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The Vengeance Code
She’s a nobody in the bunker, struggling to survive.
He’s the heir to a fortune, determined to follow in mother’s fatal footsteps.
Only she knows her father was murdered, his code stolen.
His father’s virtual reality program kills people.
Linix can’t possibly trust the heir of the man who destroyed her family. And Cache can’t accept a position in an industry that kills its customers. But when the only thing more dangerous than the games is not playing them, they’ll have to figure out how to win. Together.
He’s the heir to a fortune, determined to follow in mother’s fatal footsteps.
Only she knows her father was murdered, his code stolen.
His father’s virtual reality program kills people.
Linix can’t possibly trust the heir of the man who destroyed her family. And Cache can’t accept a position in an industry that kills its customers. But when the only thing more dangerous than the games is not playing them, they’ll have to figure out how to win. Together.
314 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 3, 2018
3 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Natalie Whipple
12 books248 followersNatalie Whipple, sadly, does not have any cool mutations like her characters. Unless you count the ability to watch anime and Korean dramas for hours on end. Or her uncanny knack for sushi consumption.
She grew up in the Bay Area and relocated to Utah for high school, which was quite the culture shock for her anime-loving teen self. But the Rocky Mountains eventually won her over, and she stuck around to earn her degree in English linguistics at BYU. Natalie still lives in Utah with her husband and three kids, and keeps the local Asian market in business with all her attempts to cook Thai curry, Pho, and “real” ramen.
She grew up in the Bay Area and relocated to Utah for high school, which was quite the culture shock for her anime-loving teen self. But the Rocky Mountains eventually won her over, and she stuck around to earn her degree in English linguistics at BYU. Natalie still lives in Utah with her husband and three kids, and keeps the local Asian market in business with all her attempts to cook Thai curry, Pho, and “real” ramen.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 19, 2018
Really enjoyed this story. I'm not a gamer but it's fun seeing this world. With the mild dystopian aspect but also sorta true reality with the virtual world. After reading this book I feel id get a good score fpr test ;) so dont get ganked
April 5, 2018
This book had me hooked from the get-go! While almost cold and detached, the technology in the story does anything but distance the reader. Heart exists at the core, keeping the reader not only grounded, but truly connected to the characters. That's what I loved the most, and probably why I adore movies like Tron--stories with true substance in a truly unique setting. I'm not a gamer in any sense of the word, but McKenzie describes everything so well I never felt lost or confused. I cannot wait for the sequel!
April 5, 2018
Exciting world even a non-gamer can get into
I'm not a gamer, but this book was exciting and well written. I could have done without the swearing and the sex, but it was pretty mild, nothing descriptive our explicit. I'm looking forward to the sequel....I'm going to have some VPP leaving this world behind. :)
I'm not a gamer, but this book was exciting and well written. I could have done without the swearing and the sex, but it was pretty mild, nothing descriptive our explicit. I'm looking forward to the sequel....I'm going to have some VPP leaving this world behind. :)
March 15, 2019
The worldbuilding is interesting. The concept of the plot, and the universe itself, is intriguing. I appreciate that the story gently takes you into the world instead of dunking you headfirst in it; concepts like TSVR and VPP, the biggest plot points, are introduced in a way that makes sense - and the disparity between the social classes is also revealed in a way that doesn't feel like an infodump. I like the world of the Bunker: I left this book wanting to know more about how and why the Bunker was created, what its political structure is like, and what its history is. It's a world that looks like it was a lot of fun to write in - it was certainly fun to explore as a reader.
I liked the side characters. Jhena, Sylus, and Momo helped flesh out the team (naturally), and gave us an ancillary point of view that complemented Linix's and Cache's. I liked the way that the team dynamic evolved, and I liked how the video game conceit showed that dynamic. A little of the terminology escaped me, but that's because I'm not as familiar with video games as most people, I suppose - and for all that, the video game battle sequences were described in such a way that even if I might have been a little lost, still I was never bored. The action was all character-driven (my favorite kind).
It felt like most of the action was relegated to the in-game battle sequences, though. For all that Linix seemed bent on revenge, she didn't actually do all that much besides play the game. Her reading the TSVR code like a prodigy was given weight in the narrative - but that Chekov's gun never went off in the third act of the book. And for all that Cache's dad was set up to be the big bad villain, the only things he did - essentially - were to have Sylus beat up, have Jhena killed, and vaguely threaten Linix. Additionally, the tension set up between Linix and Cache at the beginning of the book didn't really have much effect on the end, as far as I could tell. I expected Linix to hold onto that grudge for a lot longer after meeting him than she actually did.
I know that this is the first book in a series that isn't finished yet. I know that the plot threads that were left undone, were likely that way on purpose and will be resolved in the sequel(s). And I'm definitely hooked on it! I want to find out what happens next, especially regarding Rhemy's identity and the concept of coding TSVR to simulate dreams. But for all that this book is titled "The Vengeance Code", there didn't seem to be a whole lot of vengeance going on. It felt, in my opinion, like a 400+ page prologue to the main event.
I liked the side characters. Jhena, Sylus, and Momo helped flesh out the team (naturally), and gave us an ancillary point of view that complemented Linix's and Cache's. I liked the way that the team dynamic evolved, and I liked how the video game conceit showed that dynamic. A little of the terminology escaped me, but that's because I'm not as familiar with video games as most people, I suppose - and for all that, the video game battle sequences were described in such a way that even if I might have been a little lost, still I was never bored. The action was all character-driven (my favorite kind).
It felt like most of the action was relegated to the in-game battle sequences, though. For all that Linix seemed bent on revenge, she didn't actually do all that much besides play the game. Her reading the TSVR code like a prodigy was given weight in the narrative - but that Chekov's gun never went off in the third act of the book. And for all that Cache's dad was set up to be the big bad villain, the only things he did - essentially - were to have Sylus beat up, have Jhena killed, and vaguely threaten Linix. Additionally, the tension set up between Linix and Cache at the beginning of the book didn't really have much effect on the end, as far as I could tell. I expected Linix to hold onto that grudge for a lot longer after meeting him than she actually did.
I know that this is the first book in a series that isn't finished yet. I know that the plot threads that were left undone, were likely that way on purpose and will be resolved in the sequel(s). And I'm definitely hooked on it! I want to find out what happens next, especially regarding Rhemy's identity and the concept of coding TSVR to simulate dreams. But for all that this book is titled "The Vengeance Code", there didn't seem to be a whole lot of vengeance going on. It felt, in my opinion, like a 400+ page prologue to the main event.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 14, 2018
I'm not much of a MOBA or eSports fan, but I really enjoyed this look into a world that uses eSports to escape their dreary, doomed existence—even if it kills the pros. Nat does a great job guiding the reader into the (often ridiculously obfuscated) lingo and strategies of MOBAs without ever taking the focus off of this book's exciting story.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews