Reviews - All You Need Is Kill

545 reviews for:

All You Need Is Kill

Hiroshi Sakurazaka

3.85 AVERAGE

rob's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous tense fast-paced

This is the first book I've read where I thoroughly enjoyed the movie better. It just did a better job at exploring the concept. If you haven't seen the movie, you'll love it. If you've seen the movie and are looking for something more, this is an entertaining read.

Content Warnings

megadeathvsbooks's review against another edition

4.0

There are so many things in this book I wish the movie had kept - no surprise. The cultural layers present made the entire book so much more rich. Great read.

dubsington's review against another edition

3.0

Pretty interesting read, especially after seeing the film. More of a romp than a dissection of the interesting premise.

amnesiack's review against another edition

3.0

3.5/5

A lot of books have a strong beginning or a strong ending but flag and droop somewhere in the middle. This book was the opposite of that for me, taking a while to draw me in and ultimately disappointing me at the very end, while holding my interest in a firm grip throughout its middle 80%.

serru's review against another edition

4.0

This is a Groundhog Day-style novel where the main character Keiji Kiriya is a soldier in a war against invading aliens called Mimics. He gets caught in a time loop after dying in a battle and begins to experience the day of the battle over and over again. Throughout this, he trains in an attempt to survive the battle with each iteration of the loop in hopes of breaking out of it. I picked it up after watching the Hollywood movie adaptation called 'Edge of Tomorrow' and was pleasantly surprised to find that the book goes much deeper into the story, fleshing out the characters and setting. The author did a really great job in writing about each loop differently, unfolding the same day in a fresh way that the story was compelling to read and it never felt repetitive. There's also a significant part that goes into the main character's psychology and how he trained through trial and error to become a sort of super soldier against the Mimics. I really enjoyed reading about this and seeing how the character found different ways to improve himself and change what happens in each loop. Apparently the author was inspired to write this by a video game player's account of how he used trial and error through multiple deaths of his character to learn how to beat a game.

lyndacclark's review against another edition

4.0

I didn't know what to expect from this novel, so was pleased to find it fresh, funny and exciting. Sakurazaka doesn't pull any punches regarding the horrors of war, but utilises sci-fi plot devices to delve deeper into what it means to be a hero.

draculaura's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I've been on a big translation kick lately (this is my 6th this year) and All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka is a lot of fun. New recruit Keiji Kiriya dies on the battlefield in his first outing against an alien invasion, only to find himself awakening each morning of the battle to fight and die over and over again. Sakurazaka has said he was inspired by video games where the more you die and respawn, the better you get at the game. These vibes are perfectly captured by Keiji. He is not particularly exceptional, just an average soldier with nothing to offer but time.

Published in 2004, this was the source material for the 2014 movie Edge of Tomorrow and, I gotta say, I enjoyed them both equally. The alien Mimics are beautifully designed in the movie, whereas their description is a little hard to visualize in the novel (and downright bizarre in the manga). Also, EoT is much cheekier than its counterpart, which reads pretty brusque, just like how a food soldier would be.