Life was peaceful in the Valley of Fjall.
Until the Outsiders arrived.
This is the story of a young boy, alone in the world, when a strange visitor changes everything. This is the story of a man, alone in the mountains, until a chance encounter shows him a new side of reality. This is the story of the Hall of Heroes, and how it will never be the same.
Prepare to experience LitRPG from a different perspective as you dive into the Hall of Heroes. A dynamic, expansive world, filled with mystery and adventure. Join the party and begin to explore a massive world, where there is still a lot of area ripe for Discovery.
My Opinion: 459 pages, $4.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
Cyberpunk elements didn't mesh well with the LitRPG for me
The beginning of the story is a bit unclear about what’s happening in the world but by the 10% mark or so, you start to get the idea that in an MMO a few players accidently gain access to an experimental section of the game, where for some eventually explained reasons, there’s a world where it feels like a simulation of a medieval fantasy village. The story is about how introducing players changes the behavior of the villagers, who don’t know they live in a virtual space, and what would happen if one or more of the villagers took a player's interface. It has a definite Cyberpunk vibe with A.I. trying to break free of their human masters, the NPC villagers starting to recognize how different Players are, and the game company trying to control a system they don’t understand.
Also, the story is not LitRPG for a good long time. Honestly, if I hadn’t gotten a message from the author warning about just how long it was going to take to get to the RPG stuff, I wouldn’t have continued reading past the 15% mark in the story. It has a softer Cyberpunk opening emphasizing the effect of players on the hidden area and its inhabitants. About 25% in you start to get a mention of levels, notifications, some game mechanics, and skill points gained but you don’t actually see a full character sheet until about 40% in. After that you see regular notifications, characters gain levels, stats increase, etc. However, even after the 40% mark the RPG stuff does feel secondary to the cyberpunk theme.
I didn’t dislike the story. On a technical writing level it was good, there was regular action, and I actually liked most of the characters. They had good personalities and the world was fleshed out well once I understood what was happening. However, coming into it expecting LitRPG I was a bit disappointed by the long wait to get there. It felt like the authors wanted to mesh elements of cyberpunk, medieval fantasy, and MMO LitRPG together and it didn’t work for me. I actually think those three don’t mesh together well at all. Cyberpunk is inherently transgressive and often involves breaking the game/cyber system or hacking it to oppose an oppressive authority/rule system. LitRPG, in a general sense, embraces the game rules and makes them as interesting and important as physics or a magic system. Characters seek to understand the rules and work within them to do amazing things and become powerful. When cyberpunk breaks those rules it makes the RPG system meaningless and unimportant. While elements of the story were enjoyable, especially the well thought out characters, on the whole it didn’t work, at least not as LitRPG.
Score: 6 out of 10