The Heart is a Void: Ashes to Ashes

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

For Karel, the search for power erodes the sense of mercy.

When a bug traps players in a new, immersive VRMMO, and begins to undermine the system that protects them from experiencing pain in combat, the players scramble to avoid becoming victimised.

Some seek to hide or gain protection in Guilds, others seek power at all costs. Rumours of torture and possibly even real death begin to spread.

Many would-be heroes strive to protect themselves and others by becoming powerful mages, mastering the power of the elements, or training at combat with large weapons. While Karel had begun by trying to enhance his mage powers as far as possible, he eventually becomes disillusioned with this as he sees the power of others who use unconventional and amoral means to take advantage of the bugged game. As he explores this new, Free-For-All world, he must turn to cunning and ruthlessness to get ahead.

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2021
Author: MOROSE

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.0/ 5.0
Followers: 384
Views: 910,538

Reviews

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Community Reviews(10)

C. Ron IcklerRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Fans of game mechanics and well written lore are in for a treat with this fiction, and I am excited to see where it goes. It feels mainly serious, though it also takes its moments for quite entertaining humor as well - a good balance.
Style: The world is very strongly developed, and the style hinges on the worldbuilding quite well. Actions/spells/etc are well defined and used expertly for a clear affect of putting the reader in the middle of the game's action.
Grammar: I didn't notice any grammar issues at all. Very clear prose, easy to picture.
Story: This is an early fiction and already there is plenty of intrigue. The story starts off strong with a big combat scene, serving to introduce readers to the virtual reality game and how it works. Soon after that, we get a charming boss battle with a false chicken, and then things get interesting when a bug in the game starts changing the by then already well-understood mechanics.
Character: Cael, our protagonist, does a good job of staying in the middle of the action and allowing the reader to almost effortlessly self-insert. He's cooperative, doing generally well in his guild by taking peoples' advice regarding questing et cetera, but I am still interested in how he will develop as the bug continues to change the game and I would be interested in knowing a little more about how he feels during given moments of the game, right now the most we get is searing pain which he rebounds from quite quickly like an Icabod Crane of sorts.
Overall, a well written and engaging read with a lot to enjoy, especially if you are a fan of GameLit and Virtual Reality!
Josh WellsRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Overall: The Heart is a Void: Ashes to Ashes is a positively thrilling novel! Each chapter is jam-packed with lots of content, and the story does not shy from jumping right into the action. This gets a 5/5
Style: The style of the story is flawless. Each sentence flows very well from the next. As a personal note, I really love the paragraph lengths. They seem longer than what I am used to seeing but for me, that is really a good thing. They carry enough weight to immerse me in the scene without getting exceedingly long. This gets a 5/5
Story: The story is fast pace. There is also plenty of litrpg elements present. I would say that the story follows lots of common tropes, but there is definitely enough variation there to keep you interested. The chicken that is not a chicken is definitely fun. Thos gets a 4.5/5
Grammar: No issues with grammar! Sweet perfection. This gets a 5/5
Character: The characters are great! I had no problem feeling for them, though they seemed a little two-dimensional at times. Largely though, I had no problem and thought the characters were all quite interesting to read about. This gets a 4.5/5
I'm excited to see where this goes!
PizzaPizzaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I was pretty curious as to what was going on with all these blocks of blue walls that you had to highlight to read, and it really hit me as I flipped through chapter 2.
Story and Style - The piece is, for better or for worse, basically a play by play standard VRMMO LitRPG isekai experience. You've all seen it before, it's been done a million times, but tropes aren't a bad thing. Sword Art: Online is a drastically different experience from Log Horizon and there's definitely a different spin here. The world here seems to be more of a standard 'western' mmo, albeit with spell learning mechanics.
I have some mixed feelings with the style here. On one hand, if a reader likes crunchy, detailed LitRPG systems with in-depth descriptions, this is writing exactly to market. The story and world itself also references a lot of detailed works from Terry Goodkind to (paraphrasing other reviewers) Alice in Wonderland.
