Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion

Warcross - Marie Lu.
April 8th.

Maybe..

Im going to try to read this one!

It's a quick read. I'll probably join for book 2. =)

I hope i like it, then I'll read book 2 with you guys as well :)

I have my copy already for this :) Can't wait to start.

I am starting early. So far it feels like reading Ready Player One, well maybe like the girl version of RPO.

Yes, I was just about to say that. I think it was inspired on that for a bit.

I'm going to start this one a bit late! Too many other buddy reads to catch up on haha

After reading it, I'd say the game is not the focus here. We barely got introduced to any elements of the actual game itself (power-ups and so on is kinda glossed over with minimal explanation), in that aspect it's not as 'geeky' as RPO, and nowhere near my all-time favourite gaming novel The King's Avatar.

Anny wrote: "After reading it, I'd say the game is not the focus here. We barely got introduced to any elements of the actual game itself (power-ups and so on is kinda glossed over with minimal explanation), in..."

I've enjoyed a number of LitRPGs with game elements, this year, more than I ever enjoyed RPO last year... but I don't have time for a 9800 web novel right now... even if there DOES seem to be a fanmade audiobook, again... I still never made much time for Worm

I'll be starting Warcross soon...

@Anny: at the beginning of the book, you get the point that the focus is the game, but under it, there's a lot going on.

I think it would be so weird to live real life and virtual life at the same time.
It feels like a bit of a classic story line so far: dodgy girl gets caught and needs to participate at something bigger. Certainly with a hidden agenda.
I don't know why, but I picture Hiro from 'Heroes' as Hideo Tanaka in my head.

Apperently, 2019 will be the year that I'll read a lot of SciFi, as this is new to me.

For now I think that (view spoiler)[one of the ex - players from the Phoenix Riders could be the hacker (hide spoiler)], but I think that would be too obvious.

I picked this up from the library today, I've read 100 pages so far. I'm really enjoying it, it's a light, easy read. (view spoiler)[ I love the idea of Warcross as a game and just as a virtual world you can immerse yourself in. It reminds me of a similar idea I read in Under the Never Sky a few years ago.

I could imagine the world so vividly and I love how it interfaces with real life and translates things. I feel like this is the kind of thing the Google Glass was aiming for.

I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in the games and how they're going to catch the hacker. (hide spoiler)]

A light, easy read sounds exactly like what i need right now! I'll be starting this in the next couple of days, since i finally got somewhat caught up on my other reads :)

Finally started... just reached Tokyo...

(view spoiler)[I know it was excessive vengeance, but I totally empathize with what she did as payback to classmates & teachers... (hide spoiler)]

This might be nitpicky, but the term the author was looking for was Augmented Reality, I think, not Virtual Reality, when talking about the holosigns in Tokyo... the term became popular around the time Warcross came out with games like Pokemon Go, where you'd travel to a real life places and look through your phone's camera to find pokemon in your neighborhood... but after a little googling, the tech and term have been around since the 90s...

@Iain I think (view spoiler)[ the revenge was completely justified, those people deserved what they go. There was no mention of any punishment for the kids and teachers that spread the image of a naked underage girl across the school... that's worrying. (hide spoiler)]

@Angela I hope you enjoy it, I'll be here for a while so no rush :)

Charlie wrote: "@Iain I think [spoilers removed]

@Angela I hope you enjoy it, I'll be here for a while so no rush :)"

Yea... (view spoiler)[or the fact the teachers participated in the emails... (hide spoiler)]

Warcross seems like a cross between the popular MOBA and Battle Royale style games these days...

Both play in pre-designed arenas... MOBAs have leveling and powerups but you start at level 1 every time... Battle Royales have leveling mostly for cosmetics and prestige, and an ever-shrinking arena to make sure matches don't last forever...

Then again, maybe the Battle Royale genre covers everything... I don't really play these types of games... Battle Royale games don't seem very different from the long-running shooter arena games like Black Ops and CS:GO... I played League of Legends a bit many years ago, but not for very long... I like persistant progression, and single-player type games...

I see why people said the game doesn't factor into the story very much... I'm nearly 60% into the book, and there hasn't been very much gaming at all, other than a bit of practice...

Timelord Iain wrote: "I see why people said the game doesn't factor into the story very much... I'm nearly 60% into the book, and there hasn't been very much gaming at all, other than a bit of practice..."

That's a shame, I was really looking forward to seeing some actual gameplay.

