Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: February 2013

Price: $11.99

Creator: Junya Inoue

Format: 192 pgs.; B&W; Trade Paperback

ISBN: 978-0-316-23267-8

Age Rating: Mature

ICv2 Rating: 3 Stars out of 5

 

The title is a sound effect, describing a medium-sized explosion.  The reader quickly finds out why.

 

As this book begins, it seems oddly derivative of several things.  It's a blend of Battle Royale, Lost, .Hack, The Hunger Games, Lord of the Flies and a few other things.  As the story progresses, it becomes more interesting… still derivative, but at least attempting to be a little different.

 

Ryouta Sakamoto has achieved little with his life.  He dreams of being a game designer, and really does put effort into breaking into the field.  Unfortunately, all he has managed is a part-time job helping test games.  His parents want him to join the real world, but games are his life.  He is very good at playing them, especially the new one that he's testing.  It's a "shooter" without guns. Instead, the only weapons are various explosive devices.

 

Then, he wakes up, hanging from a parachute that is caught in a tree, and quickly learns that he is in a real-world version of the game that he was testing.  The story becomes one of kill-or-be-killed, but the rules are a little more complicated than in The Hunger Games or Battle Royale.  Multiple survivors are a possible outcome, but that result requires caution and trust.  When your life is at stake, who do you trust?

 

The book contains some profanity, partial nudity and some really gory violence.  Btooom! won't be for everyone, but may attract fans of similar stories, or of the Mad Bomber character in The Muppets.

 

--Nick Smith: Librarian Technician, Community Services, for the Pasadena Public Library in California.