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Gauntlet Respawns the Virtual Reality Thriller
In the year 2055, games aren’t just games. Virtual reality has swept over the world and stolen the spotlight from professional sports, turning players into athletes as they compete in massive VR tournaments. It’s big business, complete with high dollar sponsorships, viewership in the billions, and tabloid headlines that end careers. So much for relaxing at the end of the day with a quick round of Team Fortress 2.
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In Arena, Kali Ling survived crushing scandals and tangled personal struggles to emerge as the Virtual Gaming League’s youngest team owner. She kicked a brain scrambling drug habit and got a grip on her personal life, but that doesn’t mean everything’s all hunky-dory now. Gauntlet picks up where Arena left off, following Kali as she settles into her new role as manager-slash-virtual gaming athlete. There’s still the issue of misbehaving friends and her own doubt-filled mind to contend with; shadowing all of that are corporate conspiracies that could bring the entire league down.
An intriguing new wrinkle in this sequel is the Invisible Wall, a hush-hush location gamers know about, but can only access by invitation. After a suspicious delay Kali and her team get their summons. Inside, they see the future of gaming as a professional sport: new technology is ready to revolutionize VR play, thanks to a little thing called artificial intelligence. AI promises safer tournaments as well as longer, more intense matches to draw in spectators. Sounds like a win-win situation, right? Surely greed and bloodlust won’t ruin something so groundbreaking…
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This is very much a “fight the system” sort of tale. The story zooms out from the intense interpersonal struggles of Arena to shed light on a wider world of corporate corruption and drama. Kali fights a battle in both realms, trying to make sense of her own needs while juggling the business aspects of owning a team. Internal antagonism still drives the plot forward, only now there’s plenty of external awfulness to provide contrast. And a healthy smattering of gaming references, of course.
Gauntlet is unabashedly fast-paced and endlessly exciting. Kali likes to muse about the state of things, but the plot never slows down for her idle questioning. There plenty of action to devour in the form of VR battles, which do a fantastic job leveraging the grit and grime of combat without going overboard. The stakes are higher and the schemes are wider in this sequel, and the ending manages to zip things up nicely while leaving you salivating for the next book. Do you want to play again?
Gauntlet is available now.