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rob's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
3.0
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
Graphic: Suicide attempt
subtlymelancholy's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Gore, Suicide attempt, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, War, and Injury/Injury detail
k_winchester's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
This was cool and interesting!! I really loved the movie and have been curious to read the book it was based on. It would've made the movie even better if it hadn't been so whitewashed - I would've loved to have seen the main character and his unit/etc be appropriately Japanese. It was also interesting to see what elements were used in the movie (or changed). Shoutout to the fact that Keiji eventually became "Killer Cage" through the story and Tom's character was basically a dude who had no business being in the war, named William Cage, who gets forced into the war and ends up time looping - nice reference, movie!👌 (Altho, again, realllllly should've just done the movie with va Japanese actor playing Keiji instead of Tom Cruise/American dude being the main but ya know, Hollywood.)
Anyways, movie comparisons aside, this was cool. I'm already a sucker for time travel/time loop shenanigans, and there was some great character voice and humor (sometimes dark; a couple times a little more male-gaze-focused than I appreciated but still amusing). The way the time loops were written sometimes gave me a little bit of The Martian vibes (even though, of course, completely different story). It was also really cool to see first how Rita got such a background and the way thsr not only was Keiji basically starry-eyes for her from the jump, but he completel respected her, too. I couldn't help wishing the book was a little longer with more loops to see more of thier dynamic play out.
That all being said, Keiji himself - while he had some personality in the way he thought/talked (narrative), he had basically no real personality past that and barely any backstory. Again, I kind of wished for a few more loops to know him better instead of just his reactions to things and his various training.
And lastly, the ending caught me off guard! Didn't see that coming at all!
All in all, cool scifi, quick read, had fun. 👍
Anyways, movie comparisons aside, this was cool. I'm already a sucker for time travel/time loop shenanigans, and there was some great character voice and humor (sometimes dark; a couple times a little more male-gaze-focused than I appreciated but still amusing). The way the time loops were written sometimes gave me a little bit of The Martian vibes (even though, of course, completely different story). It was also really cool to see first how Rita got such a background and the way thsr not only was Keiji basically starry-eyes for her from the jump, but he completel respected her, too. I couldn't help wishing the book was a little longer with more loops to see more of thier dynamic play out.
That all being said, Keiji himself - while he had some personality in the way he thought/talked (narrative), he had basically no real personality past that and barely any backstory. Again, I kind of wished for a few more loops to know him better instead of just his reactions to things and his various training.
And lastly, the ending caught me off guard! Didn't see that coming at all!
All in all, cool scifi, quick read, had fun. 👍
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, and War
Moderate: Gun violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore
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