Warcross

The hype is real, folks. Warcross really is as good as its rabid publicity campaign makes it out to be. The story is fantastic. Our heroine, Emika, kicks ass. The world-building is excellent, with a Ready Player One vibe that is exciting and fresh. It is as engaging a story as you will ever read and worth every second spent reading. The only problem is that it is over too soon, and you are left waiting for the next book.

In Emika, Ms. Lu creates a character behind whom girls of all ages can rally and from whom they can take inspiration. She is fiercely independent, capable, and hard-working. She does what she has to do to survive but maintains a code of ethics while doing so. Plus, she is brilliant and is not afraid to show it. She knows show more what her strengths are and plays to them through her work as a bounty hunter. Lastly, do I have to mention the fact that she is a hacker/coder? It is as if Ms. Lu took every single frustrating behavior and habit women tend to adopt in order to survive in a male-dominated society and used that to create the perfect female role model, for that is what Emika is.

Don’t get me wrong. Emika is not perfect. She admits to flouting the law at times (see the glitch that drew international fame to her doorstep), and in spite of her efforts, she is barely surviving. She is quick to judge, quick to jump to conclusions, and inclined to work hard by herself rather than work smart with the help of others. Yet, the fact that she is not perfect only enhances her attraction as a role model as she reminds us to take the good with the bad, that life is not a fairy tale, and that all the hard work in the world may not mean easy living. What she does tell us is that it is only when we give up do we lose.

As fabulous as Emika is, with her mad gaming skills and eager bravado, it is the game of Warcross itself that makes the book come alive. The story takes place just far enough in the future to accommodate the newer VR technology which makes playing Warcross believable, but it remains current enough in everything else to create a world in which all readers will feel comfortable. Moreover, Ms. Lu excels at capturing not just the feel of the Warcross Championships but also the games themselves. Her descriptions make it easy to understand exactly what is happening at any given time, no matter how chaotic the scene. She provides a great example of effective scene building that allows readers to be right alongside Emika during the action.

The only disappointment I felt with Warcross is that I was able to predict the big secret well in advance, but I suspect that Ms. Lu made it an obvious choice for a reason. After all, once you understand and know all of the key players in the drama, it changes the dynamic of the group as well as the individual characters’ motivations. Such is the case here. In fact, the dynamic changes in such a way that the idea of bad and good gets turned on its head with no easy answers. Ultimately, Emika must decide for herself which side she wants to take and her reasons for doing so.

Warcross is an impressive story with plenty of girl power to attract even the most jaded of feminists. There is a slight romance story included alongside the action, but it does not detract from the overarching mystery or general adrenaline rush of the story. And what an adrenaline rush it is! Warcross is one of those novels you read quickly the first time because you cannot wait to know what happens but then go back and read it again more slowly to pick up all of the nuggets of insight or just writerly goodness Ms. Lu leaves for you. Plus, reading it multiple times is about the only way to make the wait for the second book more palatable. show less

So let me start off by saying I didn’t think I would like this book. I’ve been gravitating away from sci-fi recently, with a few exceptions, and while I thought the synopsis sounded interesting, I wasn’t expecting it to be more than a 3-Star rating.

I was so, so, so wrong. Warcross absolutely blew me away. The main characters, Emika and Hideo, are so well-rounded and fascinating. But the supporting characters are equally as interesting, realistic, and flawed. Even Emika’s late father, who we only get to read about in flashbacks, seems like such a fascinating person. You want to get to know all of these characters- even the antagonists.

Most of the twists in this book I didn’t even expect, and the entire book is such a stretch show more from the usual science fiction genre that the plot never felt forgettable or interchangeable with another book.

This was simply an amazing novel. I absolutely can’t wait to see what happens next. show less

Warcross by Marie Lu was so much fun!

For years I've been hearing that Marie Lu is an incredible writer and I should pick up some books by her. It took a while, but I finally managed to get my hands on Warcross, and I was not disappointed! This book is a great YA delight and kept me hooked from the first page!

Erika Chen is a bounty hunter who is in a difficult position. She needs cash to be able to afford her rent, so she jumps into the giant Warcross opening ceremony to steal an important power-up. Warcross is a giant video game that has giant competitions every year. Little did she know that she'd be drafted into the game to try to solve a mystery... There's someone hacking in the game who goes to destroy it and potential Hideo in the show more process. She's been hired by Hideo to find out who this is and stop them, but will she be able to?

This is what I expected the film Ready Player One to be. It was super fun and easy to read, and kept a very fast pace throughout the entire book. The book combines video game, future technologies, mind games and lots of drama all into the 300-something pages it presents itself in.

The plot twists that occur I barely saw coming, which makes me totally impressed. Different things are revealed in this story, and you just KNOW Marie is taking it somewhere. Why would she introduced some tech and characters without actually using them? Marie Lu is a smart writer and sets you up to see the ending, but gives you enough twists and turns to not totally expected it. Truly, I enjoyed it!

And then there's the romance. It's just barely a pinch, but it's there. The romance won't sweep you off your feet, but it will leave little crumbs for you to grasp at. This isn't a romance book, so it's not the end of the world. I'm nosy to see how it plays out, but I have a good idea it's not going to go as good as we want it... I think Wildcard is going to have some bombshells, much like this book had near the end.

My biggest frustration was the cliffhanger. I was really hoping for some sort of ending to make me feel sane and not need Wildcard (the sequel), but here we are. I need that next book and I know I'm not finding it for a while. What a shame!

Four out of five stars! show less

Emika Chen is eighteen and a bounty hunter who tracks down Warcross players who bet illegally. She lost her beloved father when she was eleven and spent time in foster care. Now she is barely making a living and is within days of being evicted. She is an excellent hacker. While watching the beginnings of the current Warcross Tournament, she glitches in and becomes visible to all.

Fearing that she'll be arrested for disrupting the game, she is surprised when the game's creator Hideo Tanaka chooses to hire her instead. Someone is trying to sabotage the current tournament and Hideo wants her to find him and stop him.

Emika finds herself in Tokyo, a member of one of the sixteen teams chosen to play the current tournament, and falling in show more love with Tanaka who has been her idol since he first popped on the scene as the game's creator when he was thirteen. She also finds herself in danger as the mysterious villain Zero doesn't want his plans disrupted.

This book is filled with future technology and a game that is a world wide sensation. I loved the worldbuilding. I also loved Emika who is bright and capable. I wasn't at all prepared for the twist at the end or the cliffhanger ending. I can't wait to read the sequel to find out how things all work out. show less

So I have to admit, I'll read basically anything where a good portion of the book takes place in an elaborate virtual world (Omnitopia, the Oasis, Warcross, whatever). That said, this was solidly OK. It was full of YA cliches-- a handsome, mysterious, rich man inexplicably in instalove with our rainbow-haired, tattooed heroine, a group of quirky but ultimately flat friends, the inevitable scene when our heroine gets a bunch of expensive clothes (they skipped the makeover this time). And like many books set in virtual worlds, the visuals of coding are kind of ridiculous (pulling back the world to reveal a world of code they can walk through? Really? And why is the villain regularly visible as a human figure when he's hacked in?) Also, show more the final scenes didn't make a lot of sense. Does anyone understand why the Phoenix Riders had to win the final game to somehow save Hideo and the audience? It was really poorly explained.

That said, this was a really enjoyable, fast read. While it hits all the cliches, it doesn't do anything obnoxious with them. It's an enjoyable, inoffensive iteration of the genre if that's what you're in the mood for, which I was. Of the two twists at the end, one I saw coming from ten miles away, but the other was pleasantly surprising, and could lead to some excellent moral ambiguity in book two. I enjoyed the scenes in Warcross, and I agree with others that Lu hits it out of the park with diversity. For all that it's total instalove, I enjoyed the chemistry between Hideo and Emika, and the complication added by their shared grief. Emika's efforts to solve the mystery were fast-paced and fun. show less

I went into this with a bunch of skepticism ... I used to be a huge gamer (until my brother moved out - and took all his consoles with him, rip), but I didn't know if I'd enjoy a book laden with current gamer lingo, attitudes, etc. I should've known better, since this is written by Marie Lu! It's packed with diversity and free of heavy gamer misogyny and any nazism/racism.

Book content warnings:
(it took a bit till I had time to write this review, so I might have forgotten some of the content warnings; I'm sorry!)
- manipulation (involved in the romance)
- unbalanced boss and employee relationship

The next Big Thing in technology (not JUST game technology) is WarCross -- and its creator, Hideo Tanaka. WarCross itself is a virtual reality show more game kind of like capture the flag, of course with a lot more rules. The WarCross glasses do a lot more outside of the actual game, though, until nearly everybody on Earth owns a pair. They virtually light up stores, spiff up homes, give people virtual pets, show people's WarCross levels publicly, etc. (reminds me a bit of that Black Mirror episode where people had social media points for doing just about anything, because in the book, too, people got WarCross points for walking their dog, doing other chores, buying things, leveling up, etc.). Kind of a nightmare when you think about it. A late-stage capitalism horror story ... but that's just me, I guess.

