Awaken Online: Retribution (Side Quest)

I actually read this book in the wrong order, having picked it up after reading AO: Evolution. Because of that, I went into this book with a fair idea of what to expect, knowing how Riley’s quest would end. It meant that this book felt less inspired than some of Bagwell’s earlier works, and it certainly felt more predictable, but that could very well be due to my own mistakes in reading order.

It was something of a relief to get out of Jason’s head for a while and get to explore some of his teammates. Not that he isn’t an interesting character, but Riley brings a fresh perspective to the table. Some parts of her story are a less-than-pleasant reminder of the early chapters of AO: Catharsis, before Bagwell really hit his stride. As a result, this book felt a bit clumsier than what I’ve come to expect from the series. The absence of Alfred also took away some of the social commentary and discussions of morality and similar topics, something that was sorely missed.

That said, this book excelled in something that has been long neglected in this series: worldbuilding. Now admittedly Riley only visits one other city, and we still don’t know much about the rest of the world, but this was an excellent place to start considering how little we had to work with. Now we have a better understanding of what drives each affinity, and an idea of just how different each city can be. I still hope to see more in later books, but this was definitely a start.

I was lucky enough to get an arc of this book and a chance to read it before today! This is a story about Riley and boy is it good. I was not a big fan of Riley after the main books but thought I would give it a chance as I really enjoy all of Travis books! He did an exceptional job winning me over with this book and expanding the universe in a meaningful way!

Might not be vague enough. So, spoiler alert!
Jason is busy explaining to the authorities, how 2 teens ended up dead in his aunt’s home. So this gives Riley and Frank a chance to do things by themselves in game. They only currently know that Jason, the game’s willing Arch Villain, isn’t in game for some reason. Riley is confident Jason can handle himself, cause she has girl bully issues to deal with in real life(RL). This is her amazing game and RL adventure, that fleshes out the game world and follows her on her quest to learn more about her new shiny “Lily’s Rose ? Bow.” A treasure she got from killing the cultist’s created hydra god from book 2. A must read, and this book will explain the latest filled position in the Twilight Throne’s Crafting School. Enjoy!

Whenever someone makes a side story without the main character, I usually hate it. This book is an exception. It was done very well, and was very a entertaining interesting fast paced action packed story. Basically it is a Riley's story while Jason was dealing with the legal issues from Alex's frame job. Can't wait for book three next year. The waiting made me SAD.

Nice to follow Riley. The plot is her slow real world response to being bullied...the bullying was contrived and unrealistically repercussion free, and when the mc eventually stood up for herself it was painfully late. You just waited the whole book for it, and the disparity between kicking butt ruthlessly in game vs whimpering victim in real life just didnt ring true to me. I enjoyed the book and will read next one, but hopefully author will stop relying on this bogus dichotomy as his main plot device...if the game is realistic as described, no one can realistically believe repeated fighting and killing wont quickly modify a personality.

Great addition to the story line. As I wrote for the first book in this series, it is a very fine series and a great value, entirely enjoyable with good character development and super action. A tiny quibble is that one character in this story seems to have become a bit more powerful than is portrayed in another book later in the series (I am giving no spoilers here!) One absolutely must have read the first two in this series to make heads or tails of the story in this book, but if you have read those you will unquestionably want this. We want more of this series!!

This book on Riley the archer friend of Jason is both good and bad. It is good in that it has a fantastic mage city setting with several solid supporting characters. It is bad in that the story if fairly slow and does not do a whole lot of justice to the main character. I was not overwhelmed by anything the MC does like in the main books and it even brings up the bogus criminal issue from Jason's storyline again.

So a generous 4 stars for a book that if it had been the first in a new series I wouldn't have finished it.

I have read the previous 2 Awaken Online books. The first one was fun to read and even more fun to listen to (shameless plug for Audible here). The second was the same. Fun to read and even more fun to listen to.

This "side quest" was a fun view into the "other" magic affinities in Mr. Bagwell's world. As a side note: I emailed the author a question I had specifically about this, not only was his response quick but it showed to me an author who is interested in improving his craft and work. Two pluses in my book right off the bat! I like the way he worked in the "world-building" as part of the plot instead of just some exposition by a side character.

I am looking forward to what he gives us next. Or in other words: write faster! :-)

As someone that typically does not enjoy "side" novels where the main storyline takes a backseat, I enjoyed this book.

Some are correct in complaining in the OP nature of the characters. But for me the best part of the Awaken Online series is the characters' growth instead of typical stagnation. Who the characters are change and develop as the story progresses. It's enjoyable to me to read about how a well written character can grow.

...Plus VR, come on.

