Book Review: Virtual Grunt – Barnaby Quirk

Virtual Grunt by Barnaby Quirk focuses on Bobby Thomas, a 13 year old boy that spends most of his time in Virtual Reality. When his favourite game – Everything League – announced that they are hosting a big tournament, he knew he would not be able to win. So instead he spends his time in the game as a grunt – one of the people that makes the game more challenging. As he progresses as a grunt, he starts to play against the top competitors in Everything League – only to realise that the game is being rigged. When the dangers of the virtual world start spilling into reality, Bobby, working with Everything League programmer Amanda, must unmask the cheater before he and his friends suffer a real-life game over.

Virtual Grunt is aimed at middle-grade students and this can be seen through lines like: “He had to have cheated, and I studied two whole hours for that test. It’s not fair!”. But the story has a good premise, will keep younger readers engaged and does a decent job of introducing them to the LitRPG genre.

LitRPG became quite popular after the release of the Ready Player One movie, but I’ve been reading in this genre since late 2005 and to be honest this book just regurgitates bits and pieces from other books or manga in the genre. It feels like Ready Player One Lite. The concept is very similar: boy prefers VR to real life, game hosts huge tournament with a cash prize that everyone is vying for, boy somehow competes, people are trying to rig the game, young boy manages to stop the bad guys and win the tournament. Sound familiar? Because it is.

So yes, Virtual Grunt, does not present us with a new concept, and there are definite similarities between this book and others in the genre, but it is an entertaining read, and younger readers will definitely enjoy it.

Rating: ♥ ♥

My Favourite Thing About The Book: It’s a cute story, predictable, but cute, so it’s a good book to get children into reading.

First Sentence: President George Washington stood between Bobby Thomas and his favourite game, droning on endlessly with his fluffy white hair bobbing as he spoke.

Favourite Character: Kelly Mason, she’s a teenage girl that has been one of the top players in the game for two years running, so that’s pretty epic

Least Favourite Character: Very few of the characters were fleshed out, so probably the main antagonist, Corey?

Virtual Grunt
By: Barnaby Quirk
Published By: Blazing Things LLC
Publication Date: 09 March 2018
Page Count: 294
Genre: LitRPG, Science Fiction

*I was sent a copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

A very decent mid-grade novel. Recommended for young fans of the genre and those looking to try the genre out. Appropriate for the age group it is for and enjoyable to older folks too.