Wick

The Spark Form Chronicles #1

by Matt Doyle

How do you define a life?

With overblown visuals, stunning entrances and bloody battles played out in real time by holograms, Spark Forming has become far more than a simple card game. Drawing in fans from across the Colonies, no other sporting event creates a bigger buzz than the annual two day tournament to crown a new Spark Form World Champion. Yet the scramble for the title is not the only source of conflict this year, and for some competitor’s the real battles will take place away from the TV cameras.

What defines a person’s life and drives them to keep moving forward? When a game grows to reflect a society struggling to hang on, are some lives more valid than others? Can an AI ever truly be alive?

Find out in Matt Doyle’s genre bending Slice of Life / Science Fiction series, The Spark Form Chronicles.

Genres: Science Fiction, LGBT

239 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2015

About the author

Matt Doyle is a pansexual/nonbinary author, voice actor, and pop culture blogger from the UK. Matt specializes in horror and sci-fi fiction, sometimes in an unusual or experimental form.

Reviews

[Nivedita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book so much! When it started out, I was a bit confused with the plot and I was not sure if I should continue. But I'm glad I did. This book took me into a whole new world of card games, artificial intelligence and digital life. It was a new area for me and it is my new favorite. Detailed review with author interview and giveaway is to come soon.

REVIEW UPDATE :
When I was asked by Matt Doyle to read his new book Wick in exchange for an honest review, I was not sure if I should do this or not. The plot did sound promising, but I wasn’t sure if I can do into a world with Sci-Fi setting. Looks like I can and I love it!
Wick is about Spark Form World Championship, a digital card game taken to a whole new world of music, games and artificial intelligence. It was a package of life, love and existence. The story is told from different POVs with different attitude and personalities. While John Forrester, the defending champion, is totally laid back about the game, Meera Thorne is a newcomer who is skeptic about this whole new world. Fahrn Starchaser is badass women with boiling temper, and needs her partner, Maria, while Lana De LA Cruz, is somewhat a confused character and totally careless.
With a wide range of characters, this book provides an insight into every tour of human being we see around ourselves.
It is definitely a fast paced book and keeps you into it throughout, from the first page to the last. And as you finish the book, you want more and more.
Personally, I didn’t want the book to end but when it ended I wanted answers. Hopefully, the next book will provide me some answers.
Definitely recommended to all Sci-Fi and fantasy fans.

Entire review, interview and a giveaway on https://nivthebooklovingnerd.wordpres...

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

How do you define a life? Enter the world of WICK, Holograms and Artificial Intelligence-
Matt Doyle has three eCopies to give away
International where allowed
Ends February 15, 2016 @ 11:59 PM - click on Banner to enter!


Let the games begin! Welcome to the annual two day Spark Form World Championship where survival of the fiercest, baddest holograms may be in the luck of the cards! Be amazed as the crowd watches the masterminds behind the warriors plan their strategy and hope that lady luck will smile on them. In a world filled with turmoil, the crowds crave an escape and Spark Forming delivers in full dimensional and bloody color. The last AI standing gains the crown for their creator, but is the competition and the battle only on the arena floor or is there something deeper going on backstage? Old favorites versus champions versus the brash newcomers take the challenge for their own reasons, but what are they? The show must go on as the struggles of each player reflects the struggles of life in a world gone awry.

Matt Doyle’ Wick is part social commentary, part science fiction and 100% fascinating reading as we are introduced to each character with a full chapter to meet, greet and get to know what propels them to begin or continue competing year after year. Is it all they know? How they find value in their lives? Have they gotten so lost within their creations that they have lost a sense of humanity? Mr. Doyle gives us a multitude of personalities to root for from laid back and seemingly indifferent to agitated and angry twitchiness. Share each character’s POV and crawl inside their minds to get to know them better. Whether one can actually understand what truly makes each individual tick is a matter of perception, and the joy of being turned loose in a new world with a brilliant promise of more of everything.

Are you a dyed-in-the-wool science fiction fan? Love to explore unique worlds or just looking for something fresh and edgy to sink your teeth into, Matt Doyle has a fresh voice, a complicated voice that brings the entertainment right to your door and plops you down in front row seats to watch both in the arena and behind the scenes. Pick your favorite AI, your favorite competitor and place your bets-may the odds and the computer cards be in your favor.

Fast, furious, populated with characters that come to life, feel the excitement as the clock counts down for this year’s Spark Form World Championship and forget your cares for a few hours!

I received this copy from Matt Doyle in exchange for my honest review.

