If you've read Warcross there will be nothing capable of stopping you from grabbing the first copy of Wildcard you come across and devouring it's pages. If you didn't think Marie Lu could do better than she did in the first novel you'll be pleased to hear she'll prove you wrong with this second, spellbinding, sequel.
There's nothing quite so exhilarating as a game. While here in the real world we're only just begging to explore the possibilities of virtual reality gaming Lu's world in Wildcard has fully realized it's potential and built a society around the complex, interlinked, online system, slotting perfectly over reality and bringing everything to enhanced life.
Having already set up the world, and the games, in her first captivating novel, Warcross, Lu wastes no time to throw us into the deep end with Wildcard, and you better hope you can keep up as she explodes the story into action.
From the blurb;
'All bets are off. This time the gamble is survival.
'Emika Chen barely made it out of the Warcross Championships alive. Now she can no longer trust the one person she's always looked up to, the one person she thought was on her side - Hideo Tanaka.
'His plan: to wipe out all crime on earth by ending the free will of it's citizens.
'Emika is determined to put a stop to him, but she soon finds a new threat lurking on the neon-lit streets of Tokyo. Someone's put a bounty on her head, and her sole chance of survival lies with the ruthless Zero.
'But his protection comes at a price.
'Caught in a web of betrayal, just how far will Emika go to take down the man she loves.'
Emika is at a loss. The world she knew has been turned on it's head, and her only hope for survival is to solve a mystery decades old and long gone cold. If Emika can put her heart to the sidelines she might be able to save her life, but if she lets love rule she'll surely fail.
While Warcross was exhilarating Wildcard will leave readers breathless, at the edge of their seats, and completely unprepared for all of the twists and turns that are about to unfold.
Lu's creative talent, literary prowess and pure imagination are fully on display in this incredible novel. Grasping the reader and throwing them into her world, caught up in the beauty, majesty, excitement and danger that Lu weaves across the pages. There is no need for virtual reality when you have writing this absorbing.
Cheer for Emika as she risks it all to save not just the world, not just herself, but the broken man she has fallen in love with.
We give Wildcard Five Stars.
ISBN - 978-0-241-34242-8 Hardback Cover Price - £12.99 First published in the UK by Penguin Books, 2018