Review: Warcross by Marie Lu

Title: Warcross

Author: Marie Lu

Series: Warcross #1

Genre: YA/Sci-fi/

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: September 12th, 2017

Edition: Kindle Edition, 366 pages

Source: Library

Purchase/Pre-Order: Amazon US | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | BAM

Synopsis:

   For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. Needing to make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation.

   Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job. With no time to lose, Emika’s whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she’s only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.

Review:

Hmmm. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. 

I didn't really like this book as much as the other books she has written. It starts with a slight disconnect with the setting of the story. I play video games, I enjoy them. But I struggled with picturing the world most of the time. I couldn't picture any of the in-game stuff. 

The MC, Emika, was also far less interesting a character than her MC's from her other books. She was fine as a character, but not much about her was interesting or relatable for me. Although, I can see how and where she could be for others. I did like that her "Criminal past" was for a noble reason. It did take the trope and tip it over a little.

Hideo was an interesting character at first. Then by the end, he was a fairly cliche character. I didn't really see the twist coming, but I was starting to wonder what his deal was. But the thing with "Zero" has brought up QUESTIONS, that I want answers to. Like "What?", and the other is a spoiler so I can't really share it here since I don't know how to hide spoilers on my blog. I don't remember enough about HTML coding from the computer class I took in high school in 2004. 

There were interesting things about this book, things that if gaming and virtual reality were part of my life I would find more interesting, but being blind in one eye makes using VR impossible. So I couldn't picture any of the game stuff.

I do plan on reading the sequel; because I want to know how things are going to play out between Hideo, Em, and Zero. I want to know what happens, so the ending was solid enough that it made me curious enough to read on.

Even though I was kind of more excited to read that Novella "Life After Legend" that was at the back of the book.