Sword Art Online, Vol. 6: Phantom Bullet

Sword Art Online #6

by Reki Kawahara

In an effort to discover the truth behind Death Gun, Kirito has entered the Bullet of Bullets tournament in Gun Gale Online, and both he and Sinon the sniper girl have made it to the finals, and the reality of what they discover is stranger than anything they could've prepared for. Lives are on the line once again as Sinon is forced to face her own past--but can Death Gun's bizarre rampage be stopped in time?

Genres: Light Novel, Fantasy, Manga, Science Fiction, Fiction, Young Adult, Japanese Literature

312 pages, Paperback

First published December 10, 2010

About the author

Kawahara Reki (川原礫) is the writer of Sword Art Online and Accel World. He also uses the pen name Kunori Fumio. His hobby is cycling.

Reviews

[Meiki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gun Gale Online is probably the best arc so far in the series. I absolutely love this volume. The action-packed scenes and the heart-wrenching moments were so well-written that they kept me reading from the first page till the end of the book (and I have a test two days after too).

Sinon was such a strong character and I love her! She was an extremely important character in this arc that Asuna hardly appeared in the two volumes of GGO. Supporting characters need more love, people!

[Khari · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a while since I read the first five books of this series, so apparently the love has worn off a bit.

That's not to say that I didn't enjoy this book. I did. I read all but the first chapter today. It was quite nice. I haven't been reading enough lately. My poor soul is starved for the written word, so I did enjoy just curling up with several cups of tea and reading the whole book in one sitting.

But no, I was not as enthralled with this one as with the prior ones. I had one big problem with it...Asuna and Kirito have Yui, who was a literal part of the programming of Aincrad. Couldn't Kirito have just gone to Yui and asked her to list the names of the people who were in the laughing coffin guild? For that matter, as soon as he figured out that Death Gun was a former laughing coffin member, wouldn't the smart thing been to have gathered together everyone from SAO and brainstormed together to figure out who he was? That would have been a far smarter and less risky way of handling the situation, and would have had the added benefit of possibly being faster than trying to resolve everything alone as is Kirito's penchant.

On the other hand, I quite enjoyed the ethical dilemma inherent to this particular story. Perhaps it is my American side coming out, but I simply cannot imagine anyone calling an 11 year old girl who kills an armed robber a murderer. Especially not one that has already killed someone. That's solidly self-defense to my pragmatic mind. I can see an 11 year old girl accusing herself of that, though, and I thought the anxiety and stress that the author portrayed in Shino's character was quite well done. I couldn't have imagined such anxiety provoked by the mere thought of a gun before I read this book, but the human mind is capable of doing really strange things to itself and I was persuaded that such a thing could happen. What I thought was the best part of this book was the last page where Kirito quoted the nurse and said that a person has the right to consider the lives of the people they save and not just the lives of those they have killed. I thought that was an excellent piece of advice, and one that should be given to those who serve in our police departments and our armed forces. Listening to the recriminations that Kirito and Shino piled on themselves reminded me of the feelings of anguish that poured out of the pages of American Sniper and from the podcast 'This is War'. This book kind of fell flat because although the author is quite imaginative, sometimes the imagination of someone who has grown up in a peaceful environment just cannot attain the same level of impact as someone who has actually carried the guilt of taking dozens of lives. Kawahara didn't capture the feelings of guilt, recrimination and despair completely, but he did catch a reflection of them, and I thought his way of handling it was a legitimate way of dealing with those feelings. Someone who takes the life of someone who is evil has not necessarily done something 'good', they have still killed someone, they have still stained their soul with something indelibly evil...but, they have the right to consider all the lives that they have saved, and I don't think that anyone that has not been in that situation themselves necessarily has the right to judge them for that decision.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this more then the last book, it was a fitting conclusion to the story arc and not so bogged down in technical details.

