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.hack// Another Birth #2
.hack// Another Birth Volume 2//Mutation_
Akira - also known as Black Rose - keeps fighting to save her younger brother's consciousness from The World. But as she becomes immersed in the online game, Black Rose is beset by even further problems in the real world."
207 pages, Paperback
First published October 10, 2006
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198 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 19, 2025
This is a fast paced adventure to relive the original.hack games. This is still just me going through some childhood nostalgia and enjoying a story that got me into RPG games in the first place.
May 28, 2014
SWBST+THEME
Akira is still playing a game called The World. She wants to find out what caused her little brother to go in a coma but she has to fight data bugs and rise her life. So she is traveling with her friend Kite in The World to find out what happened. Then you should read the book for yourself.
The theme is "You are not alone" because time and time again it shows that she is trying to do everything herself. When their are people that are willing to help her.
Akira is still playing a game called The World. She wants to find out what caused her little brother to go in a coma but she has to fight data bugs and rise her life. So she is traveling with her friend Kite in The World to find out what happened. Then you should read the book for yourself.
The theme is "You are not alone" because time and time again it shows that she is trying to do everything herself. When their are people that are willing to help her.
February 14, 2019
Eh. I'd give it 3.5 really...
I love love love everything about Akira's real life, but the parts that coincide with the game seem a little lacking. Of course I finished the game before reading the light novel that goes with it (as that's the order I'm going in right now), but I feel like if you didn't play the game, then those in-game sections might be more confusing. It just goes by so fast.
But yeah anyway, the stuff with her real life is well paced. Her relationship with her peers and tennis teammates kinda settles out here from all the upsetting tension in the first book. Only to bring a new tension later on with another character. It's a great way to show how Akira / BlackRose is juggling all these real world problems like a normal high school girl, friends, boys, family, etc... while slowly becoming a hero in the game working on a mystery within it that's causing people who play to go comatose. She's so brave and somewhat pushy in the game, but this novel really gives a lot to her character for showing not only her thoughts but her real life that's going on at the same time. Which is pretty much what I said for the first book, but besides the too-quick-pace of the in-game scenes, I think this is just as good. :)
I love love love everything about Akira's real life, but the parts that coincide with the game seem a little lacking. Of course I finished the game before reading the light novel that goes with it (as that's the order I'm going in right now), but I feel like if you didn't play the game, then those in-game sections might be more confusing. It just goes by so fast.
But yeah anyway, the stuff with her real life is well paced. Her relationship with her peers and tennis teammates kinda settles out here from all the upsetting tension in the first book. Only to bring a new tension later on with another character. It's a great way to show how Akira / BlackRose is juggling all these real world problems like a normal high school girl, friends, boys, family, etc... while slowly becoming a hero in the game working on a mystery within it that's causing people who play to go comatose. She's so brave and somewhat pushy in the game, but this novel really gives a lot to her character for showing not only her thoughts but her real life that's going on at the same time. Which is pretty much what I said for the first book, but besides the too-quick-pace of the in-game scenes, I think this is just as good. :)
October 7, 2017
Copy-pasted note from my "review" from the first book:
I'll be posting my full review for this entire quartet on the final book, but I will say that this first installment has its flaws. Dedicated game fans will notice that a lot of Kite and BlackRose's in-game dialogue is switched around, and besides that the writing in this book feels a bit...juvenile. It almost reads like a 12 y.o.'s fanfiction than a proper light novelization. I think part of that is just due to the style in which it was written when translated. The later books get better about that, so don't fret.
I'll be posting my full review for this entire quartet on the final book, but I will say that this first installment has its flaws. Dedicated game fans will notice that a lot of Kite and BlackRose's in-game dialogue is switched around, and besides that the writing in this book feels a bit...juvenile. It almost reads like a 12 y.o.'s fanfiction than a proper light novelization. I think part of that is just due to the style in which it was written when translated. The later books get better about that, so don't fret.
June 6, 2020
A good continuation. Very interesting to see BlackRose's perspective on the events of Mutation, and see what Akira's going through in real life and her own insecurities.
January 30, 2024
An excellent continuation of the first volume, "Mutation" dives deeper into THE WORLD, its mechanics, and the slow but steady reveal of all the secrets and structures that can be found beneath the playable surface level of the game.
I liked this second volume way better than the first one, first and foremost because the - in my opinion very unnecessary - tennis subplot was almost completely erased from the book. Instead, the plot focuses more on the actual internal workings of the game and character development. Especially Minstral was one character that definitely grew on me throughout this second novel.
I am excited to see how the story continues! Finally being able to read this series is still somewhat unreal, as I have waited to get my hands on it for such a long time, and I thoroughly enjoy reading a light novel about MMOs in which people simply play the game, without being stuck in it or being sucked into what is just a fantasy world with game mechanics. I haven't played the games, but it definitely feels like the novel gives you a good idea of what it would play like; there's a lot of reading mails and diving into combat zones, both of which are aspects the original .hack trilogy was know for.
I liked this second volume way better than the first one, first and foremost because the - in my opinion very unnecessary - tennis subplot was almost completely erased from the book. Instead, the plot focuses more on the actual internal workings of the game and character development. Especially Minstral was one character that definitely grew on me throughout this second novel.
I am excited to see how the story continues! Finally being able to read this series is still somewhat unreal, as I have waited to get my hands on it for such a long time, and I thoroughly enjoy reading a light novel about MMOs in which people simply play the game, without being stuck in it or being sucked into what is just a fantasy world with game mechanics. I haven't played the games, but it definitely feels like the novel gives you a good idea of what it would play like; there's a lot of reading mails and diving into combat zones, both of which are aspects the original .hack trilogy was know for.
December 28, 2010
The second volume of this series is another very quick read, but still frustrating due to its lack of character development. The story is simple and straightforward, only complicated by the oddly weak poetry at the heart of one of the puzzles. The behavior of the real-world teen girls still isn't making much sense, but since that's just a subplot, it's easy to ignore.
July 31, 2012
I really enjoyed the video game series, and although I'm a bit disappointed that this book is retelling the events of the video game, I think it was nice to have a different perspective and a little more explanation on the situation.
July 20, 2012
I thought it was really good, but I didn't think that the battles were as descriptive or interesting as in the first. It was a good ending that suprised me and deffinately wants me to read the next one.
November 13, 2008
Another book in the big mystery of what are the data bugs and how can the comatosed people be saved? It also shows a bit more of Akira's life as she strives to save her Brother
April 15, 2009
read this a few years ago because i am a fan of the games and show and ended up enjoying this book as well.
January 26, 2010
An addicting series you just cannot put down.
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November 23, 2012its was good]
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews