Loups-Garous (Novel) [Paperback]

Natsuhiko Kyogoku (Author)

Book Description

Series: Loups-Garous | Publication Date: May 18, 2010

L to R (Western Style). Virtual reality. Murder. Werewolves. And teen girls! In a future where nothing is as it seems, can old legends come true? In the near future, humans will communicate almost exclusively through monitors, making real interaction a rarified and weak occurance for those living in a near totalitarian society. In this new world of communication, children are only allowed to interact personally on school grounds. So when a serial killer starts slaughtering junior high children the communication routes go under futher surveillance. And despite all the safeguards put in place to avoid physical interaction, the killer's latest victim turns out to have been in contact with three young girls: Mio Tsuzki, a certified prodigy; Hatsuki Matsuno, a uiet but opinionated classmate; and Ayumi Kono, her best friend. And as the girls get caught up in trying to quell curiosity under such terrorist scrutiny, Hatsuki learns that there is much more than meets the eye of their monitored communications.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Natsuhiko Kyogoku was born in 1963. Debuted with Ubume no natsue in 1994, won the Japanese Suspense Writers Association Award in 1996 for Moryo no hako. Kyogoku has written several novels on the theme of jealousy. In 1997, he won the Izumi Koyka Award for Ura Iuemon, and the Yamamoto Shugoro Award in 2003 for Nozoki Koheii. In 2004 he won the Naoki Prize for Nochino Kosetsu Hyaku Monogatari. On top of writing, Kyoguoku is also an accomplished  graphic designer and an expert on Japanese ghosts (yokai and ghost stories).

Product Details

• Paperback: 450 pages
• Publisher: VIZ Media LLC; Original edition (May 18, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1421532336
• ISBN-13: 978-1421532332
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,288,131 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not what you'd expect, July 17, 2010

By 

R. Getter (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Loups-Garous (Novel) (Paperback)

In the U.S., this book is destined to fail.

What you're led to expect is a pulpy horror novel--werewolves, teenage girls, serial killers and a grizzled old cop fighting the system as much as he does crime.

What you get is something very different.

Lups-Garous is much closer to Herman Hesse's Steppenwolf than Universal Studio's Werewolf. It's an existential nightmare with the trappings of the occult set in a near future where human nature, rather than humanity, is struggling to survive.

The young main characters were born just after the end of a twentieth century that they considered decadent, dirty and licentious. They are content to exist in a solitary high-tech world sequestered mostly in homes that are clean, sealed and secure, occasionally venturing out to gather briefly in counseling and "communication" sessions at a local community center. School has given way to self-education and the family has been transformed into a convenient arrangement of guardians and caretakers. The country is close to achieving its ideal of being secure, perfectly ordered and perfectly clean. Even food has been completely replaced by abundant synthetic products--no dirt, no killing.

In spite of the fact that this is a culture where mutual dependence is as unthinkable as violent crime, an unlikely trio of girls, a counselor and a cop are brought together by a series of murders that are increasing in frequency and brutality. Ultimately, their survival depends on overcoming their fear and suspicion of each other (as well as their own true natures) to solve the mystery that is spiraling out to engulf each of their lives.

Like his other recently translated novel, The Summer of the Ubume, Kyogoku's Lups-Garous swings from the coldly cerebral to the deeply emotional. Unlike Ubume, the most important dialogs are internal than external. The story unfolds almost too slowly and the characters start out appearing as flat and colorless as they believe themselves to be. But the plot becomes profoundly complex and the momentum of the story builds to a spectacular and unexpected climax.

Kyogoku is one of the greatest mystery writers in a country that excels in that genre. His unique style may be an acquired taste for some readers, but the plotlines and characters that start out vague and complex will eventually take root and stay with you like the memory of your most unforgettable dreams.