Gary Peterson’s Reviews > Sword Art Online, Vol. 2: Aincrad > Status Update

The Yui story left me in tears. I'm such a crybaby! Credit Kawahara with writing characters one gets invested in--even an AI simulation! The Sasha orphanage scenes did drag for me, so the story wasn't perfect. The Thinker and Army internecine battles bored me too. I'm growing impatient as I grow older (and grumpier). Onward to the Red-Nosed Reindeer story that closes the book.

First two short stories were excellent. Silica the tamer and Lisbeth both appealing and sympathetically written. I almost quit on Lisbeth's but hung in and grew to love it... even cried at the end! Now starting Yui's story, which I enjoyed in the anime and certainly will here. Kawahara is a thousand times better writer than Omori. Glad I jettisoned my DanMachi LNs and am shifting focus to SAO and Accel World.