The Crimson Labyrinth
Ratings2
Average rating4.5
15
Ratings2
Average rating4.5
From a rising new star of horror comes a killer read that will make you lose track of time and reality. The Crimson Labyrinth is a wicked satire on extremist reality TV in the tradition of The Running Man-if that indeed is what it is. Welcome to THE MARS LABYRINTH where things aren't what they seem. Welcome to the world of Kishi, where the plot is as gnarly as the humor is twisted. When an unemployed former math major wakes up one day, he wonders if he's somehow ended up on the red planet. The good-looking young woman with aid-she says her name is Ai and that she draws erotic comics for a living-seems to have no clue either as to their whereabouts. Their only leads are cryptic instructions beamed to a portable device. Has the game begun? There is no reset button, no saving and no continue-make the wrong move and it's really GAME OVER. In the cruel world of THE MARS LABYRINTH, mercy and compassion are only for the weak or the very, very strong. The stakes are nothing less than your life-and apparently a lot of money. If you're a fan of Lost or Battle Royale, don't miss this one.
Reviews with the most likes.
Pros: creepy premise, interesting characters
Cons: introduced to too many characters at once making them hard to remember
When Yoshihiko Fujiki wakes up in a red stone canyon in the rain, he has no idea where he is or what's happened to him. All he has are a few basic supplies and a handheld game system welcoming him to the Mars Labyrinth. Before he has the chance to follow the directions to the first checkpoint he runs into another player, Ai Otomo. Her game system is broken, so they team up to face... whatever comes next.
This is a novel that starts slowly - with Fujiki trying to figure out what's going on - but quickly builds momentum. Like the characters, you're horrified by the turns the ‘game' takes, as some of the players become less and less human. And though Fujiki has some ideas of what's happening behind the scenes, figuring that out isn't as important as staying alive.
Try not to read the book's back cover synopsis as the first paragraph contains a spoiler that will colour how you read the novel.
The premise of the book is pretty creepy. It starts off as a survival game with everyone in the wilderness. As time goes on and a trap set by those running the game is activated, things shift and it becomes a different kind of survival game.
The protagonists are pretty interesting, with down on their luck backgrounds. Fujiki took a while to grow on me, but I liked his tenacity and cleverness. While Ai gives good advice at times, she mainly stays in the background, letting Fujiki make most of the decisions. The other players all have unique personalities, though you don't see much of them.
Fujiki and Ai encounter the other players at the first checkpoint and you're given a quick introduction of all of them. It's too many people, too fast, several of whom have similar names. I found that later in the book, when the pair met up with them again, I couldn't remember who was who.
I'd recommend this to people who would like a less violent Battle Royale. It's got a bit of mystery, a bit of survivalistic writing, a tiny bit of romance and several violent, though not too graphic, deaths.
