This book has been sitting on my shelf for a long time and to be honest I have no idea why I bought it. I have never seen nor played any thing from the .hack series. Nevertheless it’s a nice short sci-fi novel.

“.hack// Another Birth vol.1//infection_”is a book written by Kawasaki Miyu, translated and published by Tokyopop. The story is told in the perspective of a girl named Akira, her brother slipped into a coma while playing a game known as “The World”. In order to find the cause and a cure for her brother she enters the MMORPG as BlackRose.

One thing I really liked about this novel is the fact that it’s not just focused on “The World” and wonderful adventures BlackRose stumbles upon. There were also chapters about Akira and how she copes with demands of being a student. Akira is a tennis player, so naturally there were a chapter or two focused on her practice sessions and matches. Although these bits were short, it did bring in a few elements to the story making the novel slightly boarder than just adventures experienced through a game.

Original Cover always look better >_>;

The “gameplay” parts of the novel were a little generic and at times, seems a rather stupid. Perhaps it’s because I have been exposed to MMORPGs and know the fact that walking through a dungeon isn’t nearly as suspenseful and exciting as the book makes it sound. But then again, for me, dying in Guild Wars or Ragnarok doesn’t put me in a coma.

As one would expect from a light novel, the language is quite simple and although the book seems decent sized in terms of thickness, the font is actually pretty large. So really, Another Birth is quite short, I am quite a slow reader but even I can manage it in a few hour. Besides there are pretty pictures every now and then to keep you going ^^;. I wonder why all translated novels always seems to be much bigger than the Japanese originals, not to forget a cooler cover as well…

So, a fun and short story for those who have a couple of hours on their hands. I must say though, don’t expect anything much more than your generic fantasy adventure series. Reading around, it seems like prior experience with the .hack games will enhance your reading experience. Oh Well~ As far as I know there are at least three books after this one to conclude the story. Think I might just give them a go (I have already bought them… so why not? >.<). Any info on the actual game or series will be appreciated .

RK

It was until recently that I realised that I have a huge backlogs of light novels to read. I am always in a rush to get hold of them but never really had time to plough my way through them. But now that I’ve forced myself to follow a schedule, mainly because I have wasted countless hours sitting in front of the PC and still get nothing done, I can finally start chipping away my backlog of novels. Hopefully quitting my part time job soon as well (sorry Kuri!), which means I can devote as much time as I used to for blogging.