All You Need Is Kill can be divided into two parts. The first is an amazingly clever take on the time loop trope. The second begins with an info dump about one of the characters, followed by an info dump about the aliens, and just never recovers. I've heard the movie is good, so you should watch it instead.

It is hard to talk about anything in this book as though it is one book, since the first and second parts are so different. The first part doesn't focus a lot on relationships between characters, but does touch on them enough to give the reader an impression that a lot is going on outside what we are shown. In the second part, there is supposed to be a romance, but it really doesn't have much going on at all. I honestly wonder if the author was so freaked out about writing from a woman's point of view that he mainly just "tells" (as oppose to "shows") the rest of the story. I think part of this was weird choices for character development. For example, we are told that growing up the female character was great at pretending to cry. Then, when she meets the main character, he says something important to her, and she cries. It is supposed to be a big deal moment, because she is super tough, but now she is crying. However, this thing about how she is great at fake crying is hanging over the scene. Is this a random and pointless thing that the author added in? In which case, it shouldn't be there, as it ruins what is supposed to be a touching moment. Or is the crying thing an important element that shows that she isn't serious? If so, it isn't handled well, as there is nothing else to show that this isn't a touching moment for her for the rest of the story. Because I was constantly confused about it, I had even more trouble than I would have otherwise with this relationship.

As with the characters, the setting works in the first half, because the main character doesn't really know what is going on with the aliens, but he knows that he has to kill them. That is just fine. In the second part, the author tries to explain a whole bunch of stuff that the characters can't know. Already, this is an issue. I really hate it when an author, in the middle of the book, takes time out to show you all the backstory he created. On top of that, the author has a complicated mechanic for killing the aliens, which doesn't always make sense. He kind of pulls it together for the end, but I didn't find it satisfying at all.

What I really liked about the plot for the first half is that it is nearly all about the main character preparing and training for this battle. A lot of Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card has that same very focused feel. I think Player of Games by Iain M. Banks also is like that. They are about what happens to the main character when he (yes, they are all male) reaches the peak of his ability. Unfortunately, in this book, when the character reaches his peak, the story falls apart.

Would I read another book by this author? I'm not sure. If he could recapture the greatness of the first half of the book, I obviously would love to. However, it doesn't look like I'll need to think about it, as he hasn't written much else, and nothing that looks like it would interest me. However, reading it did remind me of how much I like Japanese light fiction. I'll have to see if I can find a good military sci-fi series.

Should you read this book? Probably not. I can't even tell you to read the first half, as you'll scream with joy, excitement, and surprise when you get to the end of that part. And then you'll remember that the rest of the book isn't as good, but you won't be able to believe it, as the first half was incredible. So, you'll start reading it and be totally disappointed. Don't do it. There are better ways to spend your time.