(Borrowed through Kindle Unlimited) Wow! Travis Bagwell gives us another amazing story in the world of Awaken Online. Riley's story definitely needed its own book, and I'm glad it was written, even if it's only a "side story." Awaken Online is one of my favorite LitRPG series... great action, great characters, interesting game mechanics, and a mysterious outside influence. It has it all! The only problem is having to wait for the next book.

Awaken online introduced me to the genre and it has been one of the best things to ever happen to me. This story felt more like something that really should be in the series unlike most side storys. I loved it through and through and I am so excited to contine the series when Travis gets done with more books. I will probably read every title this tallented man puts out in his career.

Thank you Travis!

I know this book was technically a side quest from the original series. But, wow, that was a lot of fun. I should’ve gone to bed 30 minutes ago but absolutely had to finish this book. Now I am fighting the urge to start the next one, immediately.

If I lose my job due to lack of sleep, I blame the author for writing such an addictive series.

Good filler story for one of the main characters! This takes place between book 2 and book 3. You REALLY want to read book 1 and 2 before tackling this, as there is no "catch up" to the story in progress.

Essentially, this story fills the gap when another of the characters is unable to log in for a period of time.

I enjoyed learning more about Riley, she's a great character. The story was great and just as I was about to be upset by the cliché bullying, the author went a whole different direction. Good on you, author!

It's a little upsetting that the main plot that was left on a cliffhanger in the previous book wasn't moved along more.
Hopefully we'll get back to it, and the added depth of character development with Riley will help.

Or maybe another side quest with Frank will happen, who knows!

Great char development for a side character.

Fun ending and can trully say author is improving his RL vs In-game time. Hope it persists.

4 starts since no more dmg is being displayed. So an arrow can just kill lvl 100 creatures, with just rage... puffsss yeah not really litRPG quality.

But all in all great pace and was a fun reading.

Overall I was once again delighted to read from this series. Gaining background on a different main character opens up the story in ways other neglect, do Frank next!

*SPOILER ALERT BELOW*

I was disappointed that Riley didn’t die on the the game more, it gets tedious and predictable when the characters overcome ever obstacle. Have them die at random moments, several times facing the same boss, don’t throw them into the cookie cutter op main character. I was so happy when she died at the boss only to be sorely disappointed when she was instantly brought back to life with overwhelming powers.

Still, looking forward to the next book in the series! Can’t wait to see what happens to Jason.

I wasn't even going to read this. Not sure why but I'm glad I did. It was great seeing Riley come into her own. I never give a synopsis because that is just a spoiler with a different name and I NEVER spoil a story for a fellow reader. It's an interesting and well written book so enjoy! I know I did.

I think this book, a side story, raised the bar for the series! It was fantastic! It kind of makes me wish more authors did this, too. Write stories that expand side characters instead of focusing on just the main characters. Third story from this series and I'm still hooked. That's a rare achievement!

The main character in this third installation of awaken online provides incredible depth to Riley from the first two books and really brings home the struggles that most of us have had in high school. I completely live the intersection of the real world and the game world that unfolds in this story. Great job and awesome read.

If you like the LitRPG genre or are an MMO player this series is going to stand out for you. The characters are well developed and make sense, the world building is interesting, and the story is compelling. I am looking forward to the next book, and dreading the day the Author decides to stop writing AO based books.

The title says it all. I have loved the Awaken Online series. Retribution was a very good story, more inline with traditional LitRPG, but not a large emphasis on stats. The story is awesome and fills in (and advances) a significant character from the main storyline.

Definitely pick this up before the third book of AO.

This was a great side story. After reading Travis' second AO book, I wished he would spend more time focusing on Riley's development.

The book does an amazing job. It covers new ground, new NPCs and players, a new (and intensly interesting) city. Best of all we get to see genuine character development in Riley, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters in the series.

I hope we'll get to see more of the characters introduced here in the future.

Keep up the amazing work Travis!

The characters in this book seem more... exaggerated, I guess, than the previous books. Their personalities seem to follow the magic system and aren’t well-rounded enough for me to connect to them. Not sure how else to explain it. Not as good as the other books.

This is a great side story to an excellent series. These books are so awesome. It blows my mind that this guy isn't writing full time because he has created an incredibly rich narrative that several million gamers should instantly feel at home in. Check it out. It's totally worth it.

I really enjoyed this however short it was! The characters evolve throughout the story, everything molds itself naturally for what you might expect... And sometimes like you wouldnt. I admire the writing style shown here. Read this!

That's all I need to say, it son between chapters and really fills out the characters and world. To be honest she became my favorite character and to be honest a great roll model of you don't account for the way she can stab you in the neck for walking on her wrong.

