DNF Audiobook Review – Warcross by Marie Lu, Narratedby Nancy Wu (2/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Science Fiction/Dystopia
Length: 11 hours and 46 minutes
Publisher:‎ Listening Library
Release Date: September 12, 2017
ASIN: B074G4WJRQ
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Warcross series
Source: Borrowed audiobook from library
Rating: 2/5 stars

“For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game – it’s a way of life. The obsession started 10 years ago, and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down Warcross players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty-hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. To make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks in to the opening game of the international Warcross Championships – only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation.

Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem…and he wants Emika for the job. With no time to lose, Emika’s whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she’s only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.”

Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Warcross duology. I borrowed this on audiobook from my library.

Thoughts: DNF, I stopped listening to this at 50% in. I just found this very predictable and slow moving. I kept hoping that the plot was going to take an interesting turn, but things kept playing out exactly as expected. This is an issue I also had with Lu’s first book in the Legend series “Legend”, which is why I stopped reading that series.

Emika is struggling to make a living and when she “accidentally” hacks into the elite yearly tournament for Warcross she is worried that she is in huge trouble. Then she gets a call from the game’s creator with an intriguing offer.

I struggled with a lot in this book. Some of it felt very dated. For example, the price of apartments in futuristic NYC and things like that seemed really poorly thought out and researched. I also struggled with how awkward the dialogue between characters sounded. It wasn’t well written and made me cringe with how stilted and odd it sounded.

Additionally, I struggled with how completely predictable everything in this book was and how slow the story was moving. The story was painfully formulaic and lacked originality or any intriguing twists and turns.

The audiobook narration was fine; nothing super exciting but fine to listen to.

In the end, I was listening to this while driving and just found it very immature and predictable; it was just too boring to hold my attention. This is a very, very formulaic YA dystopia romance. If that is your thing, go for it. It wasn’t for me. I think I just don’t mesh with Lu’s writing style; it always feels very immature and the predictability feels insulting to the reader’s intelligence.

My Summary (2/5): Overall I didn’t enjoy this and stopped reading it 50% of the way through. The plot is predictable and slow moving, the dialogue between characters is awkward. The whole story feels very formulaic YA dystopian gamer theme without a drop of creativity to it. This is the second series I have tried to read by Lu and not enjoyed, so I think I will move on from this author. Her style just isn’t for me.