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/ Series / The Oscillation (1st Draft)
The Oscillation (1st Draft)
The Oscillation (1st Draft)
638.3k Views 17635 Favorites 235 Chapters 0 Chapters/Week 2518 Readers
4.7 (336 ratings)
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Synopsis

It was an average day in Miami—then fractures in the sky appeared. A pulse from those cracks altered the population; some people's biology changed while others received magical and supernatural powers. After the chaos, the political drama ensued, followed by the discovery of portals that brought deadly creatures. They called this event "The Oscillation" and it changed Rachel's life forever.

Genre
ActionAdventureDramaLitRPGMartial ArtsPsychologicalSlice of LifeSupernatural
Tags
Adventurers Aggressive Characters Animal Characteristics Appearance Changes Army Beastkin Blood Manipulation Fairies Female Protagonist Friendship Game Elements Gate to Another World Hidden Abilities Legends Mutated Creatures Mythical Beasts Mythology Personality Changes Politics Psychic Powers Race Change Sharp-tongued Characters Slow Romance Transformation Ability Vampires
Related Series
Undying Empire (1st Draft) (Shared Universe)
Table of Contents 235
Reviews 12
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    Fearnaught
    Status: c17

     I'm fond of the Earth-gets-powers sub-genre. So much that I've written my own story for it and read many of the current ones. Still, I hadn't picked up The Oscillation until recently. I have mixed feelings on the story. On one hand, it started out very well, and continued to be a good read. On the other, it has flaws that I feel have to be pointed out.

     Oh, nothing fatal, and some people might not even call them flaws, but to me, they are. This is still your story, and as such, you can write what you like. I just day my piece and move on. Do note, however, that this is how established and genuine advice and critique.

     Now, with that out of the way, I still have to say, that, for the most part, I enjoyed the story. It had a good, solid premise, well done execution and good continuation. Despite me feeling a bit impatient with the pacing at critical times, I still read on.

    Story:

     Now, we've seen this one before. Different execution and different interpretations, sure, but the Earth-gets-powers thing has been a lot. Not overused, like some other genres, but still out there. So, I was pleasantly surprised when The Oscillation managed to handle it nicely. The world governments didn't collapse or were portrayed as freaking incompetent, which was nice. The actual event and it's after-affects were well detailed and thought out. Minus some brainfarts on some wanna be villians parts, it was largely believable.

     Now, while not obvious early on, the story felt a bit slow to me as it progressed. As I stated with The Wandering Inn, I don't terribly mind slow stories, even enjoy them when done right. However, I wasn't sufficiently invested in the characters to bring myself to fully enjoy it.

     That said, the slow pacing later on doesn't ruin the story or anything, just might shy some readers away. With that out of the way, the actual power sytem was nice, as was it's method of giving information. I have some questions I'll raise later on in a Critique section.

     The actual story is enjoyable, although insert side chapters can be jarring at times.

    Style:

     Good actually. It was very nice early on, but, as I said, it's becoming a tad on the slow side as of late. Your prose is good, but, one question. Is oscillation a common word? I didn't know it until seeing it in the story, but every character seems to describe the feeling they got as oscillating.

     If there's one thing I want to suggest, it's that you put more into actual descriptions. Insofar, I haven't been able to really picture where the scenes are taking place.

    Grammar:

     All good and well. Moving on.

    Characters:

     Again, very good cast. Not the best, but still solid. I, again, have some things to bring up, but that's later on as well. That aside, the cast was good and varied. They had distinct feels, but those would been together at times. One thing I did like, was how their mindsets changed over time because of their changes. That was a nice touch, and well played out.

     You also didn't fall into familiar traps that many see when having an Asian protagonist, so kudos on that. While the main character ters are well done and goodly fleshed out, some of the side characters are see-and-forget. These are a mixed bag. Some, like the doctors, are well done, but others have no lasting impact or memorability.

     My suggestion would be to flesh them out further, give them little visual quirks and habits. Make things that just stick with the reader. I read a story, years ago. I've since forgotten almost all of it, couldn't even tell you the premise. What I do remember very clearly, is a side character. Just a one-paragraph merchant, but I still remember him because of the quirk the author gave them.

     Try that.

    Critique:

     Okay, let's get this out of the way. This section is by and large, my own personal opinion, so take it with a spoonful of salt. I may sound harsh, cutting even, but I'll try not to be a complete asshole. This is all the things that made me slightly lose enjoyment in The Oscillation, and if fixed, could help make this a far better story. Most of it has to do with character and story reasons, so do bear that in mind. With that said, let's get this on with. Mild spoilers ahead.

