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A review by thebookberrie
Warcross by Marie Lu
4.0
Warcross takes place in the slight future where a virtual reality game called Warcross is played by millions all over the world. For Emika, it's a way to make a living. Emika is a hacker and a bounty hunter, paid to track down those who bet on the game illegally. The score isn't always so good though so when the chance for Emika to make some fast cash happens, she takes it. Unfortunately it was hacking into the international Warcross Championships, where she glitches it thus exposing her identity. After her hack, Emika draws the attention of young billionaire Hideo Tanaka. He needs a spy in the upcoming tournament to find a security flaw and find the one trying to disrupt the games. But what Emika uncovers is far more than she thought, with lives and Warcross at stake.
And here we go to one of the really big problems I had with this book:
The Warcross games were so fun! I kind of got a Hunger Games vibe, but a lot less murdery. They were imaginative and exciting. I want to play! Another thing I really liked was the dark underbelly of Warcross, the Dark World. It was creepy, and it was so well done.
But that's kind of where one of the issues I had with this book begin though: the VR itself. While I get it's the future, it's not that far into the future (or at least I would think, besides the NeuroLink, everything else is the same and there is no mention of a year).
Then there was times where I wasn't really sure how they were moving. At first they were sitting down while moving virtually by twitching their feet to move or something. Other times they moved their hands while VRing.... do they move to play the game or not? How real does it feel when you aren't walking around yourself? How does the guy in the wheelchair move around in the game? I know it's nitpicking but it just bothered me.
Onto more positives though- the casual diversity! Warcross is a worldwide game and hell yeah if it's going to feel that way with people being different nationalities and throwing those different languages around. Tokyo being the setting was also really fun but I wished they were outside more. I also wished that Emika had bonded with her fellow teammates more but hoping in the sequel! This book really opens up for the sequel, while also tying up some loose ends, like the identity of Zero.
The writing was just so good, and the characters were so well made. The descriptions of the games were really awesome. Despite my issues with this book, I did still really enjoy it and I need the sequel right now and not next year.
"Every locked door has a key. Every problem has a solution.βThis book was great! For the most part. Emika is a great main character. She's tough, has rainbow hair, is a great hacker and player, and stands up for herself. She's been through some hard times and just wants to finish the job she was hired for but she isn't going to back down. She does end up getting a bit closer to her boss than she'd intended. Hideo is mysterious and has a lot of walls and emotional baggage and I was here for that romantic subplot. When they were sharing their emotions while making out- yes please.
And here we go to one of the really big problems I had with this book:
Spoiler
The plot twist. What the hell was that? Maybe this is personal preference but I am so tired of the love interest flipping around and ending up being the "bad guy". It's overdone and annoying and I'm over it. But I will give credit to the writing- I actually understand where he's going with this. It wasn't just "oh I'm a bad guy now go die". Hideo wants to save the world. Yeah it's taking control of the minds of everyone in the world but he wants to stop crime before it happens. Meanwhile Zero was the one trying to kill people but he wanted to stop Hideo from total control. Damn that moral conflict. Still hate the twist though.The Warcross games were so fun! I kind of got a Hunger Games vibe, but a lot less murdery. They were imaginative and exciting. I want to play! Another thing I really liked was the dark underbelly of Warcross, the Dark World. It was creepy, and it was so well done.
But that's kind of where one of the issues I had with this book begin though: the VR itself. While I get it's the future, it's not that far into the future (or at least I would think, besides the NeuroLink, everything else is the same and there is no mention of a year).
βIt is hard to describe loss to someone who has never experienced it, impossible to explain all the ways it changes you. But for those who have, not a single word is needed.βThis tech made no sense at times and I would have accepted it being magic versus any sort of computer science. The worst part is that it didn't even TRY to explain it. Hideo just said what it was with a throw away line like "your brain makes the VR possible" and then that was that. Uh alright then, so ground-breaking. Even more annoying is at the beginning of the book, the technology for Warcross was some cool glasses. I was like, sure that makes sense and isn't out of the realm of possibility because we almost have those now. THEN they bring out some contact lenses to replace the glasses and says it's powered by your body. That's not how technology works. That's not how any of this works.
Then there was times where I wasn't really sure how they were moving. At first they were sitting down while moving virtually by twitching their feet to move or something. Other times they moved their hands while VRing.... do they move to play the game or not? How real does it feel when you aren't walking around yourself? How does the guy in the wheelchair move around in the game? I know it's nitpicking but it just bothered me.
Onto more positives though- the casual diversity! Warcross is a worldwide game and hell yeah if it's going to feel that way with people being different nationalities and throwing those different languages around. Tokyo being the setting was also really fun but I wished they were outside more. I also wished that Emika had bonded with her fellow teammates more but hoping in the sequel! This book really opens up for the sequel, while also tying up some loose ends, like the identity of Zero.
Spoiler
Right when Hideo's brother was mention, I was like yup there's Zero and bam it was him.The writing was just so good, and the characters were so well made. The descriptions of the games were really awesome. Despite my issues with this book, I did still really enjoy it and I need the sequel right now and not next year.