魔性の子 十二国記 0

This book is easier than others in the series

Student teacher Hirose is doing a session of practice teaching at his former high school, under the guidance of his former chemistry teacher. There is a strange student, Takasato, who is ostracized by his fellow students because he is rumored to have the power to curse people. Takasato was “spirited away”（神隠し） for a year during childhood and since his return, people who harmed him have been mysteriously injured, or even died. Hirose, who has struggled with feelings of alienation himself, comes to feel a kinship with this strange boy Takasato. But the mysterious occurrences are continuing to escalate in frequency and severity.

This story is very different from the others in the series. Apparently it was written first, as a horror/mystery novel and released by a different publisher than the others. Some of the concepts and a major character were included when the rest of the series was written.

I saw comments about whether to read this before or after book 2, 風の海　迷宮の岸。I read it before book 2, but I think it’s also worth asking if this should be read before book 1, 月の影　影の海 (vol 1). Since I had already read book 1, I had some spoilers for things that were probably meant to be mysterious. And I think I read it with the wrong perspective; the character who will appear later in the series is not the protagonist of this book, and I think I paid too much attention to him instead of focusing on the experiences and mental state of the actual main character here. In that sense, this book might have been more enjoyable if I’d read it as the very first. However, I generally like fantasy more than horror and modern settings, so 月の影　影の海 was probably more effective at drawing me into the series as a whole.

It's easier than others in the series. The main reason is the setting. Since this story is set in a 1990s high school, the core vocabulary has a lot of overlap with the school-setting words we learn in textbooks, JLPT materials, and the children’s books most of us start reading with. The range of topics and settings is lower than the other volumes, and there are very few specialty fantasy words or names to get used to. I don’t think there’s a significant difference in the writing style from grammar and use of synonyms for variety, but the modern school setting definitely made this feel easier to read. I'd estimate this book feels about 2 or 3 grading levels easier than volume 1, 月の影　影の海.