up on the latest episode as you're waiting in line at the DMV.
  • The first 3 episodes in every story are free.

  • Amazon is currently giving away 200 tokens (sometimes more!) to anyone who registers.

  • Episodes are priced based on length; the cost is one token per 100 words, so a 1500 word episode will be 15 tokens.

  • If you enjoy an episode, you can click on the thumbs-up icon at the bottom to "like" it. (This is greatly appreciated by authors because it helps a story be shown to people searching for a new serial.)

  • If you purchase tokens, once every week you can "crown" a story. (Again, this helps the story get shown to readers.)
If you want more information about how I choose a serial, check out this Welcome post.

I also complain so much about the Vella user interface (spoiler: it's terrible), that I added a section at the bottom of each review to rant about stuff. Please note that it never has anything to do with the serial that I reviewed that day.

And on to Today's Review!

Kindle Vella cover for "Night Rider: a Story of the Legacy" by R.G. Roberts

Current Tags

epic fantasy, fantasy, heroic fantasy, multiple pov, outlaws, female protagonist, sword and sorcery

Categories

Fantasy / Action & Adventure

Affiliate Link


Author's Description

With their nation long conquered, Night Riders like Shade are the only defense Evendarians have. Yet it will take more than outlaws to save a fallen empire. Nikolas is a student, burning to make a difference. Reyma hides dangerous visions from her mother the queen. Rhea Belldoria builds an entire rebellion underground while Shade sparks revolution...neither knowing they need the other. NIGHT RIDER is an epic fantasy in a world with hints of hope, for fans of The Witcher and LOTR. New eps on Wed.

Why I Chose it

This is a solid example of epic fantasy, with political intrigue, multiple points of view, and magic. From the world-building evident in the first few episodes, this should work well as a serial. (Honestly, I thought I had already reviewed this one, but apparently not. I might have been waiting for more episodes. I'm not sure.)

[11 episodes so far, with 5 updates in the last 30 days.]

Who Might Like This

Epic fantasy with all the trappings! If that's your thing, check this one out!

Unrelated Griping

With all the things lacking in the user interface, the developers have... added "(Author)" after the name in the byline for each story. Not that there is any way to add anyone who isn't an author. I'm not even sure why you would want to add anyone else. Do other serial sites list the editor or something? This is an odd choice of things to modify.

I keep hoping I'll go to the site and find a sudden burst of competence in the design, but I'm beginning to lose hope.

3 comments:

  1. Interesting! I'd never heard of Vella, but it sounds like an interesting model for writers and readers--I'll have to check it out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Honestly, as an author the best part about it right now is the random bonus money they give out every month.

      As a reader... there are some great stories loaded but unless you're picking from the top ten (which will always be the top ten because that's all readers are ever shown), you have to wade through a *lot* of abandoned 2-episode stories before you find something worth getting into. Hence this blog.

      Delete
  2. I saw something about Vella a week or so ago and it was news to me too! I'll have to try it out.

    ReplyDelete

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Who am I?  Hi! I'm SF/F author T.M. Baumgartner. I also publish cozy mysteries as Tess Baytree. People who know me in real life call me ...