Daniel - MORI Hiroshi is connected to a lot of firsts for me, so I wanted to touch on those a little bit (and how I originally got into his books) before putting down some thoughts on '風は青海を渡るのか' and its series, which may make this post a bit long (sorry).
Shortly after I first moved to Japan (three and a half years ago now) I found myself hooked on a little mystery drama called 'すべてがFになる'. At the time I didn't have a smart TV like I do now, meaning I couldn't record shows. So every Tuesday after work, I'd load up on food and rush home to get my fix. The script, cast, music, intricate puzzles and the "Will they, won't they" romantic tension between the two leading characters really pulled me in. I'd watched a couple of Japanese dramas in England and dismissed them as incredibly cheesy but fun rides. This show however seemed so much better produced and convinced me that there were actually some really good Japanese dramas out there (kick starting my drama addiction). Needless to say, I was pretty gutted when the show finished up.
When I spotted the two lead characters on the cover of a book while perusing a book store (with my now fiance) I was filled with both excitement and apprehension. The drama I'd enjoyed so much was based on a book, which meant that I could dive back into that world with the characters I'd fallen in love with, but, it also meant that I'd have to work my way through a chunky intimidating Japanese novel. At this point in my Japanese studies I'd read a lot of graded readers and manga, played through some Japanese games and slowly crawled through a couple of light novels on my phone (with heavy use of the pop-up dictionary). The idea of reading a 300 page paper Japanese novel written for adults scared me. However, with a push from my girlfriend, I decided to give it a go. After a few months of on and off reading I finally managed to finish the book. I learnt a lot from it, had a lot of fun and was hungry for more. Luckily, there was plenty more out there for me to sink my teeth into.
Winner of the first ever Mephisto Award, MORI Hiroshi is an incredibly prolific writer with a good fifty or so novels under his belt and countless published essay collections. The 'すべてがFになる' series alone (unfortunately titled the 'S&M Series' after the main characters Souhei and Moe) consists of ten novels. But for me, the most impressive thing about MORI Hiroshi's novels is that besides a small handful of novels, every single other one fits into a complex interconnected world. Each series features some kind of crossover or connection with the main 'S&M Series', with some side characters (and a villian) getting their own set of books, allowing us to dig deeper into their backgrounds.
So how does '風は青海を渡るのか?' slot into this framework? Well, it's actually set a good 200 years after the main series.
Now that's a pretty big jump, but this huge leap opens the door for MORI Hiroshi to explore a very different kind of story that still has roots in the world established before it. This makes this series (the 'W Series' by the way) a great point to jump in for newcomers, but also a fun read for MORI Hiroshi fans as they start to pick up on the connections that spring up.
Medicine and nanotechnology have advanced to the point where disease and old age in developed countries have become mere artifacts of the distant past. However, natural reproduction has become impossible for some reasons that even the greatest scientific minds can't seem to figure out. These scientific advances have also given birth to the 'Walkalones', incredibly advanced androids, in many cases indistinguishable from humans.
The first novel in the series follows a scientist named Hagiri, who is researching an algorithm and psychological test that can tell humans and Walkalones apart. Someone attempts to blow up his lab, with him in it, but he's saved by a stoic Walkalone named Ugui that has supposedly been dispatched by the government to protect him. And so starts their awkward partnership, as they try to get to safety and Hagiri tries to figure out who wants him dead and who he can trust (if anyone).
The first novel is well paced and actually pretty action packed compared to MORI Hiroshi's other novels, and the SF suspense beats are a nice change from his intricate murder mystery puzzles. The world of the 'W Series' is very much one of paranoia and corporate and political corruption as humanity tries to deal with the fallout of their attempts at playing God.
Whilst the first novel is heavy on the action, by the time we get to '風は青海を渡るのか?' things have calmed down considerably. But in place of the action we're confronted with some intriguing questions on what really separates humanity from advanced AI and machines as the new world gets fleshed out. Along with some other big revelations (some of which are callbacks to the main series), I'm definitely hooked and eager to see what else is in store.
Having only just finished the third book out of the currently published eight of this series, I've got a lot of catching up to do. I'm going to make it a personal goal to read every single book in the connected series and maybe translate a couple over the next couple of years as a passion project I think. If anyone is looking for an accessible and fun SF suspense series to get into then definitely give the 'W Series' a go. And if you're after a good old fashioned mystery with some lovable protagonists then I really recommend giving 'すべてがFになる' a read. If you do try the 'S&M Series' though just be careful to not get sucked in like I did or you might be in it for the long haul.
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