[Angela Auten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sword Art Online is shaping out to be one of my favorite light novel series! I can't wait to read Progressive as well and now start Accel World! I even enjoyed the Phantom Bullet arc! The Alfheim Online arc was really good, but had some creepy instances that made me rate it lower than the first two arcs! Next month I will be starting the next arc! This took me longer to read than usual, but stuff has been happening in life...and reading slowed down a little, but I really loved this arc a lot. Can't wait to continue!

[Ethan · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the GGO arc is my least favorite, this book is better than the last and is a good finale to the arc.

[GiGi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This contains the usual wholesomeness but without the cringe. The characters were more complex and although the arcs are formulaic, the world is expanding and there's a vague line that ties everything together

[Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

So action-packed and fun to read. The second half of GGO is so much better than the first IMO.

[Colby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sword Art Online: Phantom Bullet part 2 takes place right where volume five of the series left off. Volume six serves to conclude the events involving Death Gun and the Bullet of Bullets Tournament that occurred in the previous volume. The three noteworthy characters, meaning the ones who's lives are mostly observed within the novel, are Sinon, Kirito, and "Death Gun."

Kawahara Reki, in his ending remarks after the conclusion of the novel, states that this volume is the longest of all previous installments in the series. As one reads through the series, they will immediately notice the reason as to why the length exceeds that of the other novels; so many events that the reader already knows are retold. It seems as though the bulk of some chapters is all useless summary. The reader will naturally read volume five before six; therefore I believe that the amount of background given in this "part two" becomes overwhelming. What didn't work for me also was the lack of variety in the description of an individual's countenance. This book really shines in it's action scenes due to it's clever, exciting, and vivid descriptions; however, all of that seems to be lost when it comes to normal dialogue between characters. It is obvious where most of the authors attention lies when reading descriptions, and it seems as though the only way Kawahara Reki can describe a facial expression is by them "giving a wry smile." It felt a tad bit silly as I read through certain passages where characters would give each other "wry smiles" one after the other repeatedly. However, as I mentioned earlier, the focus on all of the action is well worth it. This is important to note due to the fact that a decent amount of the later chapters are pure action and conflict between hero and enemy. Another thing I enjoyed was the connections back to the event that started it all, "The Sword Art Online Incident." Amongst all of the repetitiveness within dialogue, I believe these certain connections were genius in the overall structure of the series. It really helps to convey the overarching lesson of the series that ones own actions will ultimately effect their character and their future, regardless of the world where these choices are made. The philosophical and emotional aspects of volume six shine as well as the book's predecessor. Between volumes five and six, I believe that the two strongly succeed within the same departments, but, unfortunately, share similar failures.

Overall, Sword Art Online: Phantom Bullet Part 2 is a very nice addition to the series and concludes the Gun Gale Online arc in a satisfying way. Although this volume had it's flaws, it is still as enjoyable as the books that came before it.

[Kaeri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved, loved, loved this volume of the Sword Art Online series! I love Gun Gale Online's concept! The world-building was very good, and the character developments and fight scenes were amazing. I might sound over ecstatic but I really enjoyed Volumes 5 and 6.

I love guns and I love shooting guns in real life so maybe that's why I liked SAO#5 and #6 so much. The storytelling was very fluid and I loved Sinon's character. Her point of view was really fresh, she's very likable and her "Sinon" in-game character was really badass.

The fight scenes were very different than SAO's and ALO's because they used guns and machines in GGO, but I thought this gave the SAO virtual world a new and more realistic look. The only thing I didn't like was probably how I was able to predict who "Death Gun" was. There weren't much clues or hints at all, but maybe it's because I've read too many fiction books that I that deducing the possible twists and turns of a novel came easy to me, so when the big reveal came out, I was like... "I knew it was him all along."

That aside, It was nice to see the effects of The Seed, on how it connected all the virtual reality games... the smooth merging of Aincrad and ALfheim was nice, especially seeing those characters that we loved from the different games of the SAO series come together. It was also nice to see them in real life and how they were adapting after the SAO incident, and how they all formed real-life friendships.

