1 star for Arena (Arena book 1) by Holly Jennings.
Set in Year 2054, reality becomes unreal and virtual becomes real. Young people who take on career as a pro gamer now straddle between two worlds: the real and the virtual. In the virtual reality, these young people experience the greatest high and the biggest thrill as they enter into full immersion mode in the Arena. Dressed in battle gear, sword and all, they are everything they aspire to be - invincible. Because they do not die even when they are killed, many of these gamers lose their grip on reality and get lost in what is real. To quote "Reality was the game. Plastic. Metal. People. All fake. The game was real - tangible, sweet, and warm - and the only place I was alive and free."
This is a book that starts out refreshing, original and exciting. It seems to check all the right boxes that I find promising in a science fiction novel. Sadly, it is also a book where the more I read, the more I feel it is not the one for me. While the idea of a story on gaming and virtual reality is interesting, there is just that much to it. After the initial excitement of virtual gaming league and tournament, it is mostly about partying, drinking, pills popping, drugs, publicity and image. The story spirals from a refreshing high to a disappointing low of typical young people and their indulging lifestyle.
At less than halfway mark, I thought of ending it all, but somehow, cannot bear to. Perhaps I hold a sliver of hope that it will turn out differently after all. But it does not. This is definitely not a book I will recommend.
Publisher: Ace; Reprint edition
Publication date: 1 Nov 2016
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Every week, Kali Ling fights to the death on national TV. She's died hundreds of times. And it never gets easier...
The RAGE tournaments the Virtual Gaming League's elite competition where the best gamers in the world compete in a fight to the digital death. Every kill is broadcast to millions. Every player leads a life of ultimate fame, responsible only for entertaining the masses.
And though their weapons and armor are digital, the pain is real.
Chosen to be the first female captain in RAGE tournament history, Kali Ling is at the top of the world until one of her teammates overdoses. Now she s stuck trying to work with a hostile new teammate who s far more distracting than he should be.
Between internal tensions and external pressures, Kali is on the brink of breaking. To change her life, she ll need to change the game. And the only way to revolutionize an industry as shadowy as the VGL is to fight from the inside.
*Blurb from Goodreads*
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