Reviewed: - (Review Updated: )
"This was a good story."
I could stop my review here and be satisfied with it. But I feel that I should go a little further.
When I read the tags for the first time, I was curious to see how well the author could blend themes such as these without making a mess out of it. Now that I'm done with the first part (of two) of this story, I can say with certainty that he succeeded brilliantly.
"A Man finds a young woman in his shed, he takes her in and then finds himself involved in a very strange world indeed" is what we're told about the story. We would then be correct to expect a fantasy setting (like the tags promised us) but it's only the first layer of a well thought-out world (or should I say worlds ?). Some could fear with such a description a bland story but there's absolutely no reason to. Our main protagonist goes from one journey to another, solving more than what he was asked for, making the world a better place.
But how could he do such a thing without trusted comrades ? Take your pick between a sword, a wolf and a ghost. And robots ! Wandering Lanes promised us robots ! And he delivers in a much more impressive way than we could expect. Magic and robots ? Yes, it works. This story is the proof.
Considering the ratings, no technical quality as usual since I'm not qualified for that.
The story plot is a good 8. There's a follow-up waiting for me but this story stands by itself and ends in such a way that we're satisfied without feeling frustrated by a possible open ending.
Appeal to reviewer is a 9 though. The blends of tags and themes make it so without a doubt. Making it work must have felt like a bet for the author, and he came out stronger thanks to it.