The Fall 2024 Light Novel Guide

Festival of Heresies

What's It About? 

There's a reason Emi Shimamoto can't find a job. For as long as she can remember, she's been unable to tell the living from the dead. Resigned to yet another failure, she attends an interview with Moriya Foods, only to find herself strangely attracted to its young president and more determined than ever to get the position. Meanwhile, Emi's brother senses that there is more going on with his sister than meets the eye, and he pays a visit to a certain agency that specializes in matters of the supernatural...

Festival of Heresies has a story by Rokakoen, with English translation by Linda Liu. Published by Yen On (November 19, 2024).

Is It Worth Reading?

Part exploration of how cults nab people, part supernatural mystery, and part religious deconstruction, Festival of Heresies is one of the oddest, most unsettling novels I've read recently. The story revolves around a mysterious man named Jan, who has the unusual power of bringing people firmly under his sway. He's not necessarily malicious, but he is shady and creepy, at least to those who aren't enraptured by him. Like many charismatic creeps before him, he targets those who are uniquely vulnerable, and when the story starts, that's Emi, a young woman just starting out in the world after graduating from college. When her brother starts wondering what's going on, he turns to the Sasaki Agency, a curse-finding detective duo.

This isn't really a mystery, although it has elements of that. It's more like psychological horror (more rightly called “terror”), where everyone is hiding something, and no one is really telling us the truth. Emi sees herself as ugly, but that's because someone was determined to make her believe that for their own twisted purposes. Sasaki calls herself a curse investigator, but there's a lot more going on beneath that seemingly bland surface. Emi's brother is motivated by more than he seems to be, and Jan himself is suffering under a religious delusion that may make observant Christians squirm. It's uncomfortable on purpose, and that's not always what makes for a good read.

I say “good read” rather than “good book” because this is actually hard to put down. The way that the various plot threads and themes intertwine is fascinating, although author Rokakoen isn't always up to the task of differentiating between character voices, which can make it unnecessarily confusing at times. It's also worth noting that there's a bibliography at the end, so there was actual research done into the topics and themes being used, so this isn't just the author making stuff up to suit their purpose. I think the best way to describe Festival of Heresies is to call it “grimly fascinating.” It's not particularly well-written or enjoyable, but it is the sort of story you feel you need to see to the end. I don't see myself picking up volume two, but this is a series I could see myself feeling compelled to nonetheless.