All You Need Is Kill
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Product Description
Product Description
When the alien Gitai invade, Keiji Kiriya is just one of many raw recruits shoved into a suit of battle armour and sent out to kill. Keiji dies on the battlefield, only to find himself reborn each morning to fight and die again and again. On the 158th iteration though, he sees something different, something out of place: the female soldier known as the Bitch of War. Is the Bitch the key to Keiji's escape, or to his final death?
About the Author
Hiroshi Sakurazaka was born in 1970. After a career in information technology, he published his first novel Wizards' Web in 2003. His 2004 short story Saitama Chainsaw Massacre won the 16th SF Magazine Reader's Award. His other novels include Characters (co-written with Hiroki Azuma) and All You Need is KILL, which was published by Haikasoru in 2009.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Presumably not by chance, Hiroshi Sakurazaka's novel follows similar themes to Issui Ogawa's The Lord of the Sands of Time, also published among the first wave of Japanese sci-fi novels under Viz's new Haikasoru fiction imprint, but in reality the two books are very different in approach. Again the theme is one of using time-travel in order to combat the overwhelming invasion force that threatens to wipe out the entire planet. In the case of All You Need Is Kill, the time-travel is however on a smaller, more personal scale, but the outcome could equally be of global importance.
Here, one fresh Japanese recruit in the United Defence Force, Keiji Kiriya, is caught-up in a Groundhog Day style loop, seemingly doomed to fight and repeatedly die in a major battle with the Mimics that, like a computer game, is continually reset until he can build up the necessary fighting experience and find a way - if there is a way - to overcome the merciless onslaught of the strange mechanical amphibian creatures that threaten to destroy life on the entire planet. That experience might be found in Rita Vrataski, a young American UDF soldier of formidable killing power known as the Full Metal Bitch, but the Mimics are also learning new moves with every battle.
Much more dynamic and with harder-hitting writing than the Ogawa novel, Sakurazaka takes conventional genre and gaming elements and puts a fresh and entertaining spin on them, keeping the repetition of the loops to a minimum, finding new ways of moving the plot forward and keeping the viewer interested in finding the answer to this strange phenomenon. A good translation also makes the book highly readable and entertaining.
Here, one fresh Japanese recruit in the United Defence Force, Keiji Kiriya, is caught-up in a Groundhog Day style loop, seemingly doomed to fight and repeatedly die in a major battle with the Mimics that, like a computer game, is continually reset until he can build up the necessary fighting experience and find a way - if there is a way - to overcome the merciless onslaught of the strange mechanical amphibian creatures that threaten to destroy life on the entire planet. That experience might be found in Rita Vrataski, a young American UDF soldier of formidable killing power known as the Full Metal Bitch, but the Mimics are also learning new moves with every battle.
Much more dynamic and with harder-hitting writing than the Ogawa novel, Sakurazaka takes conventional genre and gaming elements and puts a fresh and entertaining spin on them, keeping the repetition of the loops to a minimum, finding new ways of moving the plot forward and keeping the viewer interested in finding the answer to this strange phenomenon. A good translation also makes the book highly readable and entertaining.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In the film Groundhog Day, Bill Murray repeatedly wakes up and re-lives the same 24hrs over and over again. Each time the cycle repeats, he learns another valuable lesson about his life. All You Need is Kil by Hiroshi Sakurakzaka has a similar premise but instead of being set in Punxsutawney it is set on the muddy battlefields of Japan in the midst of a future war.
Alien creatures called Mimics have landed and are attempting to invade Earth. Slowly they are attacking each country trying to discover where humanities weak points lie. Keiji Kiriya is a fresh faced solider who is starting to panic at the thought of his first impending battle. He has never experienced war. He has no idea of what to expect or how to react. His worst fears are confirmed and shortly after the battle begins he is killed only to re-awake back in the army base where he is forced to relive the build up to his death once more. Keiji quickly comes to realise he is trapped in time and no matter how he tries to escape destiny he will always end up on the battlefield.
We also get to see the battle from the perspective of an American female soldier called Rita Vrataski, known by all around her as the Full Metal Bitch. Rita is the quintessential warrior. She and her colleagues are battle hardened veterans and seem to be the polar opposite of Keiji and his friends. As Keiji relives the battle over and over again, trying to discover a way forward, Rita becomes the only fixed constant in his world.
Where this novel excels is by taking a concept that many readers will already be familiar with, in this case time travel, and adding an interesting new wrinkle. Instead of going forward or back in time great distances, the main protagonist is trapped in the same time period, forced to continue reliving the same moments indefinitely.
I was really pleased when I heard that All You Need is Kill has had the movie rights optioned. Though the story takes place in a small geographical area it reads as epic in scale, certainly something that would translate as a real spectacle on the movie screen. My initial excitement for a movie was somewhat dampened however, when I then read that the character of Keiji is going to be 'Americanized'. This is a great shame as some of the central concepts of the novel will be lost due to changes in nationality. There is an old samurai principle that is mentioned in the novel, `Kiri-oboeru' which means to strike down your enemy and learn. This sort of detail will become irrelevant if the character is no longer Japanese.
Another concern, while trying to avoid spoilers, is that the book ends on a bittersweet note. I do hope this isn't changed for the film adaption. I would much rather see a faithful adaption on screen than a schmaltzy saccharin sweet Hollywood happy ending.
The novel isn't terribly long, only around two hundred pages, so it's a quick read. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys their science fiction full of action but with in-depth characterization.
