This world is the world before the true savior “The Hero” appeared.... more>>

In this world, there are “Three Hopes.

The “Hero Licht,” the “Saint Milka,” and the “Sage Jamil” exist as the most powerful human beings fighting against the demons.

And…

*The title spoils the story… but there are no heroes in this world yet.

Therefore, unfortunately, there are many beings among the demons that cannot be defeated by them.

This story is not the cool story of the “heroes” you know, but the story before that. <<less

Shiraishi Gomichi, an ordinary high school student, has a secret. He has a memory of his previous life. In another world, different from this one, Morimichi was a 'hero" who saved humanity. However, this is only the story of his previous life. In this life, it was supposed to be a normal student life, but the appearance of Mai Shiina, a girl who moved into the same class as him, changes his ordinary life. She was a reincarnaited witch like Gomichi, who once plunged another world into disaster. They had killed each other many times in their previous lives, but when Gomichi asks her what she wants now, Mai tells him.... more>>

"I can't live without you!"
"What... ?" <<less

The protagonist is a guy who is among the s*upidest of the s*upidest in the school. In this school, your grades can, under the supervision of teachers, take a virtual form to do combat! However, if you leave an examination half way, you get zero marks. A bright and cute girl, Mizuki Himeji, was having a high fever during the examination. Despite her potential to be the second highest scorer in the level, she obtained zero marks for having left due to her illness and is thus allocated to the worst class, class F. ... more>>

Grades mean almost everything. For Class A, they have a smart-looking teacher, a plasma TV as big as the entire wall as their blackboard, personal laptops, personal air-cons, refrigerators, adjustable seats and all kinds of different appliances. Within the refrigerator, there are all kinds of drinks and snacks. Their ceiling is made of glass, the wall lets them put up high-class drawings and plants.

As for Class F, the worst class... They have Japanese desks and seat paddings. Their blackboard is dirty and there is no chalk even! Someone complains that the legs of his desk are broken, so the teacher asks, "Didn't we distribute some glue to stick wood together? Glue it back yourself later." Another one complains that wind is blowing in from the broken window. The teacher says, "I got it. I will apply for plastic bags and invisible glue to fix it later." There are spider webs everywhere, not a patch of the wall is clean. A unique moldy smell spreads across the entire room; it must be from the old tatamis used to tile the floor. This is the status of class F.

The protagonist feels displeased at such an arrangement, and seeks help from his friends to try to make a change through summoning war!! And they devise all kinds of plans to try to beat the famous class A, intending to get class A's classroom and equipment if they win!! <<less

For Tohko Amano, a third-year high-school student and self-styled “book girl,” being the head of the literary club is more than just an extracurricular activity. It’s her bread and butter…literally! Tohko is actually a literature-gobbling demon, who can be found at all hours of the day munching on torn out pages from all kinds of books. But for Tohko, the real delicacies are hand-written stories. To satisfy her gourmet tastes, she’s employed (rather, browbeaten) one Konoha Inoue, who scribbles away each day after school to satisfy Tohko’s appetite. But when another student comes knocking on the literary club door for advice on writing love letters, will Tohko discover a new kind of delicacy?... more>>

Bungaku Shoujo won Kadokawa Shoten’s 2007 light novel award for light novels under the mystery category.

Placed 7th (2007) and 3rd (2008) on “このライトノベルがすごい!” (This Light Novel is Amazing!) without an anime nor manga associate.

Novels:

– Main story:

1. Book Girl and the Suicidal Mime

2. Book Girl and the Famished Spirit

3. Book Girl and the Captive Fool

4. Book Girl and the Corrupted Angel

5. Book Girl and the Wayfarer’s Lamentation

6. Book Girl and the Undine Who Bore a Moonflower

7-8 Book Girl and the Scribe Who Faced God

– Short stories:

1-4. Bungaku Shoujo to Koisuru Souwashuu (Episode)

– Gaiden:

1. Bungaku Shoujo Minarai no, Hatsukoi

2. Bungaku Shoujo Minarai no, Shoushin

3. Bungaku Shoujo Minarai no, Sotsugyou

– Last Volume:

Hanjuku Sakka to Bungaku Shoujo na Henshuusha (Muse) <<less

After the world was recreated countless times, a world that would not be destroyed was created. This marked the beginning of the City era.... more>>

From Berlin to Detroit, this series tells the stories of the unique cities that came to be in that world.

It was Kawakami's debut series and it takes place in the final era of Kawakami's light novels, which include Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon and Owari no Chronicle. <<less

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the gaming industry has seen an explosion in popularity. One of the most popular games ever released is Mystery Maker, a VR RPG where players can create baffling puzzles in a virtual space and challenge other players to solve them.... more>>

As a promotional stunt for the game's upcoming sequel, eight real life great detectives have been hand chosen by Kurata Chikage, executive director of MegalodonSoft, to challenge each other to a match in a demo of Mystery Maker 2. Among them are Kamo Touma, a magazine contributor well known for his investigative work overturning false convictions, and his wife's cousin Ryuuzen Yuki, a recently debuted mystery novelist.

