So I just bought....

[Phase One: Skeith]

The first Vol. for .Hack//Another Birth and both AI Busters. I really hope these books are good even if the were some what cheep off Amazon

Knowing how bad my luck is it won't be shipped till next week and it'll take two week to get here (Same thing happened when I bought Outbreak off amazon)

So my question is how good are they and is there anything I should know about before reading them?

[Barzahd]

It will because God hates the internet shipping industry

[Phase One: Skeith]

It will because God hates the internet shipping industry

No kidding.....

[Haseo22]

i really like both A.I buster books very interesting plot line very enjoyable

[Daichi]

xxxx and A.B pwn

[StrikerSixx]

you mean the novel .hack//AI buster is the very first piece of .hack lore?

[Kouen]

Read A.I. Buster if you wish to know more about the black box, and read Another Birth if you wish to know about the harships and experiences of BlackRose during IMOQ. I found Another Birth better because it really shows what the .hackers had to endure during IMOQ, BlackRose specifically.

[marthwmaster]

Did anyone else find the translation errors to be somewhat distracting?

[BadRPiggy]

Yes and it happened like at least once every forty pages. Poor editor people who don't do their job well enough because they don't get paid enough. I would hate to look through a book for errors as a job.

[shiroi]

.hack//AI Buster is a very good read, actually. It describes much of the stuff you keep hearing about elsewhere, like the One Sin, how the Descendents of Fianna got their titles, and other points of interest. And yes, according to the timeline, it is the very first .hack story.

.hack//Another Birth is also worth reading. It can be slightly tedious at times if you've played the games, though. There are a couple of chapters here and there that sound like a walkthrough. But there is also a lot of insight into the personalities of characters like Elk and Mistral as well as BlackRose. It also offers a different, more personal perspective on the story.

.hack//AI Buster 2 is just short stories that take place during different times. It's definitely worth reading because it offers a lot of insight into familiar characters from the first //AI Buster and from the //UdeDen manga.

As has been mentioned, there are several very bad translation errors here and there, especially in //Another Birth. For example, early in the first volume they completely switched Kite's lines with BlackRoses's. Just keep in mind that if something doesn't sound correct or canon, it's usually the translator's fault, not the author's.

[laysh]

So my question is how good are they and is there anything I should know about before reading them?

I couldn't stop reading .hack//A.I. Buster till I finished it. Thats how it was for me anyways.

[TsukasaElkKite]

The translations are shitty and full of typos and errors.

[LegendaryDarkKnight]

Does anyone know if they sell them at barnes and nobles?

[.hack//BICTIOUS]

The translations themselves are actually quite good. There's just nasty inconsistencies and... well, everyone knows about Another Birth 1. It's why Tokyopop recruited fan consultants.

And I suggest both AI Buster and Another Birth. They greatly contribute to the series in their own ways and answer plenty of questions.

[Azure crow]

The translations themselves are actually quite good. There's just nasty inconsistencies and... well, everyone knows about Another Birth 1. It's why Tokyopop recruited fan consultants.

And I suggest both AI Buster and Another Birth. They greatly contribute to the series in their own ways and answer plenty of questions.

I remember something about that vol,but can't place my finger on it....what was wrong again?

[.hack//BICTIOUS]

Kite and BlackRose's dialogue was switched in multiple places. The most obvious and jarring being when they first met. They made Kite bitchy and loud and BlackRose meek and shy.

[lukan]

you sure that wasn't blackrose trying to twist the story to make herself the 'sweet and meek' one?


Toszi

[shiroi]

you sure that wasn't blackrose trying to twist the story to make herself the 'sweet and meek' one?

In the original Japanese, the book was true to the game. If I remember what I'd read on Tokyopop's forums, the editors had thought that making the book exciting was more important than keeping it accurate or something like that.

[StrikerSixx]

you mean the novel .hack//AI buster is the very first piece of .hack lore?

Yes.

Log On to // AI Buster
- The Year's Most Exciting Novel!

In the epic prequel to .hack, the avatar Albireo is a solo adventurer in The World.

it says prequel which makes me think of them going back and telling what came first after the original story. so maybe in the .hack timeline AI buster came first, but in actual production which was the first thing? If it still is AI buster i'm sorry i just wanted to be clear on that.

[.hack//BICTIOUS]

The first thing was either SIGN or INFECTION. But yeah, so far, AI Buster is chronologically the earliest .hack work. It takes place about a month before SIGN.