Vol. 2: Aincrad, Sword Art Online

I didn’t care much for the SAO anime. I was a little apprehensive about buying this book. It was a really light read, as it only took me a few hours to finish it. I was surprised that I liked it as much as I did. Their were a couple of minor differences from the book and the episodes that adapt this book. I believe that at least half of the anime came from this book, and the other half came from short stories.
The quality of writing was good. I thought the translation was well done. The only other translated books I have read are Vampire Hunter D books, and compared to those translations this book flowed a lot smoother. I didn’t care much for the illustrations though. I found their quality a little underwhelming.
I really hope that this book has enough success to help other light novels get published in the states.

Sword Art Online (SAO) is amazing. I fell in love with the anime while watching it. It's my favorite anime currently and probably will be for a long time. To those who have not watched it, there is a 25 episode anime series and a second season will be coming out starting July and I highly recommend it for everyone.
The Japanese Light Novels have been translated by fans online but when I read that they will be translated to English and released in here in the United States, I couldn't possibly have gotten happier. I've been contemplating buying the Japanese version since I'm trying to learn the language but now I have the English version. If anything I'll still get the originals for collecting.
the store shipped the item very fast and in great packaging and it arrived with no damage at all..

If your a fan of the anime, this book is great! More detail in the girls Kirito meets and more!
Just remember this is not the main story, these are the side stories with the girls like Yui, Liz, Sachi, and Silica.

Sword Art Online. A master piece light novel which I absolutley love but could only give this a 4 star due to my mixed feelings about the translation. I'm so glad that there is a translated version of the Sword Art Online and I bought it without hesitation, but I who is a large fan of the iconic Japanese words used in Manga, Anime etc such as -Kun, -San and -Sama I felt much of the emotion was missing when I was reading through the novel. I know that many people who are unfamiliar with the Japanese language would not get this but I personally could only give this a 4 out of 5. But still great!

I enjoyed the SAO anime during its first season and when I found a copy of the first novel at Barnes and Noble, I bought it without a second thought.

The novel is entirely chronicled from Kirito's POV, which gives a more indepth understanding of his personality and his feelings while he was trapped within SAO. Additionally, the mechanics of SAO are far more thoroughly explained and we get a more empathetic perspective on what it's like for a person to be trapped in a virtual world and how they learn to cope with it when it becomes their new 'reality'.

And just to inform those who are only privy to the anime: The first novel does not contain events such as the battle with Illfang, Kirito joining his first Guild, the safety zone murders, nor his meetings with Lisbeth, Silica and Yui. These tales appear in subsequent volumes as side-stories which expand further on Kirito's adventures in Aincrad.

I'm glad that I finally got the opportunity to read the novel. It covers the entire Aincrad arc of the anime and goes into much greater detail about the world setting, the characters and their motivations, including other adventures that were not covered by the anime(though I will not spoil them). Kayaba, for instance, is actually more sympathetic to me as his reasons for constructing SAO and entrapping the players are more thoroughly explained and elaborated upon. For those who enjoyed the anime as I have, you will definitely appreciate this first-hand experience of SAO as it was intended by its author.

I have to admit that I'm still pleasantly surprised by this series, as I wasn't expecting to like the first volume and I was also somewhat unsure that I'd like the continuing volumes of the series since I don't always like ongoing series. However this really is a good follow-up to the first volume in that readers could still read this and not have to worry about continuing the series if they didn't want to (although odds are that you probably will).

Rather than have a volume with one story straight through, this is a collection of several shorter stories that center around Kirito's interactions with others during his time in SOA (so it's somewhat of a prequel instead of a sequel). I will admit that anyone familiar with the typical tropes of Japanese works of this nature (anime, manga, light novel) will be able to predict how many of these will end for the most part, but knowing the destination of the short stories doesn't ruin the enjoyment of them. They're just nice light stories that make for a pleasant read. I will say, however, that if you didn't like the first volume then odds are that you probably won't enjoy this one much more since it's the same type of dynamic here. Things will change up slightly in the next volume since the game field is also changing, but for now this volume's plot and motivations are the same as the ones in volume 1.

Now many may be tempted to skip this in order to start reading the second part of the SOA story that begins with volume 3, but I'd like to caution you against that since this volume does introduce a few characters that will show up in volume 3. (I peeked.) Odds are that the future volumes will include a slight back story about these characters since the light novel magazines are somewhat used to having people jump into a series mid-stride, but it's just better to read this and have the complete story as you go along. Plus the volume is just fun.

For parents: This volume is pretty low key when it comes to the topics of violence and sex. It's fairly chaste when it comes to sex, much like the first volume, but there are some extremely mild loli jokes in one of the stories that are played for laughs. (No sex is mentioned, mostly it's just laughing at the idea that people might mistake Kirito for an admirer.) Violence-wise there is your typical game-type violence, although there is a mention of death in the final story since they bring up Kirito's old guild, but it's nothing gratuitous.

If you are coming here from the anime welcome.
Two things to note when buying the SAO light novels;
1. The light novel cover numbers are black, on the manga their colored by story arc.
2. The novels are not in order to start.
a. Vol 1 MC and sandwich-san beginning to end
b. Vol 2 The girls not sandwich-san
c. Vol 3-4 Fairy Dance (the creepy part)
d. Vol 5-6 Gun Gale
e. Vol 7 Yuuki
f. Vol 8 Short stories (the detective story, Excalibur and one story not adapted to the anime)
If you love Marty Stu and Sandwich-san I very much recommend the progressive series. Books 1-4 out now and Vol 5 due in Nov 2018.
I do not mention Vol 9 and beyond because I am not a fan of the Alicization arc.
As a fan of SAO my suggestion is read progressive first (for some reason the LN and manga both have colored numbers, the manga with small numbers near the top of the cover the light novel with bigger numbers not at the top). Then main series Vol 1 thru 8. Then Vol 9 and later when their on sale or kindle version.
Progressive is canon and is actually replacing main series canon. The author is now able to take the time to tell the story of his two favorite characters.
Hope this guide helps.

Nervegear has developed an all-inclusive gaming experience were the gear taps straight into the individuals brain waves so that they can see, feel, taste, smell, and hear everything in game while keeping their bodies stationary. The release of Sword Art Online, introduces gamers to Aincrad. Kirito, was one of the lucky individuals selected as a Beta tester and joins ten thousand players on the day the game launches. However, none of the players have a logout button and the players are trapped. The creator confirms this, teleporting them all and making an announcement that this is a game you don’t just play. Their lives are irrevocably tied to the game now, if you die here, you die in the real world. The only way any of them will rejoin the real world is when someone makes it to Level 100 and defeats the final boss. Using previously gained knowledge and skill of the game, Kirito beats the game, makes and loses friends, and finds peace after over two years in-game.
SAO is one well illustrated, well thought-out story. In the American paperback version published in the US by Yen Press is black and white, though the cover is in color as well as one or two pages. The paper itself is rather thin and feels like it would be really easy to tear, but the images make up for the paper quality. The characters themselves are developed, explored, and the reader is able to see that there is always more than one skill, or one side, to every character. Not only are relationship and romantic interests developed, betrayals, puzzles, and skill leveling in the story, but there is also topics addressed that are deeper in technological ideas. What is real? What is the perception of reality? Are we what we create our characters to be or do the characters and avatars we create in-game start defining our lives and personality outside of games? Kawahara does an excellent job in bringing his imagined online world to life.

My book, which came from SuperBookDeals, came with a slightly bent spine, with a small chunk taken off of the top. I'm actually a little afraid to continue reading it, because I don't want to mess it up anymore...

I was a fan of the SAO anime before learning that it was adapted from the light novel, so, being the bookworm that I am, I was naturally excited when the novel was finally released in the US. I picked it up right away and dove into it like I did the anime.

I'll be honest. Writing-wise, the book isn't exactly Shakespeare. There were moments where there was just way too much exposition, to the point where it kinda dragged the story down a little for me, and the repetitive use of the phrase "in other words" got old really fast.

BUT HAVING SAID THAT, the story is solid and absolutely wonderful. The characters are compelling, and the plot, refreshingly imaginative. The book covers the first half of the anime, so if you've already seen it, you're not really missing anything plot-wise. But what the book does better than the anime is add so much more detail to the world of Aincrad. It's one thing to see the world onscreen. It's quite another to imagine it, as it's being described in vivid detail through Kirito's eyes.

Overall, it's a solid novel and I can't wait for the second volume. The writing isn't perfect, but the story more than makes up for it. If you loved the anime, you'll definitely love the novel.

At first blush, I didn't think I would enjoy Sword Art Online all that much. I mean, the premise if interesting and all, but the main character is kinda not my favorite type of hero. He's a loner, and while I normally have a bit of values dissonance to critique about Japanese media due to the cultural conformity and sacrifice of the individual for "the greater good" prevalent in that society, I like stories that have a mix of individualism and teamwork. In other words, I like a strong character(s) that is/are part of a larger group, with all of the camaraderie that represents.

Nevertheless, I tried the book out due to some strong recommendations, and I have to say I am glad that I did. The story is certainly compelling and quite fun, while still being poignant, if a bit rushed (or seeming that way due to the format - light novels are usually relatively quick reads - at times.

The story begins in the year 2022, when a virtual reality technology has made it possible to truly experience the phenomenon. Just put on the "NerveGear" helmet, developed by the scientist Akihiko Kayaba, and your brain waves are intercepted by the equipment, rendering you a completely vivid, virtual reality world you can sense. You can feel it, smell it, taste it, so on. The first major game for this new experience is an MMORPG called Sword Art Online.

The idea behind SAO is that there is very little "magica" except for some necessary aids to teleport, heal, so on. All battle is done with combs and attacks using pre-modern weapons like swords, axes, so on. You master each "art" to learn to fight and play the game.

Our hero, Kirito (his in-game name as we don't find out his real name under later) was a beta tester for the new game and can't wait to do the game for real at it's launch. When the big day comes, he, his new friend Klein (who he met that day and helped tutor before everything went to hell in a handbasket), and others were having fun until they learned they could not log off.

Then the awful truth was explained to them by the main GM (Game Master) Kayaba himself: they are all trapped in the game. The NerveGear helmets are designed to fry their brains under the following conditions: death in the game, if the helmets are removed, if the power is cut off for too long a time, so on. They are given a brief window of opportunity while their bodies are rushed to hospitals, but they can't leave the world without death. The only way out is to beat the game.

After the horror sets in, the story jumps forward two years to the main narrative, wherein we get some of the key events of the past two years from Kirito's narration. It's been a rought time of hopelessness and despair, but also heroism and valor during that time.

First things first. For those who expect the narrative to accurately reflect MMORPG's, just don't. It doesn't. Oh, it has the RPG elements down pat, but not the aspects of the MMO part of the gaming genre. Though published in 2009, it was written years earlier, so that might be why. The gaming might have changed. Or the author might just not know as much about that, not care to be perfectly accurate, so on, and just wanted a backdrop to the story. Who knows? It's really not important, to my way of thinking, because the story is still fun.

I will say that there is some values dissonance that will cause non-Japanese Westerners to feel a tad uncomfortable. While not praised, and actually made to be as bad as it really is, the idea of suicide in terms of failure or losing your beloved, is in the narrative. We don't "see" it happen in the main narrative, but it is described.

Of course, there are two points to consider. First off, in this stressful, seemingly hopeless situation, the breakdown and mental illness that could lead to this is kinda expected. Secondly, the author shows the hurt that suicide brings to those affected. This doesn't justify the practice at all, which is a good thing.

I also liked how the characters did not do this whole "I am stuck here and have no right to expect help from anyone" crap that some media do. I understand the ethic in Japan that if you don't try your best, you don't deserve help, etc., etc., etc., but some stories have the characters willingly being slaves or dying, all the while assuming they deserve it for not trying harder/doing better. That was, thankfully (in this story at least) absent. The selfish characters were bad and the nice characters were good. I liked it.

Characterization is another aspect I enjoyed. Every character had a role. Asuna (the female lead, and main female protagonist) was not a simple "damsel in distress", and was quite tough, but in different ways that Kirito. Kirito is the stronger player overall, but this is possibly a bad thing, as it is due to his loner status, his feelings of guilt over events earlier on in the game, and his obsessiveness. Asuna balanced the drive and need to make progress escaping the game with a healthy mental and emotional balance. Given she is almost as strong as Kirito, she's arguably the more impressive player. I don't want to discuss each and every player, but they are all similarly fleshed-out quite well.

