Have to disagree with the previous two reviews: In my eyes not only was the first story perfectly compressible within the space given, but it was also the most enjoyable and interesting of the collection. The twist was thoroughly well written and nicely surprising. My score is lower based on the remaining stories, out of which only the last one had some merit, but it too suffers from the same problem as the rest: Reliance on cheap thrills to hide the lack of content. In short, the remaining three stories can be best summarized as the kind of scary story teenagers would share around a campfire in the summer. If that's what you're looking for, go for it. If not, stick with the great first story.

Ima Ichiko never fails to impress. This was a wonderful collection of short stories. Ima's stories always evoke a sense of tranquility, but they never feel slow-paced. My favourite would have to be Story 4, which reminds me of her other stellar work Hyakki Yakoushou. On the other hand, the weakest story would have to be the first one. Like the commenter said below, the political setting and the characters were under-developed, wihch meant that the ending was quite confusing. Nevertheless, the story was still a good read. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys mysteries, horror or fantasy, or is a fan of Ima's other works.

... Last updated on November 24th, 2008, 10:31pm

Hmmm... the stories were all quite entertaining. My only complaint is that Story 1 would have worked out better if it'd been fleshed out over a volume or 2 instead as befitting of a good political story. As it is, there was too much information overload and the plot like the political circumstances and intrigue and characters were a little wobbly, thus resulting in slightly choppy pacing.

... Last updated on June 9th, 2008, 9:31pm