     • Underplaying the military: Now, this isn't meant in general, as, in this story, the military is actually competent and fairly depicted, up to a point. However, I find it EXTREMELY hard to believe that a bunch of gangsters, new abilities or not, could subdue, not kill, subdue, no less that 13 SEAL team members. I suggest you do some research into SEAL training and tactics. First, from what I've seen, their teams aren't 13 men large. They don't rely on their weapons as much as, say, recon, knowledge and satellite support to give them minute to minute updates. They specialize in stealth, firepower and knowledge. So, a bunch of gangsters with no training at all, but random powers, can overpower and subdue them? I find that hard to believe.

     • The gangsters: What I do find hard to believe as well is the gangsters themselves. I'm sorry, but how exactly does random-ass gangster 1&2 kill thirthy and fourty-nine people APIECE. Two random grunts, each killing enough people to warrant FBI and Army hunts. What? Killing ONE person is a big deal, a very big deal, but thirthy-fourty? The fig did they do, Machine-gun a supermarket apiece? I find this, well, not believable at all.

     • Language: Okay, another peeve. I get you want bad guys. But they just piss me off. Why, exactly, did you write each and every one of them, from the grunts to the leader, to be spouting the words 'sh*t', 'f**k', and any combination thereof in almsot every sentence they speak?

     • Piling it on: Okay this is another thing. Tonme, your not making these gangsters hateable villians, your just piling on crimes for the sake of piling on crimes. That's exactly what it comes off as. Things like rape and murder should be taken very seriously, but here, you just pile them on to give characters more justification for their actions.

     • Mythickin: Now, I don't have a problem with the idea, concept and execution on Mythickin. Hell, I think it sounds like a wonderful idea. What o do have a problem or two with is the general execution. You mentioned that, across the entire world, only fifty-two Mytickin had been discovered. Yet, across the course of the story, FOUR of them are in Miami, and all Four are female. This is really stretching it.

     • The main cast: For that matter, this as well. Why are there almost no male characters in the main cast? Not the side characters, but the main. So far, we have an all female cast. While I normally don't have a problem with that, there's just something about this that bugs me.

     • Pacing in action scenes: I'll be blunt. To me, action scenes are supposed to be fast, intense and suspenseful. All of that is ruined when a character stops and does and entire page of pondering right in the middle of an action scene instead of getting sh*t done and their thinking afterwards.

     • Again, military: So, if everyone in the worlds, or a good portion of them, gets powers, why has no one in the police or army have any that we've seen this far. If a bunch of untrained gangstas can seize and hold Miami Beach against the US Army for no apparent reason, what could a trained, experienced, dsiciplined soldier do with the same powers? This, like almsot all Earth-gets-powers fics I've seen, doesn't answer that question.

     There are a slew of other, minor things, but I won't bring them up here. Try to ponder these questions and find legitimate answers for them, if you would.

    Closing:

     The Oscillation was flawed, but not to the point where I couldn't enjoy it. I really liked it starting out, and although that enjoyement decreased over time, with me finding flaws that ate at me, it is still a good story. While I think it's paced a little too slow for me, and too heavily focused on characters instead of plot advancement for me to fully enjoy it, it's one of the better reads on RoyalRoad.

    Cheers, L.

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    jojo7845
    Status: b3 — 64. let’s not be...

    I really liked this until somewhere in book 3.

    Too many needless PoV changes. Too many new characters that are not that interesting and honestly not that well written either.

    I also find the language switching off putting. To me it feels as if it is done to hide poorly written dialogue.

    A large part of the dialogue also feels full of filler for no reason.

    This is just speculation, but I think introducing so many characters in book 3 will lead to a mess later on in the story. I rarely see an author that can juggle so many character who also can keep the story together and make good usage of the characters introduced.

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    Xeelee
    Status: b3 — 10. crystals, money, and the...

    This series is disappointing.

    The story (overall) is very good.

    Characters are interesting.

    But the thing that completely breaks it is the IRL politics later in the series. It wouldn't be so bad except that it is either completely irrelevant to the story or could very easily be written without including politics like that. Having to skip through multiple paragraphs of a character monologueing about IRL politics has completely ruined this for me. Up until that point it was a quite enjoyable read.

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    NobodyImportantHere
    Status: b1 — 11. cold intent

    Normally I'm really not someone who would write a rewiew but for this work I just have to!

    The world and the characters are well thought through and feel very real. This combined with the amazing writing skills of the Author result in an complex but still logical Story. To be honest I'm already feeling emotionally attached to some of the characters and really cheer for them :D
    This is just one of those amazing Novels that you want to continue to read further and further without stopping. 

