Review: Pawn, by J.C. Ahern

Rating:

♟️♟️♟️♟️

I’m switching up my review format. No more First Responses or One Sentence Summaries. Just not feeling it anymore, so I’m not doing it anymore.

I got this book for free because I agreed to review the second book in the series. It wasn’t an ARC (at least, I don’t think it was an ARC… it’s been a minute since I got it…😬), the author just wanted some more reviews to drum up conversation around the series. Overall, I’m glad I agreed to the review, because this book was thoroughly enjoyable! It has a couple issues that take it just a little out of my happy place, but I’d be willing to read it again hence the 4 stars.

The premise of this book is really strong. Aliens have invaded the Earth and enslaved the human population. The fittest have been arranged into “sets” and forced to compete in televised grudge matches ostensibly based on chess. There are two ranks in each set: the pawns and the power pieces, with the Royal (king or queen) leading the team. The games take place in virtual reality, and the pieces are awarded XP and money based on their performance. They can then use their money to buy weapon upgrades, "spells," and other useful items.

Basically, this is a book about alien video games. I think this might be what we could call LitRPG, but I'm not super familiar with the genre, so maybe not. IDK.

The story centers on Rogue, a young woman who has lost her memory and wakes up as a pawn in the first stages of a match. Over the course of the novel, we learn more about the games, Rogue's past, and even explore her budding relationship with Ronin-- a Knight in her "set."

I was a little skeptical going into this book, mainly because of the cover. I'm sure I knew what the book was about when I first agreed to the review, but it's been so long since I got it I started to put it off because this cover does not scream Sci-Fi. To me, this looks like the cover to a mafia romance novel. Don't ask me why. If I hadn't committed to listening through my Audible library before I start getting more books, I probably would have put it off again; but I'm glad I didn't-- this was such a fun read.

The book is not without it's flaws, though. The narration is plagued by the worst of "show, don't tell," by which I mean that the author gives a lot of details. So many details that what's important gets lost in the rush. This is particularly problematic near the start of the novel, where the opening chapters spend way too much time focusing on the physical sensations of moving through the world, to the point that the pace starts to crawl. Secondly, the characterizations lean towards the simple, and sometimes inconsistent. The villain is cartoonishly evil, and not in a "love to hate 'em" kind of way. Some of the decisions they make are effectively irrational to a degree that they pulled me out of the story. It was obvious that the author wanted me to hate them, but I think Ahern was trying just a bit too hard. They oversold it.

On the flipside, Rogue is likewise unnaturally competent. She's a great leader; she's a great fighter; she's a great strategist; she's even attractive (Though our male lead falls in love with her before he knows that, of course)! There are convoluted in-world reasons for why Rogue is possessed of such preternatural abilities, but like the villain, they were a bit oversold. It felt a little juvenile. A little teen-y, or kiddie. A world of stark black and white with an extraordinarily gifted protagonist is exactly the kind of thing I would have eaten up in middle school.

That being said-- I'm definitely going to read the next one. And maybe the one after that. I want to see where the story goes!