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Arena Mode (2013)

by Blake Northcott(Favorite Author)

4.08 of 5 Votes: 3

languge

English

genre

Science Fiction

publisher

Noösphere Publishing

review 1: I bought into Arena Mode from the moment that I read the premise on Kickstarter. A superhuman story with wit, a world that while having some dire problems is not above having moments of joy, and what turns out to be an incredibly fleshed out universe in which this crazed tournament plays out. That, my friends, is right up my alley.I pledged so fast my fingers bled, and I made sure to do it at a level at which I could get my hands on a limited paperback copy, as an e-reader still cannot hold my attention for as long as bound paper can. The question is, did my faith and investment in an author that I hadn't read from before live up to what I ended up receiving in the mail a couple weeks back?The answer is a resounding yes. The book was exactly what I needed. I can say that I... more can see the world from the eyes of Mox. I felt like I could relate to him pretty consistently. I'm not a math wiz, though. I nearly failed Algebra II multiple times in high school. That is beside the point, though. Matthew Moxon is nothing short of a genius, able to make incredibly complex calculations in the blink of an eye, tied with a photographic memory, makes him near superhuman. This, though, doesn't mean that he's safe from the horrible things that can happen to a normal human. What's causing this extra brain power is a brain tumor, which if left unchecked, is nothing more than a ticking time bomb towards his death. His one chance to come out of it alive is a multi-million dollar surgery, which he has no chance of affording. His only option seems to be entering a tournament called Arena Mode: a smack down drag out brawl with 10 billion dollars on the line for the person who survives the longest. Though he isn't superhuman with powers like the others that will be entering the tournament, this doesn't mean that he won't try to get in. When he does though, the tournament isn't anything like he expected, even knowing that death would be common inside the arena that Manhattan becomes. The story is fantastic, and moves briskly over the course of a few months of time. We still get a fantastic feel for Mox and those around him; his best friend Gavin and Peyton, who Mox is quite interested in even though she's Gavin's sister. We see his preparation, and we get a feel for what he thinks about the world around him. This all moves into the background once he enters the Arena, and this gives us a much closer look at the characters from around the world that enter this tournament. What follows I won't say, you deserve the chance to experience it for yourself. If I can tell you anything from the later parts of the book, there is a character who enters that may be one of my favorite characters I've read in a long time. They'll enter and they're just a force of nature that pushes the book ever on. Missing out on them is something you absolutely cannot do.If you're a fan of superheroes, supervillains, superpeople or just a great near future story with tinges of sci-fi and even some thoughts on politics and the worldd if it moves like it currently is,; you absolutely must give this a read. You'll kick yourself if you don't.
review 2: I will premise this by stating I supported it on Kickstarter as the concept seemed very interesting.As soon as the e-book came out I downloaded it and often heard from my significant other over the next couple of days, what is that you are reading because you never put it down. I really liked the style, concept and setting. The main character was someone you could root for also. It was nice to see the a bit of a different take on superheroes it reminded me of the tv show heroes mixed with battle royale. It even did well creating some empathy for the "bad guys" well most of them anyways. When it ended I found myself pondering how it could have a follow up as I would like to see the characters who made it through the book appear in print in front of me again one day in the future.If you like hunger games esque novels, super heroes, wanted to know if the flash would be worthwhile in a fight then its definitely worth a read. less

Download links for: Arena Mode

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