All You Need Is Kill Review

Awhile back a buddy of mine from work was telling me about this book he was reading. There were aliens, time travel, Japanese mecha, and you could stop right there cause you had me at aliens.

And time travel.

And pretty much it doesn’t take a lot to get me psyched.

So I checked out All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. It’s been described as Armageddon meets Groundhogs Day, which is the most accurate blurb you’ll ever get.

You follow from the eyes of a low-level grunt on the alien equivalent of D-Day. Some stuff happens and he gets stuck in a loop. Every time he dies he starts the day over.

Sort of like any arcade style shooter if you got enough quarters.

First thing to point out about All You Need Is Kill is that it’s translated into English from it’s original Japanese. Which is mind blowing on account of how good that translation is. The prose is tight, and with the exception of only a few wonky sentences, everything is spot on.

Why is this impressive? Because this book is hilarious. Making a joke in your native tongue is tough enough. Doing it in a different language and then translating it over so that it retains its essence and flow is on a whole other level of hard.

Tip o’ the hat to whoever is responsible for that. Seriously.

Now, despite the fact that you’re reliving the same day a couple hundred times throughout the course of the book, Sakurazaka manages to make each chapter, each day, fresh, exciting, and hilarious.

The story itself entertains an interesting concept. The aliens themselves aren’t particularly interesting, but their reasons for being here, and what they’re doing, are. There’s a cool little twist in there that I won’t ruin for ya’ll, but needless to say I thought it was a refreshing take on the we’ve traveled across the Universe to probe your cavities and take your water alien invasion.
As if these super intelligent beings capable of interstellar travel really need our precious resources.

There’s a bit of a love story that forms throughout with a woman affectionately referred to as the Full Metal Bitch. Which is their way of saying she’s a strong willed, independent woman. Eh, they could’ve done better there, but it’s the military. Not an organization prided on their gender equality, so maybe?

Anyways, the ending of All You Need Is Kill leaves me with mixed feelings. On the one hand its bittersweet and I love leaving a story feeling like I just got punched in the nads. But it also felt a little forced?

Perhaps I’m obtuse—which perhaps doesn’t need the perhaps preface— but I didn’t understand why everything in the last few chapters was really necessary. Maybe somebody could draw me a diagram?

The other notable thing about All You Need Is Kill, is that it was recently adapted for the silver screen. Tom Cruise plays our Japanese protagonist in the blockbuster hit The Edge of Tomorrow—a cool name, by the way, but I think they should have stuck with All You Need Is Kill.

I’m pretty tough on movies adapted from books I’ve read and loved. I’m looking at you Ender’s Game. I’m doubly tough on Tom Cruise, ya know, ‘cause I think crazy, rich people should work harder for my love.

Well, guess what? I went into this movie expecting to be disappointed and surprise, surprise… I wasn’t.

Wha, wha, whhaaaat?

Seriously, it was good. No. It was kind of great. The humor was there without being in your face. The story captivating. The acting better than I could do. What more can you ask for?

Okay, these are the things I’d ask for, ya know, since you’re asking.

Better Mechs. Ho Mah Gawd, the suits in Edge of Tomorrow were only slightly worse than the suitss in Elysium, which is saying a whole lot.

Elysium: It’s the Future, we don’t need no Nad Protection.

Zero Nad Protection

In the book we’re painted this image of real bad ass machines waging war on tank like monsters. In the movie Tom Cruise doesn’t even wear a helmet. I mean, what the hell? Sure, they give him a helmet that he promptly discards on account of the very obvious fact that it gets in the way. But come on, I wear a helmet on my bicycle. You should wear one when you go to war.

I’m pretty sure that’s in the Waging War Handbook.

Um…other big gripe would be the ending. Now, I’m not gonna give anything away here, but I refer you to my previous comment on bittersweet endings and how much I enjoy a good storytelling nut tap. Unfortunately, the ending of The Edge of Tomorrow didn’t deliver.

But hey, that’s just me.

One more thing I want to touch on when comparing Edge of Tomorrow with All You Need Is Kill, is the fact that the stories, while basically the same, diverge almost immediately. The movie’s plot is more involved and convoluted which actually worked out really well, in my opinion. All You Need is Kill is slightly simplistic by comparison, which again, is okay.

Neither story was trying to be something it’s not, which is rare in good sci-fi these days.
On the whole, I’d give both Edge of Tomorrow and All You Need Is Kill, four out of five stars.

What’d you think of the movie or the book? Did you like one more than the other? Hate both? Get to the comments and let me know!

Anthony