oncebita's review against another edition
4.0
4.25*
I was going to give this book 3,5 stars but that ending made me change my mind.
This book made me feel like in 2013 when I first read The Hunger Games I don't know why I felt like they were so similar and then I felt like I was reading Ready Player One (even tho I never finished that one... oops) but then things started to change so now I can crearly see that Marie Lu did create a world of her own.
Now I'm going to make a brief list of the things I loved and didn't liked.
LOVED
-Emika, she is so badass I want to be just like her (even tho she was kind of annoying always reminding us of her rainbow hair, bitch i got it the first time)
-THERE IS A CORGI!!!!!!!
-The DIVERSITY, since warcross is a worldwide sensation It wouldn't make sense if there were only white/cis/hetero characters so you go Marie Lu
-The villian
-Hideo
DID NOT LIKE
-Instalove
-We just get to know Emika and Hideo, the other characters are there and we only know their names, where they're from and that's all
-The plot twist was really predictable
I was going to give this book 3,5 stars but that ending made me change my mind.
This book made me feel like in 2013 when I first read The Hunger Games I don't know why I felt like they were so similar and then I felt like I was reading Ready Player One (even tho I never finished that one... oops) but then things started to change so now I can crearly see that Marie Lu did create a world of her own.
Now I'm going to make a brief list of the things I loved and didn't liked.
LOVED
-Emika, she is so badass I want to be just like her (even tho she was kind of annoying always reminding us of her rainbow hair, bitch i got it the first time)
-THERE IS A CORGI!!!!!!!
-The DIVERSITY, since warcross is a worldwide sensation It wouldn't make sense if there were only white/cis/hetero characters so you go Marie Lu
-The villian
Spoiler
or the hero¿?-Hideo
Spoiler
And I still like him tho, I think he is the only character aside from Emika that we got to know, I mean don't get me wrong I still want him to be stopped I just like him as the complex character that he isDID NOT LIKE
-Instalove
-We just get to know Emika and Hideo, the other characters are there and we only know their names, where they're from and that's all
-The plot twist was really predictable
Spoiler
I predicted since page 150 that Zero was Sasukeonsee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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? No
4.75
paperlove's review against another edition
2.0
Inhalt:
Die Geschichte handelt von Emika Chen, einer jungen Kopfgeldjägerin, die sich in dem Virtual Reality Game "Warcross" auf die Suche nach Leuten macht, die illegale Wetten auf das Spiel abschliessen. Zuhilfe kommt ihr dabei ihr Talent zum Hacken, denn damit ist sie ihren Mitmenschen immer einen Schritt voraus. Zumindest solange, bis sie sich eines Tages selbst finanziell bereichern will, indem sie das aktuelle Spiel bei Warcross hackt. Leider wird sie dabei von keinem Geringeren als Hideo - dem Spielentwickler selbst - ertappt. Statt sie dafür zu bestrafen, bezahlt er Emikas Schulden und lädt sie zu sich nach Tokyo ein, damit sie einen privaten Auftrag für ihn erfüllt, bei dem Hideo Emikas Hack-Fähigkeiten benötigt. Emika willigt ein, nicht nur, aufgrund der grossen finanziellen Belohnung, sondern auch, weil sie ein Auge auf Hideo geworfen hat.
Während sich Emika Hideos Auftrag widmet, läuft ihr bei Warcross der geheimnisvolle und vermeintliche Bösewicht "Zero" über den Weg. Emika weiss weder, was Zero vor hat, noch wer sich hinter seiner Identität befindet. Doch sie ist sich sicher, dass es nichts Gutes sein kann und legt alles daran, ihn zu stoppen, selbst wenn sie sich damit selbst in Gefahr bringt.
Meine Meinung:
Nach dem Erfolg von "Ready Player One" war es nur eine Frage der Zeit, bis die ersten Autoren ein Stück vom Kuchen haben und ebenfalls auf den Hype-Train aufspringen wollten, indem sie sich der "Virtual Reality" Thematik widmen. Und Marie Lu war eine von ihnen.
Die Idee rund um Warcross fand ich sehr vielversprechend und auch die Ausgangslage mit der Hackerin Emika und dem reichen Spieleentwickler Hideo klang anfangs sehr vielversprechend. Aber leider war es das dann auch schon.
Emika entpuppt sich ziemlich schnell als eine "Mary Sue", d.h. ein Charakter, der scheinbar perfekt ist, dem alles auf Anhieb gelingt und der einfach keine Schwächen aufweist. Egal was im Storyverlauf passiert, es ist immer darauf ausgerichtet, dass alles zu Emikas Gunsten verläuft. Und das macht die Story nicht nur unglaublich träge, sondern auch total vorhersehbar. Fast jedes Ereignis, wirkt total konstruiert. Selbst um zu erahnen, wer hinter Zero steckt, muss man kein Sherlock Holmes sein.
Einzig ein vermeintlicher Plot Twist am Ende konnte mich dann doch noch überraschen. Aber das hat leider nicht ausgereicht, um das wiedergut zu machen, was während den vorherigen 95% des Buches schlecht war.
Fazit: Eine total vorhersehbare und konstruierte Storyline mit einer Protagonistin, die scheinbar keine Schwächen aufweist. Für mich ist der Hype um das Buch nicht gerechtfertigt und ich kann es auch nicht weiterempfehlen.
Die Geschichte handelt von Emika Chen, einer jungen Kopfgeldjägerin, die sich in dem Virtual Reality Game "Warcross" auf die Suche nach Leuten macht, die illegale Wetten auf das Spiel abschliessen. Zuhilfe kommt ihr dabei ihr Talent zum Hacken, denn damit ist sie ihren Mitmenschen immer einen Schritt voraus. Zumindest solange, bis sie sich eines Tages selbst finanziell bereichern will, indem sie das aktuelle Spiel bei Warcross hackt. Leider wird sie dabei von keinem Geringeren als Hideo - dem Spielentwickler selbst - ertappt. Statt sie dafür zu bestrafen, bezahlt er Emikas Schulden und lädt sie zu sich nach Tokyo ein, damit sie einen privaten Auftrag für ihn erfüllt, bei dem Hideo Emikas Hack-Fähigkeiten benötigt. Emika willigt ein, nicht nur, aufgrund der grossen finanziellen Belohnung, sondern auch, weil sie ein Auge auf Hideo geworfen hat.
Während sich Emika Hideos Auftrag widmet, läuft ihr bei Warcross der geheimnisvolle und vermeintliche Bösewicht "Zero" über den Weg. Emika weiss weder, was Zero vor hat, noch wer sich hinter seiner Identität befindet. Doch sie ist sich sicher, dass es nichts Gutes sein kann und legt alles daran, ihn zu stoppen, selbst wenn sie sich damit selbst in Gefahr bringt.
Meine Meinung:
Nach dem Erfolg von "Ready Player One" war es nur eine Frage der Zeit, bis die ersten Autoren ein Stück vom Kuchen haben und ebenfalls auf den Hype-Train aufspringen wollten, indem sie sich der "Virtual Reality" Thematik widmen. Und Marie Lu war eine von ihnen.
Die Idee rund um Warcross fand ich sehr vielversprechend und auch die Ausgangslage mit der Hackerin Emika und dem reichen Spieleentwickler Hideo klang anfangs sehr vielversprechend. Aber leider war es das dann auch schon.
Emika entpuppt sich ziemlich schnell als eine "Mary Sue", d.h. ein Charakter, der scheinbar perfekt ist, dem alles auf Anhieb gelingt und der einfach keine Schwächen aufweist. Egal was im Storyverlauf passiert, es ist immer darauf ausgerichtet, dass alles zu Emikas Gunsten verläuft. Und das macht die Story nicht nur unglaublich träge, sondern auch total vorhersehbar. Fast jedes Ereignis,
Spoiler
bis hin zur der erzwungenen Liebesgeschichte zwischen Hideo und Emika, die definitiv zur Kategorie "Insta Love" gehörtEinzig ein vermeintlicher Plot Twist am Ende konnte mich dann doch noch überraschen. Aber das hat leider nicht ausgereicht, um das wiedergut zu machen, was während den vorherigen 95% des Buches schlecht war.