Good light novel! :)

[Miquel · Rating 4 out of 5]

As in books #3 and #4, books #5 and #6 are the same story divided into 2 books.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed this (double)book as much as the first one! I had mixed feelings with books #2, #3 and #4 so I had my doubts with the next ones. The story is full of action, with great doses of mystery, good use of returning things from the first SAO game and an outstanding new protagonist... Also the game idea it's really appealing, somewhat like a mix between "Counter Strike" and classic MMO games, also interesting the "convert game money to real money" concept. And tournaments, everybody love tournaments xD

About Sinon, I think it's the best thing in the book: a girl with strong traumas struggling with them by herself as a sniper in this new virtual world. Very well described inner thoughts, and I enjoyed her action scenes as well (maybe because in shooter games I'm more akin to the snipers as well :P ). Also, first new girl protagonist that doesen't develop romantic feelings towards Kirito!(way to go Kawahara-san!)

[Aja: The Narcoleptic Ninja · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the longest so far in the Sword Art Online light novels, but I think I read it the fastest.

This book wraps up the Gun Gale Online story arc with the Bullet of Bullets and the mystery of Death Gun. GGO is the reward for making it through the Fairy Dance arc. It's absolutely filled with action and it was almost impossible to put down.

[Jorge Rosas · Rating 5 out of 5]

The action, the suspense, the police novel inside the plot, the conflicts and traumatic experienced of the characters, the horror and the wonderful sci-fi environment, and more made it such a better book than the last one. It's a shame that it took like 5 years to be translated!
"... You have the right to think about those you saved "

[DarkChaplain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can hardly believe I'm rating both Phantom Bullet novels at 5 stars, but... they were genuinely good.

A lot of my issues with SAO were clear from previous arcs' reviews, I think. A lot of those issues play little to no role in Phantom Bullet. Yes, there's still weird stuff about misunderstandings with technology on part of the author. Yes, there's still the fawning over Kirito. Yes, there's still the problem with a new female love interest being introduced yet again. Yes, Asuna did get sidelined again for the most part of the arc.

But frankly, there was a lot that this arc nailed, primarily on the subject of PTSD, dealing with deep-seated trauma and psychological breakdown. The social anxiety issues, bullying, stalking, trying to work out how to stop feeling weak, the discrepancy between real life identity and online persona... there's a lot of heavy stuff in here. A lot a lot.

While there's still a lot of the usual stuff here, the increased focus on the heroine, Sinon, helps the narrative greatly. She makes the arc, and by the end of it, I felt like I clearly understood who she was, her background, fears, strengths and genuinely liked her as a fully rounded member of the cast. It also helped that her chemistry with the other characters felt relatable, and her chemistry with Kirito was great. Instead of hitting the usual tsundere tropes, the author managed to construct somebody whose reactions and behavior suited her role and outlook.

Another important point is the almost complete lack of "fanservice"-type scenes. While one does exist in volume one, volume two plays it very straight and relies on emotional buildup rather than resorting to accidental chest-grabs or the like. It's all bonding. Had that stuff been in there, it would have honestly undermined the narrative in a big way - so I am happy to say that this is a serious story, told in a reasonable manner.

There is a downside, however, in that the villain, for a large chunk of the story, is kept a mystery. His motivations aren't fully cleared up until the aftermath, like a detective explaining the culprit's motives to the survivors of an incident. As a result of that, and sadly shared elements from both previous arcs in how the villain is designed, it feels much more evil-for-evil's-sake than I would have wished in a book that tackles the aforementioned themes. I want to stress, however, that the villain, too, contributes to them. It's a matter of depth, not necessarily missteps. In fact, I feel like the villain of Phantom Bullet is much more believable than either of the main antagonists from Aincrad and Fairy Dance.

I'd go so far as to say that the villain of Phantom Bullet horrified me. I was clearly unsettled reading the finale in bed at night. It made me uncomfortable in a good way - I noticed myself pausing to question if the author got swapped halfway through, because I didn't think he was capable of that stuff being handled this well. At least not from looking at Oberon.

