Hey all! So it’s been a little while and I’ve got a bunch of news on a few different books/stories.
First off, Awaken Online: Retribution has a tentative release date for October 31, 2017. This is a side novel taking place after book two and following Riley – focusing on her bow quest. It’s a full-sized novel and clocked in at about 75K words. I’m aiming to have the audio release around the same time (it’s underway now), but ACX doesn’t make it easy for me to give a precise date and it might be off by a few days. Some early chapters are available on my Patreon and the first chapter is available for free now. I’ll release a chapter a week for free until the end of the month – probably on Monday mornings.
I’ve also written a short story called Awaken Online: Apathy and it’s up on my Patreon. It’s around 20K words and was intended to be a little side project to flesh out a side character that appears in book three – it’s entirely from her perspective. I wasn’t really planning to publish it, but a bunch of people seem to like it. So I could probably see myself fleshing it out and publishing it as another side novel – around 75K words as well. I just have no idea when I plan to do that!
Some of you all have also been asking about my new sci-fi novel, A War of One. This story is completely independent of AO and is a space opera with lots of space combat and dogfighting. I’m super excited about this one! I got inspired last year after playing Everspace – which is a super fun rogue-lite space game. I hesitate to describe the story too much for fear of giving away the plot (and I still need to craft a good blurb), but I’ll try to spitball something kind of neutral here.
After an accident testing a revolutionary nueral interface system for a fighter-class spacecraft, Jack Reynolds’ mind is left fractured and broken – his memories slowly slipping away. Meanwhile, he’s been shoved into forced early retirement and he’s not certain how he will be able to take care of his family. To top it all off, none of the treatments have worked and he’s definitely getting worse.
Which is why Reynolds leaps at the opportunity his doctor offers him – an experimental treatment that might be his last ticket to repairing his mind. The catch? Each night as he goes to sleep, he enters a simulation. He’s in the cockpit again, but this time he’s alone in a strange, broken ship and fighting off an unknown alien threat. It will take everything he has to keep moving forward, but there is no turning back. His life and his family’s future hang in the balance.
A bunch of early beta chapters are already up on my Patreon and the draft is complete. I’m starting the editing here in October. I’m not quite certain on a release date yet, but it’ll probably be sometime in 2018 or right at year-end most likely.
And, finally, Awaken Online 3. There isn’t as much news to report here. I’ve made a bunch of progress on the first draft, but I don’t have a precise ETA yet. Mid-2018 is looking realistic.
Whew, that was a lot of information!
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Great stuff. Just finished rereading (relistening rather) the first two AO books. That cliffhanger on book 2 was just as satisfying and just as frustrating the second time around. I’ve half a mind to get my own undead legion and force you to finish book three by next week! But then again I’d rather you take your time to produce some some quality stuff lol. Hopefully these other projects will keep me appeased, there’s no need for any bloodshed… yet.
Keep up the great work! I really do enjoy watching Jason and his accomplices grow, especially Alfred
Ha. I wish I didn’t have to juggle real life and writing – it would give me a lot more time. Hopefully, this side novel will keep you sated. The beta readers have really seemed to enjoy it so far!
You are one hell of a writer, in litrpg your style really stands out as the best, literally.
Hurry upp with No 3
Thanks! Working on it!
Totally agreed. I’ve grabbed several other LitRPG’s after this one to read, and too many get bogged down in bad dialogue or in the questing/leveling and neglect to have a compelling story. Awaken Online stands above the others in my opinion.
Love the books and can’t wait to read Retribution!
I actually read both AO books for the first time in May and now I am re-reading them because I needed more!
Also, I pimp your books out to anyone that I think will listen to me about them…and I am pretty sure people are sick of me now, but I just plan on looting their corpses soon anyway, so it won’t matter!
Muahahahahahaha!
Thanks for making the good guys so good and bad, as long as he is not a douche bag!
Ha. Thanks for the shout out! Hopefully, you’ll like this little side novel. I’m pretty pumped listening to the audio so far.
Cannot wait! I wish you had access to AO’s time dilation so you could write 4 times faster!!! Although, I bet you wish the same. :]
Thanks for all the work you put in, Mr. Bagwell, looking forward to all your future books!
For sure. I’d love some time dilation. Or maybe a way to clone myself…
I picked up your first book on a whim and boy was I glad I did. I hate that you ended the book the way you did. But love it at the same time because now I want more. Keep up the great writing.
The cliffhanger at the end of AO2 was my wife’s idea. I thought it seemed a bit cruel ;).
your stuff is so much better than any other litrpg i have read it isn’t even funny! what a stunning debut, friend!
can’t wait to read the bonus novel!
These books are incredible. Thank you so much for your work. I can’t believe you find the time to write these but so happy you do.
Really looking forward to Retribution and was wondering if it will only be for sale on Amazon or will it be available on Google Play too?
It’ll only be up on Amazon. Part of being in Kindle Unlimited includes restrictions on digital distribution – so I can’t put it on other distributor websites.
I finished book 1 and 2 on audible back to back and just finished my 3rd listening of them. I have tons of litrpg books and I must say yours is the best. Also I could see real game devs ignoring the AI and telling it to figure stuff out on your own. Devs tend to forget the important stuff. But what I wanted to know is how big is AO? I mean took a week to March to Jason’s city and that’s a long time. How bigs the world. So many questions love your books
Loved the first two books and eagerly await the third. I was getting discouraged reading other litrpg books because of poor editing and simply bad story telling until I met this series. It is simply wonderful and a cut above the rest of the genre. Also if fans of this series have any recommendations of other books in this genre I would love to hear them. To finish up my review I want to reiterate that this series has insofar been a delight to read and I wish Mr. Bagwell the best of luck in his life and writing carrier.
Just discovered the series, burned through the 2 first books in a couple days. On to Retribution! Great work. Loving it. Already looking forward to the next one. Gotta pick up A War of One soon too.
Glad you enjoyed them. I need to get my ass moving and finish A War of One. Got distracted with writing AO3!
Travis. First off thank you for your amazing story. As an avid DND player (my group warped alot of the rules, ALOT) I can see this being one if our quest lines. We spent a lot of time interacting in towns building relationships with the Npc’s, so they twist on the normal mmorpg is very relatable. Jason would make one hell of of an addition to our group!!! Just love the story. Keep up the great work!!!!!!
Glad you enjoyed the books!
At 53 and a NON gamer I have to admit I borrowed my son’s audiobook as background noise and became SO ingrossed I Have got nothing done. LOL
Just finished Retribution… Awesome!!! Came here Looking for more, (Grin ) your wife is wondrously cruel :))
Can’t wait for more, hope it is soon, a potential Fury in the making
Glad you enjoyed the books. I agree that my wife is a little cruel. But she comes up with some awesome ideas!
I am slowly dying… Waiting for the newest book…
When is it going to be release in audible? Cant wait to get my hands on em
Aiming for June (fingers crossed).
When will it be releasing in Audible? Been waiting for ages!!!!!
Likely June unless we run into a delay with ACX.
Hello good sir, I love your books, they are one of the best I’ve read within the litrpg genre!
I ACHE for book 3. When does it come out?
With the kindest of regards from a country under the sea level,
Salasie Mithran
P s keep up the good work, you should be proud.
It’s already live and up on Amazon. Unless you’re talking about audio, in which case it should hopefully be up this week.
I just finished book 3 and am loving the series so far. The only complaint I can pose is the enjoyably irritating cliffhangers that make me want the next book now. I wait anxiously for the next book. However I fear that no matter how fast it gets here it will feel like an eternity. Write well and have fun.
Thanks, man! I just need to get Apathy out the door (July 27th) and maybe take a vacation (I desperately owe my wife a trip). Then on to book four!
Sir this is the first time I have read such fantasy book. I was awestruck by the content and your skills. I only request you to write as many AO books as possible. Jason’s power and skill has left my mouth, eyes and ears open I was dumbstruck. Please inform the release of book 4 and write as many as 9-10 books.
Glad you enjoyed them! I’m working on book four right now!
I have to echo the consensus that Awaken Online has been the fantasy book I’ve been waiting for. The heroes savings the day is all fine and dandy, but the anti-hero who embraces the darkness for the well-being of his own future in a world where everything is expected except him, that is the kind of book I didn’t know I was craving.
I had a hard time sitting down while reading these books. With the first book I didn’t know what to expect. Once I started reading it I finished it in a little over a day. I could not put it down nor could I stop pacing while reading it. It’s been a long time since a book made me giddy like that but the first and all the subsequent books since then have done just that.
I just wanted to comment and show my support for everything you’ve done with this series and let you know that like all of the other fans, I cannot wait for book four to come out. My only request as a fan is to continue to find new ways to turn serious situations into crazy and unexpected events. Some of the best parts of the series were when little decisions snowballed into colossal insanity.
Well, hopefully book four will follow that same trend. The ending I have envisioned right now sure seems like a massive cluter*&^! But I may be a little biased.
So when is the next book coming out? I believe its book 5? I can’t find anything online about a release on audible.
It’s up next. Inferno is releasing October 3rd and then I’m switching back to Jason. Release probably early 2021.