Fazit: Eine total vorhersehbare und konstruierte Storyline mit einer Protagonistin, die scheinbar keine Schwächen aufweist. Für mich ist der Hype um das Buch nicht gerechtfertigt und ich kann es auch nicht weiterempfehlen.
brokenrecord's review against another edition
5.0
THIS BOOK!!! It was so good I don't even know how to talk about it!!! The first few chapters were maybe a bit slow, but as soon as Emika did the glitch during the game and Hideo became aware of her, I was fully sucked in. The world was just so fascinating!!! I feel like maybe how I feel about this world was how a lot of people felt about Ready Player One, but the difference was that I didn't need to understand a bunch of 80s pop culture references to be engaged here. (The two books really aren't that similar, it's more just the virtual reality and gaming stuff that reminded me at all of Ready Player One.)
But beyond the world-building, what really got me was the characters. I loved EVERYONE. Emika most of all, of course. I loved how she was trying her best to get by after her mother abandoned her and her father died, and she was used to being on her own and working alone () but then made friends with her team and worked with them in the end. The character development was so great!!!
And HIDEO!!!
AND THE ROMANCE. I had read a couple of reviews and the summary for the next book before starting this one, so I didn't get 100% spoiled, but I did see enough hints to know that Hideo was going to turn out to be villain-ish and behind something bad, so I was prepared for that the entire time, and I think that actually made me more into the romance than I would've been otherwise. Because they're very sweet, don't get me wrong, but it's like… Hideo's this hot, powerful, billionaire genius who notices Emika's talent and fixes her debt and gives her a job and they quickly fall for each other because they're ~different and understand each other, and like… not that I hate that, but it's just not something on its own that's going to get me super excited. BUT, that PLUS it turning out that they're on opposite sides of this whole thing and that they're going to be working AGAINST each other in the next book??? GIVE THAT TO ME RIGHT NOW, THAT SOUNDS AMAZING!!! But I also love that he did actually develop feelings for her! He wasn't trying to play her or anything, which makes it all the more difficult for her in the end, and it's going to cause so much angst in the next book, and just, yes, please, I want this right now.
AND THEN ZERO!!!
I also loved the side characters! I would've liked even more of them tbh, but I liked the bits we got, and the idea that not just Emika's team but some of the others are going to be working with Emika. And Wikki!!! A cute little robot who memorizes people's food and drink preferences!!! Just to make this book as amazing as humanly possible!!!
Basically this book was just so amazing. I knew it was going to be 5 stars after only 4-5 chapters, and that continued the whole way through. I was so tense the last 5 chapters or so when things are gearing up for the final showdown and to see how Emika was going to stop Zero I am so unbearably excited for the next book and may have to read every single thing Marie Lu's ever written in the meantime to tide me over until September!
But beyond the world-building, what really got me was the characters. I loved EVERYONE. Emika most of all, of course. I loved how she was trying her best to get by after her mother abandoned her and her father died, and she was used to being on her own and working alone (
Spoiler
but how she defended her classmate because she knew she could and got a criminal record for it because she gave herself up because it was the right thing to do!!! EMIKA!!!!!!And HIDEO!!!
Spoiler
I know his master plan is bad, but man do I still love him. He is completely misguided, but you can also see why he's doing what he's doing. He's earnest and genuinely thinks what he's doing will be for the best. And I loved how he saw something in Emika and thought she understood him, and in the end, she didn't (or not in the way he thought, and not that I'm blaming her for that or anything — she was correct that what he was doing was going to turn out terribly for everyone. But still! I felt for him!). And his parents??? And Kenn??? I really want to know more about the Kenn/Hideo backstory. Plus, Hideo has a dog so he can't be all bad!AND THE ROMANCE. I had read a couple of reviews and the summary for the next book before starting this one, so I didn't get 100% spoiled, but I did see enough hints to know that Hideo was going to turn out to be villain-ish and behind something bad, so I was prepared for that the entire time, and I think that actually made me more into the romance than I would've been otherwise. Because they're very sweet, don't get me wrong, but it's like… Hideo's this hot, powerful, billionaire genius who notices Emika's talent and fixes her debt and gives her a job and they quickly fall for each other because they're ~different and understand each other, and like… not that I hate that, but it's just not something on its own that's going to get me super excited. BUT, that PLUS it turning out that they're on opposite sides of this whole thing and that they're going to be working AGAINST each other in the next book??? GIVE THAT TO ME RIGHT NOW, THAT SOUNDS AMAZING!!! But I also love that he did actually develop feelings for her! He wasn't trying to play her or anything, which makes it all the more difficult for her in the end, and it's going to cause so much angst in the next book, and just, yes, please, I want this right now.
