--- product_id: 110434625 title: "Sword Art Online 1: Aincrad (light novel)" price: "R53" currency: ZAR in_stock: false reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/110434625-sword-art-online-1-aincrad-light-novel store_origin: ZA region: South Africa --- # Sword Art Online 1: Aincrad (light novel) **Price:** R53 **Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Sword Art Online 1: Aincrad (light novel) - **How much does it cost?** R53 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Currently out of stock - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.za](https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/110434625-sword-art-online-1-aincrad-light-novel) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Read the novel that ignited the phenomenon!In the year 2022, gamers rejoice as Sword Art Online - a VRMMORPG (Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) like no other - debuts, allowing players to take full advantage of the ultimate in gaming technology: NerveGear, a system that allows users to completely immerse themselves in a wholly realistic gaming experience. But when the game goes live, the elation of the players quickly turns to horror as they discover that, for all its amazing features, SAO is missing one of the most basic functions of any MMORPG - a log-out button. Now trapped in the virtual world of Aincrad, their bodies held captive by NerveGear in the real world, users are issued a chilling ultimatum: conquer all one hundred floors of Aincrad to regain your freedom. But in the warped world of SAO, "game over" means certain death - both virtual and real... Review: The anime can't do justice to this story, read the novel - A visual representation cannot capture the entire emotions or feels of story in the same way the original novel can. I say this because I've been watching Sword Art Online series since college. I've enjoyed it a lot however it's only recently that I started to read the light novels. I did try the rough transalations for a little while but I could never entirely get into them. I'm so glad to finally be diving into this series better late than never. The anime can't even compare with the original story. It's so beautiful and breathtaking. The way Kawahara describes the world and sets up the characters is so good. The world of Aincrad is so rich and developed so well. The story itself is told from Kirito/Kazuto's point of view only. That took a little getting used to. But he makes for a good narrator for the story. It's amazing to read and see his emotions and reactions to everything that happens. I've never felt more connected to the character than through this book. It also makes me appreciate the anime a bit more, but the novel, the original story, is superior. If you're wondering how Kirito feels and thinks, this really gives you a perspective to him as a person. It goes into the feelings and tender love he has for Asuna. I could never see him with another person more so after reading this. It was a beautiful story. I know this was the first novel and the author had wrote it in the beginning as a one-off story for a contest. So I can ignore the fact that it jumps ahead in the storyline and doesn't really spend lot of time in the beginning of the Aincrad journey. It's a bit of whiplash for us who are only anime watchers. But it's alright because it's still great. This particular book is more about Kirito and Asuna.It focuses a lot on the main plot. It's a really excellent read. Overall, I truly enjoyed reading this. I can't wait to jump into more of the series. I have always been fond of Sword Art Online. I know there are mixed opinions out there and a lot of naysayers. But I encourage anyone who is interested to give the novel a go. It's really a wonderful read and some of the things that frustrated me in the anime were either analyzed differently in the novel or explained more in depth. And don't think that this is a reboot of the series. This is the original novel that started it all so. Any perspectives you have on Sword Art Online and its story began here. And now if you excuse me I am going to keep reading this series and see where it takes me next. Review: In Defense of SAO, Light Novel version - I watched Sword Art Online when it first aired on Toonami and I liked it so much I bought the light novel when it was translated into English. To all the SAO haters out there, you need to read the light novel because most if not all of your complaints are due to the way the anime was adapted from the light novels. I will include these differences in my traditional three sections. I will examine Plot, Characters and Polish and then assign a grade. PLOT The general thrust of the book is that 10,000 players have been trapped in the VMMORPG, Sword Art Online and have to conquer the castle of Aincrad in order to escape. There are one hundred floors but the book only covers the point from the 74 and 75 floors. This is two years after the game began. You see, it's In Media Res. The first chapter is Kirito fighting an Elite Mook on the 74th floor. Then he flashesback to the first day up until Kayaba announces the start of the death game. Then he spends a chapter or so expositing on how the game works and general history: like how The Army got started and the four types of players in the game. After that, the plot goes directly to Kirito finding the Ragout Rabbit which would not happen in the anime until "The Sword Dance of White and Black". The content of episodes two through eight are all from other volumes. This is why there is no connection between them and the main story; they were created after the main story was published. They seem like filler because they were intended to be extra stories to flesh out the world and characters after the main story was completed. The main story as presented in the light novel is straightforward; possessing little fat or digressions. Even the "honeymoon" Asuna and Kirito take serves its purpose by demonstrating what life in Aincrad is like away from the front lines. Thus, providing both a traditional heroic reason to go back to the front lines as well as a temptation to stay away from them. It provides good emotional conflict without descending into meaningless angst or drama. For those that have a problem with the climatic battle, there's something here too. Kayaba talks about how one of the great things about an RPG is having "one's expectations betrayed" and that includes his own expectations. Afterward, he talks about how he dreamed of a world that could surpass the rules of reality, including his own rules. While he is as surprised as anyone both in-universe and out-of-universe by the seemingly impossible feat that our leading lady accomplished, he is not angry. That's how his world is supposed to work. For those complaining about the status of the player's real bodies, and what would happen to them during a two year comma, there's an explanation for that too. The epilogue goes into detail about such things: food, body waste, bed sores, muscle atrophy etc. The ending is good. The book's main conflict closed but personal conflict remains. In fact, it's a perfect sequel hook for the next adventure "Fairy Dance". CHARACTERS I see a lot of bashing of Kirito in the anime. It's the typical mary sue variety; overpowered, bland, somehow attracts many admires etc. That's not the case here in volume 1. --->Sure he's a powerful solo player with the inside knowledge of a beta tester, but he's not the "only" solo player or the only beta tester. He points this out himself as part of his self-depreciation. This just happens to be his story so it focuses on him instead of them. --->Sure he has the Unique Skill Dual Blades. In the anime it comes out of nowhere, but it's not as great as it seems. The light novel explains that he can't use it often or he'll be seen as even more of a "beater" than he is already thought to be, or be hounded by people demanding to know how he got the skill. Since he doesn't know, they might think he's lying and dislike him for it. Thus increasing his social isolation. There's sufficient foreshadowing in the light novel that he has before he uses it as well as an explanation of why he keeps it a secret: it's his ace in the hole. --->Overpowered character? He has to be rescued twice in this volume, runs away in fear from a floor boss, and he only clears the game because the final boss allowed him to. --->Bland badass? In the Light Novel, we see his thoughts because he's a first person narrator. There's rarely a time when he "isn't" scared, either for himself, Asuna, someone else, or all of the above. We also see his intense interest in and experience of VMMRPG, as well as a great deal of Heroic Self Depreciation. He's constantly praising others: Asuna, Klein, Heathcliff, but has a poor opinion of himself and his own skills. --->Too many female admirers? Asuna is the only girl in his life and they known each for two years before their Relationship Upgrade. There's a different perspective on Asuna as well. The anime introduces her during the raid of the first floor boss. This establishes her first as an action girl and then later episodes show her cooking talent and her love for Kirito. In the Light Novel while she is still the Sub-Commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath from her introduction and she finds Kirito because it's part of her job to find solo players for boss runs. Her first scene with Kirito is this recruitment followed by the Ragout Rabbit stew, which is then followed by exploring a dungeon with Kirito. Instead of an Action Girl that becomes girly, we have an Action Girl that is girly from the start; there is no separation. Unlike the anime where she floats in and out of the picture, she's a constant presence here and significant contributions to plot development. Because of the book's focus, Kuradeel is a bigger presence and a bigger threat. In the anime, the scope is smaller and he's just some one-off guy. Not so in the novel; in the novel is introduced shortly after the beginning exposition and reappears many chapters latter. POLISH This is a first person narration and the narrator happens to be a hard core VMMORPG addict. Thus, all the talk about the history of the game, the mechanics of the system, all of it is perfectly in character. There is a great sense of things because of this perspective. No spelling or grammar problems. Trickster Eric Novels gives Sword Art Online Volume 1 Aincrad an A+ ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #133,383 in Kindle Store ( See Top 100 in Kindle Store ) #48 in Teen & Young Adult Light Novels #198 in Teen & Young Adult Light Novel (Ranobe) eBooks #402 in Teen & Young Adult Science Fiction eBooks | ## Images ![Sword Art Online 1: Aincrad (light novel) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91F2ezBVbtL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The anime can't do justice to this story, read the novel *by L***L on June 3, 2025* A visual representation cannot capture the entire emotions or feels of story in the same way the original novel can. I say this because I've been watching Sword Art Online series since college. I've enjoyed it a lot however it's only recently that I started to read the light novels. I did try the rough transalations for a little while but I could never entirely get into them. I'm so glad to finally be diving into this series better late than never. The anime can't even compare with the original story. It's so