I often lament to myself that science fiction is either too simple or too complicated. While I enjoy John Scalzi and James S.A. Corey, neither write books of much intellectual substance - lots of style and flash, but little meat. And while I enjoy Alastair Reynolds and Iain M. Banks, both authors write books so thick and complicated that they require great time commitments to chew through.
Why can’t authors just do it all? Uncomplicated writing, less than 400 pages, depth of character, depth of insight, excitement, and the kitchen sink? This is one of the reasons that Ender's Game is my all-time favorite book - it has all of these elements. And so does All You Need Is Kill.
Don’t get me wrong - I’m not putting Kill on the same plane as Ender’s Game, but but it certainly has more in common with Card’s book than it does with just about anything else on the SciFi bookshelf.
The writing is gritty and compelling, but not juvenile (and so special note needs to go to Joseph Reed and Alexander O. Smith for their translation); the plot is action-packed and well-crafted, but not insulting nor confusing; the characters are flawed, but likable and show growth (and they kick @ss), but not cliched; the themes are treated with maturity, but are not preachy nor shallow. All You Need Is Kill is the kind of book I’m trying to find while I read piles and piles of 'Meh' literature. This is the kind of book I could hand to a student who doesn’t like to read. This is the kind of book I could hand to a student who does like to read. This is the kind of book I could hand to a kid who likes to sit and play video games all day. This is the kind of book I need more of.
It’s science fiction, it’s action, it’s well-written, it’s intelligent. I love it.
P.S. I hate the manga cover. I know a lot of kids who like to read manga, but I know more kids (including myself) who would not be caught dead with a manga in their hands...which is a shame because the book under this manga cover should appeal to a much, much wider audience. Some publisher needs to grab this book and republish it in a more “normal” American cover - it would sell like gang-busters...just sayin’.
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Reviews with images
This book isn't, "Like New"
The description of the book said that its, "Like New" there's no way this book is,"Like New".Whoever labeled this book as, "Like New" clearly didn't understand what that meant. There's water marks and several pages bent. This book isn't, "Like New" it's "USED"
Top reviews from other countries
Ariel D.
You get sucked into the story fairly quickly
Reviewed in Canada on February 21, 2015
K M Idamari
The original story paints a far more chilling account of the invasion and the end isn't rosy like in the movie
Reviewed in India on September 13, 2015