Anyway, that's all setup, because our protagonist, Emika Chen, is about to be evicted from her apartment, and her work as a bounty hunter tracking down people illegally betting on players in WarCross isn't quite enough. In a last attempt for rent money, Emika tries to steal on a national game ... and accidentally glitches herself inside the game itself. Oops. Instead of being arrested, Hideo Tanaka hires her to be a player for the games (as a cover). He actually hires her to be a bounty hunter to find someone who's been messing with his games' security. But when she digs further, and as she and Hideo grow closer, she discovers something that could tear everything apart.

Whew, the story is actually a bit more difficult to describe than I thought. But it isn't convoluted, really. The flow is fast-paced, and the book is incredibly readable. So much so I went way too far into the night reading it.

All characters were well-rounded, even the secondary characters on Emika's team (and even some on the other's team!). And I was so happy to see a disabled character I nearly started crying. I mean, it was the standard white guy in a wheelchair, but HE WAS THERE. I can't wait to see where they go from here - so yes, I'll be reading the rest in the trilogy.

The only way the book failed for me was that cringy romance between the main protagonists. Things like trying to make your SO jealous to see how they'd react, a boss + his employee unbalanced relationship, further unbalanced because she idol-worships him until the end, at least.

But that's the only real reason to mark this down to 4 stars. It really is a fun book with fantastic characters and teamwork. Plus a great atmosphere. And surprisingly, it has AMAZING character backstory and motivation. I actually ... understand why the villain's doing what they're doing and it ... makes sense? I love these villains, and to make them really REAL is tough to do. I don't want to spill anything, so sorry for this vagueness.

For sure, though, I'm reading on. show less

I was incredibly hyped for this novel — I love Marie Lu and when I heard the main character was a crazy smart hacker girl, it was a no-brainer. Absolutely, yes, I need this book. Luckily, even though I was super excited and really expecting it to be great, it didn’t let me down. This is a WONDERFUL book.

Warcross is about Emika, an impoverished bounty hunter/hacker who finds herself working for the billionaire creator of the augmented reality system everyone now uses. He’s worried about the security of his Warcross system, so he employs her to find the person responsible, and has a hefty prize reward for her as well. So, she joins a professional team that plays the game associated with the augmented reality system and has to try show more look like she’s good enough for the pro teams while also catching the person trying to hack into Warcross.

The beginning starts off a bit slow, but I liked that we were able to get a glimpse of Emika’s life and her personality before delving into the good stuff. I like that she’s smart and observant and isn’t one of those too-stupid-to-live characters that I had to groan about the whole time — she’s actually super smart and makes good choices based on her situation and the information she’s given, which is awesome. I also love her for her complexity; she clearly has a strict moral code and plays by her own rules for what is right and what is wrong, but is okay breaking rules to be able to help her and her roommate survive in a world that doesn’t give them any breaks, regardless of their financial situations and lack of opportunities.

The world Marie Lu created for this book is also fun; while it is futuristic, it doesn’t feel otherworldly. It’s basically the world we live in now if an augmented reality system became popular and feasible for everyone to be involved in. I also like how realistic the world is in that the augmented reality has solved a lot of problems for people, yet created unintentional problems. For example, Emika is able to speak with people from other countries because the translation system in the augmented reality technology is incredibly accurate, so languages are no longer a barrier to communication. Also, one of the professional Warcross members in Emika’s group is in a wheelchair, and because he’s able to walk in the Warcross game, that’s no longer a barrier for him to be able to be a leader in a somewhat physically-centered game. However, on the other hand, there’s a whole underworld system created under Warcross that has illegal betting, people putting out hits on others, etc. So, while this fixed a lot of problems, like anything else, there are problems and issues surrounding it as well.

Overall, this story is a page-turner. It’s fast-paced and like Emika, I was constantly second-guessing her observations and my theories as I went through the story. It has some nice bits of romance too, but they don’t overpower the main plot line. Now, it does have a bit of a cliffhanger, so if you don’t like those, maybe wait until the sequel comes out to get started on this series. But I definitely recommend this for YA fans, science fiction fans, fans of good stories, Marie Lu fans, etc. Just read it. It’s entertaining, interesting, well-written, and has a great main character. I’m already dying to read the sequel.

Also posted on Purple People Readers. show less