Publisher: Matt Doyle
Publication Date: August 1, 2015
Genre: Science Fiction | Dystopian
Print Length: 239 pages
Available from: Amazon |  Barnes & Noble
For Reviews & More: http://tometender.blogspot.com

[Belart Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly original, well written fusion of disparate ideas. Ties for the most creative book I’ve read this year along with Exurbia.

Wick is what happens when you take wrestling...


...esports...


...cyberpunk...



...and of all things, Yugioh...


And mix it in a blender on the highest setting. You’d think you’d get a mess with such a mix, but instead you get something quite rare and even a tad beautiful.

Wick starts in a very confusing way as we’re dropped right into the action with no explanations given. And the action we’re dropped into is...a beauty pageant...no it’s a setup for a wrestling match or something? Oh, it’s...a card game?

Though not clear at first, it’s soon revealed that all the POV characters are a part of some vast and very popular tournament style eSport called Spark Forming. This futuristic eSport uses digital cards as a medium to summon impressively dangerous and beautiful looking beasts and humanoids that do battle in digital arenas. Each of the tournament combatants has his or her own POV, with the exception of two or three characters. And there are certainly some memorable POVs and other characters in the book.

The Plot
Here’s hoping that I succeed in not ruining or spoiling anything here. The plot revolves around several different mysteries as each character has his or her own reasons for participating in the tournament. Though what each character presents on the surface is not always their true intentions. On the surface everyone is in the tournament for fame, glory, and prize money. Though most of their goals seem to be for things outside the arena. It’s revealed that there is much more going on behind the scenes and Spark Forming may not be as innocent and fun as the world thinks it is. I think that’s all I can say without spoiling too much. It’s vague, I know, but each reveal in the plot was major to me so I reeeeeallly don’t want to spoil anything for anyone else. I’ll just add that there’s some really good character drama that heats up from the middle to the end and the plot comes together nicely as each character’s earlier behaviors are given more light.

The Arena Battles
The futuristic eSport known as Spark Forming has several unique components to it that made it very unique to me. The first has to be the player entrances. Some of my favorite scenes in the book came from these entrances, which were reminiscent of professional wrestling to me. Each player would have their own music that was presented in this way:

“Song: Came Out Bruised (But Still Breathing)
Band: Addicted to my Rut
Genre: Grunge”

And then once the player is out and ready to start the match you have EPIC summoning descriptions for the Spark Forms like:

“His scales, rippling gently as he breathes, glow a deep, fiery red, Punctuated only by the curious black markings adorning his back and tail. Dark as a starless night, they run the length of his body, forming a line of symmetry for the scimitar-like patterns that trace paths out from the spine”

Then there are the battles themselves which are far faster, more ferocious, and bloodier than I imagined they’d be. The players themselves experienced some sort of fatigue from the battles along with their Spark Form creatures as each battle required them to be “plugged in” and to use much of their own fortitude along with physical and mental dexterity.

I liked the strategies formed for these matches and thought that the play-by-play by the announcers was a clever way to teach the reader how the game is played. I will say that this is where the book’s lack of exposition hurts it the most. These battles would be much more enjoyable if the ground rules were laid before many of these battles took place. Since I didn’t know how the game was really even played, I never had any sense as to who would win or lose until the very end, so I was never on the edge of my seat for any of the battles. It was more like watching a laser light show until the end and finally going “that was neat,” at the end of it. So I hope more is explained about the card game itself in future books. Maybe even a card list so that we can take note of potential strategies ahead of time. Even with that said, the creativeness of the battles was enough to enthrall me and those were some of the chapters I read through the quickest.

The Characters.
Going hand in hand with the book’s uniqueness is the strength of each of Wick’s characters. As I said before there are many POVs in Wick, about five or seven if my memory serves and each character brings a unique perspective and rationale to the story. There were a few that I thought I’d dread reading in the beginning, but by the middle I must say that everyone had chapters that I looked forward to. It was mostly to unlock further mysteries in the story which everyone had fragments of, but I was surprised that a book with this many POVs didn’t really offer any weak links for me. Even A Song of Ice and Fire had those Sansa chapters that I freaking HATED, and many of the POVs in A Feast for Crows felt dry and pointless to me, but here, even with so many characters, I had a good time. If you’re anything like me you’ll really become a fan of John Forrester who’s just a fun character in every sense of the word. I kind of want to say more, but I prefer to leave some surprises.

