This is an intense volume. That is because its story is the final days of The Great War. Yes, that terrible and seemingly endless conflict in Dishboard's ancient history, which gave rise to Tet's ascension as the One True God, is the subject of this volume.
It is just as bad as everyone in the present says it was. I have to give the author credit for that. Yuu Kamiya really conveys how shitty the situation was for humanity back then, when the Ten Commandments of Tet didn't exist to prevent war. As an example, an entire human settlement has to pack up and move when a battle between higher ranked species starts near them, because the entire settlement could be wiped out in an instant by a single, stray shot. All of them could be killed by accident without either warring party even noticing them. The emotional toll this takes is excellently conveyed. The first chapters convey the sort of survival mindset needed to exist in this world of endless war.
That is not to say that the story is endless doom and gloom. There is levity spread throughout this story. Some of it is between the two leads, Riku and Schwi. Some of it is in the interludes, which move back to the present day, where Tet is telling this story to Izuna. Yes, the God of Games is taking a turn as a storyteller. And, by his own admission, he is not a reliable narrator. He may have some hidden purpose for doing this, as Izuna suspects, or it may just be to amuse himself while he waits for Blank to challenge him again.
Now, in comparing this volume to its film adaptation, No Game No Life Zero. I want to discuss, in vague terms, the resolution of The Great War. No spoilers, so don't worry about that. I'll just say that the movie does an excellent job of showing the plan in action, but not explaining how the plan works. The dual concepts of how The Great War started and how to bring it to a definitive conclusion take a bit of explaining. A novel is simply better as a medium for that exposition. It is a satisfying explanation.
Trickster Eric Novels gives "No Game No Life volume 6" an A+
Click here for my previous book review: The Trials of Apollo - the Hidden Oracle (read for fun)
Click here for my previous book review: A Certain Scientific Accelerator V2
Brian Wilkerson is an independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor's degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration).
His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.
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