And then it turns out, thanks to the afterword, that while Aincrad and Fairy Dance were mostly left intact from their Web Novel editions when they were published in light novel format, with only fixes and minor consistency changes (even though there are still retcons in the series!), Phantom Bullet had to be massively rewritten, with volume 6 being almost entirely redone, and as a result excessively longer than the rest of the series so far. It could probably eat up another volume and then think about seconds.
So if this feels much better than the other arcs so far, that's probably because the author had grown noticeably since the original Web Novel run of Aincrad and Fairy Dance. For one, the existence of an actual editor looking at it from the start will have helped. Thanks, editor-san!

Either way, I greatly enjoyed my time with this arc. It's the best so far on a character level, and in matters of pacing. If later arcs manage to live up, I'll be looking forward to them. And no, I didn't go ahead and buy the tie-in video game. At least not yet.

[Cat Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inhalt:
Kazuto Kirigaya, kurz Kirito, hat es in das Finale des Bullet of Bullets im VRMMORPG Gun Gale Online geschafft und ist dem mysteriösen Death Gun dicht auf den Fersen. Doch nachdem dieser ihn während der Qualifikationsrunde konfrontiert hat, wird Kirito von seiner schrecklichen Vergangenheit zu SAO-Zeiten eingeholt und wird sich erstmals so richtig über die Konsequenzen bewusst. Und nicht nur er hat mit den Geistern der Vergangenheit zu kämpfen. Auch Sinon muss sich ihren Ängsten stellen, weswegen das BoB für beide eine echte Herausforderung wird.

Fazit:
Mit dem sechsten Band der Sword Art Online-Light Novel-Reihe beendet Reki Kawahara den Phantom Bullet- bzw. GGO-ARC. Zudem handelt es sich um den bisher umfangreichsten Band der Reihe.
Im Vergleich zum Anime bietet dieser Band einen noch besseren Einblick in die Gefühlswelt von Kirito und Sinon. Beide haben in der Vergangenheit viel durchgemacht, waren mit dem Tod konfrontiert und konnten viele Dinge nicht verarbeiten, die insbesondere durch die Konfrontation mit dem tödlichen Spieler Death Gun wieder aufgewirbelt werden. Aus einem dem Anschein nach harmlosen PvP-Shooter-Game wird plötzlich bitterer Ernst. Einem Tournier, bei dem das Leben auf Messers Schneide steht und jeder Schuss den Tod im realen Leben bedeuten könnte.
Reki Kawahara versteht es, (für mich als Laien) gut durchdachte Krimi-, wenn nicht sogar Thriller-Elemente geschickt in einem durchgehend spannenden Gamesetting unterzubringen und das Game- und Reallife miteinander zu verweben. Von den fast schon spielerisch-romantischen Welten wie SAO und ALO ist in GGO nicht mehr viel geblieben. Stattdessen spielen Taktik, Geschick und auch eine mehr oder weniger stabile Psyche eine große Rolle.
Bisher mochte ich den GGO-ARC nicht allzu gern (von Sinon abgesehen – sie ist ein großartiger Charakter!), doch die Light Novel-Vorlage hat mir die Geschichte mitsamt der tiefergehenden Hintergründe und Gedankengänge sehr viel näher gebracht, wodurch mir auch der Rewatch der Serie mehr Spaß gemacht hat.
Reki Kawahara ist ein Meister seines Fachs und vermag es immer wieder, gut zu unterhalten.

[Tuna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thus far, this is the best conclusion to an SAO arc thus far. The emotions driving each and every character were believable and tugged the heart. The climax and resolution was sensible and real. And the epilogue itself was compelling and encouraging. Encouraging, in my opinion, is probably the word that not only perfectly describes this volume, but also the arc. I think it is easily why this is the best conclusion and best arc.

I found myself really feeling the characters as it felt like I was there with them wanting to seal myself off from the world as it was out to get me reminding me of the fears I was running from while also feeling like I wanted to be encouraged like the characters encouraged themselves and each other as they found the strength within themselves to tackled their fears, and their selves, and to make it through. Watching them make it through when all else was against them was great.

This time, I don’t have much to ding the volume for. While Shinkawa (kyouji) does have some
questionable antics, it is perfectly explained by the as usual, great expectations heaped upon him by his family and the bullying he faced in school. Sad that someone so cute and so wanting to just be liked and succeed could have another side to him, but this is what happens when you can’t enjoy a childhood due to people who want to take advantage of you.

Also, once again, Kirito is just plain more interesting when he is with characters that will actually you know jab him and tease him vs just submit to him like Asuna does. Sinon and Lisbest easily are the most interesting characters to ship with him thus far, hm, Leafa as well.

[Payton Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book, another arc, another chapter of the SAO saga complete. Volume 6, the longest book so far might I add, brings the conclusion to the Phantom Bullet Arc, and what a conclusion it was! Let’s start with the characters. Our new character for this arc is Shino Asada aka Sinon, she suffers from trauma in her past and wishes to gain strength to help her through that trauma by playing GGO. Her character arc is rich and satisfying, with a mature take on some very topics that resolves beautifully. This is further enhanced by the incredible characterization of Kazuto Kirigaya aka Kirito. I’ve never really had a problem with how Kirito was characterized, but it takes a dramatic step up here. Just like Sinon, Kirito has some unresolved problems in his past that come back full force here. Once again, we see an awesome arc where he doesn’t necessarily overcome the pain of his past. That’s right. The author takes time to express that we can never forget our past, nor can we erase it. Instead, we simply have to keep moving forward and face it head on. It’s an important lesson that is brought up in a ton of anime, manga, and of course light novels, but I think it’s a very important one. The story here was great, the way that the layers were slowly peeled back was very satisfying, even if a solid 75 percent of the whole book took place in a battle royale style tournament. It was very fun! Next I’m either going to finish the Harry Potter series with Deathly Hollows, or I’ll take a break and read The Terminal List because it looks cool.

[Jewels · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 stars are in order.
Geez, this took me longer than necessary. I don't know why I wanted to take it slow with this one when there was a lot of action in it.
I jumped back into this series after years of being away from my physical copy of the book (which only has 294 pgs, and not 304). I want to say that I didn't notice any OOC moments with Kirito or anyone, but man, for some reason, Kirito seems cockier than I remember. At the same time, we went on a journey with Shino/Sinon. She really did grow a lot in one book alone. And I feel I grew with her, and closer to her most of all in this one book alone.
There were times when I felt that the writing was going smoothly, especially toward the beginning, but toward the last chapters there were some details that should've been crunched down for pacing. And I did appreciate the quick summary in the first chapter or two for a reader like me who had been away from the story, but of course it did bog down on me as it seemed each chapter liked to sum things up from its predecessor.
Otherwise, this was a great sequel to the SAO series, and I'm looking forward to the next one already on its way to my door! I'd definitely recommend for sci-fi fans, light novel readers, or someone looking to jump into the light novel/anime world with a great series.

[emily_oriley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, as before with all my other reviews, I love reading through Kirito's POV and since this is really Sinon's story, it was about 70/30 so that was disappointing to me personally. However, leaving that aside, this story was a really good one. I really liked the more serious turn it took regarding trauma and PTSD and the psychological toll it can take. It also added real stakes to the "game" which was sorely lacking in Fairy Dance. You actually felt a real sense of danger during the climatic scenes. And knowing what I already know regarding the rest of the series (since having finished watching season three of SAO), it does hint at future events which tells me the author had a fairly good idea of where he was going with this series. I do love me some continuity.

This is also (so far, anyway) the longest book in the series at a whopping 400 pages which is about double what traditional light novels are so be prepared for that. However, it honestly didn't feel like too much. Sure they stretched a few scenes a little too long in order to convey the emotional state of the character (mostly Sinon), but it was also within the realm of how that character would be, so it's forgivable. I hope that made sense. Anyway, really wonderful ending, too.

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

The conclusion of the Gun Gale Online arc.

