Awaken Online: Dominion (AO 4), by Travis Bagwell

Awaken Online: Dominion is the sixth instalment (based on publication order) in the epic LitRPG saga written by Travis Bagwell that revolves around a fictional Virtual Reality MMORPG named Awaken Online.

After Apathy, the previous entry, it feels great to be back on Jason’s main storyline, and Awaken Online: Dominion does certainly not give our main character and his companions a chance to relax and take some time off.

In fact, a new enemy shows up out of nowhere, and easily defeats our favourite Necromancer and his companions in their first encounter, even with Jason having evolved into a more powerful Seeker. This enemy causes quite the headache for Jason, his friends and the other members of Original Sin and the Twilight Throne.

But that’s not all, because at the same time the problems that have been growing in the real world reach a critical point and force Jason to spend more time there than in-game. The CPSC is going through great lengths to damage Awaken Online, Cerillion Entertainment and Jason, while trying to use/manipulate Jason for that sole purpose.

Our … ¿hero, villain, or anti-hero? Main character, let’s leave it there. Our Main character does certainly not have an easily life!

What’s it about? – Synopsis

Following Jason’s evolution into a Keeper, he finds his fledgling city once again in turmoil. A new and deadly enemy threatens the Twilight Throne — one that has no difficulty contending with Jason and the members of Original Sin.

Jason must work quickly to consolidate his city’s power. That means securing the villages within the Twilight Throne’s influence, finding a steady stream of income, and growing the city’s military strength. Even as the group grapples with these changes, they notice that something is stirring up the native undead around the city, although the source of this strange influence is uncertain.

One thing is clear, however. Jason might have evolved, but his enemies have adapted with him. If the Twilight Throne is to survive, the group must grow stronger and Jason must learn to control his newfound abilities.

Otherwise, the darkness may very well claim them all.

What did I think? – Opinion

I thoroughly enjoyed it. And like with any other book, and most books in the Awaken Online saga, there are some things I did like more, and some things I did like less.

I would highly recommend the book, even more so if you’ve read the previous entries in the saga, because there’s still much to come, much to discover.

Most of the book is pretty fast-paced, with many things happening at the same time, which makes reading through it nice and quick. I didn’t get bored at any time, and was kept hooked basically from start to finish. There’s some chapters which are a bit slower, and where I personally wished there would have been either more information, more things considered, or that the pace had just been faster.

There’s some specific fights/battles in this book, which I personally found rushed, and which I wished had been more descriptive and exciting. It felt like some elements around the fight and some of the other characters hadn’t been thought through completely by the author. As if he had forgotten about a character and needed to get him/her back into the story quickly. But looking at the general picture, it somehow makes sense.

There’s also love in this book! ❤ I mean, if you read the previous books you’ll know from the first entry what I’m talking about. But it took Jason and Riley long enough to … admit, I guess. Although I do find the love part a bit too cringey, it’s on par with a nerdy teenager and his first love.

And then there’s other characters, such as Frank and Alexion, both kinda forgotten an left aside for this book, and only appear at certain points later on, fighting over a randomly appearing Gate Piece which the gods need.

Frank manages to secure the gate piece, and Alexion gets imprisoned, but then manages to escape and steal the piece. That part of the book had me jumping in disbelief, and I honestly think it’s probably the worst part of the whole thing. The fact that Alexion loses, and the fact that he then manages to escape (way too easy in my opinion), and steal the Gate Piece, a super important new element of AO, which was just sitting there in the open and unguarded. I mean come on! It’s just embarrassing for everyone, and feels like a rushed idea Travis Bagwell had which he could then expand in the following book.

Rating

More books in this saga