Arena (Arena, #1)

by Holly Jennings

Now in trade paperback, the “thrilling” (New York Times bestselling author Jason M. Hough) near-future science fiction debut about the action-packed world of competitive gaming...
 
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…

• ISBN10: 0425282872
• ISBN13: 9780425282878
• Publish Date: 1 November 2016 (first published 7 April 2016)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Ace Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 400
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780425282878

Reviews

[layawaydragon]

Great. Solid. Easily Recommendable to sci-fi fans and gamers and those looking for some action.

>Friends w/ benefits
>Friends to lovers
>MC is half-Chinese and her father’s side. Supporting characters in w/w relationship. 
>Appreciate the Taoist balance
>I’m glad it’s not Christian centered. 
>Action PACKED. Gory. Boasting & threats.
>Appreciate how it handles addiction and media image
>YAY therapy!!
>YAY team building and bonding!
>You can tell it was written by a gamer, not someone trying too hard or moralizing for the kids. 
>Love how they strategized and ran it through, but I think one training way would be standard honestly...
>Ending gives closure to threads with an open ending I can’t wait to see where it picks up from
 

>Didn’t like this

.“ I toss my arms up. ‘You need a room, ladies? Let’s go.’”

.in response to two alpha males squaring off. Thankfully, it doesn’t happen again and I didn’t highlight any other problematic stuff. 

 

>Favorite Quote:

.Nothing like seeking your own insides to make you feel mortal. Nothing like coming back to life to make you feel like a god. 

.

[inlibrisveritas]

Arena is an upper YA book that centers around one of my favorite sci-fi tropes; virtual reality gaming. Anyone who is familiar with my taste in anime knows I basically gobble it down like it’s the source of life itself. I’m pleased to say that Arena not only kept me entertained but brought something new to the genre.

As I stated before, this is an upper YA book. It does, in fact, have mature themes, though it is not graphic or distasteful. The main characters deal with substance abuse, which I’ll get into below, and they do have sex and party. It kind of treads a weird line between YA and New Adult, if I’m being honest and I just don’t really know where to place it. So you’ve been warned.

Kali Ling, the Warrior, is an elite gamer. She’s one of the golden few who play games at a competitive level, who spends her days training her nights partying and her weekends in a virtual reality fighting. She along with her team, Defiance, are aiming to become champions of the RAGE tournaments, a team versus team death match. I seriously hate multiplayer team v. team games, but it’s literally my favorite kind of VR story. I’m so bad at them, but THIS is the level of good I’d like to think I could be. I love everything about this setup, including the very obvious negatives of having a hyper realistic game that centers on being killed or killing someone else. It’s gritty and it has it’s issued, and I want all of that at the forefront and addressed. In this world gamers are celebrities, and they are expected to act as such. Their PR is everything and they are expected to go out and be in front of the cameras. Every drink they down or smile they give away is marketable, and it’s a black hole that is hard to escape from. It’s a world of alcohol and drug dependency. We see young people so desperate for virtual reality that they do what ever necessary to alter their own. We see Kali fighting addiction, anger, and grief. It doesn’t glorify the partying or the celebrity, and that’s the part that really made me love this.

The VR world itself is pretty awesome as well, though kind of standard for the entire subgenre. That being said, it’s still wicked cool. The RAGE tournaments are definitely a focal point, but I think what honestly made Arena stand out is that much of the story takes place outside of it. We get to see the stresses of a competitive gamer and athlete, we see the training, the strategy, the hours of studying, all mixed in with an unbalanced blend of media and social obligations. We see these characters grow and learn to take what they need, as opposed to what they want.

In short, I think this was one seriously great read. It does have this weird age level gray area that’s kind of odd, but I think the fact it goes into the battle of excess and even death is something worth noting. I look forward to reading book two when I get the chance.

[Berls]

5 Stars! I'm so glad I succumbed to Netgalley's read now email! I loved the futuristic vision of gaming and the references to "classic games." anyone who's played games a decent amount will get some good laughs at how gamers might view the "ancient games" we grew up on. But to top it off, this deals with serious issues of drug abuse - while it takes place in a fictional world - I loved seeing the main character deal with her issues and transform. Great characters, friendships, and some seriously great sexual tension, topped off by killer fight scenes. And there's even some philosophy in there for you! Great read, can't wait to pick up the next one!

[Ashley]

Thank goodness Arena made a comeback!

My timeline of thoughts was pretty much:

- Oohh, cool.
- Mmhmm..
- Ugh, drugs.
- STAAAAHHHPPP
- Maybe I'll DNF.
- Okay she's coming to her senses.
- Fuck yes, awesome.
- YESSSSS
- Too far.
- Hmm, okay awesome.

Arena was a super cool idea and I loooved the whole gamer/gladiator concept. It's like two of my greatest loves mated to become super great love. #weird

But then there was this whole drinking/partying/crazy drug scene that I honestly wish was cut from the book. I get that it was semi necessary for the main character's character development, but ughh.. I hated it. I was so close to quitting the book because of it. If it weren't for the MC's spiral into chaos and insanely annoying drug issues, I think I could have given this five stars.

Luckily that phase ends and then it 100% focuses on the gaming, which was so.awesome. Then there's this romance, which was equally awesome.

For a while I felt like the MC overdid it with some philosophical, deep thought stuff, but whatever. I kind of tried to ignore it.

I had some issues with the details of this book, but those issues aside, Arena was solidly entertaining (except.. you know.. the part I hated). Particularly at the end — I was on the edge of my seat and pretty sure I started sweating in anticipation. I think my knuckles turned white from how tightly I was gripping my kindle.

I'm not sure yet if I'll check out the second book though. I quite like the idea of this being a standalone. But we'll see..

[liz089]

DNF.

I'm sorry but it just doesn't do anything for me.. I've been trying to get into this one for over a week now, but I just doesn't hold my attention at all. Everytime I read a couple of pages and then I feel my mind wandering to other things..

I loved the concept of this book, but just.. MEH..

I read some reviews and found out she gets all weird and annoying later on, but maybe a bit better at the end? But I can't bother to continue.