Zaregoto Series (Nisioisin)
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Zaregoto: The Kubikiri Cycle
(TL Note: Kubikiri means Beheading)
Author: Nisioisin (the creator of Bakamonogatari, Katanagatari, etc.)
Believe it or not, this is the first novel I have read in four years. Yeah, I need to read more. In any case, since I've been watching Bakamonogatari, I've become interested in Nisioisin's work. So, I looked to see if any of his stuff was published in English. Lo and behold, his Death Note and xxxHolic novels were translated, but they only exist in hardcover form, they cost too much for an author whose work I haven't read. Thankfully, Del Rey has published the first volume of Nisioisin's Zaregoto series (in softcover, with the second volume on the way) so I picked that up.
Let's just say, that, after reading it, I was completely satisfied. One word of warning: if you've read a lot of detective-type stories, you might not like this as much (seeing how it was Nisioisin's first book and all). It makes use of the "closed circle" and "sealed rooms" concepts. It had a slow start, but once it got going it didn't let up until the very end. Without spoiling anything, all I can say is that the characters are interesting. The best word to describe them would be "odd" ("Abnormal" works, too). To put it into perspective, the characters of Bakamonogatari started to look pretty normal after I finished reading Kubikiri Cycle.
(TL Note: Kubikiri means Beheading)
Author: Nisioisin (the creator of Bakamonogatari, Katanagatari, etc.)
Wikipedia wrote...
Ii-chan and his friend, the computer genius Tomo Kunagisa, are invited to Wet Crow's Feather Island in the sea of Japan. The island is owned by Iria Akagami, a wealthy disinherited heiress who has been living in exile on the island with her maids for the last five years. For entertainment, she regularly invites geniuses like Kunagisa to stay on the island. When one of the guests is found dead - decapitated - Iria decides to ask Jun Aikawa to solve the murder. But it will take several days before Jun will arrive, and Ii-chan decides to investigate the mystery while they wait.Believe it or not, this is the first novel I have read in four years. Yeah, I need to read more. In any case, since I've been watching Bakamonogatari, I've become interested in Nisioisin's work. So, I looked to see if any of his stuff was published in English. Lo and behold, his Death Note and xxxHolic novels were translated, but they only exist in hardcover form, they cost too much for an author whose work I haven't read. Thankfully, Del Rey has published the first volume of Nisioisin's Zaregoto series (in softcover, with the second volume on the way) so I picked that up.
Let's just say, that, after reading it, I was completely satisfied. One word of warning: if you've read a lot of detective-type stories, you might not like this as much (seeing how it was Nisioisin's first book and all). It makes use of the "closed circle" and "sealed rooms" concepts. It had a slow start, but once it got going it didn't let up until the very end. Without spoiling anything, all I can say is that the characters are interesting. The best word to describe them would be "odd" ("Abnormal" works, too). To put it into perspective, the characters of Bakamonogatari started to look pretty normal after I finished reading Kubikiri Cycle.
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Zaregoto 2: The Kubishime Romanticist
(TL Note: Kubishime means Strangulation)
But then murder hits closer to home. Hours after attending a friend's birthday party, Ii-hcan learns that the guest of honor, a pretty co-ed, has been found strangled to death. What's more, Ii-chan is the prime suspect. The lackadaisical college kid had better hope that his crime-solving skills weren't just a fluke, because the killer is within striking distance ... of him.
It's better than the first one. (Also, don't read it all in one sitting like me. It gave me a serious headache.) The pacing is more even than the first one. Ii-chan is much more defined as a character. But one has to wonder just how deep does the rabbit hole of Ii-chan's past go. The ending is still jam-packed with twists, but it is easier to swallow this time and there is more foreshadowing. Read it now!
(TL Note: Kubishime means Strangulation)
Back Cover wrote...
Fresh from unmasking an assassin on a posh island paradise, Ii-chan is finally an ultra-cool college student - jaded, sarcastic, and not exactly consumed by academic ambition. Now more interested in angst and anomie than in catching killers, Ii-chan figures that danger is a thing of the past. Wrong! There's a homicidal maniac loose in Kyoto, a perp with the soul of an artist whose talent is apparent in the inspired way he festoons his crime scenes with body parts.But then murder hits closer to home. Hours after attending a friend's birthday party, Ii-hcan learns that the guest of honor, a pretty co-ed, has been found strangled to death. What's more, Ii-chan is the prime suspect. The lackadaisical college kid had better hope that his crime-solving skills weren't just a fluke, because the killer is within striking distance ... of him.
It's better than the first one. (Also, don't read it all in one sitting like me. It gave me a serious headache.) The pacing is more even than the first one. Ii-chan is much more defined as a character. But one has to wonder just how deep does the rabbit hole of Ii-chan's past go. The ending is still jam-packed with twists, but it is easier to swallow this time and there is more foreshadowing. Read it now!
Spoiler: