Sword Art Online is a series written by Reki Kawahara about a virtual reality game called Sword Art Online (SAO), with the only difference being that if you die in-game, the Nervegear, a helmet that must be worn to launch the game, will release electricity that will kill you in real life. There is no way to escape, and there are 10,000 people trapped in the game. According to the creator of the game, Akihiko Kaiyaba, you can only escape by beating the game, which is the 100th floor. The main character is named Kazuto Kirigaya, with his in-game name being Kirito. He would later become one of the two strongest players in the game. The story does not feel well-written, as most of it is an introduction to characters that aren’t exactly relevant, even in the series after SAO. For example. A character named Lizabeth- she was a weaponsmith who helped Kirito create a sword, but she required a rare material. Kirito and Lizabeth went to get it and succeeded. Their relationship was pretty bad when it started but it built up towards the end. However, Lizabeth did not appear anywhere else in the story besides this. The only she made an appearance was at the end of the series, and another at the end of the sequel to Sword Art Online. The most common order in the story is that Kirito meets a character, helps the character while building a good relationship with them, leave the character and never see them until the end of the series. Sometimes, however, the characters introduced even die in the same volume that they were introduced in, but the majority survives. There are few parts that seem to push the story forward, while the rest seems to be parts just to extend the story further. Without these parts, the story would be about 25 pages while it is an 18 volume series. Of course, some parts actually drive the story forward- Kirito joining a major guild, dealing with a murderer guild called Laughing Coffin, and working with the offensive team- a group of players who want to get out of the world by continuing to push forward.
Overall, it is a fun series to read, but I would not recommend this to someone who enjoys books with a deep story. It has a story, but most do not connect to much else in the story. The basic story is rather unique, and there is a good amount of action, but also some romance. In the end, it’s an interesting book and I’d recommend it as an easy read.