Wildcard (novel)
Emika Chen hunts a rogue AI in a neon-lit Tokyo.
Last updated
Marie Lu's Wildcard, a science fiction gamelit novel released on September 18, 2018, picks up where her earlier book Warcross left off. Protagonist Emika Chen resumes her pursuit of Hideo, a rogue artificial intelligence.
Publication history
Lu's background as an art designer for the video game industry helped her create a realistic videogame-like setting. The books blend young adult, dystopian, science fiction, and gamelit genres. Lu planned the series as a duology, later noting that writing a two-parter was harder than a trilogy because Wildcard combined the tasks of a second and third book.
Premise
After barely surviving the Warcross Championships, Emika Chen can no longer trust Hideo, the person she once looked up to, after learning the truth behind his new NeuroLink algorithm. She and the Phoenix Riders band together to stop his plans, but a bounty on her head forces her to seek help from Zero and the Blackcoats. Emika soon discovers that Zero's protection comes at a price.
Reception
Wildcard received positive reviews. Amna from The Pop Culturalist called it explosive, intense, emotional, entertaining, and 100% satisfying. The Bookish Libra described it as more intense than the first book, with higher stakes that move beyond a video game tournament, though some differences worked better than others; still, it was considered a worthy follow-up to Warcross.
More in Fiction About Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Games
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Wildcard (novel) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced