As part of the the Yuri issue of SF Magazine last winter, I read a short Yuri story by author Miyazawa Iori.  It was very good. So, when a novel by Miyazawa was included in the initial rollout of J-Novel Club Yuri titles , I was super excited. It’s thrilling to me to read science fiction that is unique and thoughtful. That it has a frisson of Yuri is a nice to have…what I really want it to be a good story.

Side by Side Dreamers is a very good story.

It also was a case of atrocious timing. ^_^;

I’m a very bad sleeper myself and have been since I was young. I picked this book up as my normal insomnia was exacerbated by jet lag. So the opening in which we meet Saya, a young woman who has not slept in a very long time, and whose ability to function normally has been all but destroyed, I questioned whether this was the book I really needed in my life right that moment. ^_^;

Saya is trying once again to get some sleep when a schoolmate climbs into the bed she’s in…and instantly she falls asleep. Saya finds herself battling a creature in her dream with the other girl, who she immediately understands is her lover. Upon waking Saya is refreshed, but confused. As she encounters other dream warriors, Saya discovers a whole ecology of sleep monsters, the Suiju and the Sleepwalkers who combat them. Unfortunately for Saya, Hitsuji, her dream lover, and the other girls, the monsters are getting smarter…and are starting to enter the waking world! 

With an original, if poorly-timed-for-me premise, I was hooked pretty quickly into the story. The relationship between Hitsuji and Saya took second place to the main plot, which twisted in the most interesting ways. Their relationship was also pleasantly service-free. Even with girls sleeping as the plot driver, the lack of lingering creepy gaze was a relief.

The eventual climax was nothing I could have predicted, a quality I particularly like in my science fiction. It was a very good read.

Ratings:

Story – 8
Character – 8
Service – 2
Yuri – 4

Overall – 8

My expectations for the J-Novel Club Yuri line was not high – like most people who have read a lot of light novels, I tend to assume they are mostly franchise/genre extenders written for an audience with an 8th grade comprehension level. The current crop of “reincarnated as a log in a feudal monarchy” trend has not changed my opinion much.

I can say with all honestly, that after reading 4 out of 5 of the initial Yuri offerings from J-Novel Club, I am damn impressed. 3 out of 4 get top marks from me for good writing (and the one I didn’t love was blatantly not for me,) and 4 out of 4 for excellent translation.  And we’re not done yet, because we’ve go two more to go and at least one of them is superlative!  ^_^ Check back for a gushing review next week!

Thank so much to J-Novel Club for the review copy!