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The Crimson Labyrinth
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.
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.
288 pages, Paperback
First published April 9, 1999
42 people are currently reading
7345 people want to read
About the author
Yusuke Kishi
60 books136 followersHe graduated from Kyoto University with a degree in Economics. After working for a life insurance company for several years, Kishi started his writing career as a freelancer. He has twice won the Japan Horror Novel Award, and boasts bestselling status in Japan with multiple works adapted to the screen. The Crimson Labyrinth marks his American debut.
Awards given to his works:
Japan Horror Novel Award 1997 (Black House), Mystery Writers of Japan Award for Best Novel 2005 (Glass Hammer), Japan SF Taisho Award 2008 (From the New World), Yamada Futaro Award 2010 (Lesson of the Evil), [Kono Mystery ga Sugoi!] Best Japanese Crime Fiction of the Year 2011 (Lesson of the Evil).
Awards given to his works:
Japan Horror Novel Award 1997 (Black House), Mystery Writers of Japan Award for Best Novel 2005 (Glass Hammer), Japan SF Taisho Award 2008 (From the New World), Yamada Futaro Award 2010 (Lesson of the Evil), [Kono Mystery ga Sugoi!] Best Japanese Crime Fiction of the Year 2011 (Lesson of the Evil).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 228 reviews
January 9, 2013
Where do I even start with this? Wait. I know. Let's start with:
THINGS I WISH SOMEONE HAD TOLD ME BEFORE I PICKED THIS BOOK UP
*It is a Young Adult book. And by that, I mean it reads as if it was written by a ten year old boy.
*It is set in Australia, and contains huge swathes of "facts" about Australia, presented in encyclopaedia form, many of which are incorrect.
*It is culturally offensive to the Indigenous people of Australia, and not always by accident. At one point the book references the "Black Boy" tree, points out that this is culturally offensive and that the modern name is "Grass Plant", and then proceeds to call it a "Black Boy" tree for the rest of the book. It also constantly uses the term "aborigine/s" as a noun (lower case too), instead of an adjective - the equivalent of saying "blacks", with an inflection of the n-word when used in an Australian context.
*The translation is terrible. But then so is the original from what I can see.
*It contains the stupidest protagonist I have ever encountered. I don't believe this is intentional.
I gave up halfway through (which I VERY rarely do). I tried to stick with it, I really did. I wanted to see what happened, when the game actually started. It still hadn't started by the mid-way point. And I love Battle Royale, and Running Man. But I was just getting so angry. Seriously - my right eye has a tic now....
THINGS I WISH SOMEONE HAD TOLD ME BEFORE I PICKED THIS BOOK UP
*It is a Young Adult book. And by that, I mean it reads as if it was written by a ten year old boy.
*It is set in Australia, and contains huge swathes of "facts" about Australia, presented in encyclopaedia form, many of which are incorrect.
*It is culturally offensive to the Indigenous people of Australia, and not always by accident. At one point the book references the "Black Boy" tree, points out that this is culturally offensive and that the modern name is "Grass Plant", and then proceeds to call it a "Black Boy" tree for the rest of the book. It also constantly uses the term "aborigine/s" as a noun (lower case too), instead of an adjective - the equivalent of saying "blacks", with an inflection of the n-word when used in an Australian context.
*The translation is terrible. But then so is the original from what I can see.
*It contains the stupidest protagonist I have ever encountered. I don't believe this is intentional.
I gave up halfway through (which I VERY rarely do). I tried to stick with it, I really did. I wanted to see what happened, when the game actually started. It still hadn't started by the mid-way point. And I love Battle Royale, and Running Man. But I was just getting so angry. Seriously - my right eye has a tic now....
November 2, 2012
Wowzer wowzer wowzer, The Mars Labyrinth, indeed. I have read a few messed up books in my day, but THE CRIMSON LABYRINTH might take the cake. A few of you may find it a bit gentle; to you I say find a therapist. For the others that feel the same as I do about this book all I can say is: humanity knows no bounds for violence in a voyeuristic capacity.
Before I start comparing this novel to some other fan-favs, allow me a few words about the plot. A group of nine people (all Japanese, underemployed or unemployed, men and women) are kidnapped from their country and taken to Bungle Bungle in Australia. They have been chosen to star in a snuff film. Let me say that another way: they have been chosen to kill each other until there is but one lone survivor. Okay, sure, this has been done numerous times. RUNNING MAN. BATTLE ROYALE. (These two novels seem to get the most comparisons.) And there is even SCAVENGER by David Morrell. But in each of these novels, the phrase snuff film never appears. Perhaps that is why this book disturbed me so.
Basically, THE CRIMSON LABYRINTH is reality TV for the sadist. A type of Survivor for the bloodthirsty. Add the fact that game and drama theory play into it and you have a real awesome piece of horror literature. But this novel isn’t the typical scary spirit that pervades through most of Japanese horror. This story is in your face, play-with-your-mind, and then mess with you a bit more type of storytelling. There were actually moments in the book that made me feel as if I had control of the outcome of the ending. This may be because of how Yusuke Kishi used the Choose Your Own Adventure style sometimes through the narrative. I bet I read a hundred different books like that as a kid; and each of those books made me backtrack and look for the TRUE END. (I wish I could tell you more and give a better account of this book, but I can’t. This is a book that you have to experience on your own.) Suffice to say, I feel as if my childhood memories of those types of stories have indelibly been corrupted for all time because of this novel. And to that I say: Well played, Mr. Kishi. Well played.
A truly wonderful horror novel that is saturated with enough survival information and mystery to satisfy all types of readers, Kishi’s American debut will not disappoint.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Before I start comparing this novel to some other fan-favs, allow me a few words about the plot. A group of nine people (all Japanese, underemployed or unemployed, men and women) are kidnapped from their country and taken to Bungle Bungle in Australia. They have been chosen to star in a snuff film. Let me say that another way: they have been chosen to kill each other until there is but one lone survivor. Okay, sure, this has been done numerous times. RUNNING MAN. BATTLE ROYALE. (These two novels seem to get the most comparisons.) And there is even SCAVENGER by David Morrell. But in each of these novels, the phrase snuff film never appears. Perhaps that is why this book disturbed me so.
Basically, THE CRIMSON LABYRINTH is reality TV for the sadist. A type of Survivor for the bloodthirsty. Add the fact that game and drama theory play into it and you have a real awesome piece of horror literature. But this novel isn’t the typical scary spirit that pervades through most of Japanese horror. This story is in your face, play-with-your-mind, and then mess with you a bit more type of storytelling. There were actually moments in the book that made me feel as if I had control of the outcome of the ending. This may be because of how Yusuke Kishi used the Choose Your Own Adventure style sometimes through the narrative. I bet I read a hundred different books like that as a kid; and each of those books made me backtrack and look for the TRUE END. (I wish I could tell you more and give a better account of this book, but I can’t. This is a book that you have to experience on your own.) Suffice to say, I feel as if my childhood memories of those types of stories have indelibly been corrupted for all time because of this novel. And to that I say: Well played, Mr. Kishi. Well played.
A truly wonderful horror novel that is saturated with enough survival information and mystery to satisfy all types of readers, Kishi’s American debut will not disappoint.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
March 1, 2012
You are in a maze of dark and twisting passages, all alike. You don't know how you got here.
>inventory
You possess a box of granola bars, a bottle of water and a PSP.
>look at psp
The PSP is off.
>turn on psp
A scrolling text informs you that you've been drafted into a LARP based upon an old Steve Jackson Games book. Your goal is to survive.
>n
There is a woman here.
>take woman
She won't fit in your bag.
>n
The woman follows you. You find yourself in an area with seven other people plus the woman. According to their PSPs there are several possible routes. If you go south you will find food. If you go north you will get information. If you go east you will get survival gear. If you go west you will get weapons.
>s
The woman stops you.
>kill woman
With what, your shoelace?
>slap woman
Feel like a big man now, do you?
>talk to woman
The woman says, "In games like this, there is often a route that seems less tempting than others, but which offers advantages that the others don't, while those that seem most obvious often lead to traps."
>s
You have been eaten by a grue.
>inventory
You possess a box of granola bars, a bottle of water and a PSP.
>look at psp
The PSP is off.
>turn on psp
A scrolling text informs you that you've been drafted into a LARP based upon an old Steve Jackson Games book. Your goal is to survive.
>n
There is a woman here.
>take woman
She won't fit in your bag.
>n
The woman follows you. You find yourself in an area with seven other people plus the woman. According to their PSPs there are several possible routes. If you go south you will find food. If you go north you will get information. If you go east you will get survival gear. If you go west you will get weapons.
>s
The woman stops you.
>kill woman
With what, your shoelace?
>slap woman
Feel like a big man now, do you?
>talk to woman
The woman says, "In games like this, there is often a route that seems less tempting than others, but which offers advantages that the others don't, while those that seem most obvious often lead to traps."
>s
You have been eaten by a grue.
June 1, 2012
I was so psyched to get my hands on a copy of this book. I mean, the premise is AWESOME. It's The Running Man meets Battle Royale with smatterings of The Hunger Games running all through it. I just can't get enough of these demented dystopias of staged survival competitions destined for public consumption played in extremis to satiate society's blood lust. In his review Gavin writes: "humanity knows no bounds for violence in a voyeuristic capacity" and isn't that the truth? My favorite of all these stories is Stephen King's Bachman novel - The Long Walk. I've read nothing that comes close to King's imagining of such a deathly scenario, this book included.
Nevertheless, The Crimson Labyrinth is still quite good, with lots of pulpy action and nail-biting peril. Japanese horror writer Yusuke Kishi puts his own spin on the "deadly games" theme by introducing some pretty twisted plot elements I haven't seen before. I also enjoyed how he takes his time building the suspense. The first half of the novel is a man vs. nature survival scenario with a group of people pitted more against their environment than against each other. Kishi shows a fondness for details, describing the landscape, food, and other items and information the group collects from each of their "checkpoints".
This is a "game", but the players don't know how they got to be where they are, or more importantly why. The why remains a mystery until the very end, and some readers may be underwhelmed by the explanation. I thought it was a fairly interesting twist, but came a little too close to the end out of nowhere almost as an afterthought with no real confirmation to send you away with a satisfying "a-ha" feeling. Still, Kishi presents a very tantalizing possibility.
Character development is at a minimum here and I would have liked to get the story from more points of view rather than the two main characters, especially from those characters who meet such unpleasant ends. Details please. What is lacking in character though, Kishi makes up for in style and action. This is quite the thrilling, adrenaline ride. Not the best I've read in the genre, but I am definitely recommending it!!!!
March 23, 2022
Má nó! Đọc mà cứ sợ sợ. Cảm giác cứ giống Trò Chơi Con Mực nhở?
January 6, 2025
This book caught my attention a long time ago because killing games are my favorite genre, and the blurb promised it was for LOST fans (LOST being my reason to live, yes).
The Crimson Labyrinth follows a group of characters who wake up in a strange, rocky landscape that is very clearly not Japan. Each character wakes up alone, equipped with a Gameboy-like device that guides them to a checkpoint. There, they meet the rest of the players and learn the rules of the game: proceed from checkpoint to checkpoint until someone reaches the goal. At each checkpoint, they must choose one of the following options:
Go South for food.
Go East for survival items.
Go West for self-protection items and weapons.
Go North for "information."
I was curious whether this would be a true zero-sum game like Battle Royale/The Hunger Games or something closer to Alice in Borderland, Vol. 1 or SAW, where everyone could theoretically survive if they played their cards right. Very early in the book, it becomes clear this is a zero-sum conflict. Not my favorite setup, but I enjoyed how the book explored the players' psyches by forcing them to make simple yet profound choices and then illustrating the long-term consequences (e.g., those who went East for survival items are depicted as reasonable and resourceful).
Another aspect I enjoyed was the concept of a "true ending." Since this is a zero-sum game, I guessed it wouldn't be anything like LOST and would align more with Battle Royale or Alice in Borderland. And, lol, it’s exactly the same ending as one of them (keeping this spoiler-free, so I won’t say which one). I wasn’t surprised, but I’ll echo Ai’s reaction when she heard the game’s true ending: “That’s lame.” That said, the ending wasn’t entirely lame—there’s more to it.
4 stars. Crazy good. The twists had twists. I loved how thyroid medication became such a crucial plot element—it honestly made me laugh. Also, I didn’t find the author’s portrayal of women problematic, which is rare for a Japanese male author.
And now for the fun part: Q, HOW ON EARTH DID YOU GET YOUR HANDS ON THIS BOOK????? I’ve been trying to find it since 2019. Twenty. Nine. Teen. As far as I know, there’s no ebook, and buying it through Amazon was impossible (either unavailable or ridiculously expensive). I couldn’t find it on AbeBooks, and my library couldn’t purchase it. Then, my current local library somehow tracked down a copy through an inter-library loan system. This has been a journey, and I’m just so effing happy I enjoyed the book so much.
The Crimson Labyrinth follows a group of characters who wake up in a strange, rocky landscape that is very clearly not Japan. Each character wakes up alone, equipped with a Gameboy-like device that guides them to a checkpoint. There, they meet the rest of the players and learn the rules of the game: proceed from checkpoint to checkpoint until someone reaches the goal. At each checkpoint, they must choose one of the following options:
Go South for food.
Go East for survival items.
Go West for self-protection items and weapons.
Go North for "information."
I was curious whether this would be a true zero-sum game like Battle Royale/The Hunger Games or something closer to Alice in Borderland, Vol. 1 or SAW, where everyone could theoretically survive if they played their cards right. Very early in the book, it becomes clear this is a zero-sum conflict. Not my favorite setup, but I enjoyed how the book explored the players' psyches by forcing them to make simple yet profound choices and then illustrating the long-term consequences (e.g., those who went East for survival items are depicted as reasonable and resourceful).
Another aspect I enjoyed was the concept of a "true ending." Since this is a zero-sum game, I guessed it wouldn't be anything like LOST and would align more with Battle Royale or Alice in Borderland. And, lol, it’s exactly the same ending as one of them (keeping this spoiler-free, so I won’t say which one). I wasn’t surprised, but I’ll echo Ai’s reaction when she heard the game’s true ending: “That’s lame.” That said, the ending wasn’t entirely lame—there’s more to it.
4 stars. Crazy good. The twists had twists. I loved how thyroid medication became such a crucial plot element—it honestly made me laugh. Also, I didn’t find the author’s portrayal of women problematic, which is rare for a Japanese male author.
And now for the fun part: Q, HOW ON EARTH DID YOU GET YOUR HANDS ON THIS BOOK????? I’ve been trying to find it since 2019. Twenty. Nine. Teen. As far as I know, there’s no ebook, and buying it through Amazon was impossible (either unavailable or ridiculously expensive). I couldn’t find it on AbeBooks, and my library couldn’t purchase it. Then, my current local library somehow tracked down a copy through an inter-library loan system. This has been a journey, and I’m just so effing happy I enjoyed the book so much.
January 17, 2021
việc lựa chọn đầu tiên của bạn ảnh hưởng đến số mệnh của bạn đến hết cuộc hành trình
phải nói cách tác giả Yusuke Kishi tạo bối cảnh và không khí trong truyện đúng là 10 điểm cảm tưởng
như ta đang được đến một nơi k ở địa phận của trái đất nhưng đất nè núi nè khí hậu và cả thời tiết dù rằng nó vẫn trong khuân khổ trái đất
đúng với chủ đề sinh tồn về 1 nhóm đấu tranh với thời tiết,thức ăn, rồi con người với con người
lôi cuốn hấp dẫn gây cấn xen vào đó là bí ẩn kinh dị tạo nên bức tranh tổng cảnh đầy ma mị đen tối
về phần kết mình muốn được giải thích rõ hơn về nguồn gốc trò chơi hay cả nhân vật Ai hoặc mọi thứ nhưng tác giả cho về True end ... ác với nhau dễ sợ😑
phải nói cách tác giả Yusuke Kishi tạo bối cảnh và không khí trong truyện đúng là 10 điểm cảm tưởng
như ta đang được đến một nơi k ở địa phận của trái đất nhưng đất nè núi nè khí hậu và cả thời tiết dù rằng nó vẫn trong khuân khổ trái đất
đúng với chủ đề sinh tồn về 1 nhóm đấu tranh với thời tiết,thức ăn, rồi con người với con người
lôi cuốn hấp dẫn gây cấn xen vào đó là bí ẩn kinh dị tạo nên bức tranh tổng cảnh đầy ma mị đen tối
về phần kết mình muốn được giải thích rõ hơn về nguồn gốc trò chơi hay cả nhân vật Ai hoặc mọi thứ nhưng tác giả cho về True end ... ác với nhau dễ sợ😑
April 13, 2017
Cực kỳ thích cốt truyện của cuốn này, tại vì mình bị lôi cuốn bởi cái kiểu một nhóm người bị thả vào trong một môi trường đầy nguy hiểm, buộc phải đấu tranh để sinh tồn trong khi giết hại lẫn nhau để tìm ra người thắng cuộc duy nhất đó (giống giống "The Hunger Games" :)) Má ơi siêu thích :D). Nhưng các nhân vật trong "The Hunger Games" xem ra cũng còn may mắn chán, vì ít nhất họ còn biết họ đang sắp phải đối mặt với điều gì (mặc dù quyền lựa chọn của họ có tham gia trò chơi hay không đã bị tước bỏ). Chứ nhóm người Nhật trong "Mê cung đỏ" là vừa không có quyền lựa chọn, vừa không biết mình sắp phải đối mặt với cái gì luôn... Tỉnh dậy là thấy mình ở trong Mê cung đỏ rồi đó, bắt đầu trò chơi khốn nạn rồi đó...
Điểm mình thích nhất ở các tác phẩm của Yusuke Kishi (mà thực ra cũng chỉ mới đọc có 2 cuốn của ông này thôi chứ mấy :D) là lượng kiến thức sâu sắc mà ông thể hiện qua từng trang giấy. Nếu ở "Nhà đen" là kiến thức về tâm lý học, psychopath... thì ở "Mê cung đỏ" là những bài học và kinh nghiệm sinh tồn. Đặc biệt là các thông tin về địa điểm nơi diễn ra trò chơi khốn nạn này nữa (không dám spoil nó là địa điểm nào đâu, spoil thì mất vui :D Chỉ cần biết đây hoàn toàn là một nơi có thật, không nằm trong nước Nhật, và cũng không phải môi trường giả lập hay giấc mơ kỳ quái gì hết ráo ^^). Không gian câu chuyện cũng được xây dựng cực kỳ hấp dẫn; đọc mà như thể mình đang trực tiếp tham gia vào trò chơi vậy.
Đoạn kết có hơi hẫng một tí, vì dù sao mình cũng muốn đi đến tận cùng sự thật mà (nhưng tác giả lại không cho, bảo như thế mới là True End :D). Thôi thì đành chấp nhận vậy, chứ biết làm sao giờ?...
Điểm mình thích nhất ở các tác phẩm của Yusuke Kishi (mà thực ra cũng chỉ mới đọc có 2 cuốn của ông này thôi chứ mấy :D) là lượng kiến thức sâu sắc mà ông thể hiện qua từng trang giấy. Nếu ở "Nhà đen" là kiến thức về tâm lý học, psychopath... thì ở "Mê cung đỏ" là những bài học và kinh nghiệm sinh tồn. Đặc biệt là các thông tin về địa điểm nơi diễn ra trò chơi khốn nạn này nữa (không dám spoil nó là địa điểm nào đâu, spoil thì mất vui :D Chỉ cần biết đây hoàn toàn là một nơi có thật, không nằm trong nước Nhật, và cũng không phải môi trường giả lập hay giấc mơ kỳ quái gì hết ráo ^^). Không gian câu chuyện cũng được xây dựng cực kỳ hấp dẫn; đọc mà như thể mình đang trực tiếp tham gia vào trò chơi vậy.
Đoạn kết có hơi hẫng một tí, vì dù sao mình cũng muốn đi đến tận cùng sự thật mà (nhưng tác giả lại không cho, bảo như thế mới là True End :D). Thôi thì đành chấp nhận vậy, chứ biết làm sao giờ?...
March 15, 2017
Gập quyển sách lại, điều khiến mình phải thốt lên wow là vì nhận ra Kishi Yusuke chính là tác giả của "Shinsekai Yori" (Từ tân thế giới) cũng như series về Enomoto Kei & những vụ án mạng trong phòng kín. "Mê cung đỏ" và "Nhà đen" đã xuất bản, giờ mình chỉ cần đợi IPM từ từ xuất bản tiểu thuyết chuyển thể thành bộ anime & phim yêu thích của mình thôi.
Rating 2.5/5, làm tròn lên 3 vì tác giả. Nếu đây là phần mở đầu của một series về hành trình tìm kiếm tổ chức đứng sau "Mê cung sao Hỏa" thì mình sẽ đánh giá cao hơn, nhưng chỉ dừng ở cái kết "tiện lợi" này thì 2.5 thôi vậy.
Con người ta luôn luôn đòi hỏi những câu chuyện.
Trong đó, câu chuyện miêu tả cái chết thường gây kích thích hơn cả.
Rating 2.5/5, làm tròn lên 3 vì tác giả. Nếu đây là phần mở đầu của một series về hành trình tìm kiếm tổ chức đứng sau "Mê cung sao Hỏa" thì mình sẽ đánh giá cao hơn, nhưng chỉ dừng ở cái kết "tiện lợi" này thì 2.5 thôi vậy.
June 17, 2013
It's been a while since I've read some solid, survival horror fiction and this little bit satisfied my cravings, but only barely.
Although classified as a "horror" piece, it actually proved to not be as horrific as I would've hoped (considering that I'm a huge Stephen King/Junji Ito fan, my hopes for contemporary horror border the extremes). Rather, the grisly nods towards cannibalism and the rather Lord of the Flies-esque power struggle proved tired and tried rather than a refreshing remix on something borrowed and blue. In the end, I wasn't quaking in my combat boots, but rather a little grossed out and disappointed.
In addition, the writing was a bit hard to push past. The translation might have failed in this aspect, but there was a lot of restating the obvious, blatant hints, and weak jump scares that didnt really surprise me.
This book wasn't all disappointment though. I found myself surprised at the end of the book, even though I could pretty much see it coming from a mile away. It was poignant and bittersweet, giving the Ai character a lot more weight than I originally suspected. And I really loved the "game machine" aspect they had going. It was sick enough to merit creativity points and reminded me fondly of my Gameboy cartridge days. Overall, it was an okay book, not one of my favorites but will definitely keep you turning the pages.
Although classified as a "horror" piece, it actually proved to not be as horrific as I would've hoped (considering that I'm a huge Stephen King/Junji Ito fan, my hopes for contemporary horror border the extremes). Rather, the grisly nods towards cannibalism and the rather Lord of the Flies-esque power struggle proved tired and tried rather than a refreshing remix on something borrowed and blue. In the end, I wasn't quaking in my combat boots, but rather a little grossed out and disappointed.
In addition, the writing was a bit hard to push past. The translation might have failed in this aspect, but there was a lot of restating the obvious, blatant hints, and weak jump scares that didnt really surprise me.
This book wasn't all disappointment though. I found myself surprised at the end of the book, even though I could pretty much see it coming from a mile away. It was poignant and bittersweet, giving the Ai character a lot more weight than I originally suspected. And I really loved the "game machine" aspect they had going. It was sick enough to merit creativity points and reminded me fondly of my Gameboy cartridge days. Overall, it was an okay book, not one of my favorites but will definitely keep you turning the pages.
February 4, 2017
Let me just start by saying that writing a convincing YET disturbing story is clearly a big challenge. Kudos to Mr Yusuke Kishi for choosing this path. The first half of the novel was definitely intriguing. Although it reminded me of Japanese movies like Battle Royale (2000) [excellent film] and The Incite Mill (2010) [bad movie], the author had his own original ideas which are praiseworthy, and built rather interesting characters.
However, the story dragged during the second half, became less and less interesting, more and more gory, reaching a disturbing point that made me want to quit reading and go to the toilet to vomit without sufficient explanations or justifications. And the ending was so open-ended it made me want to throw the book across the room and scream: "Omg I travel from the West side of Singapore to a national library branch in the East side just for this shit? [there was no ebook version available on OverDrive to borrow] Hell no. There's no way a responsible author can end a book like this".
Did I regret reading this book? Not really. It just disappointed and disturbed me greatly. FOR NO REASON.
However, the story dragged during the second half, became less and less interesting, more and more gory, reaching a disturbing point that made me want to quit reading and go to the toilet to vomit without sufficient explanations or justifications. And the ending was so open-ended it made me want to throw the book across the room and scream: "Omg I travel from the West side of Singapore to a national library branch in the East side just for this shit? [there was no ebook version available on OverDrive to borrow] Hell no. There's no way a responsible author can end a book like this".
Did I regret reading this book? Not really. It just disappointed and disturbed me greatly. FOR NO REASON.
