I Am Become Death

The Onryō #1

by Rocco Ryg

Quarter-Finalist for the 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award

When Robert Oppenheimer, developer of the atomic bomb, witnessed the first nuclear explosion, he thought of a quote from Hindu “Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.” He knew that through such destructive technology, the world would never be the same. Now, a trio of students has discovered a new destructive power that, in the wrong hands, can change the world again.

Japanese teenager Chikara Kaminari, while heartbroken by the death of her mother, inherits a strange black ring and is told to share it with her friends, Renka and Gen. The will predicts that this ring and their friendship will lead to Chikara fighting political fanatics and saving the world. As the three develop extraordinary abilities, they must uncover the origin of the ring as a series of strange events forces them to become the heroes they are destined to be.

I Am Become Death is an 83,000-word novel that combines anime-inspired elements with issues of political extremism vs. moderation. Readers interested in politics and the current battle of ideologies, or the “culture war”, will find the story interesting, appealing to their fascination with the current political climate and the need for civility in a divided nation.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Ebooks, Fiction

Nook

First published March 22, 2011

About the author

Rocco Ryg grew up in Algonquin, IL and has been writing fiction on the Internet since 2002. He holds a Masters Degree in Political Science from the University of IL at Springfield and a Bachelors in Communication from the University of IL at Chicago. He used to run a commentary channel on YouTube, satirizing politicians and pundits. A fan of Japanese anime, comic book superheroes and political issues, he combines these topics in his fiction. He currently lives in Chicago.

Reviews

[InfiniteLibrary · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was nice to see a book about young teens that for once wasn't set in America and that's one of the things which really works to the strength of this book. I really liked the two main female characters Chikara and Renka, nice balancers for one another. Chikari in particular was a very strong lead and for once was not swayed at all by any thoughts of romance. It was actually refreshing where romance was a subplot with the friend of the main character instead of a main plot point. This also helped to develop Chikara's personality until she eventually transforms into her terrifying vigilante self by the end of the book, something which was both shocking and awe inspiring. It's a brave decision to dehumanise your main character so far but bravely done and will no doubt work very well in sequels to this book. I enjoyed the writing style of this book too, although sometimes the changes in perspective were a bit confusing. Although it was nice to see into other character's minds, sometimes I felt this was necessary and only clogged things up a bit. Again, the use of Japanese culture was a nice change but as someone who is already familiar with most of this, the constant reminding of what certain words are customs meant annoyed me a little. A handy glossary at the back or front perhaps instead would meant the flow of the story was not interrupted by history lessons. I did laugh out loud for almost a full minute though at the use of the club called Club Yandere - highly ironic given poor Kaijin's obsession.
Other small flaws were how other characters outside the main four were not really developed too well, so I would often confuse them with others. The tech guy was an exception but even he had hardly any actual space in the story which meant his keen interest in providing weapons for Chikara at the end a little odd. Their parent's accepting everything so easily too felt a bit forced and unrealistic but I suppose this was just a way to speed it to the conclusion though the last chapter did feel very rushed. After Gen's injury, he was also just sort of shifted totally to the sidelines for the rest of the story. The villains however are good and I found myself feeling sorry for Kaijin as he gradually grew more insane.
Overall, I liked this book and thought the three main characters were quite strong even if I wasn't too keen on Gen. Michiko too was believable and despite first being presented as a malicious character gradually grew more sympathetic through the book until I ended up really liking her. I look forward to reading the sequel in this series!