Even when gameplay happens, it's usually overshadowed by the main plot... nevermind this (view spoiler)[romance angle (hide spoiler)]... this is nothing like I expected it to be... I guess I should have expected typical YA tropes to creep in... but it's frustrating my enjoyment...

Finished... typical YA trope ending... this is probably a 2 star read for me, as well... I'm aiming towards a landmark year, in 2 star ratings... I've given out 20 of them already now, in 120 books...

Reading the posts I must admit that you're right. The game play isn't the main focus here. Allthough I still like the story (I'm at ch. 17), I miss the gaming part. I'm not going to read the spoilers yet. I didn't know there was a difference between augmented and virtual reality.

I think for must of us who read it/still reading it, it wasn't what was expecred? Are you planning on reading part 2?

That really sucks Iain, sorry this was such a miss for you. I hope your next read is much better.

VR is wearing a headset and thinking you're in another/game world... kinda like the Avatar movie or the 30 minute Immersive Disney ride based on the movie... AR just augments our world... like with Google Glasses, if they allowed 3D holograms described in Warcross or seen in Back to the Future 2...

@Charlie: overall, I'm still happy with my reading this year... more flexible... plenty of 5 star reads... 3 star mysteries haven't been bad... just been a lot of disappointing sequels and a couple bad mysteries...biggest fail has been with BRs I finished because I want to read connected series or see where the plot goes...

Read System Apocalypse 5 yesterday... gotta wait until September for the next audio release... continuing with 50 chapters of Superpowereds now... then I'm on to Guns of the Dawn or The Brothers Cabal...

Timelord Iain wrote: "VR is wearing a headset and thinking you're in another/game world... kinda like the Avatar movie or the 30 minute Immersive Disney ride based on the movie... AR just augments our world... like with..."

Reading the book, the neurolink headset seemed to be capable of both AR and VR. When Emika used it to view Tokyo's street and people (with lv tag) that is AR-view. But when they play WC, they should switch to VR total immersion.

Sadly the author never explained the technicality except for one-line explanation "Hideo made a glasses that is someyhow capable of duping our brain like when we are dreaming". But then what happen to our physical body when we enter the VR-dreamlike world? Does the body just remain standing and catatonic (which seemed implied from the scene when there is sudden blackout during the game)?

I liked the setup in Archemi Online, where people lie down to play, and the headset uses electrical triggers to contract and release your muscles... people lose weight and gain muscle tone while catatonically playing the VRMMO...

@Anny: I also missed a bit of the technical information about AR and VR. maybe the idea was not to get too deep into that, because the story would go in the mist? But the concept was interesting.

I've just finished the book. Well...This wasn't what I expected to read. So, I'm doubting between 3 and 3,5 stars.
At the beginning, I thought that this was something like 'Ready Player One', but reading further, it seemed that the gameplay was a bit of a side - story. Not entirely the main story. It did give you the feeling that you wanted to be part of the game, though, but it missed something extra.
It was my first book of Marie and although I'm not a SciFi - reader, I'll read her other books too.
The end of the book was a bit obvious, but I liked the tention that build towards the climax and also the relations between the main characters were okay.
The worldbuilding could do with it, but it was not extra ordinary.
One big bonus for the story: the diversity of characters. Marie Lu gives us a statement that diversity is normal. It's not a boy who is gaming, no, it's a girl: Emika and she's half American, half Chinese;, Hideo: he's, part Japanese, part English;Hammie: she has a brown skin; Asher: he's in a wheelchair and then there is Roshan, who is gay. Marie Lu doesn't focus on the diversity, but she makes us see in a subtile way that it is there and that it is okay.
And I found the idea of making the world a better, non violent place to live using 'brain control' interesting, but power shouldn't be laying in one man's hand.

Started today and just finished chapter 1. To start with a bounty hunt gone wrong was an intriguing way to introduce our main character.

Yes, I thought it put a bit of sensation to begin with. But (view spoiler)[Emike really deserved that bounty, though. (hide spoiler)]

She did!

Angela Jr. wrote: "Started today and just finished chapter 1. To start with a bounty hunt gone wrong was an intriguing way to introduce our main character."

I loved this bit, I thought it was a really cool intro.

Timelord Iain wrote: "I liked the setup in Archemi Online, where people lie down to play, and the headset uses electrical triggers to contract and release your muscles... people lose weight and gain muscle tone while ca..."

Most webnovel usually had the user put into semi-unconscious state (in bed or specially made chair) so they can immerse themselves in the dreamlike world. It would bring to mind the side effect of muscle wastage though. No matter how hard we exercise in our dream, the real muscle will slowly waste from inactivity. That electrical impulses sounds like a good solution, I also would love to play in VR world and exercise at the same time!

@Saar about the bounty (view spoiler)[ I thought the system was a bit idiotic. Logically, you should have the suspect in your hand for your claim to be valid. If not, everyone can just send a claim and wait for others to do the hard work. (hide spoiler)]

There you have a point, Anny.

Is there anyone who wants to read book 2?

I'd be interested in the sequel later in the year, Sep/ Oct time maybe.

I have the copy now, but I won't mind to do a re - read later, Charlie.

I'm finished! Really enjoyed this one, very fun and easy to read. Two big reveals at the end, 1 I guessed and 1 I did NOT see coming. (view spoiler)[

When Hideo shared the story about his brother, I suspected Zero might be him. My question is why? If this kid was kidnapped as a child, he's obviously free from his kidnappers, what doesn't he go home, let his parents and brother know he's alive? It doesn't make any sense.

Hideo deciding to mind control the world was a shock, maybe I should have but I honestly didn't see that coming. I actually agree with him. I know, I know, free will etc. But if he's only stopping people doing awful things, that's okay by me. So I'm in his team and routing for him to succeeded in book 2. Hopefully it'll be from his perspective though I'm thinking not! (hide spoiler)]

Charlie wrote: "I'm finished! Really enjoyed this one, very fun and easy to read. Two big reveals at the end, 1 I guessed and 1 I did NOT see coming.

When Hideo shared the story about his brother, I suspected Z..."

I also don't get why Zero (view spoiler)[ended up opposing Hideo. Maybe he did went back sometime later and ended up disagreeing with Hideo's solution and left him. So then Hideo, feeling betrayed, erased any trace of him from his family. Then I guess his murderous rage was actually directed toward Zero instead of Zero's kidnapper. How ironic. (hide spoiler)]

I don't understand either! Hopefully book two will make more sense!

Just finished! While it was an enjoyable enough story, it only gets 3 stars from me. I'll read all your spoilers in a little while. My initial thoughts for now:

(view spoiler)[i predicted early on that zero would be sasuke... So the whole mystery and big reveal of who he was fell completely flat for me.
I also could have done without the romance between emika and hideo...
Other than that: i loved the tournament segments! Wish there were more of those (hide spoiler)]

Angela Jr. wrote: "Just finished! While it was an enjoyable enough story, it only gets 3 stars from me. I'll read all your spoilers in a little while. My initial thoughts for now:

i predicted early on that zero woul..."

Agree. (view spoiler)[The mystery was lacking and the romance was meh. I wish there are more about the hacking and infiltration and the dark world. That would have been so much more interesting. (hide spoiler)]

Angela Jr. wrote: "Just finished! While it was an enjoyable enough story, it only gets 3 stars from me. I'll read all your spoilers in a little while. My initial thoughts for now:

i predicted early on that ."

Agreed with all of this. I really hope the next book has (view spoiler)[ more tournaments. It was super exciting to read. And the dark world is super cool too. More trips there would be great. (hide spoiler)]

Charlie wrote: "I'm finished! Really enjoyed this one, very fun and easy to read. Two big reveals at the end, 1 I guessed and 1 I did NOT see coming.

When Hideo shared the story about his brother, I suspected Z..."

@Charlie: about Zero: (view spoiler)[I knew it was him, but why would he indeed do this and why was he kidnapped? That was a big mystery to me. About Hideo: it's an interesting thought to mind controll, but this can so very easily go wrong. (hide spoiler)]

Anny wrote: "Angela Jr. wrote: "Just finished! While it was an enjoyable enough story, it only gets 3 stars from me. I'll read all your spoilers in a little while. My initial thoughts for now:

i predicted earl..."

Yeah, I missed that too. That was in the first place that I wanted to read the book.

@Saar (view spoiler)[ it just doesn't make sense to me! The kid is free of his kidnappers, he should be rejoining his family bit trying to destroy his brother's empire. (hide spoiler)]

@Charlie: (view spoiler)[Was there any evidence that he was kidnapped? Maybe Hideo made that story up to cover something else? If Sasuke was kidnapped and released, the obvious thing was to contact his parents and brother, but he didn't. The question is why? (hide spoiler)]