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A review by writervid
Wildcard by Marie Lu
4.0
4/5
I may be the odd one out here, but I actually loved Wildcard a lot more than I loved Warcross. Warcross to me felt very generic and by-the-book hero's journey, whereas in Wildcard, I found myself guessing at the twists and turns of the plot more than I had before. I also enjoyed the new depth given to characters from the first book, who had originally felt very much like paper cutouts to me. I honestly had a better time reading Wildcard than Warcross because I felt much more comfortable in the world, and like I was being taken along for the ride, as opposed to Warcross, where I could often guess what was going to happen next.
There are some negatives. The climax didn't feel super climactic for me. There was too much going on for it to be as intense as it was intended to be, and there were elements of the story that overwhelmed rather than add anything to the characters, messages, or plot. And while I didn't initially notice it, Emika is a passive character in this novel. However, I do think that added to the story more than people give it credit for. It gave me the sense that Emika was in over her head, and allowed for the side characters to really shine, something I felt was missing in Warcross. It also brought to light ideas of what gives someone power in a corporate world, which I found to be one of the truest messages Lu has written. I also always find that I enjoy the ultimate conclusion of Lu's series, and Wildcard was no different--much like Champion, it brought to light themes I thought were worth exploring, and left me satisfied.
I may be the odd one out here, but I actually loved Wildcard a lot more than I loved Warcross. Warcross to me felt very generic and by-the-book hero's journey, whereas in Wildcard, I found myself guessing at the twists and turns of the plot more than I had before. I also enjoyed the new depth given to characters from the first book, who had originally felt very much like paper cutouts to me. I honestly had a better time reading Wildcard than Warcross because I felt much more comfortable in the world, and like I was being taken along for the ride, as opposed to Warcross, where I could often guess what was going to happen next.
There are some negatives. The climax didn't feel super climactic for me. There was too much going on for it to be as intense as it was intended to be, and there were elements of the story that overwhelmed rather than add anything to the characters, messages, or plot. And while I didn't initially notice it, Emika is a passive character in this novel. However, I do think that added to the story more than people give it credit for. It gave me the sense that Emika was in over her head, and allowed for the side characters to really shine, something I felt was missing in Warcross. It also brought to light ideas of what gives someone power in a corporate world, which I found to be one of the truest messages Lu has written. I also always find that I enjoy the ultimate conclusion of Lu's series, and Wildcard was no different--much like Champion, it brought to light themes I thought were worth exploring, and left me satisfied.