Taking place almost entirely within a big Battle Royale tournament, v.6 follows Kirito as he tries to figure out which player in the competition is Death Gun. Helping him—somewhat spicily—is Shino, who, after hearing the possibility of in-game murder, can't just go back to playing the tournament to win. As they struggle to survive and minimize the casualties, Kirito has to figure out how the heck Death Gun is achieving his goals.

V.6 is mostly satisfying, although certain stretches of the actual tournament feel a bit laborious in their descriptions. Author Reki Kawahara doubtlessly has experience with shooters, so there is familiarity in her descriptions, but it's not quite as deep as her knowledge of the sort of fantasy based games she's riffed in previously. That difference is starkest in being able to describe key action scenes in the sorts of detail necessary for the reader to effortlessly follow. It's a minor bump in the road—the outcomes are clear enough, after all—but the prose does fail to immerse the reader in those portions of the novel.

Also, LOL at a couple of specific scenes that recall The Hunger Games in a fairly specific manner.

[Noel Thingvall · Rating 4 out of 5]

What issues I had with the clumsy setup of the prior volume were more than made up for with this payoff of the Gun Gale Online story arc. Amidst the tournament action, the platonic bond forged between Kirito and Sinon remains a highlight of the series, as both learn to face the past traumas of choices they were forced to make and deaths they've caused, mirrored by villains who had a chance to leave death behind but carried on in a self-mythologizing spree. The way the murder mystery unfolds is really clever, and reminds me of how Asimov built his scifi mysteries; setting up a world built around specific rules, confront it with a situation that seems contradictory to those rules, then find all the little loopholes that allowed it to play out. It's clever, thrilling, there's great character work. Most importantly, with Sinon, Kawahara challenges himself to let other characters guide the story without it just being about Kirito. Yes, he's there, but he doesn't overshine the arc he's playing parallel to, and by allowing other characters the room to breathe, it expands the world and the broader implications and exploration of the setting.

[Tnyers]

I Started reading this during a travel to city when i tried to sleep in a small car, got to the last 3 chapters and by the time i woke up, i completely forgot about the book, 2 years have passed and my interest in reading has progress from only reading in travel time to reading sometimes in the week, thus ending this volume in a sour taste, I didn't dislike it, I just felt it was a little anticlimactic, however I can´t deny that the writing from the moment Sinon knew what was going on to the moment she is saved in quite intense, in a good way and even if some of the tropes used in the book are pretty common (princess in needs of saving, last moments attacks that ends the fight) I think that the progression the story is taking is quite good, will confirm that when I get in later volumes.

[Micayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took a long break from reading SAO and was not looking forward to reading GGO again because it was my least favorite arc in the show. I didn’t even fully enjoy the first book of phantom bullet but honestly was turned around on those thoughts in this book. The intentional and perfect blend of action and relationship/character developments for ALL of the characters reminds me why I love this series so much UGH!!!!! It honestly was one of my least favorites because I love to see the development of kirito/asuna’s relationship, but I love how even when they aren’t in the same place together, bits of their relationship still shine through. It just feels authentic. Anyways….. let’s see what mothers rosary has in store for me

[Daulat Rachmanto · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are gamer, especially FPS game, this volume maybe really good for you.
Cuz in this volume, the story is getting intense. And what i like about this volume is, "the strategies" is better from the previous 5 volumes. Moreover, Kirito is using lightsaber, when the other players using gun :"D
And if you haven't watch the 2nd season of the Anime yet, the story is sooo better in the Novel cuz it's more detail and well, you can imagine about what you read with your best imagination :D
The more interesting is.... there is also plot twist in this volume, and for me, it's better than the plot twist in the 1st volume (hopefully this is not a spoiler)

[Victor Hdez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Como dije en el volumen pasado, para mí el final de esta serie debió de ser en SAO o incluso en ALO después de salvar a Asuna.

Aunque la historia de Sinon se me hace muy buena, se me hace que ya es como un 80% relleno. 80% porque aunque Sinon no es de los personajes que salieron en SAO, creo que es un muy buen personaje. Creo que si no fuera por ella y su historia trágica, la historia hubiera sido mucho menos entretenida.

