November 2015 - Sci-Fi 1: All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*, Bad Girls Deadlift]

I got pretty far into this and decided to DNF.

This book is much, much sadder and grimmer than I was expecting.

I thought the writing was pretty nice - if dry and emotionless. I'm not sure if that was the writing or the narrator.

[Chris , cookie guilt]

Could even be the translation.

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*, Bad Girls Deadlift]

Chris wrote: "Could even be the translation."

True

[Mike (the Paladin)]

I was in an odd position here in having to say I actually like the way they end the movie better than they way they explain it all and tie up the book. That's unusual for me.

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*, Bad Girls Deadlift]

Mike (the Paladin) wrote: "I was in an odd position here in having to say I actually like the way they end the movie better than they way they explain it all and tie up the book. That's unusual for me."


Me, too!!!

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*, Bad Girls Deadlift]

You know, the more I think about this book...the more I want to see the movie again, lol.

I think this movie could have been fabu if they had kept most of the beginning of the book but used the ending of the movie.

I'm pretty sure they didn't because Kenji is so much younger than TC can even pretend to be.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Yeah. I think the movie would have been better had they actually (in this case) leaned a little more heavily on the special effects/battle scenes once they'd established what was going on. The movie ended up having a sort of hurried feel because of the way they (view spoiler)[ got the time repeat across. It took a lot of the movie (hide spoiler)].

As I've noted before I have cable, on demand and "stuff" because my daughter wants it and so she pays for it. The movie was on HBO so I watched it several times.

[Michelle]

started it last night, and it looks to be a pretty quick read. i also have...questions... about the translation. there's a whole lot that's VERY idiomatic english, so it's either an incredibly smooth translation, or the translator took just a whole lot of license with the style.

i'd thought i was absolutely in the minority, but i loved that movie. are we going to have a splinter discussion about how they turned TC's "coolest guy in the room" schtick right on its head to fabulous effect?

[Mike (the Paladin)]

I wouldn't have a problem with a splinter discussion, might be interesting. Not sure this is the place. MrsJ, if people are interested should it be here or under another heading?

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Oh Nicki...hope I didn't offend....oops and so on.

:)

[Mike (the Paladin)]

...'Oi, You!

Oops.

[Felina]

I just got this one over the weekend (yay for Barnes coupons). So far I'm liking it. I really liked the movie and the book keeps reminding how much I liked the movie...I need to buy the movie.

But so far so good. I'm not very far.

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*, Bad Girls Deadlift]

Mike (the Paladin) wrote: "Yeah. I think the movie would have been better had they actually (in this case) leaned a little more heavily on the special effects/battle scenes once they'd established what was going on. The movi..."

Agreed! They could have (view spoiler)[just did what Sakurazaka did and write numbers on TC's hand to symbolize how long he'd been in the loop. (hide spoiler)]

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*, Bad Girls Deadlift]

Michelle wrote: "started it last night, and it looks to be a pretty quick read. i also have...questions... about the translation. there's a whole lot that's VERY idiomatic english, so it's either an incredibly smoo..."

I noticed that, too. I hope it was the author - and some of it felt so referenced that I almost feel it HAD to have been the author.

I remember sections that reminded me of The Old Man and the Sea as well as Leaves of Grass.

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*, Bad Girls Deadlift]

Felina wrote: "I just got this one over the weekend (yay for Barnes coupons). So far I'm liking it. I really liked the movie and the book keeps reminding how much I liked the movie...I need to buy the movie.

But..."

It made me want to see the movie again, too. :-D

[Mike (the Paladin)]

In the end I wasn't satisfied with the explanation of what was going on or how the reset worked in the book.(view spoiler)[ In effect that only the final one was "real". I think the movies explanation while it left all kinds of holes and paradox possibilities at least worked better. (hide spoiler)]

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*, Bad Girls Deadlift]

Mike (the Paladin) wrote: "In the end I wasn't satisfied with the explanation of what was going on or how the reset worked in the book.[spoilers removed]"

I agree. I wonder if the difference was translation?

I liked the movie ending/explanation much better.

ETA: Did they explain why the reset started to begin with? I can't remember.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

(view spoiler)[ You mean why it was happening at all? The idea was that the "special alien" (the big blue one) was part of the alien brain's nervous system. Any time the a big blue alien was killed the alien brain reset the day. It was somehow in the alien's power to reset time. When TC was covered in the big blue alien's blood as he died the power went to him. Then every time he died the day reset (it had happened to Rite before)...BUT if he had a blood transfusion he'd lose the power. I assume that was because he got the power from alien blood.

The thing they didn't explain was why the last reset threw him all the way back when he was arriving. maybe it was because the Brain died or something. That was a flaw in the plot I thought. (hide spoiler)]

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*, Bad Girls Deadlift]

Mike (the Paladin) wrote: " redacted"

yeah, I didn't get that last reset, either. I felt it was just to keep him from ending the movie as a "disgraced" officer.