February 15, 2023
Truyện đọc cuốn vô cùng. Mình đã thầm nghĩ sao giờ mình mới đụng vào nó nhỉ. Vừa đọc mà vừa nín thở theo nhân vật luôn á.
Bên cạnh tình tiết gây cấn thì câu truyện cũng bổ sung một lượng kiến thức khổng lồ về thiên nhiên, sinh tồn, tâm lý và những nhận định sâu sắc về ứng xử xã hội.
Việc những nhân vật phụ không có câu chuyện và không được thể hiện nhiều cũng là một cái hay. Vì xã hội ngày nay ai mà thèm quan tâm đến câu chuyện người khác nữa, tất cả đều là yếu tố ảnh hưởng đến lợi ích bản thân mà thôi. Và mặc dù nhân vật chính đã lựa chọn thông tin nhưng bao trùm toàn bộ câu chuyện lại là sự mờ mịt thông tin và nghi ngờ suy đoán tất cả mọi thứ.
Nhưng mà cái kết thì thật là chưng hửng. Không hẳn là không hay, vì nó có ý nghĩa và mình nghĩ là thể hiện cá tính của tác giả nữa. Nhưng mà nó chưng hửng, vì đặt ra vô số câu hỏi nhưng chẳng đi đến một câu trả lời nào cả. Vì cả câu chuyện được xây dựng rất cuốn hút nên mình kiểu cũng hi vọng một sự bùng nổ ở cuối á, nhưng mà nó ngang phè. Tức cái lồng ngực ghê.
Bên cạnh tình tiết gây cấn thì câu truyện cũng bổ sung một lượng kiến thức khổng lồ về thiên nhiên, sinh tồn, tâm lý và những nhận định sâu sắc về ứng xử xã hội.
Việc những nhân vật phụ không có câu chuyện và không được thể hiện nhiều cũng là một cái hay. Vì xã hội ngày nay ai mà thèm quan tâm đến câu chuyện người khác nữa, tất cả đều là yếu tố ảnh hưởng đến lợi ích bản thân mà thôi. Và mặc dù nhân vật chính đã lựa chọn thông tin nhưng bao trùm toàn bộ câu chuyện lại là sự mờ mịt thông tin và nghi ngờ suy đoán tất cả mọi thứ.
Nhưng mà cái kết thì thật là chưng hửng. Không hẳn là không hay, vì nó có ý nghĩa và mình nghĩ là thể hiện cá tính của tác giả nữa. Nhưng mà nó chưng hửng, vì đặt ra vô số câu hỏi nhưng chẳng đi đến một câu trả lời nào cả. Vì cả câu chuyện được xây dựng rất cuốn hút nên mình kiểu cũng hi vọng một sự bùng nổ ở cuối á, nhưng mà nó ngang phè. Tức cái lồng ngực ghê.
April 16, 2012
The Crimson labyrinth by Yusuke Kishi
The Crimson Labyrinth is one of the best books i read for all time. The story is about the experiences of a man named Fujiki in a twisted dark game called The Mars Labyrinth. The Mars Labyrinth is a game where down-on-their-luck people from Japan are kidnapped and placed in a "crimson world" --a place somewhere in Australia. The players, not knowing where they are, are then informed that they are in a survival game and that there are only two ways out, to play till the end of the game and win the 1 million yen, or to die playing. There are 12 players but only one can win.
The book is really interesting and epic. I love how there's no definite ending to the story. And i find it interesting how people will go to an extent of killing each other in order to survive. This is a good book to all those horror loving readers and people who loved The Hunger Games will sure love this.
The Crimson Labyrinth is one of the best books i read for all time. The story is about the experiences of a man named Fujiki in a twisted dark game called The Mars Labyrinth. The Mars Labyrinth is a game where down-on-their-luck people from Japan are kidnapped and placed in a "crimson world" --a place somewhere in Australia. The players, not knowing where they are, are then informed that they are in a survival game and that there are only two ways out, to play till the end of the game and win the 1 million yen, or to die playing. There are 12 players but only one can win.
The book is really interesting and epic. I love how there's no definite ending to the story. And i find it interesting how people will go to an extent of killing each other in order to survive. This is a good book to all those horror loving readers and people who loved The Hunger Games will sure love this.
July 24, 2021
I love what I call "Let's Play a Game" stories.
If there's a questionably motivated, sinister game with an evil puppet master behind the wheel, I'm in, no questions asked. I regularly look for books with similar vibes to the Saw horror movie franchise, and honestly... I've struggled to find anything that is as worthy of sharing the same playing field.
I've had better luck with thrillers in this obscure genre of books (The Passengers by John Marrs and The Chain by Adrian McKinty were alright) but what I really want is something that I can firmly pin a horror tag to. So, when I learned that Yusuke Kishi's The Crimson Labyrinth existed, I damn near stalked my library until the copy I requested arrived.
Let's get straight down to brass tacks here. This book was painfully disappointing. Here's why:
1) The translation sucks. There's no finesse to this translation at all. It's simple, dry, stilted, boring, and downright confusing at times. It's almost like the translator took the original transcript and didn't actually read it before doing a straight apples to apples translation. Like, context be damned, right?
But maybe I shouldn't dump all blame on the translator.
2) Something is off with the tone here. The back of the book says that "The Crimson Labyrinth is a wicked satire on extremist reality TV in the tradition of The Running Man-- if that is indeed what it is... where the plot is as gnarly as the humor is twisted.
Um... WHAT??? No, this can't be the description of this book at all. I refuse to believe it. NONE OF THAT IS COMMUNICATED IN THE TEXT. That, or I'm just too stupid to notice, which isn't an impossibility.
I always read the back of the book AFTER I finish it just to see what it either spoiled or didn't communicate and the fact that The Crimson Labyrinth was supposed to be satire NEVER crossed my mind while reading it.
There is no humor in The Crimson Labyrinth, period, unless you consider a line like this funny:
Sexism, ageism, misogyny and the word "farts" is just soooo funny, right?
I read this line and thought it was a bad translation. But maybe it was just a bad joke?? Or both???? I have no clue and I feel like I'm being gaslit either by this book or the description on the back because they just don't match.
Also, the back of the book ends with this line: "If you are a fan of Lost or Battle Royale, don't miss this one.
First of all, let me clear this up by saying THIS BOOK IS NOTHING LIKE LOST OR BATTLE ROYALE OR THE RUNNING MAN. NOTHING!!!!
First of all, they aren't lost. They know exactly where they are and they have compasses. Second, they are given weapons for survival, not for fighting each other. Third, other than the vague sense that they are probably being watched, there is no reality tv. SO WHAT THE FUCK???
If you go in expecting The Crimson Labyrinth to be like anything it is compared to, you are going to be just as disappointed as I was. But let's put expectations aside and judge this book based on the narrative.
3) My biggest issue with this book is that we spend ALL of our time engaged with the LEAST interesting people in the game. Perhaps I need to rewind a bit and explain.
So this book is about Fujiki, a down-on-his-luck accountant who has lost his family and his job and his home. Fujiki wakes up in a desert with amnesia that means he doesn't know how he got there. Luckily, there is a hot chick named Ai around for him to team up with. Unluckily, she seems to know just as little as Fujiki does about how they got there and what is going on.
Turns out, they were both kidnapped and brought to Bungle Bungle National Park in the Australian Wilderness (another example where I thought the translation was bad, but it might be a bad joke) with like 6 or 8 other people to participate in a game called The Crimson Labyrinth. They are given Game Boys with instructions, compasses, and limited supplies.
What follows is more a story of survival than a competition or a game against other people. You see, Fujiki and Ai really don't interact with the other players until at least halfway through the book, and even then, it's very limited. They actively avoid the other teams, and for good reason, which I won't spoil.
So Ai is at least a little interesting because she draws erotic manga, but there is nothing more to her to make her a dynamic character. And Fujiki is actually less developed as a character than Ai somehow. Perhaps their roles are supposed to be kinda shockly and satirical, but I didn't pick up on that at all while reading this book.
I thought their characters were just poorly done and if there is any satirical commentary here, it was totally lost on me.
So Fujiki and Ai avoid the other players for the majority of the book. Instead, we end up watching them forage for "bush tucker," trap small animals to eat, and survive. Despite the fact that they have these weird Game Boys giving them tips and instructions, there isn't a lot here that is unique or even interesting. I kept waiting for something to happen and I guess it did, but not until I was nearing the end.
And, of course, Fujiki and Ai begin an uncomfortable, forced sexual relationship because, why not? Again, is this what is supposed to be satire in this book???? Because it felt more like a bad joke.
I'm not sure what all was lost in translation in this book, but yikes, it felt like a lot.
Also, Fujiki and Ai play it safe through the whole game. Nothing that bad happens to them. I really wish we had some perspective shifts to the other characters in the book because they go through so much worse stuff that our protagonists.
It's really a shame we didn't get to see any of that and were stuck with a middle aged fart and a woman.
4) The game aspect was... ridiculous, underdeveloped, and nonsensical. I might not have this all straight because the book sucked at communicating things, but I think The Crimson Labyrinth was based on a choose-your-own-adventure book about a game called The Mars Labyrinth that was originally set on Mars.
The little Game Boys each player is given in the game gives them instructions on how to get to certain checkpoints, which seem fairly arbitrary. I'm not sure about the other teams, but Fujiki and Ai choose information as their extra resource, so their Game Boys have a little platypus character that what the only time in the book where I knew it was trying to be funny.
Was it funny? No. What it was was weird and tonally insistent.
Also, I was SO curious as to what the other players were seeing and doing, which compelled me through this narrative. I thought there would be ah "ah ha!" moment where all the contestants figured out that they need to fight to the death to win and they would come together to do that, but that never happened. Fujiki and Ai only face off against one team at the end, so why did we even have the other contestants?
The "game" ends a very abruptly in a rather frantic and confusing moment in the narrative and I'm left with too many questions to be satisfied with this story. Like, who's running it? Who designed it? Who picked the contestants? How did they get there? How is this funded?
The answer: don't know, won't know.
So yeah, I was very disappointed by this book. Would I have enjoyed it more if I went in expecting something "funny" and satirical? Perhaps. But I didn't.
I feel the same way about this book itself as I did about the game in The Crimson Labyrinth; the ideas behind it were excellent, albeit executed poorly.
I rated Yusuke Kishi's The Crimson Labyrinth 2 out of 5 stars.
If there's a questionably motivated, sinister game with an evil puppet master behind the wheel, I'm in, no questions asked. I regularly look for books with similar vibes to the Saw horror movie franchise, and honestly... I've struggled to find anything that is as worthy of sharing the same playing field.
I've had better luck with thrillers in this obscure genre of books (The Passengers by John Marrs and The Chain by Adrian McKinty were alright) but what I really want is something that I can firmly pin a horror tag to. So, when I learned that Yusuke Kishi's The Crimson Labyrinth existed, I damn near stalked my library until the copy I requested arrived.
Let's get straight down to brass tacks here. This book was painfully disappointing. Here's why:
1) The translation sucks. There's no finesse to this translation at all. It's simple, dry, stilted, boring, and downright confusing at times. It's almost like the translator took the original transcript and didn't actually read it before doing a straight apples to apples translation. Like, context be damned, right?
But maybe I shouldn't dump all blame on the translator.
2) Something is off with the tone here. The back of the book says that "The Crimson Labyrinth is a wicked satire on extremist reality TV in the tradition of The Running Man-- if that is indeed what it is... where the plot is as gnarly as the humor is twisted.
Um... WHAT??? No, this can't be the description of this book at all. I refuse to believe it. NONE OF THAT IS COMMUNICATED IN THE TEXT. That, or I'm just too stupid to notice, which isn't an impossibility.
I always read the back of the book AFTER I finish it just to see what it either spoiled or didn't communicate and the fact that The Crimson Labyrinth was supposed to be satire NEVER crossed my mind while reading it.
There is no humor in The Crimson Labyrinth, period, unless you consider a line like this funny:
Just as Naramoto had said, after that, they were just a pair of feeble old farts and a woman. (p.193)
Sexism, ageism, misogyny and the word "farts" is just soooo funny, right?
I read this line and thought it was a bad translation. But maybe it was just a bad joke?? Or both???? I have no clue and I feel like I'm being gaslit either by this book or the description on the back because they just don't match.
Also, the back of the book ends with this line: "If you are a fan of Lost or Battle Royale, don't miss this one.
First of all, let me clear this up by saying THIS BOOK IS NOTHING LIKE LOST OR BATTLE ROYALE OR THE RUNNING MAN. NOTHING!!!!
First of all, they aren't lost. They know exactly where they are and they have compasses. Second, they are given weapons for survival, not for fighting each other. Third, other than the vague sense that they are probably being watched, there is no reality tv. SO WHAT THE FUCK???
If you go in expecting The Crimson Labyrinth to be like anything it is compared to, you are going to be just as disappointed as I was. But let's put expectations aside and judge this book based on the narrative.
3) My biggest issue with this book is that we spend ALL of our time engaged with the LEAST interesting people in the game. Perhaps I need to rewind a bit and explain.
So this book is about Fujiki, a down-on-his-luck accountant who has lost his family and his job and his home. Fujiki wakes up in a desert with amnesia that means he doesn't know how he got there. Luckily, there is a hot chick named Ai around for him to team up with. Unluckily, she seems to know just as little as Fujiki does about how they got there and what is going on.
Turns out, they were both kidnapped and brought to Bungle Bungle National Park in the Australian Wilderness (another example where I thought the translation was bad, but it might be a bad joke) with like 6 or 8 other people to participate in a game called The Crimson Labyrinth. They are given Game Boys with instructions, compasses, and limited supplies.
What follows is more a story of survival than a competition or a game against other people. You see, Fujiki and Ai really don't interact with the other players until at least halfway through the book, and even then, it's very limited. They actively avoid the other teams, and for good reason, which I won't spoil.
So Ai is at least a little interesting because she draws erotic manga, but there is nothing more to her to make her a dynamic character. And Fujiki is actually less developed as a character than Ai somehow. Perhaps their roles are supposed to be kinda shockly and satirical, but I didn't pick up on that at all while reading this book.
I thought their characters were just poorly done and if there is any satirical commentary here, it was totally lost on me.
So Fujiki and Ai avoid the other players for the majority of the book. Instead, we end up watching them forage for "bush tucker," trap small animals to eat, and survive. Despite the fact that they have these weird Game Boys giving them tips and instructions, there isn't a lot here that is unique or even interesting. I kept waiting for something to happen and I guess it did, but not until I was nearing the end.
And, of course, Fujiki and Ai begin an uncomfortable, forced sexual relationship because, why not? Again, is this what is supposed to be satire in this book???? Because it felt more like a bad joke.
I'm not sure what all was lost in translation in this book, but yikes, it felt like a lot.
Also, Fujiki and Ai play it safe through the whole game. Nothing that bad happens to them. I really wish we had some perspective shifts to the other characters in the book because they go through so much worse stuff that our protagonists.
It's really a shame we didn't get to see any of that and were stuck with a middle aged fart and a woman.
4) The game aspect was... ridiculous, underdeveloped, and nonsensical. I might not have this all straight because the book sucked at communicating things, but I think The Crimson Labyrinth was based on a choose-your-own-adventure book about a game called The Mars Labyrinth that was originally set on Mars.
The little Game Boys each player is given in the game gives them instructions on how to get to certain checkpoints, which seem fairly arbitrary. I'm not sure about the other teams, but Fujiki and Ai choose information as their extra resource, so their Game Boys have a little platypus character that what the only time in the book where I knew it was trying to be funny.
Was it funny? No. What it was was weird and tonally insistent.
Also, I was SO curious as to what the other players were seeing and doing, which compelled me through this narrative. I thought there would be ah "ah ha!" moment where all the contestants figured out that they need to fight to the death to win and they would come together to do that, but that never happened. Fujiki and Ai only face off against one team at the end, so why did we even have the other contestants?
The "game" ends a very abruptly in a rather frantic and confusing moment in the narrative and I'm left with too many questions to be satisfied with this story. Like, who's running it? Who designed it? Who picked the contestants? How did they get there? How is this funded?
The answer: don't know, won't know.
So yeah, I was very disappointed by this book. Would I have enjoyed it more if I went in expecting something "funny" and satirical? Perhaps. But I didn't.
I feel the same way about this book itself as I did about the game in The Crimson Labyrinth; the ideas behind it were excellent, albeit executed poorly.
I rated Yusuke Kishi's The Crimson Labyrinth 2 out of 5 stars.
January 7, 2020
I gotta preface this by saying, I'm not a fan of Battle Royale in any format. I tried to read both the novel and the manga and couldn't make it through, it just wasn't my cup of tea. I am, however, a fan of the Zero Escape: The Nonary Games (a video game), which the pretense of this book sort of reminded me of.
