A few months ago, I was contacted by Lee Sanhwa, a Korean author, to do a review of a Yuri board game, Yuri Ranbou (百合乱慕), which was followed by another fun review of the Yuri-themed board game Sisters of Dangerous Yuri Council (ヤバ百合会の妹たち). As we corresponded, Lee-nim described his most recent book as being about cyborgs, Yuri and dessert, which…okay, I’m in. ^_^

An Error Occurred ( 오류가 발생했습니다) is available only in Korean at this time, I purchased it through Booksonkorea.com, which was a pretty painless process and the book was shipped very quickly. Right from the first pages, I was gripped by a smart, fun, ever-so-slightly-gross, and engaging science fiction story.

We are introduced to a world that has been split into two cities, the upper city, thought to be a paradise, Red Velvet and the undercity where we are, Black Forest. We meet our protagonist Donauwelle and her mysterious roommate Haluholo. The society presented has two notable features – it is the kind of  late capitalism we are used to in much of our science fiction and, slowly but surely, our reality, in which advertising is attached to literally everything. (Would you like to read this  message ad-free? Pay 10 drops) And everything – people, places, companies, currency, are named after sweets. I wondered right away if the drops mentioned were named after Japanese Sakuma fruit drops candy and, yup, sure enough, the glossary assured me they were.

In Black Forest most people upgrade their bodies with prosthetics, and Haluholo is a full-body prosthetic person with no “meat.” One of Donauwelle’s colleagues at investigation company, Petit-4, Sachertorte is obsessed with getting the latest and greatest parts, much as people in our world rush to grab the new iPhone.

Initially we are thrown into a mystery in which someone seems to be committing gruesome murders and taking the human flesh from people. Petit-4’s job is to live-stream as they investigate. They are pretty good at their job and with some help from Donauwelle’s mysterious roommate Haluholo, they conclude the investigation quickly. Following that are several short, snappy adventures in corrupt systems, the gangs of the Black Forest , a scam being run on prosthetics and a systemic issue that seems to be affecting all the companies that run Black Forest.

With each subsequent mystery, we learn more about Donauwelle’s coworkers, Sata Andagi, Petit-4 group leader Ladyfingers (who has an on-again off-again thing going on with Sachertorte) and the world, which is, apparently run by Divinity…only something, somewhere, is broken. Companies are not functioning, projections are off…what is going on? And who the heck is Haluholo, who always seems to have too much drops and information?

All of these questions are answered in a very satisfying second half of the book, in which we have three reveals, one I expected, one I did not and one that was just fantastic writing. I’d love to talk about the book ending with you, but it will be a huge spoiler, so you are just gonna have to read it, and drop by the Okazu Discord to chat. ^_^

I read the book using Google Lens as a translation tool and I assumed I missed some of the subtleties of language and intent, but overall, I felt that I got the gist of everything. The use of sweets for names was never tiring. For instance one of the gangs was cleverly named Pan de Muerto, Divinity was as the ruling body. The names are drawn from all over the world, making the glossary worth reading  – especially for some of the snarky comments about British sweets. ^_^

This reprint edition from 2023 includes an extra new epilogue post the 2018 first printing and an additional author’s note. The first author’s note is one of the very best I have ever read honestly, as it discusses how authors’ notes are ubiquitous in books, but no one has ever won an award for one, no guides are written on how to write one and no one ever reads them. ^_^ Well, I do read them and this one was outstanding.

At this point, you may be wondering if the story is Yuri. And to answer that, you must understand that machine translation tools all default to “he” and “him” unless forced to use a different word. So almost regardless of what was written on the page, I was getting a story about mostly men, when Lee-nim mentions that he wrote the book with the assumption that everyone was a woman and that gender wasn’t an issue. That complicated the story, but also set up the thing I was expecting in a more obvious way. Oh, and, yes, it is Yuri.

Ratings:

Story – 9
Characters – 9 (I’d kind of like s spin-off about Ladyfingers and/or Momochacha)
Service – Yes, surprisingly
Yuri – 8

Overall – 10

This gets a 10 because of one final thing that I did not even know I liked. The structure of the novel – short stories that build up to one major arc – apparently is my favorite structure! Who knew?

I don’t know how comfortable people are reading with translation tools. I’m pretty comfortable with it, as I have been doing it for years in any number of languages, Thai, Tagalog, Korean, Chinese,Vietnamese (and still Japanese) in my pursuit of Yuri. So, if the idea of reading a book while staring at a page through your phone does not intimidate you – or if you are learning, or can read, Korean –  I highly recommend An Error Occurred by Lee Sanhwa, from Safe House Publishing.

I have already begun to write English-language publishers to suggest this book be licensed. I think folks would really like it.

Speaking of English, cover artist Kim Sanho’s work can also be see on a Korean novel that has been translated into English, that might be of interest here, A Magical Girl Retires, which is on my to-read list. ^_^

With a title translated on the cover as “Lily Grave Vandalism” you just know I had to pick up Yuri Hakaarashi (百合墓荒らし) by Natsuo Tougen.

Yutaka hates her name, which is much more commonly used for boys. But when she was in school, she had a best friend who called her “Yuka-chan.” Sayoko and she went on adventures together into the mountains around town and had their own “secret base.” Yutaka always loved Sayoko and misses her terribly, since she went missing 7 years ago. Now Sayoko’s family has declared her dead and is finally holding a funeral for Sayoko. Yutaka returns from her job and home in the city to pay her respects. As she arrives in town, she is greeted by the spirit of Sayoko who remains the high school girl she last saw her as.

As the book develops, we learn what really happened when Sayoko went missing and why Yutaka is back home one last time.

This novel is a debut work by Natsuo Tougen and, to some extent, it reads like one. A lot of foreshadowing and flashback try to keep the reader off balance, but a single line gives away the whole story. About 1/3 into the story I wasn’t sure where it might go, but by halfway I knew exactly where it would go. And even when there was a chance for it do something unpredictable, the narrative hewed closely to the most obvious conclusion. While I would have been much happier to see Yutaka to get some therapy and leave the whole thing behind…as a story rooted in a high school Yuri setting, this had some good elements one might expect from a “missing for seven years” story.

All that said, it’s always good to see a new entry into the world of Yuri literary fiction. As I pointed out in my review of Yuri literary magazine Zerogoh, there is a surprising amount of Yuri fiction out there right now. I still have another short story collection from yet another publisher still to be read on my pile from earlier this year.

Will you want to read Yuri Hakaarashi? It depends on how much you’re looking for imaginative original work.

Ratings:

Overall – 6

The cover is by our old friend Mebachi-sensei and is very evocative of the story.

When months are slightly too-busy, I find I want to read something that is challenging, but not too stressful. Recently, I finished up Sirena, the second book in the Kitra series and wanted to review it today, but was surprised to find I had not reviewed the first book, so I’m rectifying that quickly. ^_^

When I was young,  I read quite a bit of hard science fiction tales for what we now think of as YA readers. I grew up on books like this and while fantasy and sf/fantasy have somewhat displaced them in the cultural domain, I have a fondness for the old-school science-y-ness of the genre. So today I am reaching back and forward at the same time to talk about Kitra, by Gideon Marcus.

Before we begin, I do need to disclaim here – Gideon is an old friend and the publisher of By Your Side: The First 100 Years of Yuri Anime and Manga. I assure you that this is not why I am reviewing this book. I read it because I know Gideon is an excellent writer and I am reviewing it here because it was an excellent read. If our relationship seems suspect to you, then feel no compulsion to read it. If you, like me, could really use a rollicking tale of space adventure and science-driven science fiction, read on. ^_^

Kitra is a young woman with a dream – she has spent  life training to travel the stars. Now that she has finally gained her inheritance, she buys herself a ship. With her dearest friends (among them, her ex-girlfriend) Kitra and her crew are going to leave the planet and discover… whatever is out there to be discovered.  Of course, things do not go as planned.

Kitra is a mixed-race, bisexual lead, which suits the story beautifully. In the world they inhabit, ancient colonial powers and a distant Imperium mix with aliens and colony ship descendants to create a world just familiar enough to be comfortable, which makes leaving it that much more uncomfortable. 

The challenges Kitra and her crew face are hair-raising, but one is never disappointed by magical handwaves here – this book is rooted in solid science. “Could it work?” is always answered with a reasonable, “yes, and here is why.” It’s very freeing, too, to read a book not about a struggle with moral codes or societal pressure. These young people are who they are and that is perfectly acceptable. I am always looking to portrayals of a future where we see the possible, rather than still encountering the same traumas over and over. Instead, we are treated to a team well-suited to their work, with implicit trust in one another, able to exceed their own expectations.

Above all, even in the darkest moments, I was able to keep reading knowing that this was a story rooted in tales of team achievement. No one was going to be fridged just to motivate someone else to succeed. That made it a relaxing and fun ride.  The book includes illustrations by the youngest Hugo Finalist, for best fan artist, Lorelei Esther.  As the series continues, one can see her art develop as well.

Ratings:

Art – 6 Room to grow
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Service – Young people have libidos, but the story is not about that
LGBTQ  – 8

Overall – 8

For solid science fiction, appealing characters and the feeling of rising to the challenge, meeting it head on and finding a way through, I recommend Kitra. It was a great weekend read.