Hi! It's me, Master of Disillusioned, the author of this series. Now that Act 2 has concluded, I'd like to use this opportunity to write an open letter to my readers & make several announcements. Oh, and there's new art as well!
An Open Letter to the Readers
State of my Health
It's now been some 19 months since I uploaded the first chapter of Cries of the Disillusioned to Royal Road and over 4 years since I wrote the first draft! In that time, I've not only undergone growth as an author but also experienced dramatic life changes.
If you recall, there was a period starting roughly a year and a half ago during which I suffered from severe health problems, which I frequently mentioned in my author comments. Initially, the issue was unclear. It was first believed to be rib-related, then possibly a heart condition. Finally, it was discovered to be a combination of severe panic & anxiety disorders, exacerbated by a chronically unhealthy lifestyle. I was literally getting 5 hours of sleep on top of having sleep apnea (only recently diagnosed), coupled with stress & alcohol abuse. The situation deteriorated to the point where I landed in the ER twice.
Since then, things have improved immensely. I was diagnosed with anxiety and put on an SSRI treatment. The side-effects were brutal but became less severe over time. I also managed to stay sober for over a year (sadly, I've had setbacks in recent months, but I'm jumping back on the sobriety train. I'm also massively cutting back on salt & sugar). Things have now stabilized enough that I feel comfortable slowly tapering off the medication. So far, I haven't felt the need to increase the dose again, despite having lowered it by two-thirds. Sleeping habits have also massively improved.
Put simply, things have improved dramatically for the better, albeit fixing my alcoholism still requires some work.
Addressing Criticism About the Ross Character
I feel it's impossible not to talk about this, considering he seems to be the single largest reason why a segment of readers didn't enjoy my story. In fact, the most common complaint I've noticed in negative reviews so far revolves around him.
Put simply, many readers hate, and I mean hate, this character.
However, while readers are entitled to their opinions, I believe many Ross haters fundamentally misunderstand his role in the story and may have had false or incorrect expectations regarding this character.
Common anti-Ross complaints include:
* He's stupid
* He's racist/bigoted
* He's a horrible person
And… well, those are pretty much the main reasons, to be honest.
And all of those things are true. Ross is, without a doubt, a horrible, irredeemable piece of trash with the IQ of a potato. But this isn't an oversight; he’s intentionally written this way. This is his character. His role in the story would not work if he were written differently.
Keep in mind, Ross is not the protagonist. It would be understandable for readers to object if an unlikable person like him were the main character, but Ross is nothing of the sort. He's a side character with a relatively minor role. And yet, it's as if he's single-handedly responsible for tanking the ratings from Act 2 onward (the story had a 4.2+ rating for the longest time).
I suspect part of the issue may stem from the fact that Ross is the first human character introduced in the series. This might have left some readers with the false impression that he was intended to be the main human protagonist, someone the audience should root for. From that perspective, I can understand why some might have been upset due to the misunderstanding.
To provide more context, I'll explain exactly why Ross's character exists and why he was written the way he was.
First, let's start with the very first line from the story synopsis:
“Cries of the Disillusioned is a nihilistic space opera that explores how humanity's arrival on the galactic scene reshapes the galaxy, mostly for the worse, over a period of 100+ years.”
Now, let’s look at the tags:
“Original, ONGOING, Space Opera, Grimdark, Psychological, Multiple Lead Characters, Sci-fi, Action, Tragedy, Dystopia, Female Lead, First Contact, Non-Human Lead, Strong Lead.”
So what we have here is a fictional setting that takes place in a tragic, grimdark dystopia where humanity ruins life for everyone in the galaxy. The decision to make Ross—the horrible piece of trash that he is, the first human introduced in the setting was extremely intentional. By observing his behavior, we get a glimpse into the present state of human society and culture, hinting that it's not in a great place. Ross is the first ‘red flag’ indicating humanity’s regression into backwards barbarism.
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
But many readers missed the point entirely. They expected, or simply wanted, a generic human hero: someone relatable, smart, understanding, courageous, and so on. Instead, they got a sociopath idiot and a ruthless gangster who guns down children. While this fits the setting perfectly, it’s also a far cry from what that segment of readers probably wanted.
Put simply, my point is basically this: You are not reading Star Trek or Star Wars. You’re reading Cries of the Disillusioned.
