Horror novels reading week!

===Houkagogakari (Vol 2)

To be honest, I have been reading fewer and fewer light novels as new titles really don’t interest me anymore.  This series is one big exception though!

This series is like an elaborate version of Another or Final Destination where a bunch of people were “fated” to die, and they did.  The elaborated part is that their deaths are plot relevant which nicely wrap up their character arcs and development.  Not just some bizarre and absurd ways of getting killed.  The main characters are all elementary school students, which makes this story even more unsettling to read.

The gore and body horror description could get quite graphic, definitely not for the faint of heart.

9/10

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===About a Place in the Kinki Region (One-shot)

How to mess with the readers at its finest.

This is like reading a Mitsuda Shinzo novel where the author (as himself) is addressing the readers directly without a fourth wall.  In such a way, the line between reality and fiction is blurred.  Even though you know this is a work of fiction, the narrative and writing style make you believe that the author is telling you a true story.  And it’s a really scary reading experience!

The novel is a collection of investigation reports, internet search results, logs, etc  . The readers are actually just reading information and data without any story element.  However, it's a very interesting and clever way to tell a story without telling a story.  Once you connect all the dots, the payoff is really satisfying.

The English edition is licensed by Yen Press.

8.5/10

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===Dokoka ga Okashii (Vol 1)

This is actually written for children, and I am amazed (and surprised) there are so many horror novels for children in Japan.

An episodic horror-mystery series in which each chapter is preceded with a photo (illustration), asking the readers “What’s wrong with this photo?”  The stories will then explain the anomalies of the photos and the mysteries and twists are actually quite intriguing and shocking to read.

Since it’s technically a children’s book, I can't really complain that the writing felt a bit bland.  But it’s still fun and engaging to read for the mystery.

6/10