However, on the day of the demo event, the detectives are all drugged. When they awaken, they find their smartwatches are locked to their wrists and they are shown videos of their families and loved ones being held hostage. They are contacted by a Gamemaster, who tells them that if they wish to save themselves and their families, they must play a death game called "Delicious Death for Detectives".

As scheduled, the eight of them will play Mystery Maker 2's demo, and the Detectives will challenge the mu*der puzzles created by the mu*derer. If the Detectives are not able to reveal the mu*derer and their tricks before the time limit, all players will be killed. However, if the mu*derer is exposed, both they and their hostages will be killed. And if a Detective makes an accusation but gets even the tiniest detail wrong, they will be mu*dered by the Gamemaster's secret accomplice, the Executioner.

Now the only way for the eight detectives to survive is to expose the mu*derer and Executioner lurking among them, even if they must risk their lives and those of their compatriots to do so.

Which is an especially big problem for Kamo, because he's the one who's been chosen as the mu*derer! <<less

The romantic comedy light novel series centers on the gaming lives of various high school students who play video games, including: Keita Amano, a lonely... more>> young man who loves video games; Karen Tendō, the beautiful president of the video game club; Chiaki Hoshinomori, who constantly fights with Keita; and Tasuku Uehara, who puts on a facade of being satisfied with his life in the real world, but he in truth loves video games. <<less

"Hey, Yoshi-kun. I think you’re——"... more>>

Hearing that voice for the first time stopped me in my tracks. On my way home from school. On the playing field of our junior high, and at the bookshop in front of the station. And then in the empty lot where the white cat slept. Shiina Yuki, the strange girl who somehow knew all about me, always approached me like that.

We laughed, cried, got angry, held hands. Again and again, we repeated those disappearing memories and ephemeral promises. That’s why I never knew. I never knew the value of Yuki’s smiles or the meaning of her tears. Nor even the singular sentiment behind her many 'Nice to meet you’s.

This is a captivating, heartrending tale of meetings and partings. <<less

A young man walks alone through frozen land covered in snow and ice as far as the eye can see. Not for himself, not because... more>> he cares about his hometown, but in order to return to the only woman he loves - a fragile human fighting against a harsh environment. The extreme north of physical expression. <<less

One day, I – a high schooler – found a paperback in the hospital. The “Disease Coexistence Journal” was its title. It was a diary that my classmate, Sakura Yamauchi, had written in secret. Inside, it was written that due to her pancreatic disease, her days were numbered. And thus, I coincidentally went from Just-a-Classmate to a Secret-Knowing-Classmate. It was as if I were being drawn to her, who was my polar opposite. However, the world presented the girl that was already suffering from an illness with an equally cruel reality…... more>>

The best-selling, award-winning debut work by Yoru Sumino:

“Bestsellers 2016 (Overall) by NIPPAN” – 4th Place

“Bestsellers 2016 (Paperback Fiction) by NIPPAN” – 1st Place

“Bestsellers 2016 (Overall) by TOHAN” – 5th Place

“Bestsellers 2016 (Literary Books) by TOHAN” – 1st Place

“Bookstore Grand Prix 2016” – 2nd Place

“DA VINCI BOOK OF THE YEAR 2015” – 2nd Place

“Bestsellers 2015 (Literary Books) by TOHAN” – 6th Place

As of May 2017, this book has sold over 1.2 million copies. <<less

It started when my weirdo classmate, Chiba, tried to save me from a runway truck and got us both killed instead. Idiot. Then we got... more>> transported to another world, which I guess is like an otaku dream come true, or something? Chiba ends up with cheat abilities, and what do I get? Nothing! Lucky me, I get to be a s*x worker instead. Gotta earn some money somehow - but since I have to do it, I'm gonna kick ass at it. This world treats women even worse than the one we came from, so things get...rough. Still, I've made friends with some of the girls, and if I can juggle Chiba's idiocy and Sumo the virg*n's emotions on top of all the various kinks my customers throw at me, things will be alright...won't they? <<less

Popular for being filled with bugs, the virtual-reality game New Communicate Online (a.k.a. Nekomimi Neko Offline).... more>>

A die-hard fan of the game, Sagara Souma, is sent to the game world from the power of a mysterious device.

Though surprised by the sudden turn of events, Souma conveniently knows the laws of the world.