The Quick and Dirty

Dislikes:
-Confusing beginning. A lot is being said without much context. You don’t know if you’re reading about a pageant, a card game, or wrestling.
-The extra POVs in the beginning only added to the confusion.
-Could use some better explanations on the cards and the game mechanics to get you more invested in the card game.
-The game isn't explained clearly enough in the first few matches forcing you to pay close attention to each match to understand how its played.

Likes:
+Cool mix of wrestling and Yugioh or whatever combat card game you like. I really liked the on-camera dramatic “promos.” It felt like the 80’s all over again.
+Highly imaginative.
+Cool characters.
+Loaded with intelligence at every turn including characters, dialogue, plot, and much more.
+The wrestling references are too good.
+Brilliant creature design and fight choreography.
+eSports taken to the next level.
+Solid characterization.
+The announcers are a clever source of exposition.
+Spark form action is bloody brutal fast and intense.
+In depth ideas and concepts, very well thought out, with great execution.
+John Forrester is a brilliant character. So are many others, but he is by far my favorite.

[★MC's Corner★ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you so much to Mr. Matt Doyle for trusting me with his book! I do appreciate it a lot.

Wick is fun, cool andddd reminded me so much of animes.
Years ago I was a big anime fan and there’s no day I don’t watch. LOVE THEM.
Wick reminded me of those times. *thumbs up*
At first I thought of YuGi-Oh!, (which is actually, still one of my fave and also still own hundreds of trading cards, stored on a shoebox near my magazines and books *grin*) with the cards and battle arena thingies… and yeah the announcers. As the story goes, I thought of one anime –which title I forgot, sorry– but the story I did not. The story of it, if I remember it correctly, revolves around a boy with this device (like WICK, on this book) and they insert cards in them. And they have this characters, I think the name of the boy’s character is Rockman, and then they battle other characters (like RPG) on a actual virtual world. The cards are for powerups or something blah blah blahs.
So I guess what I am saying is if you loved animes especially those with trading cards you’ll appreciate this book even more, and yeah, understand it pretty quick.
*MC’s Corner*
Note: Spoilers.
• I kinda like the age gaps between the characters. And their names! They are so cool.

• Best parts were those on the Battle Zone. The fights were awesome, written really good. The announcers did a really good job describing them.
I wonder, though, can they converse/shout to their opponent while fighting?
There are some maneuvers, techniques of some kind of kick or punch that I don’t really understand but it’s still okay for me. I really did feel like I was watching the actual fight.

• I think it will work better if it there’s some illustrations; it was kinda hard to picture the Spark Forms inside my head. Then they are two, and fighting, sometimes I kinda forget what kind of species are they.


@gleekidMC

[Alexandra Engellmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

What defines a person’s life and drives them to keep moving forward? When a game grows to reflect a society struggling to hang on, are some lives more valid than others? Can an AI ever truly be alive?

WICK was a pretty unique read for me. This Slice of Life/Science Fiction novel’s got everything: artificial intelligence, action, an original dystopian setting, and deep characters. The plot follows a digital card game they play, and throughout the book questions come up – what is real? what is digital? what’s the difference?
The book is written using a few points of view, and as the story unfolds, we learn more and more about the characters and how they ended up at the Tournament. I liked their diversity and realistic conversations, and the multi-dimensional POV made this book so much richer. The characters’ age makes the book a young-adult read, and considering that one of them is lesbian and another is bisexual, it can be put onto the LGBT shelf. See, I wasn’t lying when I said this book’s got everything!
Honestly, when I read the blurb and reviews, I was a bit worried about how the author would combine all these genres together with action and characters’ development. And how I, the person who’s always reluctant to get into a new world, would see it all in my head. But the author’s style makes it easy; there’s no fact-dumping and the characters evolve naturally through the story. Imagining it was as easy as breathing, and the original idea of the book has left a solid imprint on my mind. It’s not something you can forget or mix up with some other book.

Overall impression: a solid debut novel that’s a must read for those who are interested in the digital reality, technology, and the dystopian genre.

I was given a free copy of the book in exchange for a review.

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review also appeared on Fiddler Blue

Wick is a story that hooked me right from the beginning. It's no secret that I am a huge anime fan, and I cannot get Yu Gi Oh out of my mind the whole time I was reading this book. It's true that this story is similar to the Yu Gi Oh, since they both use a card game for battle and they summon entities to fight, but Wick uses a different approach. There was no clear explanation of how the battles are fought. Instead, you experience it while reading how fighters play and figure out the mechanics as you go on.

