While this is a tie-in, alternate universe story to a manga series...it's still written like a traditional book so I'm counting it. I remember reading a bit of the original manga way back when it first came out and got into it again only recently. So when I found this book, I got it at once and decided to give it a shot. Let's see how it did.
L, the world's greatest detective, only has twenty three days to live. After defeating his nemesis, Kira, L has a lot of loose ends to tie up before his inevitable end. So when a terrorist organization comes across a deadly virus that could wipe out not only the entire country of Japan, but most of the entire world, L takes up the challenge as his final case. There's a lot on the line and with one of the world's deadliest weapons, the Death Note, at his disposal L has his work cut out for him before time runs out on, not only him, but the whole world.
While the original Death Note series had more of a suspense/thriller feel to it, this story feels more like an action movie (which is appropriate because this was also a movie) with chases and escapes and fights. Now, while some people would look down on the action genre as just dumb entertainment, but I find that it can always be saved if the characters are interesting, and seeing as it's L, it does not disappoint. It's good to see that L, while taking a far more active role than we'd usually see him in, is still very much in character. His unassuming appearance and strange mannerisms hide his inner awesomeness and brilliance and make him just the kind of person to liven up what would otherwise be a pretty typical action story.
There's a lot in here that fans of Death Note are going to be happy to see other than L's return. The appearances from characters like Matsuda, Chief Yagami, Ryuk, and Near are a welcome call back to the original series. New additions like FBI agent Sugita also help to book to stand on it's own, and he does make a pretty good foil and is likable enough that you want to see him make it through. Though, as I mentioned before, this story works as a kind of alternate ending to the series, so if you don't know that going into it, you might get thrown off. I also like how it doesn't exactly spell out how Kira was defeated in this version and that you have to figure out exactly how it happened, a detail that puts a lot of faith in the readers.
If I had to nitpick, I would say that the only thing that really bothered me was the character of Maki. While she and L did have some really cute scenes and her involvement did open the door for a lot of L's character development, she was pretty annoying. There was this self-righteousness to her and an arrogance and ignorance to her that I just couldn't stand. I get that they were going for a childlike innocence kind of thing but it honestly got on my nerves more than it did open my eyes to anything. Was she more trouble than she was worth? Maybe. There was even a point in the story where I almost said, "Y'know what? Don't save her. Little idiot got herself in this mess." But, of course, that doesn't happen and, as I said, she does help the story overall so...there's that.
Final Verdict
An interesting story that any fan of Death Note or anyone interesting in starting the series would find to be a lot of fun, and certainly, a very welcomed return of an amazing character. Overall, for both a die hard fan or a curious onlooker, I'd say that this one is worth your money at your local bookstore.
Have you read the book? What did you think? Comment below and share your thoughts. Have a book you'd like me to read or would like to make a recommendation? Contact me on goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/65448711-michelle-beer
Next time: Belle wielding a bow and arrow...this better be good....
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