It isn’t often that you can say that a book was the best book you read that year. In fact, you can only say that about one book a year. Warcross, by Marie Lu was the best book that I read in 2017.
The whole premise of Warcross, for me, was exciting. A book about gaming and hacking and tracking down criminals? Yes, please! I already knew that Marie Lu could write in more than one genre and make them good: j’adore the dystopian world of 100 years from now in Legend (words in English can’t even express how much I love it, so I have to switch to French 😉 ), and the medieval fantasy world of The Young Elites was amazing too. A book about a hacking bounty hunter should be great as well, right?
I was not disappointed. Warcross kept me enthralled from the first chapter until the end. Then I wanted more.
The main character, Emika Chen, is an amazingly complex character, like so many of the other characters that Lu has created. Emika is brilliant, but she can’t use her genius to create a comfortable life for herself because she has a criminal record. Before you go on judging her for that, you have to read the book, because there’s a really good reason for it. Her past has been difficult, really for no fault of her own, and you just want to root for her and wish for her best.
In this world, everybody likes to play a game called Warcross. It’s not only a virtual world where you can hang out and chill, it’s also a world where you can join a team and battle against other teams. Like the real-world game of Overwatch (which my daughter likes to play) there are professional teams that people will root for; only in this book, Warcross is way more popular than Overwatch. Everybody is involved. Warcross is so integrated in society that your level in Warcross can determine whether you can get into fancy restaurants (much like the real-life social scoring program, Zhima Credit, can get you perks in China).
In this world, Emika is on the verge of homelessness. In a moment of desperation, she initiates a hack that will change her life forever.
As she tries to hack into the International Warcross Championships, she accidentally is seen by nearly everybody in the world. Whoops.
She thinks she’s in trouble. The creator of Warcross, Hideo Tanaka (whom Emika has been fangirling after for years), gives her a call. He wants her to come to Tokyo. This creates one of the best lines in the book:
“I’d love to, but my roommate and I are actually about to get evicted from our apartment tomorrow, so…”
A billionaire that you’ve been fangirling over for years wants to meet you in Tokyo and that’s your reaction? It seems like something I would say. In fact, once when I was in Jack in the Box, my boyfriend said to me “let’s go get married” and my response was “I thought we were going to go buy a computer today.” We ended up getting married, and never did go buy that computer, LOL.
Instead of getting in trouble, Emika gets a job. She goes on adventures. Finds danger. Maybe finds love. You’ll just have to read it to find out.
This book almost feels like it could happen in the next five or ten years. Even today, there is a Dark Web. There is an assassination market. Artificial intelligence and virtual reality are already here, and they are getting better every day. The world of Warcross is one that has all of these elements, which are already here, and are only getting more prevalent in our lives every day.
In addition to being a great book, Warcross asks ethical questions, although not overtly. Is giving up freedom for security worth it? Who determines right from wrong? Should we let the powers that be keep us from doing what “they” think is wrong? It’s not just a fun book, it’s a fun book that makes you think.
I don’t think I can say enough good things about this book. If you haven’t read Warcross, get it now; and while you’re at it, pre-order Wildcard, which comes out September 18th. While I can’t say that Wildcard will be the best book I read in 2018 (I haven’t read it yet, and there’s still 6 months left in the year), I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a great book as well.