AND THEN ZERO!!!
Spoiler
I knew he was Sasuke!!! The second Emika sees the photo of him on Hideo's wall and hideo reveals it's his brother but shuts down and doesn't want to talk about him, I was like, "Okay, Zero is absolutely Sasuke," before we even knew what had happened to him, but at that point I thought maybe he had turned against Hideo as an adult and Hideo knew Zero was his brother. But then when we got the backstory, I was even more sure with the whole, "Everything I do is for Sasuke," and how there was never a body found that there was no way Sasuke could be dead, and if so much of Hideo's motivating force was Sasuke's disappearance, of course he'd have to show up again. But it also wasn't too obvious, so the reveal still managed to knock me away. I'm DYING to find out what happened to Sasuke and how he got to be where he is and how Hideo will react when he finds out. AND HOW HE GAVE EMIKA'S MEMORIES BACK IN THE END!!!! I don't think I would've been able to forgive him if he'd destroyed them because that would just be so cruel. But he gave them back and he wants to work with Emika!!! Very excited to see where that goes (although please please please no love triangle).I also loved the side characters! I would've liked even more of them tbh, but I liked the bits we got, and the idea that not just Emika's team but some of the others are going to be working with Emika.
Spoiler
Also SUPER into Tremaine and him being a hunter too and his past with Roshan, like, we only got a few mentions of them, but I ate it all up and want so much more of it.Basically this book was just so amazing. I knew it was going to be 5 stars after only 4-5 chapters, and that continued the whole way through. I was so tense the last 5 chapters or so when things are gearing up for the final showdown and to see how Emika was going to stop Zero
Spoiler
and find out what Hideo was really up to.biblioemily's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars. Lots of action, but the plot is just a little weak & see-through. Fun, though!
mel_chan91's review against another edition
5.0
*4.5 stars*
This was so good!
I did see that ending coming, but now I am so excited for the sequel!!!!
And, please, someone, turn this into a movie or a tv-show!
This was so good!
I did see that ending coming, but now I am so excited for the sequel!!!!
And, please, someone, turn this into a movie or a tv-show!
amarylissw's review against another edition
4.0
Virtual realities make me so jealous. Marie Lu does an excellent job describing the various VRs and her actions scenes are also spot on. Emika, the main character, was pretty cool, but honestly, I didn't really feel anything for the rest of the characters and I didn't get nearly enough of Tokyo.
Although the idea of a VR story seems very promising, the end product was somewhat disappointing and predictable (where have I heard this villain's motive before? And of course, our good little protagonist has to oppose him). The romance doesn't help anything, because all the while we're TOLD Hideo is cold and standoffish and then our MC comes waltzing in and he's suddenly asking her out for dinners and spilling his life's past because she's different, of course. No, please.
That all being said, I did enjoy the majority of this book, especially the VR/AR aspect of it, and I am looking forward to how the ending events of this first book will impact the sequel.
Although the idea of a VR story seems very promising, the end product was somewhat disappointing and predictable (where have I heard this villain's motive before? And of course, our good little protagonist has to oppose him). The romance doesn't help anything, because all the while we're TOLD Hideo is cold and standoffish and then our MC comes waltzing in and he's suddenly asking her out for dinners and spilling his life's past because she's different, of course. No, please.
That all being said, I did enjoy the majority of this book, especially the VR/AR aspect of it, and I am looking forward to how the ending events of this first book will impact the sequel.
cocogoran's review against another edition
3.0
A very addictive, fast paced read! Science fiction with virtual reality hasn’t always been my thing, but I loved the world that Marie Lu has created. I thought that some of the big plot turning points were a little predictable and the way that some of the chapters ended was repetitive. But overall, pretty good YA sci-fi!