2019 book: Gamer Army

Gamer Army by Trent Reedy
Traditional or self-published: Traditional
Rating: Disliked(Hated-Disliked-Okay-Liked-Loved)



I've never read Ender's Game, but based on what I know of the book (and other reviews), Gamer Army was very much the same story.

Set in the near future, almost everyone does most everything online. Work, play, socialize. Videogames are of course very popular. A company picks the top gamers in the world (in a certain age bracket -- kids) to enter a competition.

I was enjoying the story that far. I didn't like the main character, but I liked the story's setting, so I kept going. Then things took a left turn...

Spoiler: Of course the company turned out to be evil. The game wasn't a game, it was *gasp* real! They were training the kids to be a military force. Then, even wore, those same kids helped take the company down. Sorry, but I do not believe a bunch of preteens, no matter how good gamers they are, could take down a whole massive, evil company. End spoiler.

Early on, I almost stopped reading this book. The main character is unlikable -- a rude, annoying kid. But this is a MG book, and I supposed he was just an accurate kid, so I kept going. I liked most of the book, until I got to that "twist". At that point, things became just too unbelievable to me, so I stopped reading at the 86% point.

Partial book credits:
Point reached in this book: 86%
Previous abandoned book total: 154%
New total: 240% (2 books + 40% towards next)

Currently reading: The Dogs, which is an odd book, horror but not scary? Not usually something I'd read. Not sure if I'll be finishing it or not.