Mastering every bug, using the game’s logic against it, he is soon known as “Maverick Swordsman Souma.” <<less

Kazuma Satou is a shut in who loves games, and his life ended suddenly… appearing before him is a beautiful girl claiming to be a... more>> goddess. Kazuma, who was transported into another world, worked hard to earn a living! He wanted to live a stable life, but was burdened with problems caused by the goddess he brought along to the different world with him. He was even targeted by the demon king’s army!? <<less

The story is staged in the distant future within our own Milky Way Galaxy, approximately in the late 36th century. A portion of the galaxy is filled with terraformed worlds inhabited by interstellar traveling human beings. For 150 years two mighty space powers have intermittently warred with each other: the Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance.... more>>

Within the Galactic Empire, based on mid 19th century Prussia, an ambitious military genius, Reinhard von Müsel, later conferred Reinhard von Lohengramm, is rising to power. He is driven by the desire to free his sister Annerose, who was taken by the Kaiser as a concubine. Later, he wants not only to end the corrupt Goldenbaum dynasty but also to defeat the Free Planets Alliance and to unify the whole galaxy under his rule.

In the Free Planets Alliance Star Fleet is another genius, Yang Wen Li. He originally aspired to become a historian through a military academy, and joined the tactical division only out of need for tuition money. He was rapidly promoted to an admiral because he demonstrated excellence in military strategy in a number of decisive battles and conflicts. He becomes the archrival of Reinhard, though they highly respect one another. Unlike Reinhard he is better known for his underdog victories and accomplishments in overcoming seemingly impossible odds and mitigating casualties and damages due to military operations.

As a historian, Yang often predicts the motives behind his enemies and narrates the rich history of his world and comments on it. One of his famous quotes is: “There are few wars between good and evil; most are between one good and another good.”

Besides the two main heroes, the story is full of vivid characters and intricate politics. All types of characters, from high nobility, admirals and politicians, to common soldiers and farmers, are interwoven into the story. The story frequently switches away from the main heroes to the Unknown Soldier fighting for his life on the battlefield.

There is a third neutral power nominally attached to the Galactic Empire called the Phezzan Dominion, a planet-state (city-state on a galactic scale) which trades with both warring powers. There is also a Terraism cult, which claims that humans should go back to Earth, gaining popularity throughout the galaxy. Throughout the story executive political figures of Phezzan in concert with the upper-hierarchy of the Terraism cult orchestrate a number of conspiracies to shift the tide of the galactic war so that it may favor their objectives. <<less

“Until the day humanity falls.”... more>>

In the year 2020, Earth’s magnetic poles disappeared and humankind was nearly wiped out by cosmic radiation. Within the span of a hundred years, living creatures began to mutate and devour each other while the remaining humans, numbering in the tens of thousands, struggled bitterly in their man-made bases.

In the Abyss, home to the mutated xenogenics, there lived a sentient little mushroom. Because it had been nourished by the blood and flesh of the deceased human An Ze, not only did it take on a similar-looking human form, but a similar name as well: An Zhe.

An Zhe is determined to go to the human base to search for his spore, which had been harvested by humans. Once there, however, he faces the omnipresent risk of discovery and certain death as he tries to keep his non-human nature hidden from the Judges, whose responsibility is to inspect for and eliminate xenogenics like himself. And of all the Judges, Colonel Lu Feng is the most perceptive and merciless—as soon as he determines that someone is a xenogenic, he will execute that person on the spot.

But An Zhe’s mutation goes undetected by Lu Feng’s eyes, and so a tale of humans and xenogenics unfolds…

Silver Award winner at the 12th Chinese Nebula Awards for Chinese Science Fiction. <<less

Mimizuku, a small girl with chains on her wrists and ankles and the numbers "332" branded onto her forehead, wanders into the Forest of Night... more>> seeking to be eaten by a monster. However, when the ruler of the monsters, the mysterious and beautiful "King of Night," refuses to eat her, she tries to formulate a way to convince him otherwise. <<less

Physically confronting your abusive superior might be cool and satisfying when it happens in a drama, but, as Kazuo Sugishita is learning, it's less cool when you're sitting at home afterwards, terrified to learn how you'll be punished when you return to work the next day. The sentence he faces sounds surprisingly lenient - just a temporary reassignment to the company's entertainment department while things blow over. But he changes his mind when he gets the specifics: Kazuo has been assigned as manager-in-training (read "servant") to Shiro Hoshizono, the "Star Watcher": A pompous, showoff-y, completely insufferable talent with no actual talents except using his sickeningly sweet words and foreign model looks to seduce lonely middle... more>> aged women into paying for the privilege of hearing him speak.

The day after his new assignment, Kazuo and Hoshizono leave for Saitama Prefecture, where Hoshizono has been recruited to become an image character for a campground in the mountains, alongside a group of other colorful characters, including a romance novelist with the looks of Cleopatra but the personality of someone's grandpa and a UFO obsessed conspiracy theorist.