[Aijah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Am Become Death by Rocco Ryg was overall one of the most original books i have ever read. I would give it 4.9 out of 5 stars! The story was very well put together; everything made sense in the end.There's nothing I hate more in a novel where parts of the plot have absolutely no reason or answer to it.I understand cliff hangers but I can't stand when it simply makes no sense. I loved all the characters. They weren't your average book character who doesn't get the blaringly obvious clue until the end of the book. When one character was confused on what was happening, another completely understood. I also didn't get annoyed with any character. Chikara got on my nerves a little and Gen too, but only for a little. I really liked the absence of the "love" scenes too because the 2nd thing I hate the most is when authors go into every little detail. It's really gross and I feel I really don't have to read that. A simple kiss or a romantic one or whatever is nice though.
I learned more about politics, government and culture from this book than from my social studies teacher. The author kind of snuck it in I think, but I'm really glad he did. It gave the book more of a real feel to it. I honestly admit crying in the first few pages when her mother died. It was also just like watching an anime, true to what the summary described on amazon. ^.^ I happen to love anime so that was also perfect!
The reason why this book gets a 4.9 instead of a 5 is because although it felt real, I wish it could be more in depth. I laughed a lot but I really didn't connect with the characters. I also felt a little offended towards the end when religion came into play. I'm Christian and I know some people do not take it so hard when some content may be offensive. I don't really either, but it could offend some people and they might not want to read on from that. Other than that, I loved the book. I especially loved the ending scene and you see that a certain character xxxxxxxxx.There were some good messages in this story which I will refrain from writing so I don't give anything (or anything else:) ) away.I will definitely read the next book!

x's are for secrecy purposes ;)

[E. Bard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed the book. The descriptive blurb is very accurate. I Am Become Death really is very Anime/Manga inspired even though it's a novel. The similarity between the two jumped out at me immediately because not only are my children YA readers, but they're fans of Anime (and one of them a Manga fan too), so I've become familiar with it myself.

In the story the protagonists Chikara, Renka and Gen, as well as the antagonists Michiko, Yukiko, Kaijin(and later ones) really did remind me of Anime characters. Of course this is only a slight comparison because the characters were more developed in the novel. But the similarities to Japanese animation didn't end there. Just as a reader familiar with Anime would expect, there are plenty of spontaneous sparring events throughout the story, a budding romance between the shy girl and the good looking boy, dark secrets held by many characters, supernatural powers tied in with different religious beliefs and even a few surprises from the past just kind of thrown at you. But as a reader, I have to say it all worked together quite well. The action scenes were very exciting and there was a good deal of suspense injected to keep me reading.

I should also mention that the author did present a fair bit of information about Japanese culture and history in the story as well as different political points of view. I thought it was handled well but I can see how some of those passages might drag a bit for some readers. However, it's still a great first book in the series. I look forward to the next one.

[Eva · Rating 3 out of 5]

First thing I have to say is that one or two years ago I'd have given this book 5 stars when I used to be a big fan of fantasy and anything paranormal. Although I prefer nearly all other genres at the moment, I really enjoyed this read.
The novel is written in a way easy to understand and there aren't any paragraphes which bored me (maybe that's only because I'm really interested in the Japanese culture).
The only real problem I had when reading this book was remembering all the names. For about the first 50 pages I always mixed up Michiko and Chikara, not to mention the members of the fight club! Especially in the next to last chapter I lost control totally and had to re-read it to understand [i]who [/i] did what because I didn't get it the first time (since they're also quite a lot of people at once). BUT since this book plays in Japan so the names have to be Japanese, I guess the mixing-names-up is my own fault. :D
I was shocked when while reading the last few pages I realized that the story wouldn't end with this book and was even a bit sad when it was over. I can't wait to read its sequel!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book because the idea was fresh and original. Once I started reading, I couldn't stop until I finished! It kept a good pace and I'm awaiting a (hopefully) sequel. I've never read a book where an inherited ring could give you powers, but this one was good. The powers were interesting too. I like Gen's power a lot, and it's not a power you'd read about in other novels (at least the novels I read). The only thing I didn't like was the 3rd person omniscient point-of-view (if I'm not mistaken). I was confused at the beginning, because I though that the book was in Chikara's point-of-view, but I was proved wrong when I read further. The novel also had grammatical error, but for the most part, I was able to decipher what word was intended. I rate this book four stars for a fantastic read!

[Alejandro Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was an amazing piece of work, especially because I'm partial to anime, and this was intended to be felt as such. The characters, thus, I hold to a slightly higher standard than normal. The fact is, that I think character interaction was done very well because they talk the way I would expect people to talk.

The plot moved along at a very good pace, I think, because the author focused on the people and the world to the degree that they were important, instead of artificially giving more value to one thing than another. It doesn't arbitrarily focus on one thing when something else was obviously more of value to the story.

In all, I really liked this work and would love to see a visual representation of it.

[Sydney Mugerwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been some time since I read this book, but the emotions the author stirred in me are still vivid more than a year later. I would read so fast, skimming over the words in the thick of the action, then at some point, I would slow down my pace to a crawl, terrified the story will end so soon. I could say I was watching Anime or reading a manga magazine. Everything is so vivid and authentic in decription. The action comes alive in technicolor. I love this book. Go Rocco!!

[Justine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a read 2 review novel. I received for free from the author in exchange to read and review it. I freaking love the. Cover!
*SPOILER ALERT*
 
The book starts off on a sad note, the main character Chikara's mother dies of cancer. 
Chikara doesn't want to face the death so she tries not to dwell on it. She continues going to school and being with her friends. Also present is her enemy Michiko, or as she has been called by people empress Michiko.

One day at school Michiko pulls some weird stuff. She makes one of the classmates lick her shoe and when Chikara try's to stop her, Chikara ends up also licking her shoe against her will. But she can't seem to fight against the pull to do the deed, something is making her do it. 

When Chikara's mothers will is read, Chikara is left with a golden ring. The only instructions being to share it with her friends Renka and a boy from school Gen. For some reason Michiko wants the ring. Later on we find out the Michiko has an identical ring to Chikara's.

Ends up they all get superpowers from the ring. Also there are bad guys with superpowers. Theier parents were all in Africa when they found is statue and stone and it gave the whole village superpowers. All the parents that were there had children born with the powers and the parents all died of cancer from the radiation from the black stone.

Michiko ends up having a half brother who wants to use her powers for bad so he kidnaps her from the prom that he payed their school to have. Chikara try's to save Michiko from Damian her half brother but ends up losing an eye. 

Now Chikara wants revenge. So there will be a second book.

Ok so this is definitely NOT my kind of book. First the title sounds like some kind of bad translation and I looked up the author is from IL., so it must have been done on purpose though I'm not sure why. Also all of the names, they are Japanese, so there are way to many different ones for each person it really slowed my progress because I had to try and think who was who. I really did not care for how the story was told from pretty much every single character in the books point of view. I found that confusing to try and figure out who the hell was talking. 

I started this book on the 23rd and I honestly don't know if I can finish it. I always finish books. 

I did finish the book. It did get better near the end. It starting not jumping around so much and started making sense. But still not the best book by my standards. 

[Shanna Hurd · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this story, three Japanese teenagers come into contact with a ring that gives them magical abilities. Chikara inherited the ring from her mother, who directed her to share the ring with her friends and use it to save the world.

While the idea behind the book is really great, the story itself did not live up to my expectations. It is set in modern day Japan, which is great, but the author kept interjecting Japanese history and explanations of the culture that had nothing to do with the story, and kept pulling me out of the story. The characters were one dimensional. They did little growing. Tough girl Chikara remained a tough girl. Gentle Renka continued to follow Chikara. Socialist Gen remained the outspoken socialist.

The beginning of the book promised that they would save the world, yet for the first 2/3 of the book, the 'villain' seemed to be the cruel and annoying classmate who happened to have the power to control people with her voice. She is a pain, but not exactly a threat to the safety of the earth. The build-up in the plot was very slow until the end. At that point, it turned out this book was merely a set-up for a second novel.

The first half of the book was slow and less enjoying to read, but the second half was a big improvement. The story was just getting good when the book ended, leaving Chikara, Renka, and Gen to save the classmate who had once been their enemy. Despite the problems with this book, I would still take a look at book two when I can.

