A review by jolovestoread
Sword Art Online 5: Phantom Bullet, by Reki Kawahara
4.0
This was a very short novel, compared to the rest. It spans a long meeting, a date with Asuna, a few snatches of Shino IRL and then the first rounds of BoB. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the gun scenes. I already knew I'd love Shino's storyline from the anime, but I was pleasantly surprised with the gunning.
What I didn't like:
How little we get to see Asuna. I'm hoping by the size of the next book we get to see more of her. I understand Kirito's reasons for not wanting her in the game, but I still missed her. It was nice to see a scene between them at the beginning of the novel to remind readers of their relationship, and I guess due to the time span of the novel there wasn't anywhere else she could slot in. The story is definitely "to be continued..." in Phantom Bullet 006.
What I liked:
Sinon doesn't go bananas for Kirito. I really liked that she was super open to helping Kirito because she thought he was a girl. It wasn't because she was in love with him like Leafa or Lizbeth. In a series where there are a million female characters introduced to one male, it was amazing to have Sinon thrown into the mix. She already has a boyfriend lined up for when she gets over her personal issues, and it's not Kirito. Kirito as usual gets into her personal space, but that's just his personality, and it was great to see a girl not respond to it with romance.
Shino's backstory. I LOVED it. It's super unique and pulls on my heartstrings.
Overall:
I don't have much else to say. This book felt super short and not much happened overall (especially when you think about Aincrad 001 and how much that spanned). It was an enjoyable read. Nothing particularly wow about it, but I wasn't bored at all. I'm quite looking forward to the next installment - and of course hoping to see more of Asuna! :)
What I didn't like:
How little we get to see Asuna. I'm hoping by the size of the next book we get to see more of her. I understand Kirito's reasons for not wanting her in the game, but I still missed her. It was nice to see a scene between them at the beginning of the novel to remind readers of their relationship, and I guess due to the time span of the novel there wasn't anywhere else she could slot in. The story is definitely "to be continued..." in Phantom Bullet 006.
What I liked:
Sinon doesn't go bananas for Kirito. I really liked that she was super open to helping Kirito because she thought he was a girl. It wasn't because she was in love with him like Leafa or Lizbeth. In a series where there are a million female characters introduced to one male, it was amazing to have Sinon thrown into the mix. She already has a boyfriend lined up for when she gets over her personal issues, and it's not Kirito. Kirito as usual gets into her personal space, but that's just his personality, and it was great to see a girl not respond to it with romance.
Shino's backstory. I LOVED it. It's super unique and pulls on my heartstrings.
Overall:
I don't have much else to say. This book felt super short and not much happened overall (especially when you think about Aincrad 001 and how much that spanned). It was an enjoyable read. Nothing particularly wow about it, but I wasn't bored at all. I'm quite looking forward to the next installment - and of course hoping to see more of Asuna! :)