In other words, I completely overlooked the whole "fans of Battle Royale" thing and instantly thought of The Nonary Games when I read the synopsis. I probably shouldn't have.
The first half the book was okay, the mystery of why they were there and the suspense of man's animal nature and their need to survive made for a suspenseful read. Who would turn on who? Who was involved in this (someone always is)? Why were they there?
And then we hit the last half of the book...
It went from (unrealistic but) interesting to completely unbelievable and boring seemingly at the turn of a page. I almost wish they had been on Mars, it would have been more realistic than the entire second half of the book.
Again, not a fan of Battle Royale. So I was less than thrilled when the story went from mysterious and suspenseful to fantastical with gore for the sake of gore. That ending was so unrealistic and unsatisfying I'm pretty disappointed.
On a side note, Kotaro Uchikoshi (Nonary Games guy) released a new game recently called Ai: The Somnium Files which I played before reading this. As soon as "Ai" was introduced and Fujiki said her eye was odd...I pretty much had a hunch about her from the start, thanks to the Somnium Files character Aiba (spoiler-ish). It was kind of a dumb connection but one I made none the less, which only added to the disappointing ending. I was kind of hoping I was wrong and it wouldn't be that predictable.
Also, not really sure why an innocent bystander was offed (except for shock value) when he didn't do anything, they were the ones who broke the rules not him. So why was he punished? If he went to the police they'd probably just dismiss him as crazy since the entire area is off limits during that period of time.
In other words, I completely overlooked the whole "fans of Battle Royale" thing and instantly thought of The Nonary Games when I read the synopsis. I probably shouldn't have.
The first half the book was okay, the mystery of why they were there and the suspense of man's animal nature and their need to survive made for a suspenseful read. Who would turn on who? Who was involved in this (someone always is)? Why were they there?
And then we hit the last half of the book...
It went from (unrealistic but) interesting to completely unbelievable and boring seemingly at the turn of a page. I almost wish they had been on Mars, it would have been more realistic than the entire second half of the book.
Again, not a fan of Battle Royale. So I was less than thrilled when the story went from mysterious and suspenseful to fantastical with gore for the sake of gore. That ending was so unrealistic and unsatisfying I'm pretty disappointed.
On a side note, Kotaro Uchikoshi (Nonary Games guy) released a new game recently called Ai: The Somnium Files which I played before reading this. As soon as "Ai" was introduced and Fujiki said her eye was odd...I pretty much had a hunch about her from the start, thanks to the Somnium Files character Aiba (spoiler-ish). It was kind of a dumb connection but one I made none the less, which only added to the disappointing ending. I was kind of hoping I was wrong and it wouldn't be that predictable.
Also, not really sure why an innocent bystander was offed (except for shock value) when he didn't do anything, they were the ones who broke the rules not him. So why was he punished? If he went to the police they'd probably just dismiss him as crazy since the entire area is off limits during that period of time.
March 15, 2024
3.75* Phù!!! Cuối cùng cũng đọc xong.
Cuối cùng cũng có thể thở phào nhẹ nhõm. Bảo đọc sách để giải trí mà thần kinh t căng thẳng theo từng trang luôn á 😞 Tuy nhiên không thấy thoả mãn với cái kết lắm, sao nó hụt hẫng quá vậy. (·•᷄ࡇ•᷅ )
Cuối cùng cũng có thể thở phào nhẹ nhõm. Bảo đọc sách để giải trí mà thần kinh t căng thẳng theo từng trang luôn á 😞 Tuy nhiên không thấy thoả mãn với cái kết lắm, sao nó hụt hẫng quá vậy. (·•᷄ࡇ•᷅ )
Read
March 7, 2022extremely disturbing and violent, made me genuinely nauseous at some points. this is a quintessential thriller novel. there were some parts that were a bit slow but it picks up very quickly at the end. and speaking of the ending, idk how i feel about it
September 12, 2021
I bought the physical version of this based entirely on how much I had enjoyed the anime Shinsekai Yori / From The New World because it was by the same author and was what was available in English from them. My disappointment was immense, as it had nothing at all in common and was generally unenjoyable despite being similar to other stuff I have enjoyed. A death game in the Australian outback? Sounds interesting, doesn't it? Unfortunately, it wasn't.
October 27, 2023
This was a very entertaining read. The tagline said this was like Battle Royale but really it was closer to Survivor. I wouldn't really call this a horror novel but more of an action-adventure tale of survival. The pacing was good throughout with it only fizzling out a little during the wrap-up.
May 4, 2025
Mê cung đỏ - Kishi Yusuke
Thể loại : SciFi
Một phiên bản sinh tồn giống Squid game ,quá trình diễn ra cũng đơn giản vs nhiều thông tin bổ ích về lục địa châu Úc
3.1/ 5⭐⭐⭐
Thể loại : SciFi
Một phiên bản sinh tồn giống Squid game ,quá trình diễn ra cũng đơn giản vs nhiều thông tin bổ ích về lục địa châu Úc
3.1/ 5⭐⭐⭐
September 14, 2024
this was odd. besides the weird comments about women and the absolutely unnecessary sex scene, there was a lot more information about aboriginal hunting/gathering techniques than i was expecting.
this reads like the hunger games or battle royale, but worse
May 4, 2015
The Crimson Labyrinth was, simply put, an exciting book. It’s somewhat a cross between Battle Royale and Hunger Games, although i loathe to associate a good book with HG. I take it back, besides the broad premise, it is nothing like HG. Fujiki finds himself awake in a strange – almost alien – place, with only a GameBoy giving him vague hints of a game he seems to be in. Eventually he finds other participants, who like him seem unable to recall the immediate events preceding their awakening.
From there, it gets increasingly sinister. What i loved most about the novel is the way it unravels. It may not be brilliant stylistically, but does a neat job dishing out hints – just enough for to thrill, for the reader to feel like the hints were cleverly caught than served. There were also grotesque plot features that shocked enough to be fascinating: cannibalism, the devolution of humanity, all strung together in a stimulating pace.
It was so exhilarating, in fact, that J read the last parts with me. I must have looked very tense or disturbed, because he paused his game and made me read aloud. A few paragraphs in, he was hooked too. We read the last couple of chapters together. Midway through i was so eager to get ahead of the story i started speed-reading verbally… we ended up just sharing the book haha.
If you don’t mind a ***spoiler***, what i especially liked about was it’s departure from the ‘dystopian future’ easy route. It made references to very real events in contemporary history i.e. the Japanese economic bubble burst. Although elaborate and almost unfathomable, it appears that the entire ‘game’ was for an extreme snuff film, based on someone’s obsession to bring to life a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure game existing in the market. So, unbelievable but fully plausible.
A strong plot without a distinctly brilliant style. For one, it’s translated, so i really can’t say for sure. Secondly, it didn’t need too stylistic a narration… it may even have detracted from the simple, clear presentation the plot details required.
From there, it gets increasingly sinister. What i loved most about the novel is the way it unravels. It may not be brilliant stylistically, but does a neat job dishing out hints – just enough for to thrill, for the reader to feel like the hints were cleverly caught than served. There were also grotesque plot features that shocked enough to be fascinating: cannibalism, the devolution of humanity, all strung together in a stimulating pace.
It was so exhilarating, in fact, that J read the last parts with me. I must have looked very tense or disturbed, because he paused his game and made me read aloud. A few paragraphs in, he was hooked too. We read the last couple of chapters together. Midway through i was so eager to get ahead of the story i started speed-reading verbally… we ended up just sharing the book haha.
If you don’t mind a ***spoiler***, what i especially liked about was it’s departure from the ‘dystopian future’ easy route. It made references to very real events in contemporary history i.e. the Japanese economic bubble burst. Although elaborate and almost unfathomable, it appears that the entire ‘game’ was for an extreme snuff film, based on someone’s obsession to bring to life a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure game existing in the market. So, unbelievable but fully plausible.
A strong plot without a distinctly brilliant style. For one, it’s translated, so i really can’t say for sure. Secondly, it didn’t need too stylistic a narration… it may even have detracted from the simple, clear presentation the plot details required.
January 12, 2022
"The Crimson Labyrinth" (クリムゾンの迷宮), by Yusuke Kishi, translated to English by Misami Isetani and Camellia Nieh, was originally published in Japan in 1999, and made its way into the English speaking world at Verical in 2006, as Kishi's English debut.
It is a survival horror, much in the tradition of Stephen King's The Running Man, or for the more mordern TV fans, Squid Game and Alice in Borderland.