Alien creatures called Mimics have landed and are attempting to invade Earth. Slowly they are attacking each country trying to discover where humanities weak points lie. Keiji Kiriya is a fresh faced solider who is starting to panic at the thought of his first impending battle. He has never experienced war. He has no idea of what to expect or how to react. His worst fears are confirmed and shortly after the battle begins he is killed only to re-awake back in the army base where he is forced to relive the build up to his death once more. Keiji quickly comes to realise he is trapped in time and no matter how he tries to escape destiny he will always end up on the battlefield.
We also get to see the battle from the perspective of an American female soldier called Rita Vrataski, known by all around her as the Full Metal Bitch. Rita is the quintessential warrior. She and her colleagues are battle hardened veterans and seem to be the polar opposite of Keiji and his friends. As Keiji relives the battle over and over again, trying to discover a way forward, Rita becomes the only fixed constant in his world.
Where this novel excels is by taking a concept that many readers will already be familiar with, in this case time travel, and adding an interesting new wrinkle. Instead of going forward or back in time great distances, the main protagonist is trapped in the same time period, forced to continue reliving the same moments indefinitely.
I was really pleased when I heard that All You Need is Kill has had the movie rights optioned. Though the story takes place in a small geographical area it reads as epic in scale, certainly something that would translate as a real spectacle on the movie screen. My initial excitement for a movie was somewhat dampened however, when I then read that the character of Keiji is going to be 'Americanized'. This is a great shame as some of the central concepts of the novel will be lost due to changes in nationality. There is an old samurai principle that is mentioned in the novel, `Kiri-oboeru' which means to strike down your enemy and learn. This sort of detail will become irrelevant if the character is no longer Japanese.
Another concern, while trying to avoid spoilers, is that the book ends on a bittersweet note. I do hope this isn't changed for the film adaption. I would much rather see a faithful adaption on screen than a schmaltzy saccharin sweet Hollywood happy ending.
The novel isn't terribly long, only around two hundred pages, so it's a quick read. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys their science fiction full of action but with in-depth characterization.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It's always nice to see science fiction from other markets being published in English, and even nicer when as with All you need is kill, it's the sort of science fiction you have no problem recommending.
A mixture of Groundhog Day, Full Metal Jacket and Robotech, All you need is kill is a military SF novel with a lovely time travel puzzle element and a bit of a love story in it as well.
Mimics, a rather faceless enemy which means that the author doesn't have to dwell on whether his characters are fighting a just war, which is of benefit to the straight ahead nature of the narrative, are a force that have been sent to wipe humanity off the face of the Earth. Mankind arms itself with jackets, basically robotic suits of armour that amplify the pilot's strength. However the jackets take getting used to and the raw recruits needed to man the defences don't have that time. Unless they happen to be caught in a time loop that restarts the day before a big battle each time he dies.
His coming to terms with the time loop and how he uses the chance to build himself into a better soldier are the focus of the story.
That the concept is familiar (though the author points to his inspiration being video games, rather than any earlier treatments of the "reliving the same day" story) does not detract from the entertainment of the novel. As usual it is the idea of how the loop will resolve both in its effect on the protagonist and how it works mechanically in the story that are so highly intriguing that they keep you reading. For the story is undoubtedly about the growth of the main character and the decisions he makes. There is comedy in there, amongst the macho soldier stuff and the angst.
And the end is rather heartrending.
It's a slim volume, at more or less 200 pages, but that's a nice change from all these 500+ page monsters that most SF writers put out these days. I hope more of the author's work is translated!
A mixture of Groundhog Day, Full Metal Jacket and Robotech, All you need is kill is a military SF novel with a lovely time travel puzzle element and a bit of a love story in it as well.
Mimics, a rather faceless enemy which means that the author doesn't have to dwell on whether his characters are fighting a just war, which is of benefit to the straight ahead nature of the narrative, are a force that have been sent to wipe humanity off the face of the Earth. Mankind arms itself with jackets, basically robotic suits of armour that amplify the pilot's strength. However the jackets take getting used to and the raw recruits needed to man the defences don't have that time. Unless they happen to be caught in a time loop that restarts the day before a big battle each time he dies.
His coming to terms with the time loop and how he uses the chance to build himself into a better soldier are the focus of the story.
That the concept is familiar (though the author points to his inspiration being video games, rather than any earlier treatments of the "reliving the same day" story) does not detract from the entertainment of the novel. As usual it is the idea of how the loop will resolve both in its effect on the protagonist and how it works mechanically in the story that are so highly intriguing that they keep you reading. For the story is undoubtedly about the growth of the main character and the decisions he makes. There is comedy in there, amongst the macho soldier stuff and the angst.
And the end is rather heartrending.
It's a slim volume, at more or less 200 pages, but that's a nice change from all these 500+ page monsters that most SF writers put out these days. I hope more of the author's work is translated!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A refreshing change from current trends in sci-fi
I heard about this book when Empire film magazine reported that it is being considered for a big screen adaptation. Read more
Published 1 month ago by GymCee
Fast and good as few can do
Hiroshi Sakurazaka is a Japanese author, who wrote 'All You Need is Kill' in 2004, when he earned the praise of his fellow writers, at least in the field of science fiction. Read more
Published 5 months ago by ManInsideTheHelm
Good, quick read
Let me get some preliminaries out of the way - I'm not a massive fan of this translation. Not that I have (or could) read the original, but some of the style in some conversations... Read more
Published 19 months ago by bunglenutter
Original and fascinating.
Haikasoru is publishing a series of very interesting SF novels from Japanese writers translated into English. Read more
Published on 19 May 2010 by A. P. J. Jansen
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