The details we are given are quite vivid and make you feel you are almost in this virtual reality world. Reki Kawahara has an enormous talent for descriptive prose that works perfectly for this kind of story. We can share in the horror at the monsters, dungeons, and so on, and also the wonder and joy at the beautiful scenery, the smiles of friends, etc.

The book ends with a cliff-hanger of sorts. The newly-awakened Kirito intends to find his beloved Asuna. This, of course leads into the third volume of SAO, with the second volume being a short-story collection that takes place at various points during the two years or so of the first book.

Besides the absence of actual MMO tropes, the story was a bit rushed in some parts, with Asuna and Kirito's romance feeling not so much unbelievable, as just too quick. You can see in the narrative and the back-story mentioned how they fell in love, so it is something easy to accept and root for, and a reasonably well-written romance. It just was so rushed due to the length constraints of the Japanese "light novel" format.

All in all a fun tale that I would Highly Recommend. Oh, and Kirito the loner, it turns out wasn't such a "loner" after all. He was a hero who helped folks a lot, despite claiming he didn't want the responsibility. He's a pretty cool heroic guy. Neat, huh?

Perfect! Giving as a gift for my husband and he loves it! The first couple pages are colored with pictures and the rest of the chapters here and there have great black and white art work. Package came early and on time. Definitely worth the price!

The first SAO novel was intended to be a standalone novel that was submitted for a writing award program in Japan. The novel became a huge hit and Kawahara decided to follow up with a collection of stories filling the gaps in the story. Most of these stories were alluded to in the first novel.

The Black Swordsman: this story revolves around Silica and her quest to restore life to her 'pet' dragon, Pina.
Warmth of the Heart: Lisbeth the smith is tasked with making a great sword for Kirito and they join together on a quest for a rare ingot.
The Girl in the Morning Dew: Kirito and Asuna discover a young girl that appears to be neither a player nor an NPC.
Red-Nosed Reindeer: Set earlier than the previous three stories, Kirito joins a low level guild but keeps his identity and level secret from the group.

These stories help fill in the gaps, but the newer releases of Sword Art Online Progressive (also by Kawahara) go floor by floor through the Aincrad arc.

I bought this after watching the anime. I'm one of those people who think the book is almost always better. I actually took a leap of faith with this book, and bought it without reading it first. I know I know, TECHNICALLY I knew what it was about because of the anime, but I've seen animes be completely from what their based on(Blood+ comes to mind.) So I count it as one.

I loved the book and was giggling as I read it. The sudden time skip was rather jarring, and made me sad because I thought the stuff with the girls were just filler episodes(obviously I hadn't read the summary of book 2 yet), but it was amazing all the same. The book lets us get a bit more inside of Kirito's head, and it really adds to the story. And I feel like the relationship with him an asuna was a bit better developed.

I would definitely recommend this book. (less)

Sword Art Online was one of the BEST Stories I read/watch ,
I did not Purchased the Yen Press or Yen On Official Release of Sword Art Online ,
but I read it from a free fan translating site, before it get licensed and start getting translated ,

The Story is Really Well Made , the event and mechanism of the story and the game is well explained , and it's not like the anime which cut off some parts ! Anime get Specially worse after Season 1 ( Vol 3 of Novel ), when Kirito go into Fairy Arc and ALO Game , there , from the very start , huge part of the novel was cut off , the parts where a gamer would actually enjoy ! the strategic and mechanism of game ... etc , they just focus on the love part of the story , which turn off some ppl after the great fighting first Arc !
But READ the novel , From start to last , as I read up to volume 15 currently ! and it Only get even better after 9 !

I have a Request to Ask of you all new and old SAO Fan,
I Loved the First Ep of anime so much that before Ep3 come out , I finish Reading Vol 1 and 2 of the Light novel !
And I Would LOVE to buy this Official Version and Actually Support the Great author , but I can not Purchase the Physical Copies Currently , and I am sure , I am not alone at this ,
Please , Release a Kindle Edition of this Novel , I would Instantly 1-Click Purchase the hell out of it !
Please Request for a Kindle Edition whenever you can , so that Yen On would Release it for Kindle and me and a lot like me , would buy this.

<<DISCLAIMER>>: Everything below is purely my opinion. I read a fan translation from the magical Internet, but that doesn’t change the story content. I also watched all of the anime episodes to date before reading this.
“A huge castle made of stone and steel floating in an endless sky. That was all this world was.” This simple quote encompasses mystery and wonder. Overall, it is an excellent way to open this book and the world of Aincrad. Sword Art Online is a good read for any gamer. This book shows games in a light that I haven’t really seen elsewhere. It’s long, too. In the copy I read, the book clocked in at about 300 pages long, but the text was fairly big. If you don’t know a lot of gaming terms, but you still want to read this book, fear not. The book will explain everything you should need to know.
(<<Spoiler Warning>>: I’m putting some spoilers ahead to sum up this book’s story. If you want to skip this, jump to the next paragraph.) The year is 2022 and what is considered to be the first real game for a virtual reality system called the Nervegear is coming out. The game is called Sword Art Online (SAO), dubbed a VRMMORPG (Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Role Playing Game), and all 10,000 copies have sold out on launch day. Our story follows one player in particular: the beta tester Kirito. Not too long after the game officially launches, he finds himself teaching a new player when they discover that the “Log out” option is missing from the menu. Soon after, the creator of SAO announces to everyone playing and everyone in the outside world that it is impossible to leave the game, with the exception of dying in the game and clearing all 100 floors of Aincrad. The only catch? Dying in the game will kill you in real life. As the players clear more and more floors, Kirito discovers that he has a special skill in this game.
This book has its ups and downs. I personally love this book, as it portrays video games better than any other book, movie, or other media I’ve seen. The fight scenes tell you absolutely everything that they could, and, in most cases, the world feels well thought out. Quite a lot of the scenes are described in such a way that paints an accurate picture in your mind. But, sadly, not everything in this book is that good. For example, the end of the book feels a bit sudden and convoluted. I do not think that these occasional slip-ups hurt the story too much. Sure, they do a bit of damage to the story overall, but, in my eyes, the book holds up since a bunch of the story is written really well.
I love this book, but it isn’t perfect. I feel that the story does a good job of telling you what’s going on. It also does a good job of telling details about the surroundings. On the other hand, certain plot points and dialogue are sudden and a bit “out there.” I don’t, however, feel that this detracts from the overall story. I personally feel that this book is great and a definite “must read” for anyone who likes games enough to read a book about one. <<Review End>>

In the book "Sword art Online aincrad" 001 by Reki Kawahara, The main character Kirito has to go through a very long and violent journey to stay alive and to try to free a total of 2,000 people out of a harsh game. While Kirito is going through this journey he is experiencing internal conflict because he is afraid of dying and doesn't know if he will live another day. If Kirito doesn't continue to do his best in the video game world he will die in the real world. Kirito's real struggle is against the game "aincrad" and in order free himself along with the few survivors of the killing game they must beat the last level of the game. The theme(s) the author is trying to send is that when you do your best and never give up you will achieve your goal.

I liked this book book because it had many different adventures. Kirito would fight many different characters for different reasons and fought enemies to try and level up. I myself enjoyed this book but for other people that do not like anime this might not be a book for them. I gave this book 5 stars because I really liked the plot of this story, all the action, and how some of the adventures lead to a couple of strong friendships.

This book....oh my gosh this book. It was AMAZING as the first. I was highly looking forward to it, and got it as soon as it came out.

The four stories are just amazing, my favorite being the red nosed reindeer. Seriously, I was near tears at the end, and the drawing just made me more emotional. I even went so far as to say, "My little Kirito." I generally dub characters as 'mine' when they make me really emotional. I LOVED the development we saw in Kirito in this book.

I highly recommend it.

I'm not a reader. In fact, reading makes me fall asleep -- and very quickly too! It took me a week and a half to read the first novel, solely based on the motivation of loving the anime adaptation.

If you enjoyed the anime, you'll enjoy this. There's also a special afterwords message from the author that pretty much makes me want to throw my bank account at him.

Now, the writing itself can get a little awkward but, it's not like Kawahara was trying to write lord of the rings.

