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A review by printedadventures
Arena Mode by Blake Northcott
4.0
This was an interesting take on the 'superhuman abilities' story line. Mainly because the main character doesn't have any. Throw in some epic battles, a tournament to win billions of dollars and a futuristic world where the gap between rich and poor is as wide as it might get before a revolution and you have Area Mode in a nut shell.
First things first, my favorite, the world building. Northcott does an excellent job at creating this future setting where superhumans have started coming out of the woodwork. She does this without getting too overly detailed and giving just the right amount of background. No lengthy, drawn out descriptions about the economic state of things, or descriptively details the reader to death. She does just the right amount of continued world building throughout the entire novel. This is what I love in a good sci-fi/fantasy book.
The characters are done well and believable. Mox is your average guy, lover of comic books, and in need of a whole bunch of cash to get an enormous brain tumor removed from his head. This is where things really pick up in the book. The other Arena Mode participants have interesting backgrounds and great stories themselves. And of course the love interest. This wasn't some gushy, soaking wet romance. It was just the right amount.
I really enjoyed this read and would recommend this to anyone who likes a good "against all odds" main character and comic references, plus a little creative blood shed.
First things first, my favorite, the world building. Northcott does an excellent job at creating this future setting where superhumans have started coming out of the woodwork. She does this without getting too overly detailed and giving just the right amount of background. No lengthy, drawn out descriptions about the economic state of things, or descriptively details the reader to death. She does just the right amount of continued world building throughout the entire novel. This is what I love in a good sci-fi/fantasy book.
The characters are done well and believable. Mox is your average guy, lover of comic books, and in need of a whole bunch of cash to get an enormous brain tumor removed from his head. This is where things really pick up in the book. The other Arena Mode participants have interesting backgrounds and great stories themselves. And of course the love interest. This wasn't some gushy, soaking wet romance. It was just the right amount.
I really enjoyed this read and would recommend this to anyone who likes a good "against all odds" main character and comic references, plus a little creative blood shed.