Basically, it goes something like this:

You have a Spark Form, which is the entity the fighter uses during the battle. Just imagine it as your main character. Then you have a deck of cards which includes special attacks, heal cards, and so on, which you can use during the battle to strengthen your Spark Form. So basically, you control the Spark Form's movements by using the cards you draw from your deck. Awesome, right?

I think I managed to understand it well enough. Honestly, I enjoyed the lack of info-dumping that I'm used to and had to figure out the rules and mechanics as the players demonstrate the game, and I also wanted to say that the player introduction was awesome! It felt like a real intro, complete with a theme song!

I thought the book was generally paced well. There were multiple POVs but it was not confusing. Each character was well-formed and unique, you knew who was talking even without reading the chapter's name. Plus, this book is sooooo diverse! I can't even pick a favourite character because they were all so memorable, even Carnival who never spoke a word and basically communicated by grunts and pointed looks.

The characters themselves can be really vague with their agendas. They had their reasons for joining the competition, but it is still up for debate whether that reason is for something good or bad. Despite the short time the reader spends getting to know the characters, it was easy to relate to them as well as understand the logic behind what they do.

I also admired the amount of things going on in the arena and off it. I was a bit skeptical that the novel happened only in a matter of hours, but there was not a dull moment. There were a lot of things to discover and to think about. I would not explain that in detail because I might spoil something if I keep on rambling, but suffice it to say that I was 100% engrossed with the story. I did not want it to end. The only criticism I have was about that long, winding conversation Fahrn had with Hong Chan. Boy, that was a bit difficult for me to get through because it spanned pages (plus I wanted to get back to John and Lana). Though I understand that it was necessary, I would have wanted it revealed in installments rather than a couple of pages of dialogue.

Clearly, things were not meant to end in this book, which means there were many loose ends and not a mystery wrapped up. I am definitely waiting for the release of the second book with great anticipation.

Wick is a definite must-read for readers who wants something exciting and extraordinary, with a cast of unconventional characters that will urge you to look beyond what's standing in front of you. I love, love, love every page of this book.

[Mehreen Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mehreen Ahmed's reviews: PDF copy

Matt Doyle's writing style is a unique conglomeration of mundane colloquialism and poetic lyricism. Diction such as, 'dunno', 'sharpish', 'cuddly' plushie' thingy' clearly moderated by the use of much delicate choice of words:

"And I have been foiled by the evils of the mysterious gust of wind that blows your hair into your eyes" - p.6

Then

"with a quick turn and flick of my wrist I vanquish my foe...",p.6

These are just a few linguistics observations. As for the literary merit of the book, one can say without any contention that this book has the makings of a good sports book. Each chapter is devoted to a character, with a unique synchronously fitted story. Participating, in the sports carnival with many others across the galaxy, Forrester is a champion showing up in the opening chapter while the others are introduced in the subsequent ones. The story takes place in the sporting grounds where the competitors must parade in front of a cheering crowd. What makes this book sing though is a detailed and vivid portrayal of the battles fought in the real life - a show of trepidation, fears, and the tears, and the various confidence levels in the characters. All have come to play to make this carnival a success, a metaphor of struggle in the arena of life itself. A boon to both lovers and punters alike.

[Rajalakshmi Prithviraj]

The story is exactly as the title suggests. Wick in a candle burns till the very end; it cannot do justice to its job unless there is enough wax to support it.

The plot is definitely something to lookout for. It is interesting, confusing, futuristic, multidimensional, in fact, it encompasses anything and everything that you can think of. The story begins with lot of confusions. As one progresses reading, it becomes clear that the confusion was in reality a well-thought of plan to keep the reader engaged. Besides, the storyline has universal appeal. There is a little bit of many genres for readers.

Matt definitely has a unique style of writing. Each point of view presented is distinct and apt for that particular character. His sense of humour is evident from the smiles that will form up on your face as you read on! The narration is a bit complex, and hence,it results in forming of confusions. But then, that is what differentiates Matt as a writer from other writers. Yes, there are a few grammatical errors, yet, the captivating plot makes up for these mistakes. The descriptions are vivid and after some time, it really feels like being a part of the story on a wider canvas.

There are many characters. And, I must admit, this book gives due opportunity to all its characters and ensures due dignity of each of them. Simply put, Matt has attempted to encourage tolerance towards one another irrespective of caste, creed, religion, language, gender etc. The message of respecting other people for their good qualities and not making them a target for ridicule, is loud and clear. If only all humans adhered to it!!! All the characters have distinct personality traits. Matt has truly done justice to all his characters.