YEN ON = light novel.
YEN PRESS = Manga

The story of this manga is the first virtual reality gaming devise has been created. The first game ever released being Sword Art Online. When the players enter the world they experience how great it is and what its like to be in a video game. As time goes on many of them try to log out. To the surprise of the players. The log out button is gone. As commotion continues they get transferred to the town square of the first floor. When all the commotion is interrupted by the developer of the game who explains to them that they can not exit the game, if they die in the game they will die in real life, and if any outside sources try to remove the devise the player will be killed. The only way to escape the game is to beat all 100 floors.

The main characters Asuna, and Kirito are well developed and are easy characters to like. Both this book and the anime are very enjoyable. This book is a fun read and has an amazing art style. Over all I think this book is great for anyone who wants to get into manga or an active manga reader. 9/10 would read again

I found myself having trouble putting down this book. The writer portrays the characters in it as real people, trapped in a reality that is working against them, but it is all they've known for two years. Although as the story goes on the romantic elements feel almost sappy, it's very fun to see the two main characters come to depend and rely on each other, and at the end you feel a warm feeling in your heart. I can't wait to read the sequel.

It's pretty enjoyable, with really good illustrations. The problems I have with it out weigh the good though. For one, kirito isn't that great of a character, and seeing as he and asuna are the only characters who show up for more than a chapter or two. Also it just sorta ends. Like the story is doing something else, than it just ends.

I purchased this book after watching the first season of SAO a few episodes of SAO II. After reading the foreword and first chapter, one definite plus is that the novel is told from Kirito/Kirigaya's point of view. Another is the artwork on the cover and in the insert.

I'm looking forward to buying the rest of the novels as they are released in English, and I encourage fans of SAO to read these novels as well.

I like SAO and saw the first part of the anime so I thought I'd give it a shot.
Let me start by saying that some of the side-stories like the stuff with Silica and Lizbeth are not in this volume, maybe they're in the next one but I doubt it. It feels rushed, when I assume the light novels have plenty more to them.
The weirdest part about this manga is the formatting. The PANELS read right-to-left, but the TEXT in those panels, as in multiple sentences in groups, read left-to-right. I might have to re-read this in case I missed something reading this like an actual manga. Not even the whole thing being western left-to-right, just the speech bubbles. Not sure if you understand what I mean so you buy it and find out.
I like it since I'm a huge fan of Reki Kawahara, but I'm not a fan of the manga artist. Still, 4/5 would read again.

A great story with lots of suspense as the story goes along, as it is ive already read most of it on baka-tsuki and was waiting for more on the Alicazation part of the series to be translated, but as its now been published in english ive just have to wait till i can buy it... really looking forward to reading more of this story!!!

Title about sums it up, if you like the anime, this is its original source, and they are super similar. It has all the same pros and cons as the show, and that's all I have to say for it. It's a pretty fun read, especially if you love the anime, but frankly, it's nothing amazing.

OH MY GOSH! SO SO AMAZING!!! SWORD ART ONLINE!!! JUST LIKE, ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS EVER!!!
This book is great. Its very good. This book is packed with adventure, comedy, AND I NOTE COMEDY! IT. IS. HALARIOUS!!! It has action, seriousness, it can touch the heart, and of course, it has the love story of Kirito and Asuna. Note, this dosent have Sachi, Silica, Liz, or Yui. That is for the latter books. And first floor stuff is in the progressive, which you should check out. And if you haven't watched the show, you can check it out on Netflix. ( Warning, it makes you really want to play Virtual Reality. Plus it is very addicting. LOL)

you can never hate any of the sword art online books. i recomend this book to eveyone because i have been reading the sword art online books over and over again because i love them so much. Tips if you are going to by these books at Powell's there sill not be any copys that are used because i work there and i read them all the time there just a warning.

Both the manga and DVDs for this series are just the right balance of romance, action, and suspense that makes this a must-have for avid gamers and anime fans alike. 'Sword Art Online' is an amazing story that will rekindle your love for anime, and one to enjoy reading and watching more than once.

