I'm sorry, but I still did not understand the first game. Anywho, this is what you'd expect from a sadistic, gory survival game. The tension is immaculate, and it had me majorly stressed. I really want Chota to die. Dude is too annoying. ( )

A fairly exciting exploration of the deadly games and closed circle tropes made popular in recent years by Hunger Games and Squid Games with a heavy escape room vibe to boot. A group of high school buddies see some unusual fireworks late one night, black out, and awaken in the Borderland, a ruined and nearly deserted version of the Tokyo they know. To stay alive, they need to compete regularly with and against the other unwilling inhabitants in games with life or death consequences. Characterization isn't real deep -- we have the street smart guy, the tough guy, and the goofball -- but things keep moving fast enough that that's not a problem.

I unknowingly read two books by the same guy, Haru Asu, back to back this week. His Zom 100 is also fast-paced, gory, and good but with a darkly humorous bent that contrasts nicely with the grim seriousness of this series. I'm going to keep on with both and keep my eye out for anything else he does. And apparently, when I'm ready, there's also a Netflix series based on "Alice" that I can check out. ( )