To sum up, this book is worth reading for the plot, the characters and the fact that it has a bit of everything for every reader.

P.S - The cliffhanger promises a sequel. Am looking forward to it Matt!!!

[Donte McNeal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book in exchange for an honest review.

Right off the bat, I could tell that I would like John. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't grinning for a lot of the first chapter. He seems like an instantly likable character; the same could be said for Farhn. I freaking love her attitude. Though, with that said, I'd be hard pressed not to point out how numerous the characters seem; it was almost too much at the beginning for me with all the different points of view. Doyle does do a great job giving his characters their something that makes them unique in the crowded ensemble cast of characters.

And that is something that this book does indeed have: a colorful collection of characters that each bring their own distinct flavor to the story. I can't think of one of the characters that I didn't at least find intriguing.

There is an exposition dump near the beginning and you can look at this one of two ways: 1) a long-winded info dump, or 2) a sole chapter dedicated to setting up the reason for the "Spark Form" battles our characters partake in. I chose the latter. The meaning of the battles was really interesting to learn about. The battles themselves were presented interestingly. I was wondering how the battles would take place. Doing it through commentary was an effective choice.

There were minor errors, such as grammatical ones, and words that seemed to have slipped through the cracks of editing. However, this does little to take you out of the well-crafted story. I really enjoyed the way the story played out, though I must admit some character's stories were definitely more interesting than others. Still the cliffhanger ending definitely has me hoping a sequel is in the works. Humor, action and interesting characters; what more could you ask for in a book?

[Winter Sophia Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging, Witty & Fascinating! A Brilliant Read! I Loved It!

[S. Jeyran Main · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wick is the first book of the Spark Form chronicles. The story is set in 2916 and it is about six characters attending a Magic card playing competition. The story is told with the first-person narrator alternating between the characters as each chapter moves forward. John, Fahrn, Maria, Meera, Lana, Connor are just a few of the interesting characters you get to meet. The story introduces you to a whole new dimension of artificial intelligence, games and digital life. The entire book revolves around the competition and what happens there but at the same time, it introduces the characters and their backgrounds for the further additional storyline.

I found the literature to be in good standing. Due to the book having a futuristic touch to it, the world contained advanced technology like time travel. Virtual characters are given human emotions and their thoughts and feelings are shared. The pace was steady and the connectivity between the chapters was very well put together.

The character development in this book is what stands out over everything else. The author does a spending job giving them sufficient back story. Each character has a certain personality, is relatable, and likable.

I recommend this book to science fiction fantasy readers.

[Julia B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't expect much from this book, but it surprised me. When I realized this was hardcore sci-fi, like, in space, I wasn't sure I should continue with it, but given my recent success with The Knife of Never Letting Go, I decided maybe hardcore sci-fi could be my genre! But more than anything, I wanted to start supporting more up-and-coming LGBTQIA+ authors, and I'm glad I did. This series clearly has heart and the characters have some life. It was clear within one paragraph of her introduction Fahrn was going to be my favourite (I mean, a lesbian anti-hero? There's only so much I can resist), but the other characters are also diverse and interesting. The sci-fi background, which was (as predicted) confusing and elaborate, was told in enough detail and naturally flowing pieces that I was able to understand without any difficulty.

My only critique is that Matt Doyle's frequent punctuation/grammatical errors take away from the experience and professionalism of the book, but obviously that is very fixable with a careful edit.

Otherwise, if you're into Pokémon combined with e-sports, I mean.......this could be the series for you.

[MJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wick is such a fun book! The futuristic world carries with it a unique card game with a great cast of characters. You get to hear from all the characters' POVs and find out there is more to this competition than meets the eye...

Read my full review at https://aspiringauthorblog.blogspot.c...

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to receive a copy of this book from the author, in exchange for a review.

This was such an interesting read for me. At the beginning, I wasn't expecting much from this. It started out very confusing to me. There were a lot of terminologies and a lot of names being thrown around and it wasn't explained very well so the start was really such a blur. But once I start to understand what was happening, it turned into an exciting read for me! The story's written in multiple POVs, which is such a risk, I think. With this kind of writing style, the author needs to ensure that each POV is unique, and that's not easily accomplished. And I think this was very well done in this book. We get many POVs, but even so, I was able to associate each character with a personality: John Forrester was the cool, happy go lucky dude. Fahrn was the badass lesbian chic. Meera was the shy one. Lana was the pretty, vain and sly one. Connor Ford was the veteran desperate to cling to glory.