This was a fantastic manga! I have already watched the anime and am a huge fan, so I got the manga to see if it could live up to the experience of watching SAO. The characters are slightly more cartoon like than in the anime, and I found the artwork to be a little strange at times, for example on some pages where there is a lot going on, the character may only have one eye visible. This was strange, but didn't take away from the manga. The story is very close to the anime with only slight variations. I enjoyed it and can't wait to read the next!

A great light novel from a great anime. The story-telling is easy to digest and is very enthralling. The characters, though somewhat forgettable to an extent, all add flavor to the world of SAO. Though this is a Japanese novel, this is still quite enjoyable even for the older sci-fi readers.

“This may be a game, but it isn’t meant to be played.”
In the last book, we experienced Aincrad’s destruction. So what could possibly happen now? Well, we may know Aincrad is destroyed and Kayaba Akihiko is killed, but we still don’t know the full story. In Sword Art Online (SAO) Volume 2, we go back to the signature castle in the sky to hear the rest of the tale.
(Spoiler Alert: You no want spoilers, you go to next paragraph.) In terms of plot, there’s nothing huge to cover. If you’ve read Volume 1 (and I assume you have), you’re already familiar with the setting of Sword Art Online and Aincrad and what exactly is at stake here. The big difference in this story is that it is more emotional. This volume focuses more on the everyday life of players in SAO. It adds more characters that would have taken a backseat in the first volume and brings to light the characters that did take a backseat in the first book. We follow Kirito, of course, through helping these new characters through whatever problem they might have. When we're not doing that, we get to see some of Kirito's struggles in SAO. All in all, this is a collection of short stories, but, if you want any sort of idea what is happening in the next few books, it is necessary to read. That is, at least Yui's part is.
So, as the title suggests, this book is much more emotional than the last one. While it is nice to have a book that humanizes Kirito and the crew, I personally think that this should have been combined with Volume 1. In Volume 1, we had a bunch of good fight scenes and such, but, in this book, we have 2 or 3. On the other hand, Volume 1's characters and story were more to-the-point. It focused on what mattered: the top level players and notable fights. Volume 2 covered all of the opposite material, showing the realness of Aincrad. If these two books were combined, I feel it would have been the perfect ratio of emotion to fight, of heavy stuff to the front lines. In terms of just this book, however, I feel it stands up fairly well. To the person who really liked the fighting and action of SAO1, this book may be a bit disappointing, but the normal SAO fan should still like this book enough.
Sword Art Online is an excellent book series that I encourage people to read. To those who don’t like this very emotionally-focused book, I urge you to tank through the 2 or 3 books in the SAO series that do focus on the emotional side. I quite like this book, but it isn’t my favorite. As I said, the first SAO book really focused on the familiar top-level players, but it never shifted the lens onto the lower players in SAO, the peasants of Aincrad. This book excels where the first didn’t, but doesn’t excel where the first one did. And I feel that that’s my problem with this book.

I have been waiting a solid month to get a decent (readable) copy of this book. I have shipped back 2 books and I'm done. The first book (which by the way at 2 day Prime shipping took 3 weeks) was mangled making it unreadable. I took that in stride though, s*** happens, so I returned it. And after another 3 weeks of waiting (still under Prime) I finally got another copy, and I was quite excited. At first glance it was pristine, a little ding from the road cause they send it in an envelope for god knows what ever reason (it's a paperback for *insert religious figure here* sakes) but otherwise perfect. So I sat down to start reading when....the first chapter fell out. The spine was ruined. So i'm now simply returning it and getting a refund. I'd rather risk the local bookstore not having it and waiting while they order it than to spend another 6 weeks (im no longer a prime member after this) waiting. I'd like to say at the end of all this that something like this is rare but to happen twice AND to have a return of a paperback book to resend it in a envelope instead of packaging it correctly. Get your s*** together. Thank you.

Better than the Anime cuz theres lots of little details here and there that explain Kiritos motives for what he did, character backgrounds are made a bit more clear. etc. If you watch the anime than this you can get a way better understanding of what was going on

This is a collection of side stories. With only two that actually matter. So only half the book actually matters. Granted two reoccurring characters are introduced. But there both bland and add nothing to the rest of the story

I really enjoyed reading this book. I watched the show, and decided to pick up the light novels. I was a little disappointed that it gave you little extra story, info, material, or otherwise that was not already in the show, but I still had no trouble enjoying the books.

