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maggiebook's review
4.0
Brief overview:
Our main character, Emika Chen, is a down on her luck 19 year old with a big heart. One day she hacks into the world-wide popular game of Warcross and is discovered by the world and Warcross's creator, Hideo Tanaka. Her life is completely changed when she is invited by Hideo a 21 year old genius billionaire with a dark secret to solve a mystery surrounding the game.
Characters: I found the cast of characters very believable and diverse.
Plot: The story grabbed me from the beginning and kept me engaged to the end. Marie Lu is a former game designer so she is able to make Warcross sound like something that could be. I had an issue with they way a couple of scenes played out as they didn't make sense in the scheme of things but they didn't put me off the story. Going into this book I didn't know it was a first in a series, my mistake, so the ending was a bit frustrating although now I am happy to here there are more books coming. This book has been compared to Ready Player One but I think this definitely stands on its own and has little similarities.
Final thoughts: An enjoyable book which I recommend. Looking forward to more in the series.
Our main character, Emika Chen, is a down on her luck 19 year old with a big heart. One day she hacks into the world-wide popular game of Warcross and is discovered by the world and Warcross's creator, Hideo Tanaka. Her life is completely changed when she is invited by Hideo a 21 year old genius billionaire with a dark secret to solve a mystery surrounding the game.
Characters: I found the cast of characters very believable and diverse.
Plot: The story grabbed me from the beginning and kept me engaged to the end. Marie Lu is a former game designer so she is able to make Warcross sound like something that could be. I had an issue with they way a couple of scenes played out as they didn't make sense in the scheme of things but they didn't put me off the story. Going into this book I didn't know it was a first in a series, my mistake, so the ending was a bit frustrating although now I am happy to here there are more books coming. This book has been compared to Ready Player One but I think this definitely stands on its own and has little similarities.
Final thoughts: An enjoyable book which I recommend. Looking forward to more in the series.
taliesinrex's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was solidly written and had a cool premise, and I loved the central driving mystery as it was initially presented. The world Lu creates is also interesting, and her prose does a great job of presenting a really vibrant, immersive vision of it - both the virtual world of Warcross itself and the reality that Emika lives in. There's an obvious Ready Player One comparison and I think that in terms of thoughtfulness and writing this blows RPO out of the water.
Overall, I did find myself a little dissatisfied with this by the halfway point and while I did not realize this was a series going into it, the ending cliffhanger felt a bit rushed and lazily executed. For me, a lot of it boils down to the character writing and how events of the book were prioritized. We get a good picture of Emika as a person early on, and a pretty good idea of Hideo (or the image that he can afford to present to the world), but even so it seemed like there were things they revealed to one another as the book went on that didn't fully align with what the book was trying to say about them at large; it seemed like maybe some of these details were supposed to be clues to part of the larger mystery but were implemented in a kind of inelegant way. Their romance was fine and I thought it was well-written (I saw people saying it was insta-love but it didn't read that way to me?) but it seemed like a disproportionate amount of time was spent on it versus on Emika's investigation and interaction with the game of Warcross. Hideo's turn towards the end felt inevitable, which I don't think is bad - I don't usually knock things too hard for being predictable - but the reasoning behind it was flimsy to me.
I also felt that the supporting characters - Emika's Warcross team members and Tremaine - were a bit flat and I really wanted more time with them to learn more about them as people rather than the occasional mention of their siblings or a past relationship. This especially was troubling in the wake of Emika's "liar-revealed" moment as we didn't see much of their dynamic, and then following the quick change of scene afterwards any tension seemed to have been resolved immediately.
I know I did a lot of talking about my dislike of certain elements, but for the most part I did have a good time reading this book. It is well-written, and drew me in with some really interesting world ideas. While I had issues with how the events of the narrative were structured, I thought the pace kept a great momentum and really did keep me wanting to read on. The Warcross matches Emika takes part in never feel trite or overly derivative, and I think the narrative pace and Lu's writing style both lend themselves to making these fun to read about. Similarly, concepts like the Dark World and the Memory Bank - both pulled from familiar knowledge of modern internet and technology - really come alive on the page. In summary, I think Warcross could have benefited from a clearer vision and some restructuring to allow for its characters and mystery to really shine, but is still an enjoyable read.
Overall, I did find myself a little dissatisfied with this by the halfway point and while I did not realize this was a series going into it, the ending cliffhanger felt a bit rushed and lazily executed. For me, a lot of it boils down to the character writing and how events of the book were prioritized. We get a good picture of Emika as a person early on, and a pretty good idea of Hideo (or the image that he can afford to present to the world), but even so it seemed like there were things they revealed to one another as the book went on that didn't fully align with what the book was trying to say about them at large; it seemed like maybe some of these details were supposed to be clues to part of the larger mystery but were implemented in a kind of inelegant way. Their romance was fine and I thought it was well-written (I saw people saying it was insta-love but it didn't read that way to me?) but it seemed like a disproportionate amount of time was spent on it versus on Emika's investigation and interaction with the game of Warcross. Hideo's turn towards the end felt inevitable, which I don't think is bad - I don't usually knock things too hard for being predictable - but the reasoning behind it was flimsy to me.