Algo que no me gustó, y lo menciona el autor al final, es que Asuna fue dejada de lado. Cuando es un personaje tan importante como Kirito.

Personalmente me gusta verlo como un muy buen Spin-off que se hizo.

[Ivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pra mim a melhor LN do SAO até agora, gosto muito dessa fase "Phantom Bullet", que neste volume se encerra, por ser familiarizado com games MMO/FPS, como o Destiny 2...
Ótimos personagens, um ambiente pós apocalíptico mais realístico se comparado as fases anteriores e -um- antagonista espetacular fazem desse volume 006 imperdível.
Aqui acompanhamos Kirito revivendo a sua maior tragédia dentro do Sword Art Online e tendo que arcar com as consequências, enquanto compartilha da situação de risco com Sinon que é pega da mesma maneira, mas por causas diferentes.
Pra finalizar, Sinon > Asuna.

[Thành Tuấn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I watched the anime last year and loved it so much. But i couldn't understand why Sinon try to beat any strong enemies in GGO , a VRMMO game. But at that time , i didnt care. but after read this volume and volume 005, i understood. Kirito taught me to face fearful , not hide it. I could know Sinon and Kirito's thinking through words , it's interesting. I was empathetic with Sinon's suffer until i read this volume, not through anime

[Heather Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've enjoyed the series so far, I think you'll enjoy this book too. I know I did. This is a very exciting conclusion to the arch that began in volume 5 and it comes to an amazing conclusion that I was literally jumping up and down about even though I watched the anime first and thus knew what was coming. This volume does some amazing development of Kirito and Sinon both and carries a lot of emotional punch to it.

[Marie Flower Panda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Encore récentes, les Éditions Ofelbe ont su s’imposer dans la publication manga au point de devenir incontournables aujourd’hui. Il faut dire aussi qu’avec des titres tels que Sword Art Online, Spice & Wolf ou encore Log Horizon, difficile de passer à côté !
Adepte de manga, j’ai pu découvrir l’univers de Sword Art Online dans cette version dessinée. Quand les éditions Ofelbe m’ont proposée de découvrir cette fois le light novel qui avait inspiré le manga, je n’ai pas hésité une seule seconde et je les remercie grandement pour cette découverte !

Kirito pensait en avoir terminé avec les jeux virtuels à hauts risques. Sorti encore il y a peu de Sword Art Online, il n’en a pas pour autant abandonné sa passion des jeux vidéos. Depuis le scandale du VRMMO, le Near Gear a été totalement abandonné pour être remplacé par un système bien plus sûr, qui ne peut provoquer la mort du joueur. Enfin… C’est ce que Kirito pensait jusqu’à ce qu’un membre du gouvernement le contacte pour lui faire part de nouvelles troublantes : deux joueurs de Gun Gale Online ont été retrouvés morts chez eux juste après avoir été soudainement déconnectés du jeu par un joueur mystérieux leur ayant tiré dessus. De quoi réveiller de mauvais souvenirs n’est-ce pas ? Kirito ne peut refuser d’aller enquêter. Si une faille dans le système permettant de tuer existe, alors il est plus qu’urgent d’intervenir. En enquêtant, un nom ressortira : Death Gun. Est-ce un mythe ? Ou bien cet homme est-il réellement capable de semer la terreur dans son sillage ? Kirito n’aura pas beaucoup de temps devant lui car Death Gun semble s’attaquer en priorité aux meilleurs joueurs et le tournoi Bullet of Bullets qui met en compétition tous les meilleurs joueurs de Gun Gale Online est sur le point de commencer !