[.·:*¨ × Shannon♥Stelena&Bamon&Sydrian × ¨*: · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a read 2 review novel. I received for free from the author in exchange to read and review it.

Chikara is gifted with an mysterious ring...and an destiny she never imagined.

This was an very interesting read, while the whole gifted with abilities and must protect the world from those who seek to destroy/take it over has been done, i like the way this one developed. At first it's mostly high school drama/mean girls regarding Michiko with odds things going on. but soon things start going down and it gets serious. while an bit cliched and flawed, the story was absorbing, The abilities were amazing yet horrifying, The action could be reminisced of Sucker Punch the characters -Chikara, Renka and Gen- definitely matured, and i liked how there was an laugh here and there. overall an exciting read.

Warning: while YA there is mild language, certain scenes -not very explicit- of people getting burned alive, someone falling to their death and an character's face getting slashed. just an heads up in case, you're squeamish or worried about content.

[Elsa Carrion · Rating 2 out of 5]

What can I say that has not been said before......I didn't really care for the title but I gave it a shot anyway, I didn't read the summary, so I really didn't know what I was getting into, that was my fault; however I would have given it a try anyway but there was no turning back now. The plot was ok it could have been better. The names of the characters threw me off and I'm still having issues. I remember that Ma..somehting was the main character and Ra...something was her female friend and G (I think)...something was the male in the group. I had a little trouble with the names OK. This was the first YA story I read that the setting is in Asia. Some of the words were a little confusing since she was using some of the Asia words but after reading the entire sentence I kind of got the idea. I sometimes felt that a piece of the story was missing because it felt that something was skipped and all of a sudden they or she/him were doing something else or somewhere else. The bashing could have been left out I think, I wasn't too fond of it. There were several spelling errors, it kind of threw me off, and I had to go back and re-read the sentence.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a little harder for me to read than my normal choices.
I must admit it was pretty hard for me to get into with its Japanese names and the references to the Manga and American comic books. But after the second chapter the characters had been developed enough for me to get a hold of the story.
"I Am Become Death" did indeed have me intrigued while reading it. I was fascinated with the story of Chikara’s mother how she had ended up in Africa and how the rings came to exist. I also enjoyed finding out each of the characters powers and how they grew with the character and the suspense of finally finding out what Chikara’s power was in the end.
Overall not a bad book, minus the difficulty of starting out in the first chapter I enjoyed the book and will probably read the sequel.
I would strongly recommend “I Am Become Death” to anyone who loves reading Manga and superhero comic books, or has a love for the Japanese culture.

[Elisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A blend of comic book superheroes, manga, coming-of age themes, and nationalism, "I am Become Death" was an enjoyable book. The book did need editing, though. The sentence structures and point-of-view shifts pulled me out of the story too many times to count. One thing that did bug me, plot-wise, was the drastic change of the main character towards the end. Though she was always a "tough girl," she hated anything to do with superheroes and manga. At the end of the book, she becomes what I can only describe as a techno-superhero, complete with what I felt the character would deem a ridiculous and offensive mask. Ah well. Perhaps I'll read the sequel when it comes out.

[Candace · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was given the ebook version of this book by goodreads. Ryg's character's are well rounded and keep one interested in their outcome. The pacing is great making it hard for the reader to put down the book!! The story is well thought out and creative. The reason for the two stars ---- the language does not flow smoothly. Adjectives that don't fit the context of the sentence is one of the main problems. Dialogue that could be quickly summarized was another disruption. Also, I felt that America is needlessly criticized from healthcare to our "westernized prom." This could ostracize some readers and is not necessary to the plot.

[Lisa A · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was just not my type of book. If you love Japanese culture, this book is full of it. I kept getting lost with the different variations of the characters' names. Sometimes the story felt hurried and thrown together. I did enjoy the idea of the rings and the back-story of their history though.

[Jemma Ryder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't like it much more of an older persons book not a teenagers