"The plot thickens..." by V. Krätke (Netherlands) on Nov 4, 2005

The first volume of Blame consisted mostly of loosely connected vignettes. Tsutomu Nihei shifts gears in this second volume, however, and gives us a long, continuous chain of events for his characters. Killy's adventures no longer feel like aimless wanderings, but more like a linear quest with a definite goal to work towards. Which may sound prosaic, but there's actually never a dull moment. We follow Killy as he hitches a ride on a transport carrier through danger-infested zones. This leads him to a gloomy human city where further adventures await him. After his battles in the city, he and a new comrade set out to climb an enormous tower that connects different levels of the sprawling, nightmarish complex in which all of this takes place. All of this is peppered with plenty of those encounters with hideous cyber-creatures, suspenseful battles and gruesome sights that made volume 1 such a gripping read. After volume 1, I was merely intrigued by this manga's unique visual style and relentless horrific tone. But now that volume 2 actually adds a plot and a direction into the mix, I am well and truly hooked.