Vous allez être surpris par mon avis… Oui, encore une fois, je suis complètement conquise par cet univers ! Nous en sommes déjà au troisième tome et si l’Aincrad a disparu, Reki Kawahara a su continuer avec merveille l’histoire. Je craignais une redite par rapport aux tomes précédents et cela n’a pas du tout été le cas ! Phantom Bullet est l’un de mes titres préférés aux éditions Ofelbe. Action et suspense sont au rendez-vous dans ce tome qui prend cette fois des allures d’enquête policière palpitante ! Kirito, encore traumatisé de son expérience précédente, tente de se reconstruire comme il peut au côté d’Asuna. Toujours autant passionné par les mondes virtuels, il n’en demeure pas moins prudent. Mais il n’est pas le seul à devoir surmonter les traumatismes du passé. Sinon, une Snipeuse réputée de Gun Gale Online, semble elle aussi marquée par de terribles évènements. Son immersion dans Gun Gale Online lui permettra-t-elle de devenir plus forte pour enfin se libérer du passé ? Rien n’est moins sûr… D’autant plus que le danger rôde et que Sinon pourrait bien être mise à l’épreuve plus tôt que celle pensait !

Une fois en main, difficile de lâcher ce roman tant l’histoire est addictive. Les actions s’enchaînent les unes après les autres, laissant à peine au lecteur de souffler quelques secondes. De rebondissements en rebondissements, j’ai trouvé le suspens excellent : à chaque page, je ne pouvais m’empêcher de trembler de peur pour Kirito et Sinon ! Embuscades, trahisons, rien ne leur est épargné dans ce jeu qui n’en est plus un. Gun Gale Online, nouvelle réalité virtuelle, est un monde où les gens sont censés pouvoir se détendre. La compétition prime certes, mais elle se veut avant tout amicale. Pourtant, nos deux héros vont rapidement découvrir que les intentions de certains joueurs peuvent se révéler meurtrières !

Pour un livre jeunesse, j’ai trouvé que ce roman donnait énormément à réfléchir sur toute cette technologie qui nous entoure. Si les bons côtés nous sont montrés, les mauvais ne nous sont pas cachés. Être connecté, c’est l’occasion pour Kirito de faire des rencontres exceptionnelles et de développer de belles amitiés. Mais il y a également un envers : qui se cache réellement derrière cet avatar virtuel ? Comment être certain de l’identité de la personne et de ses intentions réelles ? Peut-on vraiment faire confiance à quelqu’un rencontré seulement en réseau ? De même, toutes ces technologies ne vont-elles pas finir par se retourner contre nous ? Sous prétexte d’instaurer des caméras capables d’identifier avec précision des personnes recherchées pour le bien de la population, n’est-ce pas là un moyen à terme de brimer nos libertés ? Progressivement, Kirito nous incite au gré de ses remarques à nous interroger sur la place des technologies dans nos vies et sur celle que l’on souhaite qu’elles occupent.
Par ailleurs, que dire d’un jeu mettant à l’honneur des armes à feu toutes plus réalistes les unes que les autres ? Si certains parviennent à faire la part des choses, certains perdent pieds et en viennent à confondre jeu et réalité, voire même à les inverser…

Phantom Bullet, troisième tome de Sword Art Online nous plonge cette fois dans un univers où les armes à feu dominent. Pas le temps de respirer pour Kirito, il faut trouver rapidement Death Gun avant qu’Il ne le retrouve… Plongez dans cet univers palpitant où la tension est à son summum ! Après toutes ces aventures, Kirito parviendra-t-il à ressortir de Gun Gale Online ?

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[Rick Castle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sword Art Online volume 6 is the second and final novel in the Phantom Bullet arc. Volume 6 covers the entire Bullet of Bullets and its aftermath. Volume 6 is a great conclusion to the story so far, while also setting up some plot points to be concluded later in the series. A gread read for every SAO fan.

[Peter Marendeak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jó lett ennek a szálnak is a lezárása, elég jó krimi szálat sikerült behozni a történetbe, bár pár ponton sántított a dolog, lett benne pár logikátlanság. Ennek ellenére továbbra is élvezetes volt. Egy kis szünetet követően fogom még folytatni a szériát (Japánban most jött ki a 23. kötet!!). Túl nagy mélységet nem kell tőle vári, de kikapcsolódásnak kiváló.