I really like Bagwell focus on people. He makes most of the characters in the game very real, with a lot of depth. There are exceptions of paper mache bad guys that are put up to be knocked down with little motivation other than to be evil people, but most of the important people have a lot of depth and personality and show a logical progression and growth.

The game has decent mechanics, and moves forward in a logical way, without all of the stupid forced wins you see in a lot of lit rpgs (level 5 characters beating level 25 bosses etc.)

The story is interesting too, but the place this series shines is the people.

I had never read LitRPG prior to reading the Awaken Online series by Travis Bagwell and I am definitely now a convert. For those of you that haven't read the prior two books in his series, as this one is more of a side story, you should definitely do so! His characters are well thought out and their stories and emotions have components everyone can relate to. I don't play RPG and probably never will, but Travis makes it easy for someone will little knowledge of RPG to not only understand but really get into the stories. 5 stars for sure and highly recommend it to anyone who likes a good story!!!

Fun side story where Riley visits another mage city and comes into her own - with real-life parallel growth. The other town, Vaerwald, is highly creative, with interesting partnerships along the way. Good romp!

Great storyline, well written and I can't wait for more. The author does a wonderful job developing the characters without it feeling forced while the plot progresses at a comfortable pace. This story continues where the second book in the series leaves off but instead of following Jasons story it picks up with Railey.

Great read just as good as the first one. This one is 1.5 and should be ready if you plan to keep reading. It will bring so much to the main story. Travis keep writing but don't get to side tracked. Lol great job. Thanks

I don't normally read side stories but because of Bagwell's skill as a writer I decide to read this one. I'm glad I did; the quality was the same as we've seen in his other two installments in the AO series. If you haven't read those two then there will be a lot of confusion as to what's going on in this story.

I'd read this guy's cook book. Really good talent on Kindle Unlimited! Want adventure? Suspense? Fantastic science fiction? Here you go. All tied up with a preset little coming of age story that's fronts a crime drama. Oh and don't forget the melodrama gotta love that melodrama.

I loved the pacing, the quest was reasonably complex without being convoluted, and I could see the character development. The villain was a bit obvious. A worthwhile read, though I recommended reading the other books in the series first.

A good aside to the main series, this book focused on Riley and her mysterious Bow. It introduced new characters, and a new zone, plus a lot of thrills and chills. If you like the main series, you'll love this book.

This a great novella continuing of the first two books. It elaborates on the virtual world and adds new characters. This is a must read if you like the series and if you haven’t read this series yet, then we aren’t friends anymore.....

It is always hard to keep a story line strong. I am glad that this author is using well written side stories to help his main story line. This story is not really a standalone but it's close. Enjoyable read

It was great to get out of the Twilight Throne for a bit and explore a little bit more of the world. I like Riley as a character and was also a fan of most of the new supporting cast. The "back up off my man" dynamic felt a little played out, but not enough to detract a star.

Climax was great, and I'm excited to see where Riley goes from here.

This is a side quest book in the Awaken Online series. It follows Riley through her journey to complete a quest she was given in Precipice. This story added a lot of depth to Riley and allowed us to see her develop in the game and out of it.
The story also really helped flesh out the Awaken Online world, especially the magic systems.
It was definitely worth the read.

Also, don’t expect to hear any new developments about Jason or his predicament, this is Riley’s story.

Fantastic book. I was lucky enough to read an early copy and if you have read the first two books this sorta side novel will be a welcome addition to the story. Spoiler free it follows Riley as she tackles the item quest she was given in the last book while flushing out the game world more.

Good book, good addition to the series. I didn’t find it to be as good as the other two books. That however is more the cause of the character than the writing though. The focus on stratagem and mixture of rl and ol was a large factor in the enjoy,emt of the other two books. This character isn’t that kind of personality. I’d still greatly recommend reading this.

Love this series and hope the author keeps up the good work. As a fan of the VRMMORPG genre I enjoy the plot line and how it grabs your attention and never let's go. I read this book the day I got it.

I've enjoyed these books even though i don't play MMORGs or even RPGs. There is some detail I an probably missing because of this, but I really enjoy the character development and the story. Looking forward to the next one!

This may be a side shoot book (more like 2.5 in the series), but it really helps to expand upon Riley's character. I'm honestly hoping Frank has a side shoot story coming out as well so we can learn more about him and his struggles in AO as well. Can't wait for more from this series.

A very interesting litrpg series that explores the sociological and psychological definition of both good and evil. Riley is a very relatable protagonist struggling with issues both in and out of the game. A nice and entertaining read from start to finish.

This series is a brilliant shift from the "norm" of the litrpg genre. Mr. Bagwell spins a strong story with incredible character development. I have been waiting anxiously for the third installment and I am still waiting anxiously.

A cool twist on the mmorpg type of game ,I look forward to finding out what happens.. So evil is rebeling against the norms ,and good is a veneer of kindness over a rotten core?when a ai makes the call lol

I continue to enjoy this series and watching the characters grow. The change of perspective from another character was fluid. I look forward to the next book where we find out what happens to jason.

Strong characters, good story.

This series just gets better and better. The best part is that this book keeps mentioning real life issues and how they impact the characters. It's very refreshing to see character development at it's best with a great story as Riley tries to solve a mysterious quest with some fresh faces.

I first got this book as a gift exchange and fell in love with it instantly, reading it in the course of one long night, loaning it to a friend and then buying it on kindle just to reread again. It is an interesting take on our perception of good and evil. Since then I have faithfully purchased every new book released almost as soon as it hits the store.

While the the writing style and the storyline are pretty simple, I give it five stars because the store interprets that as "I love it", and I've got to own up to that. Wouldn't mind a little more meat in the next one though -- it only took a day and a half of neglecting the rest of my life to finish this one.

It’s well written and very exciting. I love the addition of new locations and new characters. The world they live in just expanded and it gives the series even more potential. I can’t wait for the next addition to the series! Excellent job!

A nice side story to keep you going until the next AO... Focused on Riley and her personal demons, it's a good read and a good further view into the universes, virtual and future, that Bagwell created.

I have loved this entire series and wish this game was somehow possible in the real world. I especially love the magic system being explained more in depth and how it affects the society in the game. Keep up the great work and I look forward to the next book no matter if it is a side story or main story, I just want more of this amazing story.

I was a little skeptical at first, but Riley' s story was fantastic. Really added depth to the series and I'm curious how the author will incorporate the side story into the main series. Highly recommended to anyone that is a fan!

This was awesome. Simply awesome. I haven't really liked side stories in the past, as they often lack what drew me to the MC of the main story, but this one was great. Fed my hunger and teased book 3 sensationally.

This story takes VR & AI to new levels. Characters are guided by games’ AI to work through real-life issues in game which translate to real growth in players real-life attitude and self worth The author really grabs the readers attention right from the word go.

Awaken Online is hands down one of the best written LitRPG series out there. This book is an excellent addition in the series delving into the character Riley. If you enjoyed the others, you must read this.

I loved the author delving into the adventures of one of the main characters from the series in a short novel focused just in them. Written as well as the other books in the series and just as enjoyable. I hope we get more of both the main plot and side quests soon!

Be patient and give these books a chance. They start out slowly, but they're really entertaining if you hang in there. This separate story about Riley may very well be my favorite of the series to this point. Definitely worth a read.

This series has been pretty bad for me. I have been reading it when I should have been working, eating, and sleeping. Great premise within the LitRPG genre. Excellent action, complications, depth, character development, and real life connections. Keep it up, Travis!

This book does a great job developing Riley. I wasn’t excited to read this since I normally dislike side stories but this was amazing! Read it all in two days! It was so good, I couldn’t put it down!

I am hooked on this story. I relate with the "being the outsider" aspect of the story and love the character development of Riley in this "side quest"
I like the series so far and recommend it to anyone who like this vr game based books or any one else

this book is so captivating and had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. i absolutly loved all of th twists and unexpected turns of the plot and would read it again and again if i could. overall, if there was a such thing as 6 stars, i would rate this book all of them!

I have enjoyed the awaken online series, and this story gave welcome depth to Riley. I’m looking forward to seeing the further development of this series and its exploration of the concepts of good and evil.

While the writing was excellent felt that the story lacked the excitement of the first two books until the last few chapters. The story is amazing just feel that the stories with Jason are better. Still a must read for any litrgp fan!!

I love the first two books and this is just another amazing addition. Its a side quest in Riley's POV, it gives you so much incite into her character. If you love Awaken Online and need a fix before book 3, I highly recommend.

A very intriguing story line and characters. It makes you ponder basic questions like what is "good" and "evil" without spoon feeding you the answers. There is more to the title Awaken than you first realize but no spoilers. Enjoy!word

As with the previous main quests, we see true and deliberate character growth that balances self-improvement and indulgence. These stories suggest, to my own self-interest, the significance of personal growth and self-satisfaction. I intend to read on!

A fantastic book, this series is a must read if you are into the Litrpg genre. The characters are well thought-out and are portrayed genuinely. I can't wait for the next book. Give this series a read, it's worth it.

Amazing! I prefer the main plot line just because this feels a tad rushed, and like there was no problem that the MC couldn't handle just because they're the MC, but i was enthralled the entire adventure, and can't wait for mid 2018 for the next book!

This is a bit of a side track on the story of Jason and s different take on the first two books however it explains more about Riley and her emotions toward Jason's arrest very good recommend to all readers above 10 (adults as well)