Somewhere in the bowls of the earth, the remnants of human
society eke out a tenuous existence in the gloom of a
post-post-apocalyptic world. Ages ago, humanity reached such
heights of technical and industrial skill that their buildings and
cities rose thousands of stories towards the sky. In this twilight
of mechanical decay, the ancient buildings remain as a massive,
crumbling labyrinth thousands of feet deep and inconceivably vast.
Vast enough to house many outposts of humans, clinging to life and
tradition while unable to communicate and unaware of their brethren
near or far.

Even more frightening than the lonely spaces of ancient structures
are the plastic and steel cyborgs who stalk among falling bridges
and rusty girders. Part human, part insect, part android, these
fighting machines share each other's thoughts and assume the forms
of human travelers at will. They are remorseless in their
destruction of all human life and in the hunt for the mysterious
"Net Terminal Genes." No one seems to know what these genes signify
(the author gives us not a clue --- maybe she's waiting to figure
out the secret too) except that they may be humanity's last, best
hope for recreating a viable civilization away from the mutation
and cellular contamination brought on by life in the
labyrinth.

Skirting human habitation, avoiding the cyborgs when he can and
killing them with ease and skill when he can't, Killy's sole
purpose is the search for Net Terminal Genes among the survivors of
the latest apocalyptic events. This lonely, nearly silent life
suits taciturn Killy well enough --- he's good at what he does and
knows the labyrinth's hidden passageways and treacherous corridors
as if he carries an internal map. What he is not prepared for is to
discover the end of the labyrinth, 3,000 levels above ground and
ruled by an entirely new life form feared by humans and cyborgs
alike --- the silicate soldiers of the Authority.

BLAME! is drawn with mesmerizing precision. Tsutomu Nihei has
captured the fearful beauty of industrial spaces with swathes of
shadow and lines that seem to be always in motion. The story is
told almost entirely through gestures and violent, gory action
sequences --- dialogue is sporadic and often cryptic, raising
questions without ever answering them. The story is a challenge for
readers (I'm on my third time through), disclosing the bare minimum
of information through each of Killy's encounters in the labyrinth.
Whether or not you have the patience to stick with this story as it
unfolds is very much a matter of personal taste. At worst, BLAME
can be seen as a novelized video game session complete with
shoot-em-ups and awesome graphics. At best (and I'm willing to give
Nihei the benefit of the doubt), this is an eerie portrait of a
society in which human contact is so rare that speech has become
almost unnecessary.

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