Buckle Up!

Wow, this book is a ride. A very disturbing ride. Not that I'm stepping off when it slows down. Not that it slows down much. Anyway...

As I mentioned in the last post, 42 students start off on a "field trip." Soon we, the reader, have an uncomfortable feeling. There are mentions of secret government going ons and a description of a wrestling game which ends with only one soldier standing. Soon our hapless students are gassed and find themselves smack in the middle of a hideous game. Each child is given a weapon and told they must kill each other until only one remains. Weapons are random and seem to range from something as lame as a fork to the king of weapons, a machine gun. Each child wears an electronic collar so that the government can monitor their whereabouts and they are told that the collar will explode if a) they try to remove it b) they try to escape c) 24 hours passes with no death or d) they enter a forbidden zone. More and more forbidden zones are announced during the games to keep the players from hiding out throughout the entire game. Then they are released one by one into the "game" to hide or fight as they see fit. It's all very scary.

As you might imagine, the violence starts almost immediately. Chapters alternate between our hero, Shuya Nanahara, trying to help his friends or find a way out and brutal, inventive slayings. I don't know what kind of sick mind came up with this story and plotted out the deaths, but I hope I never meet him. Especially at night. Especially alone. I wish that I could think of a good one to share with you but you really have to witness it for yourself. We're down to about 17 kids now and I don't think that the author has even reached his peak yet.

Now the book isn't pure poetry or anything. There are lots of clunky sentences (it's hard to tell though whether that's the fault of the author or translator). But I rate it well worth reading just for the fun of it. There are two reasons for the fun. One is just the imagination behind the violence. Once, in high school, I wrote a short story about the brutal death of all 9 players on the field during a baseball game. The first few deaths were a piece of cake, (bat hitting head, outfielder hitting wall, etc) but then where do you go? Yeah, the last few players became much harder to kill off. I'm guessing it was the same for our author, but he is proving his mettle by making me flinch again and again. There is also the psychological aspect of it. What would you do in similar circumstances? Would you trust your colleagues? Who would be the first to turn on you? Who would you gladly go after? Is there a way to outwit the game? It's very creepy and should have been part of my October Halloween reading.

I hear that it's also a movie. I'd recommend reading the book though. Better to savor the mayhem when it's laid out in black and white.