You've probably been there. You finish Catharsis, your brain is buzzing with the dark potential of Jason’s necromancy, and you immediately go to grab the next one. Then you see it. There are side quests. There are "Tarot" books. There's a book 2.5 and a book 3.5. Honestly, the awaken online book order feels like trying to navigate a high-level dungeon without a map. If you just follow the numbers on Amazon, you’re going to miss half the story. Or worse, you’ll get spoiled on a major character death because you read the main series too fast.
Travis Bagwell didn't write a straight line. He wrote a world.
That world is messy. It’s expansive. Characters that seem like background noise in Book 1 suddenly get their own 400-page origin story that explains exactly why they're so obsessed with a specific game mechanic. If you want the full experience, you have to weave through the side stories.
The Best Way to Read Awaken Online
Don't overthink it. Seriously. The "correct" way is almost always the publication order, but even that has some wiggle room. You basically have three "threads" happening: Jason’s main journey, the Side Quests (which are character deep-dives), and the Tarot trilogy (which follows a different Avatar entirely).
If you skip the side quests, you're doing yourself a disservice. You might think, “I only care about Jason,” but by the time you hit Dominion, you’ll be meeting characters who have had entire books of development that you just... missed.
Here is the flow that makes the most sense for your brain:
✨ Don't miss: Free Cell Games Solitaire: Why Most People Still Can't Solve the Hardest Boards
- Catharsis (The one that started it all)
- Precipice (Jason settles in)
- Retribution (Side Quest: Riley’s story)
- Evolution (Back to the main plot)
- Apathy (Side Quest: Eliza’s story)
- Dominion (Things get big)
- Unity (Side Quest: Frank’s story)
At this point, the road forks. You've reached the end of the first major "arc" of the main group. Now, you have to deal with the Fire Avatar.
Why the Tarot Trilogy is Mandatory
A lot of people ask if they can skip Ember, Flame, and Inferno. Kinda, but no. While these books follow Finn (the Avatar of Fire) and take place mostly parallel to the earlier books, the events of Inferno crash headlong into the main series. If you go straight from Dominion to Hellion without reading the Tarot books, you are going to be very, very confused about why the world is suddenly on fire.
Read them after Unity. It feels like a spin-off at first, but it's the foundation for the endgame.
The Full Chronological List (As of 2026)
If you’re the type of person who needs a checklist, this is the definitive awaken online book order including the newest releases like Timeless.
- Catharsis (Book 1)
- Precipice (Book 2)
- Retribution (Side Quest - Riley)
- Evolution (Book 3)
- Apathy (Side Quest - Eliza)
- Dominion (Book 4)
- Unity (Side Quest - Frank)
- Ember (Tarot Book 1)
- Flame (Tarot Book 2)
- Inferno (Tarot Book 3)
- Hellion (Book 5 - Jason returns)
- Happy (Side Quest - Finn/Dom)
- Armageddon (Book 6)
- Timeless (Book 7)
By the time you get to Armageddon, the different threads have mostly merged. The stakes aren't just about one kid in a VR pod anymore; it's about the AIs and the literal fate of the digital world.
What Most People Get Wrong
The biggest mistake? Treating "Side Quests" like optional DLC.
In most RPGs, a side quest is a fetch mission. In Awaken Online, a side quest is a fundamental pillar of the narrative. Take Retribution, for example. It isn't just "Riley's adventures." It establishes the entire moral weight of her character and her relationship with her father. Without it, her actions in later books feel hollow.
Also, don't rush into Hellion.
Hellion is a massive payoff book. It’s where the "Old Sin" group (Jason, Riley, Frank) and the "Tarot" group finally start to overlap. If you haven't lived through Finn's struggle in the Tarot trilogy, the emotional impact of certain alliances in Hellion and Armageddon just won't land.
✨ Don't miss: The Phantom Ace Attorney Art: Why This Faceless Villain Still Haunts Fans
Actionable Next Steps for Your Read-Through
If you're just starting or you're halfway through and feeling lost, here is how to handle the "order" problem without getting a headache:
- Commit to the Side Quests: Buy them as you go. Don't tell yourself you'll "circle back" to them later. You won't. You'll be too hooked on the main plot, and then you'll hit a wall where you don't know who half the characters are.
- Use the 2.5 / 3.5 Logic: If you see a book labeled with a decimal point, read it immediately after the whole number that precedes it. Retribution (2.5) comes after Precipice (2). It’s a simple system that people overcomplicate.
- Watch the Dates: If you ever get truly stuck, look at the publication years. Travis Bagwell writes the world as it expands. If he released a side quest between Book 3 and Book 4, it’s because the information in that side quest is needed for Book 4.
- Audiobook Hack: If the side quests feel like too much of a "detour" from the main action, try switching to the audiobooks for those specifically. The narration (usually by Nick Podehl) is top-tier and makes the character-building sections fly by.
Start with Catharsis. Get through Precipice. Once you finish those two, you'll know if you're in for the long haul. If you are, follow the list above and don't skip the "small" stories. They end up being the biggest ones.