The main protagonist of the story is Yoshihuko Fujiki, a 40-something year old Japanese man, who becomes unemployed and homeless after losing his job during the market crash. One day he wakes up with no recent memory, in a canyon like environment, and a game machine that gives him instructions to his next checkpoint. He soon meets other people, equally confused about their whereabouts, and realizes they are now players in a game where their lives are at stake, and survival comes at great costs.
I really enjoyed this labyrinthine survival horror. It was fast paced, with scattered survival tidbits of informations. I would have liked a bit more character development, especially for the other cast of characters apart from Fujiki, but the story worked well, and eventually made sense without that. I think fans of survival horror, especially survival with the game show twist, would enjoy this. It's sad to see this is Yusuke Kishi's only novel translated into English, especially as he has several best-selling novels in Japanese. I would definitely like to read more by him, and can only hope more will make their way into the English speaking world.
It is a survival horror, much in the tradition of Stephen King's The Running Man, or for the more mordern TV fans, Squid Game and Alice in Borderland.
The main protagonist of the story is Yoshihuko Fujiki, a 40-something year old Japanese man, who becomes unemployed and homeless after losing his job during the market crash. One day he wakes up with no recent memory, in a canyon like environment, and a game machine that gives him instructions to his next checkpoint. He soon meets other people, equally confused about their whereabouts, and realizes they are now players in a game where their lives are at stake, and survival comes at great costs.
I really enjoyed this labyrinthine survival horror. It was fast paced, with scattered survival tidbits of informations. I would have liked a bit more character development, especially for the other cast of characters apart from Fujiki, but the story worked well, and eventually made sense without that. I think fans of survival horror, especially survival with the game show twist, would enjoy this. It's sad to see this is Yusuke Kishi's only novel translated into English, especially as he has several best-selling novels in Japanese. I would definitely like to read more by him, and can only hope more will make their way into the English speaking world.
April 18, 2015
Well no wonder why the main character got unemployed. Intelligence as well as common sense is something that lacks every one of the characters in this novel. The plot was really interesting, but the lack of a strong narrative makes it feel very slow. By the third chapter the things begin and by the seventh the game starts.
What I did like:
The feeling of a role game.
The survival tips
The idea of the labyrinth
What I didn't like:
The cartoon characters (really, they break the tone of survival the novel tries to achieve)
The very LONG explanations about the wildlife (this information never helped the characters)
The novel doesn't explote (nor use) the feeling of the labyrinth itself(even thou the name of the novel is The crimson LABYRINTH!!!). They never talk about how frustrating it is to be inside it till the very 10th out of 11th chapters. Honestly, all the novel is plain field, bushes and paths, and never talk about the freaking labyrinth they are in... till the before last chapter...
The narrative. Well, its plain as the book's fields. There's near to none descriptions of the people but a galore of snakes and trees...
It may look like I didn't like the book, don't get me wrong, I liked it. Just that one kind of feels disappointed, I wish for there to be more descriptions of the important things an much more less of the boring ones (yes... I'm looking at you "Black Boy Tree!)
What I did like:
The feeling of a role game.
The survival tips
The idea of the labyrinth
What I didn't like:
The cartoon characters (really, they break the tone of survival the novel tries to achieve)
The very LONG explanations about the wildlife (this information never helped the characters)
The novel doesn't explote (nor use) the feeling of the labyrinth itself(even thou the name of the novel is The crimson LABYRINTH!!!). They never talk about how frustrating it is to be inside it till the very 10th out of 11th chapters. Honestly, all the novel is plain field, bushes and paths, and never talk about the freaking labyrinth they are in... till the before last chapter...
The narrative. Well, its plain as the book's fields. There's near to none descriptions of the people but a galore of snakes and trees...
It may look like I didn't like the book, don't get me wrong, I liked it. Just that one kind of feels disappointed, I wish for there to be more descriptions of the important things an much more less of the boring ones (yes... I'm looking at you "Black Boy Tree!)
July 23, 2017
Trò chơi sinh tử rùng rợn - lựa chọn của chính bạn quyết định số mạng bạn trong trò chơi!
Một nhóm người sau khi tỉnh lại phát hiện mình ở một nơi xa lạ, mất đi một phần trí nhớ, trong trạng thái khó hiểu về mọi thứ xung quanh mà bắt đầu tham gia vào trò chơi giành một vé sinh tử cho chính mình.
1/3 khúc đầu cốt truyện khá là nhàn, chưa có cao trào gì nhiều, chỉ miêu tả cách thức , luật lệ chơi, cách từng nhóm dần dần tìm đến đích đến, mà chủ yếu là nhóm của anh nhân vật chính trong truyện. Quả thật một sự lựa chọn cơ bản ngay từ giây phút đầu tiên bắt đầu cuộc chơi sẽ quyết định toàn bộ vận mệnh của từng nhóm bọn họ trong suốt cuộc hành trình. Mãi đến nửa phần sau của câu chuyện, mọi thứ mới bắt đầu lên cao trào khi các nhóm bắt đầu tàn sát lẫn nhau, thậm chí xử lý nhau theo kiểu...rất kinh dị mà mình đọc mà hồi hộp theo từng trang luôn!
Nói chung, theo mình cốt truyện khá hấp dẫn. Càng về sau thì mình càng đọc không dứt ra được, và thực sự là dù có đọc đến tận chương cuối vẫn không thể đoán được ý đồ của trò chơi này là gì, bạn phải đọc đến tận trang cuối cùng mới hiểu rõ tường tận được tất cả.
Điểm trừ duy nhất : Sự tương tác của các nhóm tham gia trò chơi không nhiều. Mình muốn thấy nhiều sự chạm mặt, gặp gỡ, đụng độ tranh giành của các nhóm hơn.
Rate: 4/5 sao.
Một nhóm người sau khi tỉnh lại phát hiện mình ở một nơi xa lạ, mất đi một phần trí nhớ, trong trạng thái khó hiểu về mọi thứ xung quanh mà bắt đầu tham gia vào trò chơi giành một vé sinh tử cho chính mình.
1/3 khúc đầu cốt truyện khá là nhàn, chưa có cao trào gì nhiều, chỉ miêu tả cách thức , luật lệ chơi, cách từng nhóm dần dần tìm đến đích đến, mà chủ yếu là nhóm của anh nhân vật chính trong truyện. Quả thật một sự lựa chọn cơ bản ngay từ giây phút đầu tiên bắt đầu cuộc chơi sẽ quyết định toàn bộ vận mệnh của từng nhóm bọn họ trong suốt cuộc hành trình. Mãi đến nửa phần sau của câu chuyện, mọi thứ mới bắt đầu lên cao trào khi các nhóm bắt đầu tàn sát lẫn nhau, thậm chí xử lý nhau theo kiểu...rất kinh dị mà mình đọc mà hồi hộp theo từng trang luôn!
Nói chung, theo mình cốt truyện khá hấp dẫn. Càng về sau thì mình càng đọc không dứt ra được, và thực sự là dù có đọc đến tận chương cuối vẫn không thể đoán được ý đồ của trò chơi này là gì, bạn phải đọc đến tận trang cuối cùng mới hiểu rõ tường tận được tất cả.
Điểm trừ duy nhất : Sự tương tác của các nhóm tham gia trò chơi không nhiều. Mình muốn thấy nhiều sự chạm mặt, gặp gỡ, đụng độ tranh giành của các nhóm hơn.
Rate: 4/5 sao.
June 6, 2023
Mê cung đỏ, đúng như tên gọi, là một trò chơi không lối thoát, một cuộc chiến sinh tồn. Nghe nói truyện này giống với motip của Chúa Ruồi, tức là 1 nhóm người bị nhốt vào 1 nơi kín và phải sinh tồn, nhưng “nhẹ đô” hơn nên mình đã chọn trước.
Là 1 fan ruột của kinh dị, mình vốn nghĩ cái “bản chất trần trụi” của con người có bị vạch trần ra thì cũng chả sợ, nhưng mình sai rồi. Câu chuyện khiến mình nghẹt thở, ngồi một mình ở nhà mà cứ có cảm giác bản thân là “con mồi”, phải quay đi quay lại xem có kẻ nào đang “săn” mình không. Rồi khi đọc được 1 nửa, mình đã không chịu được nữa mà tắt điện thoại đi. Bản tính của con người thật kinh khủng.
