I’ll go ahead and nominate something; it’s been a while.
魔性の子
Author: 小野 不由美
Summary
Japanese
どこにも、僕のいる場所はない──教育実習のため母校に戻った広瀬は、高里という生徒が気に掛かる。周囲に馴染まぬ姿が過ぎし日の自分に重なった。彼を虐(いじ)めた者が不慮の事故に遭うため、「高里は祟(たた)る」と恐れられていたが、彼を取り巻く謎は、“神隠し”を体験したことに関わっているのか。広瀬が庇おうとするなか、更なる惨劇が……。心に潜む暗部が繙(ひもと)かれる、「十二国記」戦慄の序章。
English
(DeepL translation) There’s no place for me anywhere—Hirose, returning to his alma mater for teaching practice, finds himself drawn to a student named Takasato. The boy’s inability to fit in mirrored his own past self. Those who bullied Takasato met with unexpected accidents, leading to the fear that “Takasato is cursed.” But are the mysteries surrounding him connected to his experience of being “taken by the gods”? As Hirose tries to protect him, further tragedy strikes… The dark recesses of the heart are laid bare in this chilling prologue to The Twelve Kingdoms.
Length: 491 pages
Category: Easier/faster
Natively link: 魔性の子 十二国記 0 | L34
Availability
Physical book: Amazon.co.jp: 魔性の子 十二国記 0 (新潮文庫) : 小野 不由美, 山田 章博: Japanese Books
(No ebook available)
Personal Opinion
It’s the one, the only, the “0” book in the 十二国記 series. My understanding is this was written before 十二国記 was picked up as a series proper, so my hope is that it can act as a standalone. It’s unfortunately still physical-only, but an audiobook was recently released (as well as for the other 十二国記 books, if anyone was waiting for them). Plus it has horror/mystery vibes? Which is a combination I’m interested in.
Pros and Cons for the Book Club
Pros
- There’s an audiobook.
- It probably shouldn’t end on a cliffhanger or anything as book 0.
Cons
- There’s no ebook, unfortunately.
Pictures
(Taken from my copy of the book)