It was a good thing that I know a little thing or two about card games and online gaming so I was able to quickly understand what was going on. I felt that the author should have explained concepts further, for the sake of those with zero background. Or perhaps an appendix or a terminologies guide wouldn't hurt? Maybe add something as well to discuss the Spark Forms and their attacks? Kinda like Pokedex from Pokemon?

Again, I truly enjoyed the story. The action scenes were great and I was really excited with those fight chapters! And there was that whole mystery of who was a Spark Form and who wasn't. All throughout, I kept guessing and guessing. However, I find that the story didn't have that climactic thing. I doubt that the climax was Forrester and Finn's fight, as that was way too early to become the climax. I felt a bit disappointed with that. True, we get those jaw-dropping revelations towards the end but I guess I was looking for a more climactic one, rather than our characters sitting down to "discuss".

The wordings, I felt, could use some polishing and editing. The copy I got actually got a few typo errors every now and then. But let's just focus on the story, because the story's really great. I recommend this for people who enjoy gaming, card games, AI and sci-fi stuff. It's a cool take on that genre. Plus, the ending was an absolute cliffhanger and I love it. It made me crave for the next one. There were so many unanswered questions that I can't believe Book 1 is over, really it seemed like the entire book is one long prologue. I feel like there's more, and I'm expecting more from Book 2!

[Boundless Book Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wick is a role play video game brought to life, where virtual characters are given human emotions. Each character shares their thoughts while preparing to compete in a tournament type fight, much like the “playoffs” for game fighters. They are brought to life and dressed to entertain in a way that reminded me of the victor celebrations in Hunger Games.

Wick is brilliantly written with each chapter introducing a fighter using the first person perspective. The somewhat odd preparations and fights are shared along with the personal thoughts and emotions of each character.

I found this a quick and easy read and was not at all disappointed. I have to admit, this was a pleasant surprise since I don’t usually like video games or role play games. I would definitely read more from this author, and give Wick 5 stars....Beth


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[Aly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A role playing video game brought to life in this book. This book is great. This book was a great idea for a book and I enjoyed it. Maybe because I love role playing video games too. I think this book was a great escape for me. * I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review*

[Beth]

I received this book for an honest review. The review is posted on Boundless Book Review. http://www.boundlessbookreviews.com/#...

[Jennifer Tooker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full Disclosure – I was provided with a copy of this work free from the Author in exchange for my honest review

I have attempted to write this review on several occasions now and I always find myself at a loss. I don’t want to give away too much of the story, but if I do one of my standard review formats, I’m afraid I wouldn’t do this story justice. There is so much to be taken from the less than 200 pages of text that I would be hard pressed to keep it all coherent. Following are a few random thoughts and observations that I had while reading WICK; hopefully they will suffice to give you insights to this great read.

The story is set in the year 2916 at a card playing competition. But not cards like Poker or Cribbage.. we’re talking more like Magic the Gathering or Pokémon on some serious steroids! One of the main characters John and his Spark Form, Carnival are defending champions and are at the two-day event to battle other spark formers from all over the galaxy for the title of champion. While Carnival is a Spark Form, she also possesses an element of human qualities and acts as an almost constant companion to John. The action of the tournament matches was presented in such vivid detail; everything from the costumes, to entrance themes and pyro and the announcers calling the events that it was very easy to visualize the spectacle of the tournament. The promo pieces were also a nice touch, written in such detail and in a way that is not hard to visualize watching them on a large screen or in your home.

I loved the first person aspect of the dialogue as the story progressed by switching from character to character. From John and Carnival to Fahrn and Maria; Meera and Hong Chan to Lana and Finn then on to Connor and whomever he was harassing, each character had a distinct feel, personality and set of issues to explore. Seeing the story unfold through their eyes and their viewpoints added a unique element to the story that helped “non-tournament” plot pieces take a bit of prominence as the day wore on.

I was sad to see that for a story set 900 years in the future, where AI is a reality as is time travel and other technology we can only dream about now, that the human race is still being corrupted by such things as politics and bigotry and intolerance. While this is not necessarily a major theme to the story, the elements are there for the reader to ponder. It kind of makes you wonder if for as much as we advance as a race of people, will these things always be right around the corner to remind us that we are only human?

If you like video games, Cosplay, Anime or wrestling the action in this book will suck you in and the story will keep you reading. If these items are not you thing, give this book a shot anyway as the overall story is strong enough to hold the attention of even the most anti-gamer.

To say that I devoured this book is an understatement and I have already gotten a fairly decent start on the second in the series “CARNIVAL”