Review: #452
Title: Sword Art Online 1: Aincrad
Series: Sword Art Online - 1st volume
Author: Reki Kawahara
Read Before: no
Comments: A fantastic premise in which ten thousand players are trapped within a virtual reality online RPG called Sword Art Online. It follows the story of Kirito and Asuna as they fight to clear the game. The unique thing is that death in the game means death in real life… so the stakes are high. The most surprising part about this first volume is that it covers the whole game, including the finish. The novel starts right off the bat at the 74th floor (the game has 100 floors to complete) and the story how it all started it told through flashbacks. This means that we are treated with the core of the story immediately and without much setting up. The author still did a good job at explaining all the mechanisms and the inner voice and thought process of the main character, Kirito, adds a lot to the understanding of the whole scenario. The writing is simple but the events that unfold are interesting. The story is kept at a brisk pace so there is never a lull and in the second half of the light novel, things gets to the point where you just cannot stop reading. The big revelation at the end and how the game is cleared is amazing and makes perfect sense. I like how the relationship between Kirito and Asuna is fleshed out, while I would have loved to read their first encounter, the effort and time put into their feelings is satisfying. The climax of the light novel is worth getting to as it is emotional and the description of the characters’ feelings and thoughts are spot on.
Rating: 7/10