But the morning after their arrival, their host is found strangled to death in his lodge, the road back is buried in an avalanche, and... you can probably see where this is going.

Turns out, despite how he comes across normally, Hoshizono is actually a genius detective!

The novel features a unique chapter naming scheme where each chapter is titled as a three to four sentence summary of its own contents, focused upon what information about the case is discovered and what evidence appears, for ease of reference.

A nominee for the 50th annual Mystery Writers Association of Japan Award, long story category. <<less

A 34-year-old NEET otaku, chased out from his house by his family, found that his life is reaching a dead end. He then recalled that his life could actually have been much better if he had made better choices in the past.... more>>

Just when he was at the point of regret, he saw a truck moving at fast speed, and three high schoolers in its path. Mustering all the strength he had, he tried to save them and ended getting run over by the truck, quickly ending his life.

The next time he opened his eyes, he is reincarnated to a world of sword and magic as Rudeus Greyrat. Born to a new world, a new life, Rudeus decided that, “This time, I’ll really live my life to the fullest with no regret!” Thus starts the journey of a man yearning to restart his life. <<less

The mighty Katjvarna Empire is currently embroiled in a war with the neighboring Kiorka Republic.... more>>

Within an unspecified corner of this empire, a certain young man was reluctantly preparing to take the High Grade Military Officer Exam owing to mysterious circumstances. His name is Ikta.

As a man, Ikta abhors war, is slothful by nature, and worships the female form.

At the time, no one could have possibly predicted that a person like him would become a military figure worthy of being called a legendary general......

The young Ikta, armed with his superb talents as a soldier, struggles to survive in a world ravaged by war. This tale will recount his tumultuous life up until this point, as the curtains are drawn for a spectacular chronicle of fantastical warfare! <<less

The world revolves around me.... more>>

My name is Sakagami Kagura. I’m incredibly cute, unbelievably intelligent, and my manners are utterly flawless. No diamond in the world could compare to my illustrious beauty. You could say that I simply put the rest of the world to shame with both brains and beauty.

Regrettably, someone such as myself is beset by troubles at every turn, just as a ill-fated protagonist of a story might be. My tendency to attract such misfortune is perhaps my one and only flaw. Mournfully, I sigh, raising my chin slightly so as to better catch the illumination of the streetlights. Even sighing, I must look simply exquisite.

Then, I give the stuffed rabbit in my arms a squeeze and focus my gaze on the two individuals in front of me, the source of my most recent plight. One is a black-haired young woman, the kind that would be idiotic enough to walk the streets this time of night. The other is a quite literally wolf-faced man. Naturally, he has her cornered. A werewolf and his prey.

My duty is to exterminate such horrific, inhuman creatures before they can wreak havoc on human society — using puppets such as this little fellow here…

Winner of the 7th Shogakukan Light Novel Grand Prize. <<less

Balsa the spearwoman is a wandering warrior, who takes on the task of saving lives, in atonement for a past sin. On her journey, she happens to save a prince, and is tasked with becoming his bodyguard. And he is going to need one, for his own father, the emperor, wants him dead.... more>>

Batchelder Award Winner <<less

On the will left behind by the 14 year old su*cide victim K:... more>>

"Taku Sugawara is the devil. Nobody should believe his words." <<less

“Kill Hamyuts Meseta”... more>>

A story about a world where all dead people become “Books” and are housed in a Library. The boy named Colio Tonies had his memories taken and a bomb transplanted in his chest. His life’s purpose is killing the world’s strongest Armed Librarian, Hamyuts Meseta. But, one day he gets his hands on the “Book” of a beautiful princess and falls in love at first sight. Furthermore, that love will cause Colio to get involved in a grand scale battle… <<less

A man is stabbed by a robber on the run after pushing his coworker and his coworker’s new fiance out of the way. As he lays dying, bleeding on the ground, he hears a voice. This voice is strange and interprets his dying regret of being a virg*n by giving him the [Great Sage] unique skill! Is he being made fun of?!!... more>>

Piccoma Award 2021 <<less

"I expect a fox to come down this evening."... more>>

I, who spend my daily life working in a factory, saw a woman standing alone on a deserted mountain pass and called out to her without thinking.
She shakes her hair tied in one knot and turns her head to look at me. I was puzzled by her unrealistic words, but I felt nostalgic for her face and decided to wait for the fox to fall with her.

"Um, have we met before?"
"――――, I was sure you'll remember me."

《I》 traced my memories one by one as if I was counting them with my fingers.

A town in the countryside. The noisy sound of cicadas and the choking smell of grass. The summer festival at the shrine and the red and scarlet sleeves of the yukata. The "Fox Fireworks" that the two of us lit on fire together - those days when a new summer came around every year. <<less