Virus

Scott is in life-threatening danger. Thanks to his newfound knowledge of Virtual Kombat’s (VK) fatal gameplay, Vince Power, the creator of VK, is pursuing him, threatening to kill him to keep VK’s secret hidden. As a result, Scott is forced into running and hiding as he tries to save his world while also saving his life. 

Everything changes when Scott meets the Virtual Kombat Rebellion (VKR), a group of people dedicated to stopping VK once and for all. Because Scott and VKR share the same perspective on VK, they team up with one goal: plant a virus inside VK to destroy the game. However, things won’t be easy, as the group must reach the Last Level to successfully install the virus. With people’s lives hanging in the balance, will Scott and VKR finally destroy VK for good? Or will their journey lead to an inevitable demise? 

Virus, the exciting second book in the Virtual Kombat Series, continues Scott’s fight against VK amid a broken world, searching for truth and happiness. The book functions similarly to the previous one, detailing Scott’s journey with plenty of action-packed scenes and high-stakes situations. Once again, Scott stars as the book’s main protagonist, and his unwavering dedication to truth, equality, and fairness makes him an admirable and influential character. However, Scott’s unchanging character is also slightly unrealistic, and like the last book, Virus struggles to characterize Scott outside of this perfect “Mary Sue” representation of the story.   

Like its predecessor, Virus recaptures Gamer’s enjoyable nature through its action-packed narration. Most of the book features intense, fast-moving scenes stuffed with fierce fights and adrenaline-pumping chase scenes. Once again, these fights are violent and slightly graphic, and frequently describe crushing blows, bloody injuries, and fatal kills in detail. For example, Scott’s fight against Shark, his mortal enemy, incorporates a variety of gory details: “He lashes out with an attack so fast I barely see it. The blade slices me across the arm. I cry out in pain as the smell of my burning flesh fills the air. My life bar flashes 80% as I dodge his next attack and counter with a side kick. But Shark easily evades it and blazes my thigh. I’m at 69% as I limp away, wondering how he can react so fast.” 

Thanks to the incorporation of the VKR, the book boasts numerous lessons about friendship, trust, and hope. For example, Scott learns that his desire to take down VK cannot be done by himself—he needs the help of others to accomplish his goal. More importantly, his partnership with VKR requires friendship and trust, two aspects that are frequently tested and grown throughout the story. One instance of this lesson involves a character named Java in the VKR, who is initially skeptical about Scott. However, as their adventure forces the two to work together, the book features major character development between the two, especially when Java risks her life to save Scott. It teaches readers the power of trust and support during difficult times.  

Overall, Virus is a fantastic continuation of the Virtual Kombat Series and adds new elements without losing its signature action-packed plot. Its brisk narration will keep readers on the edge of their seats, and its characters will teach readers important lessons about trust and hope. However, like Gamer, Virus suffers from the same lack of exposition and cliché tropes, making the book feel stale and unimaginative. Plus, Scott’s lack of major character growth can be another unrealistic factor within the grand adventure. Thus, Virus will appeal to a younger generation that loves fast-paced, exciting stories and needs an introduction to the literary world. 

Sexual Content 

• Scott encounters Kate, one of his friends, believed to be dead, in a virtual coliseum and kisses her. “She leans forward and kisses me. Feeling her lips upon mine, I can’t believe that she’s a ghost in a machine. Kate has to be real. Alive!” 

