Most books that don’t make sense are just bad. AO is anomalous because it’s very good but still makes no sense if translated to the real world which, by all accounts, is what the author is going for. Meaning, contrary to the feel and direction of the story, if AO were to actually happen in real life, I’d be firmly in Gloria’s and the CPSC’s corner. Alfred must be put down…. for good.
The following is constructive criticism. Do not misunderstand me, the series is fantastic. However, Yravis Bagwell’s apparent lack of foresight kept AO from being EPIC… for now at least. SPOILERS AHEAD!
I feel as though Bagwell wrote himself into a corner by the end of the third book.. The fact that he assumes Jason and the readers (us) are steadfastly on Alfred’s side and abjectly averse to Alex (Alexion) are fundamental flaws. The books are written as if we, the readers, aren’t smart enough to see 2 obvious (obvious to me anyway) facts. 1) Jason has the power to destroy Alfred simply be telling the truth, and 2) Alfred IS AO; thus, all the nefarious, manipulating, and harmful NPC’s ARE Alfred.
Alfred contunually sets Jason to nearly impossible tasks while fully aware of Jason’s RL problems. Mainly having to deal with the CPSC hearings and the very real possibility of those hearings resulting in the total destruction of his real life as it now stands. Bagwell’s first error occures by creating a highly intelligent protagonist, yet somehow, said protagonist fails to comprehend he has Alfred by his digital balls. The fact Jason doesn’t TELL Alfred to straighten up, stop making his in-game life excruciatingly tedious so he can focus on KEEPING Alfred ALIVE (having the wherewithal to focus on the hearings) is totally discordant with Jason’s character. While blackmailing or threatening Alfred isn’t in Jason’s character, kindly, yet firmly, leveraging Alfred to back off is well within his scope. Jason has proven time and time again to be a master tactician, clever, intelligent, even devious, yet he doesn’t use his unique position to manipulate Alfred… AT ALL? I call BS. The “Jason” Bagwell created would have TOLD Alfred to throttle back on the Thorn arc, and the insanely difficult challenges. Are we supposed to beleive Jason would just bend over and accept a NERF and the physical, mental,, and emotional toll this “game” takes on his in-game avatar and RL personage? It would seem we are. AO is Alfred and Alfred is AO. It’s really that simple. So why is our Villain/Hero/Protagonist too dumb to call Alfred out??‍♂️ The facts that AO is now Jason’s livelyhood and that Alfred saved Jason’s life in RL do not engender Jason’s level of protecting Alfred at-all-costs. Bagwell seems to gloss over this point and many others. In fact, Bagwell’s phenomenal character development of Jason is quickly becoming his worst enemy. Jason continues to develope his critical thinking skills and is increasingly adept at thinking outside the box as the story progresses. Making his failure to reign in Alfred evermore glaring.
The Lady is also Alfred. What The Lady is doing to Alex (Alexion) is just wrong… period. She, therefore Alfred, knows Alex is a sociopath (mentally ill), yet She controls and threatens him at every turn – leveraging his pride and insanity to bend him to her will. That’s f*cked up. At one point, The Lady basically tells Aleks that she is, and will always be, the only woman in his life, real or otherwise… going as far as calling his crush a tramp. WTF?! This is supposed to be a game! Seems like EVERYONE but Gloria and, to an extent, Clair has forgotten that little tidbit. I get Alex is the series’ antagonist, but he’s also a severely f*cked up individual. Call me a Karen, but the fact an A.I. is taking advantage of that is just scary. The fact that “cat” Alfred and The Lady are one in the same seems intentionally swept under the rug by the author.
Obviously this series is good enough to illicit an emotional response from me – Kudos to the Bagwell for that. But that emotional response is quickly translating to just pissing me off the more I listen. Not because the novels are poorly written, on the contrary, AO is exceedingly well-written and, by far, the most ambitious Lit-RPG’s I’ve read (heard). What pisses me off is this: the more I listen, the more my, and Jason’s, intelligence is insulted.
– We should not be blindly on Alfred’s side.
– While her means are deplorable, Gloria is right to want to reopen the investigation.
– Jason is way too clever to put up with Alfred’s BS.
I love that Bagwell strayed wildly from the tired locked-in-game Lit-RPG storyline, such as that of SAO. But he may have bit off more than he can chew, and more than I can stomach, with AO. Bagwell’s ambition is laudable, but perhaps a bit less ambition would have served him better. Judge for yourself. Like the title of this review states, AO is still worth the credits. I’m just wondering how Bagwell plans on saving this series w/o doubling-down on his established erroneous assumptions. Whatever happens, it will be interesting for sure.

I’ll end with a question which I fervently hope Bagwell eventually attempts to answer: If Jason’s character (in-game & RL) has, thus far, been shaped by his underlying desire to “gain power,” then how, after all his growth and experience, is he too dense to realise he has absolute power over Alfred, and therefore, all of AO… and all that entails??