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Oct 10, 2018PimaLib_ChristineR rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
4 ⭐ - Don't read this review if you haven't read Warcross as it will include Warcross spoilers. Once this sequel gets going it's non-stop action. Emika knows that Heido has done something terrible for good reasons. Now that his algorithm has taken over the majority of the world through their link to the NeuroLink, his goal to find his brother's kidnappers seems no closer to fruition, while criminals are turning themselves in at record rates. But like anything that reduces free will there are questions. Who controls this power? Can it be bought? Will certain people be exempted? Emika can't believe this is the right choice. On the other hand, she knows that Zero is Heido's long-sought brother. Why is he working against Heido and not rushing to reveal himself? The questions of power behind both sides of this equation are fascinating and how Lu plays them against each other will keep you turning pages. Emika grows and changes as a person and I love how Lu brings in Emika's teammates from the previous novel and fleshes out their backstories as well. Emika's decisions at the end are questionable in their reality. I will say that the one gay relationship and the romantic tensions between Roshan and Tremaine was done well, probably better than any other relationship in the novel. On the other hand, I felt that Lu wanted to try to be inclusive but just threw in a character, Jesse, who used "they" pronouns, but who wasn't otherwise fleshed out. My one star off is for the first 100/150 pages for pacing, and some of the leaps of logic that take place. I know Lu has to set this up to give us that "up against the clock" feeling but some of the setups didn't really make sense to me. And the technology. What happened to the technology??!! Virtual reality and the NeuroLink made sense in book one, but suddenly we're presented with a ghost in the machine and a... I can't even tell you. It would be a spoiler if it weren't so ridiculous. Finally, if you loved Warcross for Warcross: the descriptions of the games and how they're played, you're probably not going to love Wildcard.