    I can really recommand this Novel, and suggest to at least give it a try :D I'm sure most of you will fell just the same as me after reading a few chapters.

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    officepony
    Status: B1-14 Bonding

    Ohhhhhh, spine-tingling goodness.

    Grammar: 4.9/5 (This is the realm where I literally don't know how it could improve, but a PROFESSIONAL editor MIGHT. Emphasis on Professional and Might)

    Story: 4/5

    Writing: 5/5

    The grammar is impeccable, and I can only imagine that a professional editor and full support staff might have the possibility of making it slightly better. The story is great, feels very original despite using themes from a few different genres. The writing is where I'm really feeling it with this story. The flow feels perfect, the dialogue crisp and perfect for each situation, and the way it all comes together gives me that 'Spine-tingling' sensation of a good story. If the author is able to keep up this writing quality, I don't doubt that this would be a great young adult publication. I look forward to reading more of this, and if it comes out in paperback, I'd definitely want to purchase a few copies to keep preserved.

    Overall, a great read thus far. I couldn't wait to catch up and had to write a review just based on the handful of chapters I'd already read, which is an unusually nice feeling for myself. This story will definitely go places if the quality keeps up.

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    Eszterix98
    Status: b1 — 5. rare breed

    So far its good !!i love it 

    I found it now but realy its interesting I wanna read the next ch

    Please countinou !thanks for the update <3

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    Aloreal
    Status: b3 — 60. beginning a legend’s...

    Earth upgrading? Check!

    A percentage of the populous getting powers or completely changing their race? Check!

    Cute murderweapons? Check!

    Relatable characters? Check!

    Civil Unrest? Check!

    The military and normal people actually doing what they are supposed to be doing? Check!

    Large capacity for loads of adventures in a lot of different avenues? Check!

    Yes. This is a great story. Its not about uniqueness (which the story has in strides; like how it implements the System) its the story of how simple things can go to hell and the coping with the new realities. 

    Follow Rachel and her ever growing gang go from unknowns, to potential enemies, to best allies and everything in between and love every second of it. Every chapter a treat and a promise for more to come. 

    The Call to Adventure is strong in this one.

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    luci_reaps
    Status: b4 — 37. securing isla de la...

    edit: leaving original review for posterity, after finishing up book four I have renewed confidence that the author realized the bloated cast, and is doing some interesting things, changing this review from 3 to 5 star because the writing quality is just good.

    the series is interesting but ends up incredibly disappointing, at the start things were extremely engaging, the premise was somewhat original and is implemented well, the personality changes really affect character dynamics abd character growth in a fascinating way, it's cast is well developed and full, the roles each character plays are varied and allows characters besides the MC to shine, which is amazing, however that all starts to quickly evaporate as time passes, the author keeps introducing more and more characters that are one note and hard to keep track of, most of the previously well developed characters are reduced to side pieces for the MC to be around or just straight up burdens, the story becomes more and more generic in tone, as the MC quickly becomes the all knowing and all powerful piece on the battlefield invalidating the need for other characters to exist, it just becomes very genetic and honestly kind of boring, which is really disappointing because I honestly loved this series, I hope that I have to come back and change this review but I doubt it, more characters is not more to love it's just less time with the ones you like

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    ColdNight
    Status: B4-C24

    The story is great, it is not like every other system apocalypse where MC is over the OP and flat, here the MC and the other characters are strong but not OP, Scarlet is OP but she is balanced with her personality, the story in itself is full of twist and turns that you would never imagine. The characters development is absolutely fantastic and not only for the MC, the other characters are not useless like in 80% of the novel I read till now (not only here). English is not my first language so I will not review the style but I can say that I liked it and I didn't notice bad errors (only some minor ones that can be caused by miss click and/or tiredness). Now the "bad" point, the interruptions between dialogue, especially in B4 

    Spoiler

    I'm talking about Nia, I understand the gag of the edgy lord and the rest but there is a time and space for everything, I don't know the others but I personally found it annoying, sometimes it is good but an overuse is always bad, like when they were talking with the Cuban warlord it is a serious scene that is partially ruined by Nia continuous interruption, she is not the only one and there are things like this in B1-2-3 but not at this level

    [collapse]

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    Sfayte
    Status: c28

    Great story with well thought out story and character designs. The believability of fantasy and modern life style/technology really draw you in. Characters and governments so far act accordingly and it is nice to see how the world adapts to the changes in a realistic manner.

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