鹽之街

自衛隊三部作 #1

by Hiro Arikawa

就算整個世界都化為皚皚白鹽……
你們的戀情仍會拯救你們

風化中的鹽柱滿城林立，早已是不變的慣常景象
世界因為鹽害，文明瀕臨瓦解邊緣

剝落或流散在路街旁的鹽粒原都是死屍的一部分
如今人們卻已可以滿不在乎地踩在上面

死亡將至之際，壓抑至今的慾望會如何失控
任何一個不變的明天，都已不再是這世界所能應許

但是──
人們相愛，直到世界終結的那一刻

　　故事發生在整個世界都被鹽給埋沒的「鹽害時代」。

　　城市一點一點地受到鹽的侵害，文明社會也瀕臨瓦解邊緣。就在即將崩毀的日本東京，有一名男子和少女在一起生活；男子名叫秋庭，而少女則叫做真奈。兩人過著平靜的每一天，而他們平靜的生活卻因與幾位過客相識而逐漸產生變化……

　　就在某一天，一位突然的訪客來到秋庭和真奈的住處，不但改變了兩人的關係，也牽動了整個世界的命運……

Genres: Science Fiction

456 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Hiro Arikawa won the tenth annual Dengeki Novel Prize for new writers for Shio no Machi: Wish on My Precious in 2003, and the book was published the following year. It was praised for its love story between a heroine and hero divided by age and social status, and for its depiction of military structures. Although she is a light novelist, her books from her second work onwards have been published as hardbacks alongside more literary works with Arikawa receiving special treatment in this respect from her publisher, MediaWorks. Shio no Machi was also later published in hardback. Her 2006 light novel Toshokan Sensō (The Library War) was named as Hon no Zasshi's number one for entertainment for the first half of 2006, and came fifth in the Honya Taishō for that year, competing against ordinary novels.

She often writes about the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) and her first three novels concerning its three branches are known as the Jieitai Sanbusaku (The SDF Trilogy); she also wrote about the fictional Library Forces in the Toshokan Sensō series. Raintree no Kuni, which first appeared as a book within a book in Toshokan Nairan was later published by Arikawa as a spin-off with another publisher. It was adapted into a film titled World of Delight released on November 21, 2015.[2][3]Her novel Shokubutsu Zukan (ja) will be adapted into a film titled Shokubutsu Zukan: Unmei no Koi, Hiroimashita and scheduled for release on June 4, 2016.

Reviews

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arikawa's magical touch had managed to strike again. Shio no Machi had managed to brilliantly combine sci-fi setting with heart-warming romance and thought provoking slice of life without each of the elements feeling underwhelming nor overpowering the other.

Without going into the specifics, the story begin by easing the readers into understanding the premise of the story. However, the introductory chapter is not as straightforward as simply introducing, it also provided a unique viewpoint to the world. As the story continues to develop, the character's past begins to reveal and we start to gain a better understanding of the characters and their motives. The main portion of the book ended in a pleasant tone which ties things off neatly. The neatness of the ending is further supported by the side stories included in the ending which allows one to gain further insight of the characters.

The author had managed to link every bit of information in the book together in a marvelous way. It is as though one is reading a concise report where each and every word matter. However, unlike a report, the story is not mechanical but instead filled with life and emotions. The characters truly feels real and alive. Though there are some parts (especially in the side stories) where I felt that the character may have broken character, but it's not to the extent where one will criticize. Thinking through holistically, such display of character may indeed be possible. It is as though coming to see another side of a person due to the increase in proximity. While thinking that such may be a possibility, it once again shows how meticulous the author is.

A common theme, and something that Arikawa managed to do really well, is that none of the chapter is as simple as they seems. Each chapter has their main focus. However, often hidden in plain sight are important life lessons that are worth remembering and thinking through. These lessons could often be seen through the observations of the individual characters or through conversations between the characters.

All in all, a great book that is fun as a casual read yet having the potential to concurrently be a serious and thought provoking literature.

[MIL · Rating 3 out of 5]

有川浩在出道作就顯出放閃大師的功力了
雖然科幻設定有點牽強
但是描述角色心態已經很細膩了

不過這本最令我耿耿於懷的是幾萬人的活體殺人實驗
居然就輕輕放下了
難怪中共對日發動民族主義攻勢總是可以玩得那麼響啊

[Shirlee Chia · Rating 3 out of 5]

就是個非常正面的愛情故事。災難中趨使人無畏赴死的從來不是什麼拯救世界的偉大任務，而是想要所愛之人平安的心願。
雖然是本好看的愛情故事，但近幾年的我好像對這類題材有點適應不良。