Cốt truyện còn nhiều chi tiết chưa sáng tỏ, nhưng lâu lắm rồi mới có quyển khiến tim mình đập mạnh kể từ Ring – vòng tròn ác nghiệt.
Có 1 câu cần chú ý, và nó được nhắc 2-3 lần trong truyện: ”Thông điệp này vốn không phải dành cho người chơi, mà là được làm ra để người khác xem.”
Là 1 fan ruột của kinh dị, mình vốn nghĩ cái “bản chất trần trụi” của con người có bị vạch trần ra thì cũng chả sợ, nhưng mình sai rồi. Câu chuyện khiến mình nghẹt thở, ngồi một mình ở nhà mà cứ có cảm giác bản thân là “con mồi”, phải quay đi quay lại xem có kẻ nào đang “săn” mình không. Rồi khi đọc được 1 nửa, mình đã không chịu được nữa mà tắt điện thoại đi. Bản tính của con người thật kinh khủng.
Cốt truyện còn nhiều chi tiết chưa sáng tỏ, nhưng lâu lắm rồi mới có quyển khiến tim mình đập mạnh kể từ Ring – vòng tròn ác nghiệt.
Có 1 câu cần chú ý, và nó được nhắc 2-3 lần trong truyện: ”Thông điệp này vốn không phải dành cho người chơi, mà là được làm ra để người khác xem.”
June 22, 2018
i loved this more than i thought i would.it's like Hunger Games but without the village part that nobody cared for,we all just wanted to read about the game.*the reason i didn't mention Battle Royale is because i STILL haven't gotten the fucking book.btw i decided to rewatch the movie while reading the last 2chapters*
i'm gonna be honest with you.when i started reading it i thought it was kinda meh and some parts were kiiinda boring *that aint the reason it took me this long to finish.finals were this week*.i thought that i was gonna give it 3 or 4 stars...today tho,i binged Chapters 6-11.let me tell you.when the fucked up shit starts,it gets INTERESTING.yes,some paragraphs didn't need to be as long as they were but it wasn't that bad.the hunting is the best part (may be because i'm a weirdo). so yeah, that is mostly why this books is a 4,6 for me.i was really invested in the last 4 and a half chapters
i'm gonna be honest with you.when i started reading it i thought it was kinda meh and some parts were kiiinda boring *that aint the reason it took me this long to finish.finals were this week*.i thought that i was gonna give it 3 or 4 stars...today tho,i binged Chapters 6-11.let me tell you.when the fucked up shit starts,it gets INTERESTING.yes,some paragraphs didn't need to be as long as they were but it wasn't that bad.the hunting is the best part (may be because i'm a weirdo). so yeah, that is mostly why this books is a 4,6 for me.i was really invested in the last 4 and a half chapters
June 17, 2010
This may very well be one of my favorite books. I don't know if I can even put this into words...
This is Survivor but serious. This is Survivor where you're voted off by dying. This is how Survivor should be ;)
The main character wakes up, finding himself somewhere unknown. A video game system (or something similar to it) rests at his side, informing him to meet up with a group of people. And this group of people is informed that there's a prize...for one of them.
This is an incredibly quick read not because the language is dull or the story isn't deep - it's just that type of great. It could make you sit back and think about human nature, or how hard it would be to survive in the wilderness with nothing but intelligence to lead you - or it'll entertain you for a few hours.
Recommended to everyone!
It's such a shame that he hasn't had more novels translated!
This is Survivor but serious. This is Survivor where you're voted off by dying. This is how Survivor should be ;)
The main character wakes up, finding himself somewhere unknown. A video game system (or something similar to it) rests at his side, informing him to meet up with a group of people. And this group of people is informed that there's a prize...for one of them.
This is an incredibly quick read not because the language is dull or the story isn't deep - it's just that type of great. It could make you sit back and think about human nature, or how hard it would be to survive in the wilderness with nothing but intelligence to lead you - or it'll entertain you for a few hours.
Recommended to everyone!
It's such a shame that he hasn't had more novels translated!
February 7, 2017
3 sao rưỡi nhưng đầu năm nên rộng lượng thêm nửa sao nữa là 4 sao.
Dù rằng về độ kinh dị vẫn chưa như mình mong đợi nhưng cách hành văn hấp dẫn cùng với bối cảnh hay là một điểm cộng to bự.
Dù rằng về độ kinh dị vẫn chưa như mình mong đợi nhưng cách hành văn hấp dẫn cùng với bối cảnh hay là một điểm cộng to bự.
July 2, 2024
Điểm cộng:
-Cốt truyện kịch tính, nhiều kiến thức bổ ích, nhân vật suy nghĩ tương đối logic, không có ai bị buff quá đà. Mình đọc liền mạch không bỏ sách xuống được.
-Khá sợ và ám ảnh mặc dù đây là truyện phiêu lưu chứ không thuần kinh dị.
Điểm trừ:
-ĐẦU VOI ĐUÔI CHUỘT. Đây là vấn đề điển hình trong hầu hết các tác phẩm thám hiểm phiêu lưu mà mình đọc. 3/4 cuốn sách tác giả đang làm rất tốt: bối cảnh sinh động tuyệt vời, nhân vật ổn, mạch truyện kịch tính… thế mà phần kết thì cứ như kiểu sắp hết giờ, viết vội để nộp bài 🫠. Sau khi đã đọc và đặt ra ngần ấy câu hỏi thì độc giả chỉ có một mong muốn duy nhất là biết tường tận sự thật, lý do tại sao trò chơi bắt đầu, ai là người đứng sau… thế mà tác giả phang cái kết True end, nam chính tỉnh dậy từ bệnh viện, nữ chính thì biệt tăm biệt tích, để lại độc giả với một lố những thắc mắc với một loạt suy luận chủ quan của nam chính. Hết truyện. Cá nhân mình đọc sách thì gặp kết buồn cũng được, vui cũng được chứ xin đừng là kết mở, lại còn kết mở trong những câu chuyện đã đặt ra rất nhiều câu hỏi như thế này! Cảm giác đã bỏ nhiều công sức ra theo dõi mà lại không nhận được câu trả lời thoả đáng. Hay là tác giả không biết viết cái kết như thế nào thì hợp lý nhất nên để người đọc tự suy luận chăng?
-Chất lượng in ấn của IPM: quá tệ. Đang đọc đoạn cao trào ở trang 200 thì phát hiện sau đó không phải trang 201 mà trang 260 😀 Làm mình phải lên mạng đọc ebook rồi gần cuối mới chuyển về sách giấy, trừ 1⭐️
-Cốt truyện kịch tính, nhiều kiến thức bổ ích, nhân vật suy nghĩ tương đối logic, không có ai bị buff quá đà. Mình đọc liền mạch không bỏ sách xuống được.
-Khá sợ và ám ảnh mặc dù đây là truyện phiêu lưu chứ không thuần kinh dị.
Điểm trừ:
-ĐẦU VOI ĐUÔI CHUỘT. Đây là vấn đề điển hình trong hầu hết các tác phẩm thám hiểm phiêu lưu mà mình đọc. 3/4 cuốn sách tác giả đang làm rất tốt: bối cảnh sinh động tuyệt vời, nhân vật ổn, mạch truyện kịch tính… thế mà phần kết thì cứ như kiểu sắp hết giờ, viết vội để nộp bài 🫠. Sau khi đã đọc và đặt ra ngần ấy câu hỏi thì độc giả chỉ có một mong muốn duy nhất là biết tường tận sự thật, lý do tại sao trò chơi bắt đầu, ai là người đứng sau… thế mà tác giả phang cái kết True end, nam chính tỉnh dậy từ bệnh viện, nữ chính thì biệt tăm biệt tích, để lại độc giả với một lố những thắc mắc với một loạt suy luận chủ quan của nam chính. Hết truyện. Cá nhân mình đọc sách thì gặp kết buồn cũng được, vui cũng được chứ xin đừng là kết mở, lại còn kết mở trong những câu chuyện đã đặt ra rất nhiều câu hỏi như thế này! Cảm giác đã bỏ nhiều công sức ra theo dõi mà lại không nhận được câu trả lời thoả đáng. Hay là tác giả không biết viết cái kết như thế nào thì hợp lý nhất nên để người đọc tự suy luận chăng?
-Chất lượng in ấn của IPM: quá tệ. Đang đọc đoạn cao trào ở trang 200 thì phát hiện sau đó không phải trang 201 mà trang 260 😀 Làm mình phải lên mạng đọc ebook rồi gần cuối mới chuyển về sách giấy, trừ 1⭐️
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