Awaken Online: Retribution is a Side Quest (novella) in the Awaken Online series by Travis Bagwell. The story is told entirely from Riley's point of view and occurs in the few days time between books two and three while Jason is dealing with some real world problems.

Riley thought that after her confrontation with Alex things would get better but they've only gotten worse. The girls at school torment her and she feels powerless to stop them. After receiving a message from Jason that he would be gone for a few days Riley decides now would be the perfect time to follow up on the quest she received when she obtained the strange bow from the dungeon near Peccavi. If nothing else perhaps it will distract her from her own troubles with the girls at school. Grouping up with a new band of adventurers it's not long before they all learn that this quest is a lot more than they bargained for.

It was great traveling with Riley for a while, learning more about her character and motivations both in game and out. I continue to enjoy the game world and how much it helps the characters learn to be better versions of themselves while taking a non-traditional path to get there. The city of mages was such a really cool idea. I wouldn't be surprised to find a similar version in a future game! The quest itself is quite a mystery for Riley to solve, taking us all over the magic city, and it ends with one heck of a boss battle. About the only thing I didn't enjoy was the group of characters Riley ends up traveling with. They were pretty bland.

Overall the story was a good addition to the series. ( )

Surprisingly good, for a side tale.

I should start by stating that I almost universally avoid interim novels such as this one. That is, stories that don't focus on the mc or take place between major plot points. They usually drive me mad, especially when they come out while I'm waiting for the actual next book.

That said, I found this surprisingly good. I definitely enjoyed getting to know Riley better. The action was well paced with the storytelling, and overall enjoyable.

The main gripe I had was the fact that we've almost entirely lost the feel of AO. There's very little leveling up, very little about character stats and abilities. I think Riley checks her stats once. Worse, the big draw for AO to me was the very interesting tension between real world dynamics and in game. There's only a token effort to make that happen here.

Still, overall I give 4 stars despite the complaints. ( )