Yukikaze

I first heard of YUKIKAZE after watching and enjoying the anime adaptation that was created and released some years ago by Gonzo. At that time, I never thought that the original novel written by Chohei Kambayashi would make it to these shores. I'm very glad to admit that I was wrong to assume that. I'm also very glad to say that the book is excellent, and hopefully there will be translations of the sequel GOOD LUCK, YUKIKAZE and UNBROKEN ARROW.The plot of the novel is straightforward: over thirty years ago, a mysterious, gigantic column of mist appeared in Antarctica on the Ross Ice Shelf. In reality it was a passageway used by an alien race known only as the JAM for their attempted invasion of earth. Following a series of battles, a united mankind pushed the JAM back through the passageway to the alien planet on the other side named Faery. Over the years, humanity had generally forgotten about the JAM, but the war is still ongoing, with humans using advanced fighter aircraft as primary weapons against the JAM.I loved this book--Kambayashi's themes of man and his relations to machines is front and center, and his writing is crisp and no nonsense (Neil Nadelman's translation is also very solid). Of course, there are events and characters in the book that did not make it into the anime, and the book itself has a vibe similar to Haldeman's THE FOREVER WAR--war is hell, and the people fighting it often must deal with enemies that they do not understand. Of course, the jets and aerial combat gives it a TOP GUN flavor. I highly recommend this book, not just to fans of the anime who want to read the source material but to fans of military SF--or any good book--in general. Kambayashi is a popular, well-respected Japanese SF writer, and it is wonderful to see his work finally reach these shores. Hopefully more will follow.

Thought provoking, clear and well written. Almost like a time lapse film of evolution in an endless combat zone. Seriously a good read

Good read better then the anime. The anime can get very confusing if you don’t read the book.

If you've watched the anime then most of the action in this story will be familiar to you. Remember though that the book came out BEFORE the anime so this in a sense is the original story and what a story it is!The action and background tension between Rei and...pretty much everyone else...as well as the growing battle between the JAM aliens and the computers/machines comes more to the fore in the later chapters as well.This is a fascinating book and I would certainly recommend it both to fans of the anime or the casual sci-fi, military reader.

Purchased the kindle version of this title and was surprised that I liked it very well. It is military based sci-fi but the characterization of Rei is developed more than expected in this type of genre. Never seen the anime but now interested thanks to book. The story of Rei and his dependence on his aircraft Yukikaze goes into detail of a mans psyche not seen usually in military sf. The ending had me hooked to buy the sequel. The concept of the alien JAM also very interesting as they are not typical alien invaders. Plus the planet faery where the story takes place ripe for exploring in other tales.

Yukikaze is based on the movie but it has different portions to it as well. the pilot rei fukai is pilot of an advanced aircraft call yukikaze on a planet called fairy the plane named that way because of the super computer inside of it. rei is a person who collects data on the fights between the other pilots and the enemy called jam.this is the first book of yukikaze there is another book you have to get to read more of it

I bought this book after reading and liking "All you need is kill" the light novel that "Edge of Tomorrow" is based upon.... Yukikaze and Good Luck Yukikaze were advertised at the back of the book and so I thought that I'd give them a try. Having finished Yukikaze in about two days I can firmly say that it is worth a read and is quite a bit lighter than the last scifi book I read prior to "All You Need Is Kill", "The Children of the Mind". It is thought provoking and yet quick and compelling..... A book that I will be recommending to my friends as a lighter choice to the usual scifi

I was looking for something similar to All You Need Is Kill. It was a decent work of fiction but a little to less human feeling in the characters.

Enjoyed the book, thought it could have developed a bit more, but I suppose that is what sequels are for. Occasionally hard work to read, but worth the effort.

10/10, would read again

A really interesting concept and well crafted. The translator had done a great job

Sehr gutes Buch, wenn auch nicht leicht konsumierbar. Der japanische Erzählstil unterscheidet sich teilweise ziemlich von dem, was man sonst gewohnt ist.Empfehlenswert für technikbegeisterte Fans japanischer Sci Fi und für Diejenigen, die die OVA gesehen haben, und nicht wirklich was damit anfangen konten.

War nicht unbedingt leicht zu lesen, gerade die vielen Seitenstränge oder Handlungssprünge haben mir etwas zu schaffen gemacht. Dazu habe ich einen Roten Faden vermisst, aber im Nachhinein muss ich sagen, dass es ein interessantes Stilistisches Mittel ist mit einigen Überraschungen auf dem Weg.