Damn...
Start looking around you...
And all you see are people the world would be better off without.
Well, that escalated quickly, didn't it?
I have been longing to read this for quite some time. So, when I chanced upon it on the shelves of my library yesterday, I snatched it up immediately. This was indeed a great choice. This neatly packaged little exploration of what could occur if a bored, idealistic teenager (Light Yagami) suddenly acquires the power to eliminate anyone whose name and face he knows gets straight to the point. And the race is on between the now serial killer teen and the as yet mysterious detective whom the world's police agencies bring in to stop him (L).
In addition to the excellent in medias res pacing, I adored the complex characterizations at play in both Light and L, as well as the space left around Ryuk (the god of death who initiates this entire confrontation). His motives are explained just as much as necessary and no more, which is a very good thing. The tension in the story stems not so much from whether L will catch Light, but from the tragic setup inherent in the nature of the Death Note itself. Light's downfall is already predetermined by the rules governing the power he is using. However, the open questions surrounding Ryuk allow, for the moment, some degree of uncertainty. Is this truly a tragedy in the classic sense? Or is it a classic romance, with the hero fated to escape his certain destruction? I, for one, am extremely eager to find out. Unfortunately, volume 2 seems to have vanished from my library's shelves since yesterday. So, it appears I may need to make a trip to the bookstore...
Update January 27, 2019: The book still holds up, and the review still holds up. I love it when that happens!