By Soitiro Watase and Ginta, based on the series created by Reki Kawahara. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

So, just like the Re: Zero SS collection, we’re getting this one a bit late. The first volume of Clover’s Regret, the second in the “Alternative” spinoff series, came out in 2016, after the 5th volume of the Gun Gale Online books. But we had to wait till we’re caught up with both the main series, its Progressive rewrite, *and* the GGO series before we get this spinoff. Part of that is because, unlike GGO, this never got an anime, and it features none of the main SAO cast. It doesn’t have an obvious hook to pull in Kirito casuals. The other reason, I think, is that unlike other Yen On light novel series from hell with extensive spinoffs, SAO has always been Stephen Paul’s baby, and I think we may have waited for this one just so that he can translate it properly rather than try to get someone new in. In any case, you’re not “missing” anything like we were with Re: Zero SS. This is pretty standalone.

Asuka Empire may not have the #1 ranking of ALfheim Online, but it tries harder. A far more Japanese-based MMORPH, it’s been struggling to keep its high ranking now that everyone has access to the Seed. As such, it has a new event that’s horror-based, and it’s also allowing users to submit their own game ideas to the event. Meanwhile, our heroines, matter of fact, somewhat emotionless Nayuta and genki, lovable scamp Koyomi are trying to clear one of the quests, which involves a mysterious ghost orchestra. While doing this, they meet a rarity in games like this – an old man, who has never gamed before but is really desperate to solve the ghost orchestra game for some reason. He was told about an in-game detective named Klever who might be able to help him. Why is he so interested in this quest? And what’s with that fox-faced detective?

This is another slow burner. About halfway through, I wondered, as I sometimes do with other spinoffs of popular franchises, why this could not have been a book on its own with no ties to Sword Art Online at all. But that’s just because the book saves all its twists for the second half, piling them on one after another. Not only do half the cast have a personal connection to the original Aincrad SAO game, but the ghost orchestra quest itself is written by a member of the Sleeping Knights… a member who, like so many other members of that party, has now died. (We’re told in this volume that Yuuki died “a few days ago”, which nails down the timeline.) The cast are excellent, particularly Nayuta and Klever… I’d argue that Koyomi is mere comic relief, but the author agrees with me, and states that her part was supposed to be smaller but she kept butting in. I hope she gains more depth next time.

Sorry not to go into my usual spoilers, but this book has good spoilers, so I recommend experiencing them yourself. Also, unlike GGO, this is a limited series of 3 books, so should not take up too much of your time. Go check it out.

By Keiichi Sigsawa and Kouhaku Kuroboshi, based on the series created by Reki Kawahara. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

This is the 13th volume of the SAO:GGO series, and I’m pretty sure it has probably gone on longer than Keiichi Sigsawa originally planned it for. The nature of the series, after all, is basically “death game” only for once it really IS a game so we don’t need to worry about death. Which actually helps with the longevity. The cast here is large, and except for our main group we may not remember everyone all that well, but Llenn is not the only one who’s gotten famous, she’s just the poster child. We’ve also grown to see David’s seriousness as he tries his hardest to finally achieve something in a Squad Jam and always seems to not quite get there. There’s Vera, who took the series’ funniest running gag (the machine gun bros) and made them into the most dangerous team out there, taking out more of our main characters than anyone. And there’s SHINC, of course, who still don’t get to face off against Llenn. Alas.

The last volume ended with the shock of Shirley sniping Pitohui and removing her from the game. But there’s no time to dwell on that, as Llenn still has a bounty on her head and everyone wants the money associated with it. M, Fukaziroh, Boss, and Anna are trying to protect her while also getting to the center of the castle that is their final battlefield… because they’ve been told that the rest of the castle except that battlefield will soon ALSO drop off and doom everyone still in it to death by extreme falling. Clarence is holed up in a tower with good defense, but can’t really move. And Shirley has had her fondest wish granted, but is finding that “Sniper” is not really a good choice for the REST of this game. And wait, are those… ghosts?

Usually there’s one part of each book in this series that I am surprised, and here it was Pitohui returning as a ghost. I thought for sure she’d be back sooner, and torment Shirley, but no – the ghosts don’t show up till the climax, and she and Shirley never interact. Instead, the series does one of the things it does best, with is provide some ridiculous death, badass deaths, and badass AND ridiculous deaths in one book. The climax of the book is hilarious, exciting, and thrilling – I was not actually sure if Llenn really would get killed off by someone else or not till the last few pages, and everything about the rivalry between Fukaziroh and Anna – and, let’s face it, Fukaziroh in general – makes me giggle. There is even a smidge of depth here, as Karen/Llenn starts to realize, and later is told point blank by Fukaziroh, that she’s not the same shy wallflower she was at the start of the series – the game has been good for her in real life as well. It’s therapeutic.

We’ve caught up with Japan, so I’m not sure when we’ll get another of these. It’s a satisfying finish for fans of the series, though.

By Reki Kawahara and abec. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

Last time I said that it was a good book but the plot progression was minimal, and I’d say that the plot progression is even more minimal here. It’s also not quite as good a book. Stuff happens, don’t get me wrong. Lives are put in danger, especially in the Underworld, and there is a return there of a villain that I really didn’t care about when they were around in the main Underworld arc and care less about now that their descendants have returned. On the Unital Ring side, we’re headed up to a new level, and we’re interacting more with players from different games, but I sort of feel like Kirito is a metaphor for what Kawahara is trying to do with the series. He’s trying to juggle 3-4 plots at once and can’t devote all his attention to any of them. Frankly, I’d rather that he and Asuna try to figure out if Kizmel has been magically brought back to life (clearly implied near the end) than anything with dragon spaceships.

We pick up where we left off, with Ronie and Tiese staring at Eolyne and wondering if he’s just Eugeo wearing a mask, but the answer to that is still – so far – that he is not. They all then bond in a big bath scene, but then Kirito and Asuna are dragged back to Japan while Alice gets to stay and bond with her sister some more. They head back to Unital Ring to find that everyone else is tacking the floor boss, with Lizbeth staying behind so that someone can bring them up to speed. They then arrive on the new floor… the third “game” to do so, after Asuka Empire (which Yuuki and her friends played) and Apocalyptic Date (where the players are anthro). Unfortunately, these new gamers know Kirito’s reputation, and they’re also desperate because of some poor decision making, so they decide to kidnap Yui. Also a poor decision. And back in Underworld, Alice’s reunion is interrupted by a full-blown invasion.

There were a few scenes in this book I enjoyed. The entire sequence with the robot kitten was not only adorable but also showed off the issues that AI is running into – I loved it when we were told that, if it ran on AI, the kitten would start walking around on two legs like a human. I also liked Asuna and Kirito’s brief panic on returning to Unital Ring, which was sort of darkly funny – was everyone killed off while they were gone? But honestly, the main issue with this book was that there was simply too much going on, and it didn’t give me enough depth to really care about one thing over the other. This is especially true on the Underworld side, where we still don’t quite know who the main villain is, but the ones behind the invasion are frankly a group I would have been delighted to never see again. At least it wasn’t the return of Gabriel Miller. Yet.

If you’re still reading SAO, I’d say keep going. Eugeo payoff looks like it will be coming next time, and hopefully we get some dark elves as well. Just… not in this book.