無貌之神

by Kōtarō Tsunekawa, 恒川光太郎, 王華懋 (Translator)

是什麼困住了我？
是這個世界的法則，還是我自己？

不知為何，我流落到被世界遺棄之地。村落中心坐鎮著沒有臉的神，祂能治癒萬物，卻不時會吃人。我不以為意，直到相依為命的大姊姊殺死祂，變成新的無臉神……〈無貌之神〉

幕末，荒島上仍有不幸遭流放的人，一對老夫婦委託跑船的我，送慰問品給兒子，當中有一只青天狗面具。新時代轉眼到來，我改在東京開旅舍，住客們談起流刑島上的奇異傳聞，說是青天狗現身屠殺惡吏又消失無蹤……〈青天狗之亂〉

太平洋戰爭前，常遭嘲笑「蠢丫頭」的少女阿藤，偶遇自稱「命運的僕人」的男子，被迫一起旅行。男子交給阿藤一把妖刀，命令她殺掉七十七人，才肯放她離開。漫長的任務結束，走在回家的路上，她發現其實只過了三天……〈和死神旅行的女孩〉

會說話的幼虎被進獻到皇宮，陪伴坐輪椅的公主。擁有「千里眼」的公主能看見遠方發生的戰爭與災禍，但無人在乎她的建言。不願坐以待斃的公主，決定騎上幼虎的背，一同逃向外面的世界……〈凱姆爾與拉媞麗〉

失去記憶的老人睜開眼睛，察覺自己在純白色的無機質城鎮中徘徊，途中一名渾身是血的西裝男子要他快逃。老人倉皇躲進一幢屋子，住在裡面的女子告訴他「惡魔剝奪記憶、支配了大家」，這一切究竟是怎麼回事？〈十二月的惡魔〉

我是失速墜落天空的「風人」，只有偶然來到廢墟男孩裕也看得見我。裕也被同學排擠，我陪他一起玩，變成好朋友。一天，有個女人來廢墟拉中提琴，曾是「風人」的她是來告訴我，墜落的三個月後我就會灰飛煙滅，除非竊取人類的身體....... 〈集合住宅廢墟的風人〉

故事之神交付畫筆的作家——恒川光太郎，
穿梭時間、空間、歷史長河，打造通往異世界的入口。
無臉神、青天狗、死神、風人、影男、神獸，
為受困的孤獨靈魂卸下枷鎖，送上六場不可思議的魔幻旅程。

Genres: Mystery, Fantasy

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 28, 2017

About the author

Associated Names:
* Kōtarō Tsunekawa
* 恒川 光太郎 (Japanese)

Reviews

[Meow Meow · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a collection of 6 short stories. They are all quite decent but only the first one, 無貌の神, which features a faceless god who heal villagers sitting nearby but also occasionally eat some of them whole, gives a usual Tsunekawa’s whimsical vibe. 青天狗の乱 is my least favorite. It tries too hard to make the identity of the island prisoner/revenger mysterious. 死神と旅する女 is my favorite, although I’m not sure the man who directed a girl to kill 77 people across multiple time-dimensions to create an alternate outcome of ww2 in a parallel universe is really a Grim Reaper. It’s also a little bit cliche, too, as that kind of wishful thinking is abundant in Japanese media. But I enjoy reading the girl’s growth and her still believing she did the right thing for not killing a woman who would eventually become her romantic rival. Overall, I enjoyed reading the stories but I also can’t help expecting more from Tsunekawa’s works.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eclectic collection of short stories, with a bit more of an SF edge than Tsunekawa's usual. A couple of the stories made me sit down and think about their themes afterward. Out of Tsunekawa's work this volume didn't especially stand out for me, and it didn't seem to have the sometimes-subtle connective tissues that bind the works in some of his other collections, but still a solid, enjoyable read.

[Emi · Rating 4 out of 5]

「死神と旅する女」「廃墟団地の風人」「カイムルとラートリー」が良かった。