Warcross is a captivating new tale from Marie Lu that takes place in the distant future and is
centered around a teenage hacker named Emika Chen who is struggling to make ends meet as a bounty
hunter. A new invention has swept the world –special glasses that allow you to enter a sort of VR (virtual
reality) world– and the addicting game that comes with it– Warcross, a game where two players or two
teams face off in an attempt to grab the enemy’s Artifact with the aid of powerups on special maps. When
Emika hacks an official Warcross game in an attempt to grab a powerup she can sell for money, she
makes a mistake and is called by Hideo Tanaka, the billionaire, young creator of the Neurolink glasses to
the headquarters of his company. From here, the story enters full swing.
I found a lot of striking similarities between this book and Ready Player One in that both are
centered around VR worlds created by some new revolutionary invention, and the theme of a character
going from rags to riches is contained. However, I found Warcross to have more of a deeper message and
deeper themes lying at its heart, which I enjoyed, and it feels more realistic too. (By the way, you should
still check out Ready Player One, though, because I think in terms of describing characters’ interactions
and adventures within the VR world, it is better than Warcross.)
In terms of the plot, I found it to be thoroughly engaging, and you won’t be disappointed by the
plot twists either. At no point, like with the book Outlawed, was I confused between the various characters;
their personalities and defining characteristics were clearly distinctive and easy to empathize with, further
enhancing the story. Overall, I can’t say much except that it’s just a well-written dystopian book.
Something that was pretty amusing as I read through the book were some Easter eggs from
some other of Marie Lu’s books, most notably the Legend series. There is another character named Daniel
Wing in Warcross, although he doesn’t have a prominent role in the story, and there are some recurring
themes. Warcross is similar to Legend in a lot of ways, and like it, it is just as engrossing and bound to
keep you hooked. Enjoy!
Review by ~ Andrew
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