Updated Prose for Act 1
Though I worked hard on my early chapters (I literally spent several years rewriting the draft before I felt comfortable uploading anything), my current level of experience has increased to the point where I feel the early content no longer matches the quality of the later chapters. This is particularly noticeable in areas like the descriptions of character actions and expressions.
To illustrate, consider this excerpt from an older chapter:
The movement of Kaz’s whiskers and his body language indicated that he was experiencing embarrassment, a reaction that was understandable given the inappropriateness of his comment.
Now compare that with this from a more recent one:
“Suddenly, in the most inexplicable event she'd witnessed so far, the male Terran unexpectedly slapped the female across the face. Zelana flinched, her ears flattening against her head as she recoiled from the screen. Shocked by the sudden violence, she needed a moment to regain clarity and process what she'd witnessed.
Her unsteady fingers fumbled for the playback controls, rewinding the clip to the exact moment of the slap. Zelana replayed the scene, her eyes wide and unblinking, brow furrowed in stunned disconcert as she searched for any context she might have missed to explain the appalling act.”
You can see that in the more recent chapter, the character’s behavior and emotions are described much more vividly.
I strongly believe that maintaining consistency in quality is important. For that reason, before I begin proper work on Act 3, I would prefer to update certain sections of Act 1 to ensure its quality aligns with Act 2. This would also double as an opportunity to fix various other oversights (e.g. inconsistent capitalization of certain words, spelling errors, or incorrect word usage that slipped under the radar the first time).
These updates would not alter the story content; they merely enhance the existing descriptions to ensure new readers have the best possible first impression while improving the overall quality.
The Wiki
The original goal was to release the wiki sometime during Act 2, but this never really materialized. The current goal is to simply continue working on it and then release it at the same time Act 3 debuts its first chapter. I should note that the wiki is functionally complete already; I just need to fill it out with more content.
New Story Format & Illustrative Art
The way the series handles its art and illustrations has evolved over time, and I’ve now settled on a consistent format. Each book in the series will now include at least five images, along with renderings of key characters:
* 1x Book Cover Art
* 3x Act Cover Art (1 per Act)
* Renderings of Important Characters (this number is variable)
* 1x Lore/Data page containing basic images and descriptions of key locations and organizations within that book (Book 1 does not currently have this, but it will be added later).
You might be wondering what this means for the existing art in Book 1. Simply put, I’m replacing it. The original images (technically round two, if you recall the last bonus chapter) were inconsistent in quality anyway. Fortunately, since each book now requires only a handful of illustrations, I can afford to invest more per image, resulting in higher-quality artwork. Plus, given how long it takes to write each book, the cost of commissioning new art isn’t a major concern.
The replacement images for Acts 1 and 2 are already complete (technically, Act 2 already had one, but I wanted consistent quality), and the one for Act 3 is currently in production.
Additionally, Acts now have actual titles. Act 1 and Act 2 of Book 1 have been retroactively named as follows:
Book 1: Act 1 (Released)
Misguided Promises
Book 1: Act 2 (Released)
Dangerous Games
Book 1: Act 3 (Coming Soon)
Price of Discovery
To save you the trouble of flicking back, I’ll be posting the new art below, along with the legacy art for those curious to see how it originally looked (albeit at a lower resolution for easier viewing).
Note that when the new art goes live, it will include the Act headers and titles, whereas the versions below do not, as the artist has not added them yet.
image [https://i.imgur.com/rNoIn03.png]
New Image for Act 1: Title: Misguided Promises
image [https://i.imgur.com/JXPb4vh.png]
New Image for Act 2: Title: Dangerous Games
Legacy Images
image [https://i.imgur.com/XgGM2Er.jpg]
Chapter 1 Legacy Image
image [https://i.imgur.com/PFwDB1T.jpg]
Chapter 2 Legacy Image
image [https://i.imgur.com/TDizVDh.jpg]
Chapter 3 Legacy Image
image [https://i.imgur.com/FSetP4l.jpg]
Chapter 4 Legacy Image
image [https://i.imgur.com/mqoF0qO.jpg]
Chapter 5 Legacy Image
image [https://i.imgur.com/R7JPTzf.jpg]
Chapter 6 Legacy Image
image [https://i.imgur.com/pOQhy57.jpg]
Legacy Act 2 Header