beautiful and breathtaking. The way Kawahara describes the world and sets up the characters is so good. The world of Aincrad is so rich and developed so well. The story itself is told from Kirito/Kazuto's point of view only. That took a little getting used to. But he makes for a good narrator for the story. It's amazing to read and see his emotions and reactions to everything that happens. I've never felt more connected to the character than through this book. It also makes me appreciate the anime a bit more, but the novel, the original story, is superior. If you're wondering how Kirito feels and thinks, this really gives you a perspective to him as a person. It goes into the feelings and tender love he has for Asuna. I could never see him with another person more so after reading this. It was a beautiful story. I know this was the first novel and the author had wrote it in the beginning as a one-off story for a contest. So I can ignore the fact that it jumps ahead in the storyline and doesn't really spend lot of time in the beginning of the Aincrad journey. It's a bit of whiplash for us who are only anime watchers. But it's alright because it's still great. This particular book is more about Kirito and Asuna.It focuses a lot on the main plot. It's a really excellent read. Overall, I truly enjoyed reading this. I can't wait to jump into more of the series. I have always been fond of Sword Art Online. I know there are mixed opinions out there and a lot of naysayers. But I encourage anyone who is interested to give the novel a go. It's really a wonderful read and some of the things that frustrated me in the anime were either analyzed differently in the novel or explained more in depth. And don't think that this is a reboot of the series. This is the original novel that started it all so. Any perspectives you have on Sword Art Online and its story began here. And now if you excuse me I am going to keep reading this series and see where it takes me next. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ In Defense of SAO, Light Novel version *by B***W on February 1, 2015* I watched Sword Art Online when it first aired on Toonami and I liked it so much I bought the light novel when it was translated into English. To all the SAO haters out there, you need to read the light novel because most if not all of your complaints are due to the way the anime was adapted from the light novels. I will include these differences in my traditional three sections. I will examine Plot, Characters and Polish and then assign a grade. PLOT The general thrust of the book is that 10,000 players have been trapped in the VMMORPG, Sword Art Online and have to conquer the castle of Aincrad in order to escape. There are one hundred floors but the book only covers the point from the 74 and 75 floors. This is two years after the game began. You see, it's In Media Res. The first chapter is Kirito fighting an Elite Mook on the 74th floor. Then he flashesback to the first day up until Kayaba announces the start of the death game. Then he spends a chapter or so expositing on how the game works and general history: like how The Army got started and the four types of players in the game. After that, the plot goes directly to Kirito finding the Ragout Rabbit which would not happen in the anime until "The Sword Dance of White and Black". The content of episodes two through eight are all from other volumes. This is why there is no connection between them and the main story; they were created after the main story was published. They seem like filler because they were intended to be extra stories to flesh out the world and characters after the main story was completed. The main story as presented in the light novel is straightforward; possessing little fat or digressions. Even the "honeymoon" Asuna and Kirito take serves its purpose by demonstrating what life in Aincrad is like away from the front lines. Thus, providing both a traditional heroic reason to go back to the front lines as well as a temptation to stay away from them. It provides good emotional conflict without descending into meaningless angst or drama. For those that have a problem with the climatic battle, there's something here too. Kayaba talks about how one of the great things about an RPG is having "one's expectations betrayed" and that includes his own expectations. Afterward, he talks about how he dreamed of a world that could surpass the rules of reality, including his own rules. While he is as surprised as anyone both in-universe and out-of-universe by the seemingly impossible feat that our leading lady accomplished, he is not angry. That's how his world is supposed to work. For those complaining about the status of the player's real bodies, and what would happen to them during a two year comma, there's an explanation for that too. The epilogue goes into detail about such things: food, body waste, bed sores, muscle atrophy etc. The ending is good. The book's main conflict closed but personal conflict remains. In fact, it's a perfect sequel hook for the next adventure "Fairy Dance". CHARACTERS I see a lot of bashing of Kirito in the anime. It's the typical mary sue variety; overpowered, bland, somehow attracts many admires etc. That's not the case here in volume 1. --->Sure he's a powerful solo player with the inside knowledge of a beta tester, but he's not the "only" solo player or the only beta tester. He points this out himself as part of his self-depreciation. This just happens to be his story so it focuses on him instead of them. --->Sure he has the Unique Skill Dual Blades. In the anime it comes out of nowhere, but it's not as great as it seems. The light novel explains that he can't use it often or he'll be seen as even more of a "beater" than he is