But I meant the explanation in the book. (view spoiler)[ I get that there was an antenna which went into Rita/Kenjii but after that... (hide spoiler)]

[Mike (the Paladin)]

(view spoiler)[It was something that happened to both, I can't recall either if it was that. The whole "there can be only one" thing was what didn't really jibe with me in the book. (hide spoiler)]

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*, Bad Girls Deadlift]

Mike (the Paladin) wrote: "[spoilers removed]"

Me, too. I guess I'm not "getting it" cause it doesn't quite make real sense to me.

(view spoiler)[ I mean, if Rita was first and she was thhe "one" - thus the headaches - before Kenjii... Then Kenjii became "the one" and got the headaches and Rita lost the headaches...then shouldn't Rita be out of the loop period????? (hide spoiler)]

[Mike (the Paladin)]

That's one reason the book didn't really seem as coherent as the movie.

[Felina]

Whoa. So I'm a spoiler reader and this is confusing. I understand how everything worked in the movie so we'll see if I can figure out how everything works in the book.

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*, Bad Girls Deadlift]

Felina wrote: "Whoa. So I'm a spoiler reader and this is confusing. I understand how everything worked in the movie so we'll see if I can figure out how everything works in the book."

The way it works in the book is different than the movie - but I feel like Mike: the movie makes a little more sense.

[Felina]

From what I read here...the movie makes infinitely more sense. Ha ha.

[Craig]

I just finished the book today, but really enjoyed the movie when it came out. Was that a year and a half ago?

Anyway, in the book, (view spoiler)[Keiji killed the "server" Mimic to take the loop away from Rita. To stop the loops, the antenna, the backups, and the server Mimic all needed to be killed, in that order. I liked the tragic element in the book, that Keiji and Rita had to fight to the death. I also don't exactly understand why that occurred, but it added a layer of gravitas to the book. (hide spoiler)] I don't remember the ending to the movie as well, except that I was satisfied with it at the time.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Actually the book's ending really disappointed me as "what you refer to" had no logical reason to occur. In the scheme of what he'd set up it just felt to me like (view spoiler)[ he wanted a tragic ending for the book. (hide spoiler)]

[Craig]

It was certainly unexpected. However (view spoiler)[ I'm not totally sure that it was unprecedented. Rita's explanation is that over time, their (Rita's and Keiji's) brains had adapted and become antennas as well. Since they were both antennas, the loop would not stop until both were dead. And that does explain why the loop didn't stop with #159. With the death of Rita, this would be the final iteration when Keiji finally dies as well. (hide spoiler)]

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Yeah that was the explanation. (view spoiler)[ the problem for me was the entire explanation which sort of amounted to, nothing was real until the last change". (hide spoiler)] Just me possibly but I thought the book just stumbled in it's own logic.

[Craig]

Understood. Lots of explanation was missing here. (view spoiler)[ Including what exactly was the antenna? And the backups? Were these Mimics as well (like the server Mimic)? I assume so, since (as Rita pointed out) Keiji and Rita were now antennas as well. But it is never made clear. (hide spoiler)]

So one more piece of muddiness did not hurt my enthusiasm for the overall story. But I can certainly understand if it bothered you.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Just a bit. By the time I got to the end I was a bit..."oh well". You know. I commented because it's just a little unusual for me to like the movie better than the book.

[Michelle]

i think the book logic is just a little loose because our main character spends his day learning to fight effectively, not delve into theory on mechanics. he gets the short explanation from Rita, and hey, she's the expert, so why question it? no time for thinking, just move on to axe-hefting.

the ending of BOTH versions actually kinda rubbed me the wrong way. Mike, i'm very much with you, it felt like the book created (view spoiler)[a tragic ending only for the sake of having one. after all, if Rita was going to kill him in the end to get him out of the loop, why not do that as soon as she found out there was another looper? (hide spoiler)]. the big battle and the more triumphant finality of the story arc of the movie of course works great as a summer popcorn action flick, so thumbs up there, but the bit where Cruise gets to be tossed back to the very beginning after it was all over, to flash his trademarked shit-eating grin at someone who doesn't know him, meh.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Yeah that didn't make sense to me either. if he was going to reset why earlier...

I'm rewatching the movie right now.

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*, Bad Girls Deadlift]

I agree with Mike regarding the book ending. The whole thing (view spoiler)[with the deaths of the antennas...would mean that Keiji needs to die asap, too. Right? If not...wouldn't there just be another mimic to reboot?? I mean, it happened to Rita/Keiji. Unless the same mimic that made Keiji an antenna was the one who made Rita into an antenna... (hide spoiler)]

I also agree with Michelle re: the end of the movie.