I also felt that the supporting characters - Emika's Warcross team members and Tremaine - were a bit flat and I really wanted more time with them to learn more about them as people rather than the occasional mention of their siblings or a past relationship. This especially was troubling in the wake of Emika's "liar-revealed" moment as we didn't see much of their dynamic, and then following the quick change of scene afterwards any tension seemed to have been resolved immediately.
I know I did a lot of talking about my dislike of certain elements, but for the most part I did have a good time reading this book. It is well-written, and drew me in with some really interesting world ideas. While I had issues with how the events of the narrative were structured, I thought the pace kept a great momentum and really did keep me wanting to read on. The Warcross matches Emika takes part in never feel trite or overly derivative, and I think the narrative pace and Lu's writing style both lend themselves to making these fun to read about. Similarly, concepts like the Dark World and the Memory Bank - both pulled from familiar knowledge of modern internet and technology - really come alive on the page. In summary, I think Warcross could have benefited from a clearer vision and some restructuring to allow for its characters and mystery to really shine, but is still an enjoyable read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Terminal illness
Minor: Kidnapping
eggjen's review against another edition
5.0
Oh my gosh, where has this book been all my life??? Devoured it. Also, I totally called the ending but was also completely wrong at the same time.
cardanivy's review against another edition
5.0
will write a review when I can wrap my head around that ending but now I want to say WHAT THE FUCKKKKKKK AND ALSO FUCK YOU HIDEO FUCK YOUU CHUTIYE KAMINA KUTTA SALA NARAK JAKE SADH BENCHOD
sashazaur's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
booksbydann's review against another edition
5.0
Warcross fue un viaje frenético y lleno de adrenalina que no me permitía en ningún momento abandonar sus páginas. Marie Lu tiene una pluma ligera y maravillosa que te atrapa desde el momento en que empiezas a leer. En ningún momento se vuelve denso o tedioso, siempre está pasando algo, por más mínimo que sea, que no te permite alejarte de la historia. El hecho de que la historia no dependiera de un solo punto focal, sino que a lo largo de ella se fuera desarrollando otra trama transversal a la historia me resultó fascinante. Y POR DIOS. ESE. FINAL. Ese giro en la historia no me lo esperé en ningún momento, y cuando apenas me estaba recuperando de ese primer giro vuelve a ocurrir otro que cambia definitivamente el rumbo de la trama, todo eso en dos capítulos, dios mío. Marie Lu me dejó con un final lleno de grises, en donde es difícil identificar al verdadero enemigo, lo cual me desestabilizó completamente. En definitiva lo amé.
booksbydann's review against another edition
5.0
Warcross fue un viaje frenético y lleno de adrenalina que no me permitía en ningún momento abandonar sus páginas. Marie Lu tiene una pluma ligera y maravillosa que te atrapa desde el momento en que empiezas a leer. En ningún momento se vuelve denso o tedioso, siempre está pasando algo, por más mínimo que sea, que no te permite alejarte de la historia. El hecho de que la historia no dependiera de un solo punto focal, sino que a lo largo de ella se fuera desarrollando otra trama transversal a la historia me resultó fascinante. Y POR DIOS. ESE. FINAL. Ese giro en la historia no me lo esperé en ningún momento, y cuando apenas me estaba recuperando de ese primer giro vuelve a ocurrir otro que cambia definitivamente el rumbo de la trama, todo eso en dos capítulos, dios mío. Marie Lu me dejó con un final lleno de grises, en donde es difícil identificar al verdadero enemigo, lo cual me desestabilizó completamente. En definitiva lo amé.
bookishgamer's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I am a very, very big fan of Marie Lu! I have enjoyed every single book by her and Warcross was no exception!
This book was so immersive. I absolutely loved the world, absolutely phenomenal. The characters were amazing as well! Absolutely loved Emika and her entire style/vibe. Of course I loved Hammie, Roshan and Asher. I would say the only takeback I have from this book was the predictability of it.
Realised a couple of stuff before it was revealed. One of the big ones was Zero being Hideo's brother
Other than that, I am so excited to pick up the next book in the series!
This book was so immersive. I absolutely loved the world, absolutely phenomenal. The characters were amazing as well! Absolutely loved Emika and her entire style/vibe. Of course I loved Hammie, Roshan and Asher. I would say the only takeback I have from this book was the predictability of it.
Other than that, I am so excited to pick up the next book in the series!
dino_nugget33's review against another edition
4.0
Oh my Lordy Jesus. I loved this book so much. It was so easy to read and so well written it really had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I’m so excited to continue with the sequel. And I can’t wait to see what happens next.