Violence 

• Two Virtual Kombat (VK) kombatants, Goliath and the Reaper, fight each other in a virtual arena. the Reaper kills Goliath by slicing through his body. “Then the Reaper reappears and cuts down with his long curved blade, slicing Goliath completely in half.” 
• Scott gets attacked by a Wasp, “a yellow-and-black machine of rotors” that pursues after VK fugitives, but is saved by a mysterious girl with an EMP. “I shout at Stick, but the warning comes too late. He runs straight into the Stinger’s path, and it strikes him in the chest. He slumps to the ground and thrashes wildly as he’s paralyzed by the electro-dart.” 
• A mysterious girl, later known as Java, “electro-stuns” Scott with a taser-like contraption after learning that Scott was an Elite Gamer for VK. “Then I feel two metal prongs on my stomach and a jolt of electricity blazes into my system. My body locks up. The pain overcomes me, and I black out . . . ” 
• While escaping from a mysterious building, Scott fights and defeats three security guards with a flurry of punches and leg kicks. “I run at him and leap into the air. Twisting, I let loose a spinning hook kick. The guard is taken by surprise as my heel smashes into his head. He collapses like a felled tree.” This fight is described over four pages. 
• Scott and his friends fight the Reaper, one of the bosses in the VK game, and defeat him by breaking his scythe. “I turn to see the Reaper rising from the lava pool. He floats toward me in a gray gown, his skeletal hands holding a long curved scythe. With vicious speed, he swipes with his blade. I leap over the razor-sharp steel and kick him in the chest. The gown crumples, but there’s nothing there for me to hit and the Reaper is left unharmed. The scythe swipes again, and I almost lose my head. I kick, punch, and strike with all my skill and strength. But it’s as if I’m fighting against thin air.” This fight scene is described over four pages. 
• Scott saves his friend, Ginger Ninja, from a group of cowboys by beating them up. Scott kicks “the gun from the cowboy’s hand, then back-fist him in the head. His Stetson hat goes flying, and he falls to the ground. The other two cowboys reach for their guns. I knife-hand one in the neck and palm-strike the other in the face. Then finish them off with a double flying kick.” This fight scene is described over two pages. 
• When Scott and his friends attempt to enter the Temple of the Ten Tigers, they are attacked by stone tigers and Scott’s sworn enemy, Shark. When the battle turns sour, the group is forced to escape the tigers and Shark by returning to the real world. “[Shark] lashes out with an attack so fast I barely see it. The blade slices me across the arm. I cry out in pain as the smell of my burning flesh fills the air. My life bar flashes 80% as I dodge his next attack and counter with a side kick. But Shark easily evades it and blazes my thigh. I’m at 69% as I limp away, wondering how he can react so fast.” This fight scene is described over four pages. 
• When Scott watches a replay of Shark’s battle against a tiger, he notices that Shark can’t see without his shades. “She points to Shark as the tiger attacks him and swipes off his dark shades. Shark kicks the tiger away, then searches around for his shades like a blind man.” 
• When Scott’s group is examining a booby-trapped temple, Pac-Man, one of Scott’s friends, steps on a tile and receives a spike to the foot. “Suddenly a spike shoots up from a tile into his foot. He screams in pain. Tugging his foot free, he staggers back before collapsing by the temple entrance.” 
• After escaping the temple, Scott’s group is pursued by the stone tigers. “Its jaws open wide, and the beast pounces. I try to fight it off but its claws tear into me. My life bar drops: 73%. . . 62%. . . 51%. . .” Scott escapes to the real world with the help of a mysterious figure. The chase scene is described over three pages. 
• Scott and his friends battle several gladiators in a virtual coliseum, including Shark. While several of the other gladiators are killed, Shark is stabbed through the back, but it remains a mystery if he really dies afterward. “Suddenly the tip of a samurai sword thrusts out of Shark’s chest. He splutters blood and collapses to the ground, his life bar on his chest blinking out.” The fight scene is described over eight pages. 
• During the last level of VK, Scott’s friends are attacked and temporarily subdued by Vince Power, the cruel tyrant in Scott’s post-apocalypse world, disguised as Ginger Ninja. “Before anyone can react, a throwing electro-stars hits Spam in the neck. Sparks fly as the weapon stuns. Java goes for her sword, but Ginger Ninja breaks her arm with a brutal side kick.” 
• At the culmination of the book, Vince Power fights Scott with bolts of lightning, nearly pushing him into a bottomless pit called the Infinity Drop. “His eyes spark blue, and his hands crackle with electricity. Bolts of lightning arc from his fingertips and strike me down before I can defend myself. My body twists in pain, and I’m flung back to the edge of the Infinity Drop.” 
• After being attacked by Vince Power, Pac-Man is badly wounded and needs medical attention. He recovers shortly afterward. “Pac-Man groans. He’s bleeding badly but still alive. While Java tends to his wound and straps up her own arm, I head over to the terminal.”

Drugs and Alcohol 

• None 

Language 

• Stick, one of Scott’s antagonists, says, “What a load of bull” when Scott tries to convince him that VK “burns out our brains.” 
• Java disagrees with one of her friends and tells him to “shut up.” 
• After Shark runs into Scott’s group of friends and ruins their attempt to beat VK’s level, Java exclaims, “Who the hell was that?” 
• Java yells, “What the hell were you doing?” to Scott after he nearly dies. 
• Java refers to Ginger Ninja as a “twerp.” 
• Java yells, “Will you shut up and turn off the light?” to Spam after he wakes up the group, trying to piece together the temple’s riddle. 

Supernatural 

• After Scott encounters Kat-Ana in VK, whom he believed was killed in the last book, Pentium, the creator of VK, tells him that she may be a “ghost in a machine.” “Pentium rolls forward and explains, ‘If your friend died half in and half out of VK, then her consciousness may have transferred into her avatar.’” 

Spiritual Content 

• None