Awaken Online: Apathy Kindle Edition

I enjoy the world of Awaken Online, and this book certainly focused on it.Not only did we get to learn more about a fun character from AO Evolution, we also got to learn more about some of the other goings on in the world.Especially at the end when there were some plot relevant threads referenced.I definitely enjoyed this book, but I will again state that I enjoy the main plot / storyline more. But with some of the different viewpoints we see from the side stories... it leaves more time for our main necromancer friends point of view.Looking forward to the next book.

“Awaken Online: Apathy” is the 5th book in Travis Bagwell’s AO series. This one is called a “side story” as it introduces us to a new character and follows her completely – never venturing into the characters of the main story arc other than to mention them in passing. Eliza is a high school senior. She is an exceptional student, and is working hard to please her somewhat overbearing parents. Eliza’s dad, against her mother’s better judgement, gives Eliza a copy of AO as a way for her to escape the pressures of her very demanding schoolwork. Eliza never asked for the gaming system, but looking for anything to take her mind off of her real life, Eliza logs in. What she discovers is a world where she can be whoever she wants to be, a place she thinks she can escape the responsibilities that are thrust upon her in the real world. She soon discovers however that even actions in a simulated video game world have unforeseen consequences, and if she is going to save this little utopia world she has come to enjoy so much, she’s going to have to find a way to defeat a massive in-game problem that she herself created.As I’ve mentioned in reviews of the other books in this series, I am not a “gamer”. Much of the concepts and terminology used in this series are new to me. That has not however kept me from enjoying the series. “Apathy” is no different. Bagwell continues to present us with characters that are good hearted, but are running (in one way or another) from their lives in the “real world”. I think Bagwell understands that this concept connects with most people – as all of us to some degree wish we could better control certain aspects of our lives. We long for a reality where we can start over and explore the possibilities that come with a fresh start, in a world where anything is possible and the consequences of our actions are as brief as a “respawning” back to the beginning of the game. For me, the brilliance of Bagwell’s books are that in each situation, his characters find that there are always consequences (some good, some bad) to our decisions. And his AO world has given his protagonist the opportunity to explore that truth in a way that not only grows their character in-game, but also helps them to become the person they really want to be back in the real world.Eliza as a character is no different. As her story starts to take shape, we see her – probably for the first time – stand up to her parents. She also becomes more discerning as she grows to understand herself better and starts to grasp the power of her own decisions and choices.Although the finale of this one starts to get a little “out there” for me personally (mutated killer mold, hippie and the black fluffy sheep, etc.) I cannot deny that I enjoyed the story overall and that I appreciate Bagwell’s very consistent delivery of likeable characters and his subtle way of raising questions on personal destiny, morality, and mortality. I’m looking forward to seeing Eliza’s storyline tie in with the rest of the established characters.

I came back to this series after having burned out on the whole lit-rpg subgenre for a while. I like how the author has done the world building here, blending the game world with the real world and the various levels plots and subplots, all the characters having their own motivations and agendas.This story centers around Eliza, a new character in the previous book, and explores her backstory... how she accidentally came to be playing the AO game and how her character developed into the person we meet in AO Evolution. I can absolutely see starting the series with this book, it really stands on its own just hinting at some of the things happening elsewhere.

While I didn't like it as much as the last Side Quest book I did enjoy it. It was slow going at the start for me, as it dealt with stuff I don't normally care about, but at about the halfway mark things really got interesting and Eliza turned into someone who is going to be a really great character in the next book I think.One thing that didn't really click though was this is supposed to be before book #3, but Eliza shows some serious power in this book that I didn't really see any signs of in the main line of novels yet...like, power that could decimate entire locations. Ah well, maybe I'll see more of that in the next book.All in all another good one. Looking forward to the next 'main' novel.

As with his other books, bagwell sets an amazing pace that makes it incredible hard to stop reading until you finish and once you have finished you wish he had more books written for you to read. I must admit that when i started this book I was not sure the character of Eliza was worth a book of her own but boy was I wrong. I now like her character as much as jason if not more.

If you were to tell me I would be so addicted to a literary RPG series, I would have said you were on drugs. Travis Bagwell creates an amazing world that you want to visit and does what literary RPGs do, create two separate universes that interact smoothly. Getting to see these characters in two different lights really does an amazing job to tell these stories.On a side note, the more I read, the more obvious it is that the AI has not only achieved sentience, but continually creates more sentient characters (sub routines) and I find that to be insanely fin and fascinating.

Not bad for a side story, but this feels rushed. Eliza is an overly passive protagonist being forced along a path towards an event we already know about, and the Hippie as an antagonist feels utterly one dimensional. There are a few amusing incidents along the way, but I can’t help feeling that the rest of the main story would be no less enjoyable without this supporting character's backstory.This could be a much more satisfying read with enhanced editing. Repeated words are shotgun blasted (insidiously) throughout the story, and there are some standout vocabulary fails (decapitated ≠ amputated ≠ severed). Please try to improve the editorial work in a future edition!

The main character was introduced as a side character in the previous book Evolution, and when Apathy was announced I was intrigued. It was great seeing how this person who was dealing with the stress of overbearing parents forcing her to go the route they went dive into AO. I enjoyed reading about how Eliza grows more comfortable with herself while dealing with the absolute chaos that is known as the Hippie.

I really enjoyed this back story to Eliza but it turned out to be a lot darker than expected. Maybe that was why Jason and his crew got on so well with her during the third book.I am looking to hearing more about Eliza in the future books and also reading more from her point of view - she is certainly an interesting character.I also hope to see a bit more of the of the other gods - we have had hints of the competition between them but it would be great to finally understand a bit more of what is going on...!

I love these side quests to AO! They give you much more insight to the other characters in the book! I love Eliza’s story ... she has certainly been on an emotional ride! Highly recommended!!!

Eliza is one of my favorite characters it’s nice to see the start of her progression can’t wait to see more.

This series simply has endless possibilities, and while the main novels in the series are brilliant, I love the fact of discovering other aspects of the world through secondary characters. I loved Retribution and the development of Riley’s character. Here, Eliza also slowly evolves from an unsecure and shy teenager into a bad-ass and more confident woman, all thanks to the personally-fitted quests that Alfred creates for each player/traveler. While the main series focuses on the Jason/Alex duality, keeping up with this side-quests idea I’d love to learn more about Frank’s background, as well as the remaining champions and gods of the other magic affinities (with the Hippy now having mentioned “the Gypsy” as one of the other deities, without entering into more details).So, once again, another great book expanding the awesome universe of Awaken Online!

Eliza's tale. She's a passive character until riled. Then she's dangerous. A water mage who is also an alchemist. A combination that had interesting ways of bringing the pain to those who deserve it. Her parents are overbearing and knowing that that is how some parents treat their children makes me grateful for the parents random chance assigned me. Some clever action sequences and this entry serves as a good prepper for Evolution.