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careinthelibrary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
Did I remember all ~50 characters? No! But the reading pace kept me flying through it and the 20ish that were most important were definitely memorable. The size of the book flew by with the pacing of the short, intense chapters.
This new translation is more action-packed than the original (I compared line by line with the audiobook of the original English translation). You can tell this translator has worked on manga and video games before because the fight scenes are so much smother. But whichever version you have, read it.
What a thrilling, unexpectedly emotionally charged, bloody, anti-fascist roller coaster. This is the inspiration behind Hunger Games and battle royale style video games, but way more politically incendiary.
Graphic: Classism, Child death, Murder, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gore, Mass/school shootings, Blood, and Gun violence
Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexism, Medical content, Classism, Grief, Suicide, Rape, and Mental illness
Minor: Car accident
noodlebooknook's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Well first of all given the size of the book (650 pages of my edition) I was a little intimidated but this book FLIES by so fast it feels like a 200-300 page book.
The narration style was so unique starting with 42 characters and we get POVs with a lot of them. Which has its normal downsides where sometimes I would be less invested than normal but overall most of the POVs were so interesting.
Also I really had no idea where this book was going at all somehow have managed to avoid spoilers for 25 year and wow wow wow the ending was just amazing.
I will say absolutely trigger warning this was one of the most gore heavy and violent books I’ve read in awhile and it is absolutely an insane read along with other terrible things happening.
Overall would highly recommend this book to anyone
Graphic: Gore, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Murder, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Confinement, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Rape, Violence, and War
mysteryspouse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Rape, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Death, Physical abuse, Child death, Body horror, Blood, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, and Pedophilia
velveteenrabbit's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Gore, Child death, War, Vomit, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Cursing, Blood, and Medical content
Moderate: Rape, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, and Adult/minor relationship
vvabecca's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Dysphoria, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Mental illness, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Genocide, Medical trauma, Bullying, Car accident, Addiction, Grief, Gore, Body horror, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Classism, and Injury/Injury detail
maurits's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Blood and Murder
Moderate: Medical content and Rape
parchmentdreams's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Suicide, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death of parent, Gun violence, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Violence, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicidal thoughts
seventhcr0w's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Gore, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Blood, Child death, Cursing, Grief, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Torture, Gun violence, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Child death, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual assault
Minor: Sexual content, Stalking, Homophobia, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Alcoholism, and Body shaming
perthalus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
I’ve seen the film adapt more than once before, and reading the original book provided so many pieces of context and extra character bits that made reading it entirely worth it. Koushun Takami absolutely nails the action. Even knowing what happens doesn’t remove from the intensity and suspense provided by each encounter, and god, what a premise.
I especially love Kazuo Kiriyama’s gang, though I wish Kazuo himself got a little more background towards the end, but that may just be my bias talking. And I also love Shogo Kawada because… I don’t know, I just love him, okay? 🫶🏻 Now that I think about it, there isn’t a character I don’t really like, maybe besides Shinji, though even he has his moments. But Mitsuko, Kazuo, Shogo, Shuya, Hiroki, Chigusa, and Noriko are all characters I absolutely love.
I will say that the action can ride the edge between believable and ridiculous, especially when characters do somersaults mid-fight. And on top of that, Shinji’s computer jargon and his exposition on pre-established information made his chapters a little repetitive, but other than that I can’t pick out any glaring problems with the book or it’s story.
Overall, it’s a book that is still incredibly entertaining, shocking, and politically powerful as it was when it was first released, and it only made my appreciation grow for the story and the film adaptation.
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Death, Gore, Violence, Suicide, Misogyny, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Bullying, Cursing, and Blood
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Rape, Sexual assault, and Pedophilia
Minor: Suicide, Trafficking, Classism, and Homophobia
jadehusdanhicks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Violence, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Suicide, and Gore