Well firstly hearthcliff killed kirito in the anime.
Secondly kirito never saw Klein again.
Thirdly it was missing many key events that the show had.
But all together it was a good read for me well that's all
Bai

The manga goes with the anime, while missing many important parts. In the second volume, it shows another part of the story, but in the first volume, the story ended. The author had really sloppy plans for the manga. I insist on watching the anime first, likr I did to understand the story. Plus, the artist had really poor drawing skills. Kirito looks cooler in the manga, but Asuna was a disgrace to the anime. Thanks for reading. Bye.

I remember watching SAO when I was in middle school. I thought it was the greatest thing I had ever watched! But, looking back, I honestly think it's terrible. The fanservice, harem aspect (which is damn hard to write a good story around), the bland characters, everything. Kirito is probably one of the most generic, boring, and bland protagonists I've ever come across. The story is just so... Lacking. It follows the same basic plot line as nearly every other light novel ever. Actually, the fact that it's a light novel is a sure warning sign that it's not a good book. Light novels in general are garbage. Very few have I come across that were actually good. The fancy and unrealistic character designs (for the girls only). They know their story is as generic as they come so they put their effort elsewhere to make the outfits stand out...
...Just do yourself a favor and never pick this trash up. It's certainly not worth the read. Trust me, teenager reading and disliking this review, once you've read enough LN / manga and watched enough anime, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

As someone who absolutely hated the anime, I was a little cautious when buying this novel. As far as teen fiction goes (and yes, this is something I consider to be a piece of teen fiction,) this is an amazing read. Unlike Kawahara's later work Accel World, this "novel" is a fast-paced read, leaving me wanting more every time I had to set it down. It may have its problems (a wildly bland MC being one of them,) but overall I enjoyed it from beginning to end. Even if you didn't like the anime for what it was, at least pick this up and try it, even if you don't like it you'll be supporting the localization of other great light novels.

Enter the World of Aincrad
Sword Art Online is a mildly adventurous tale about overcoming a great challenge to reach a great reward. The story follows the adventure of the main character, Kirito, as he travels with several other characters as they face the great challenge together. Throughout the story, the characters become more interdependent, as their very survival depends on each other.
(WARNING: SPOILER ALERTS AHEAD) Sword Art Online starts with the main character, Kirito, entering a virtual world where one can control their movements by moving their own body. However, the game’s designer suddenly tells players that if they log out, the brain sensor will kill them immediately. The only way out of the game is to make it to the top of Aincrad, a three-dimensional castle with a hundred floors. Each floor is filled with monsters, with each floor getting increasingly harder as the players advance. Kirito, along with his new companion Asuna, fights to reach the top floor and see his family once again. But Kirito is holding onto a secret that could turn the game in the player’s favor.
Sword Art Online contains a strong storyline, but grammatical issues resulting from improper translation take away from the book. Also, the ending was extremely abrupt, which seemed very dull and senseless to me. I feel that the book had strong characters, enemies, and conflicts, but many parts were either stretched out too long, or barely talked about at all. Even the climax of the book, which one would expect to be exciting, was rather dull for me and lasted a whopping page and a half (in the text I was reading, the pages were extremely small and could only fit about five full paragraphs. A good read for a lover of video games or adventurous plot lines, but not an enjoyable read for me.

This show has a extremely cool plot. I love the whole "getting trapped in a game" story a lot. The art style is fantastic. But one major thing ruins this series for me. Kirito and Osuna are the worst main characters ever. Kirito is a lone wolf nerdy douche. While Asuna was a cool character in the first episode, she gradually became annoying over time. Klein would of made a much better main character in my opinion, but it's just an opinion. It's an okay series, I just sadly can't attach to any of the characters.

My rating is for this edition, which is censored. The uncut version I would give a four or five star ranking. When I noticed the "13 & Up" age recomendation (after I bought it, unfortunately) I knew it was cut. By "it" I mean the very detailed sex scene between Kirito and Asuna on chapter 16. I felt cheated by Yen Press, since there was no warning that it was censored. Fortunately, I still have the unoficially translated versions. No more SAO from Yen Press for me.