already thought to be, or be hounded by people demanding to know how he got the skill. Since he doesn't know, they might think he's lying and dislike him for it. Thus increasing his social isolation. There's sufficient foreshadowing in the light novel that he has before he uses it as well as an explanation of why he keeps it a secret: it's his ace in the hole. --->Overpowered character? He has to be rescued twice in this volume, runs away in fear from a floor boss, and he only clears the game because the final boss allowed him to. --->Bland badass? In the Light Novel, we see his thoughts because he's a first person narrator. There's rarely a time when he "isn't" scared, either for himself, Asuna, someone else, or all of the above. We also see his intense interest in and experience of VMMRPG, as well as a great deal of Heroic Self Depreciation. He's constantly praising others: Asuna, Klein, Heathcliff, but has a poor opinion of himself and his own skills. --->Too many female admirers? Asuna is the only girl in his life and they known each for two years before their Relationship Upgrade. There's a different perspective on Asuna as well. The anime introduces her during the raid of the first floor boss. This establishes her first as an action girl and then later episodes show her cooking talent and her love for Kirito. In the Light Novel while she is still the Sub-Commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath from her introduction and she finds Kirito because it's part of her job to find solo players for boss runs. Her first scene with Kirito is this recruitment followed by the Ragout Rabbit stew, which is then followed by exploring a dungeon with Kirito. Instead of an Action Girl that becomes girly, we have an Action Girl that is girly from the start; there is no separation. Unlike the anime where she floats in and out of the picture, she's a constant presence here and significant contributions to plot development. Because of the book's focus, Kuradeel is a bigger presence and a bigger threat. In the anime, the scope is smaller and he's just some one-off guy. Not so in the novel; in the novel is introduced shortly after the beginning exposition and reappears many chapters latter. POLISH This is a first person narration and the narrator happens to be a hard core VMMORPG addict. Thus, all the talk about the history of the game, the mechanics of the system, all of it is perfectly in character. There is a great sense of things because of this perspective. No spelling or grammar problems. Trickster Eric Novels gives Sword Art Online Volume 1 Aincrad an A+ ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ From someone who saw the anime version of the Aincard arc first *by E***0 on April 2, 2016* The 1st light novel volume of SAO; the source material from which the anime we all know and love drew its story. As I sat down and prepared to read it, I knew from having seen the 1st 14 episodes of the anime that the number of surprises awaiting me would likely be minimal. And at face value, this proved to be 100% accurate. The sequence of events in the novel document all the major events of the Aincrad arc up until Kirito's final battle with Heathcliff through Kirito's perspective, and if you've seen the anime you know what to expect. However, I can honestly say that even though I had a general idea of the story (having viewed the anime version of Aincard several times), reading it in novel form was one of the most enjoyable experiences I've ever had. Although the side stories involving Silica, Lisbeth, Yui, and others are omitted while Kirito's account of Sachi is summarized in two pages and referenced periodically throughout, the level of character description/battle detail was such that I could envision what was occurring vividly in my mind. The actual names and effects of certain items and attacks provided a level of insight not present in the anime, adding to the seamless flow of the story as it progressed at a pace I would say was superior to the anime. Scenes that were emotional in the anime were even more so when reading them, partly due to the expert writing and partly due to the level of familiarity of said events. I won't spoil it but the 'death' of a certain character towards the end had me on the brink of tears even though I knew their fate wasn't ultimately going to be what it seemed at that moment. All in all, having watched the anime beforehand (even though it wasn't without its flaws) enhanced the experience tremendously. I could hear the characters' voices as I read what they said and envision the corresponding event in my head as though I were watching it instead of reading. I suppose the point I'm trying to make is, for someone who saw the anime first, reading the novel afterward will provide the full, completed experience of the Aincrad arc. The novel fills in any gaps that are present in the story, expands upon scenes/events that were compelling already from the anime, and give the reader excellent insight as to what Kirito was thinking or going through emotionally at any given moment. To those who haven't seen the anime and aren't sure about where to begin with SAO, the light novel is the source material and is beautifully written. However, for the complete experience and maximum enjoyment of the story I recommend watching at least the first 14 episodes of the anime before reading the novel. It's all up to your personal preference of course. Happy reading! --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/110434625-sword-art-online-1-aincrad-light-novel](https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/110434625-sword-art-online-1-aincrad-light-novel) --- *Product available on Desertcart South Africa* *Store origin: ZA* *Last updated: 2026-06-03*