I do have one constructive piece here: The drawback is in the crunchy system and style itself, which as I said, isn't necessarily a bad thing when writing to market. Crunchy LitRPG details often interrupt the 'fluidity' of action, and there's a lot of action in this piece. It's easy to get lost in all the spell names, player names, and mentions of MP / health bars for me in the author's fight scenes. It's usually good practice to separate 'tactical thinking' - i.e resource tracking in a fic like this, and the actual fluidity of combat in fight scenes.
I did enjoy the chicken that's not a chicken though.
Character score: This is a review swap, so it's hard to get a firm grasp on a character in just four chapters. I may be off base here (please DM me if I am), but Karel seems like a bit of a self-insert protagonist. He's written to focus a lot on the actual system and gameplay itself, and not so much with personality in mind.
Grammar score: Nothing I could find wrong. In fact, I even thought that the author was using thie as a roundabout piece of literary fiction for a
TheScribeRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Let me start by saying that LitRPG isn’t a genre I have loads of experience with, but I’ve been reading more and more of it in the past weeks and I’m always on the lookout for a gem that makes the genre accessible to a noob like me whilst still having the depth and detail that regular readers love.
Story-wise, this is a good one. Plenty of combat scenes, with a good balance of technical descriptions and well-paced action. Characters that feel real, serial challenges that don’t feel repetitive and test the MCs skills and motivations. The anti-hero lead here feels fresh, not a by the numbers villain, and there’s a subtle humour in much of the action that makes them undeniably empathetic. Early days in my reading but a very promising start, looking forward to seeing where it goes.
Stylistically, the prose is fluid, and, even for a relative newcomer like me, the stats feel integrated in a way that isn’t jarring. It’s funny, too, which provides a great foundation for the action itself. I’m still getting used to the direct description of LitRPG but this manages that balance between rhythm and clarity well.
No major grammatical errors to comment on, and the early chapters are smooth and slick.
Overall, a very fun read, and I’m looking forward to getting deeper!
Ellen TaylorRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This story was a nice little read. I read to chapter two, so I may not be as far as some, but I really liked what I read so far.
The grammar was perfect. I honestly didn't see any mistakes, and nothing stood out to me. I'm not usually a stickler for grammar, but I honestly don't think I saw any mistakes. It was well done.
Style was smooth and easy to read. There was a prologue that did a time jump, but it was clearly marked, and I didn't get confused that it was a time jump into the past instead of into the future.
The story was great. Two chapters and a prologue in and I can already tell there is a rich story here. The system is well thought out, the virtual reality element was fun, and the game was explained as we went along, and I enjoyed watching it unfold.
This is mostly a rating of the main character, as a thousand page story there will definitely be more characters, but from what I've seen in the first few chapters, our main character has quite the interesting start. Watching him build experience helps solidify his character, and there is a lot of potential there. And the slight humor with the chicken is always an added bonus.
Overall, this is a great addition to the LitRPG genre. I would strongly suggest it!
Flying TomatoRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
As I have just started reading The Heart is a Void: Ashes to Ashes I normally wouldn't review so soon. However, I feel that it takes the typical LitRPG style and gives a fresh reading experience. The introduction is extremely gripping and had me interested in further reading instantly, so much so that I've gone ahead and followed the story to see where it goes later.
There isn't much to nitpick with style, the prose isn't overly complicated and the each sentence flows nicely into the next making it a very comfortable read. The only thing I could say is that I personally would prefer if system messages and such were introduced in bold just to keep it a bit more seperated, however that isn't really anything to complain about.
The grammar is structured nicely however I won't comment as I am still practicing English grammar myself.
The characters are consistent to who they are and personally so far I feel like give the story a lot of life, I believe the characters are what seperate this story greatly from others of the same genre. As a lot of LitRPG authors tend to focus more on systems and game elements as well as exposition than developing their characters, something this author does nicely.
Overall good read and something I suggest to others if you're interested in the genre.
Jack0fheartRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The Heart is a Void: Ashes to Ashes is a riveting and immersive novel that will take readers on a thrilling journey through a virtual world filled with magic, battles, and personal struggles.
Overall score 5/5: This story is a highly enjoyable read that offers a unique and captivating experience for readers who enjoy immersive virtual world stories.
Style score 5/5: The writing is engaging and immersive, with vivid descriptions and well-crafted characters that draw the reader into the story. The pacing is well-balanced, and the action scenes are expertly written, making for an enjoyable and exciting read.
Story score 5/5: This is a captivating story that is both complex and thrilling. From the virtual battles and guild wars to the personal struggles of the characters, there is never a dull moment.
Grammar score 5/5: The grammar is excellent, with clear and concise writing that flows smoothly without any noticeable errors.
Character score 5/5: The characters are well-developed and complex, with their own unique personalities and motivations. The way the characters interact with each other is realistic and engaging, and readers will find themselves invested in Cael's personal journey as well as his battles in the virtual reality game.
All in all, The Heart is a Void: Ashes to Ashes creates an immersive virtual reality world, with well-detailed descriptions of the various settings and characters. The action scenes are well-written and engaging. I highly recommend this to anyone that love VRMMO stories! ♥
James TadhgRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
Here we have Cael in a VRMMORPG, where the stakes are raised by a bug in the system. I've only read to the beginning of when the bug takes place, so I can only comment on how the story starts out and where it might lead.
I do think it might benefit the author to introduce the bug a bit earlier in the story, but what we get before it happens really did scratch that MMO itch for me. Even though shopping for spells and items isn't technically moving the story along, I did feel my inner MMO player scream with delight at all the options and possible combos and builds. I think the author has this part down really well and doesn't need any advice from me on that front.
One of my favourite moments from the story so far is a small one: Cael gets to test out his new Spark spell and is bothered by how painful it looks on the first creature he casts it on. It happens quickly but it tells us a lot about him, and I hope we see more character inflection like this going forward.
The chicken that is not a chicken needs to be mentioned as well, as it's the most entertaining quest in the first few chapters. Definitely some fun creativity there and I really enjoyed reading about that short encounter.
Grammar is mostly strong. There are a few sentences here and there that should be reworked for the purpose of flow, but there really isn't anything here that breaks immersion.
My only other suggestion would be to lower the amount of [bracketed spells/skills] that are mentioned in combat. This is another thing that scratches that itch for me, because I love skills/spells, but it can make longer combat sections feel a little more like a play by play. I think it would be awesome to have more colourful descriptions of skills we might already be familiar with, or even of ones we might not know, and have Cael occasionally ask at the end of combat what a particular move was. I understand not everyone will feel this way, though. As I said, it really does bring that MMO feel to life, and the author
PainfilledRoyal Road
★★★★ 3.5
Overall-this story has started off great. I loved the plot and situations the main character put himself in and often find myself unsure of what he is going to do next and it has been very refreshing.
Story- I feel like the last 10 chapters have drifted away from plot and things actually happening. It has turned into one long running discussion on poetry with very little development.
I typically don't mind it and see it more as world building but when it's just one after another and then it the characters talk about it then another poem with someone else's thoughts with maybe a short story.... at this point I have lost enthusiasm to read more chapters and keep hoping for something to happen to change things. I would love to see MC snap and just start killing people just for a change of pace.
CoerbRoyal Road
★★★ 2.5
Does a decent job of scratching the mmorpg itch. It's ok to turn your brain off and read. Very early on the game enables actual pain for the users and the mc responds with deciding to grief and basically torture people which I found pretty odd and unexplained. Tarantino:feet levels of choking and shoving people face down into the ground. Like probably 8 people get choked every chapter it feels like.