Here's a short summary of the premise if you will allow me. The 1st volume, Decapitation: Kubikiri Cycle is about the Wet crow’s feather island serial murders. This island with its sole mansion is owned by Iria Akagami, a wealthy heiress to a powerful clan who lives on the island with her maids, Rei hanada and the Chiga triplet sisters. She invites only the most notable, the ‘genius’ to her island as guests. One such guest is Tomo kunagisa, a tech savvy girl who brings along her friend, Li-chan who serves as our protagonist and narrator of this story. There are multiple other geniuses on the island, and one night - a murder occurs. Tomo and Li were supposed to leave the island in 3 days but now they couldn't until the mystery is solved.
This is a mystery novel that you can never guess the ending. Nisioisin likes to repeat that ‘it's not like this is a mystery novel’. If you've never read his novels before, you'll soon find that this is one of his quirky ways to break the 4th wall. NISIOISIN adds so much detail to derail the readers off course. Just when you start thinking that, ‘ah it's like that, isn't it!’ or ‘it must be that!!’ The story takes a complete U-turn and proves all the guess work wrong, every single time. I had predicted some of the tricks that NISIOISIN used in this story but throughout my read, I couldn't tell in which order those said tricks are employed in this mystery novel, which essentially meant that it kept me guessing until the very end. Even an obvious trick done at the most unexpected timing will look like a wonderful trick to the uninitiated. What seems on the surface as 'true' in this story can never be taken lightly. I found the twists and turns in this book to be clever, you might feel the same as well.
>A genius only becomes a genius by being termed a genius, but maybe, in being termed a genius, the genius isn't such a genius.
That's the main idea, and he plays with the idea of ‘genius’ and what constitutes such a title to a person in an extensive manner. While some might completely miss the point and be burned out by his obsession with the geniuses, I think this story breaks down all the norms of the so-called, ‘genius’, ‘cold, and reserved detective’ and such character tropes.
As for the negatives, this story takes around 1/3rd of the total chapters to establish its characters and the environment. While I may not say it's a 'slow' read, it's not a fast one either. It's somewhat balanced, but you would definitely feel like ‘Ah.. when will the murder mystery stuff happen?’. It's not a longing feeling or tiredness. The story just makes you feel like nothing is going on, but in reality, the plot already kicked in even before the story began. I know, it sounds like a whole bunch of nonsense but you don't have to take my word for it. I can suggest that you stick with the story and be patient. Another negative, more like an unintentional flaw to be honest, is the translation. The translator has done his best to give the most accurate work but it feels jarring sometimes. Some sentences are hard to make sense when you write it in english vocabulary. it's still readable. but, it's not a definitive translation. I suggest you have a dictionary or something else similar with you, and pause to think as long as you want while you read.
In conclusion, Zaregoto / Nonsense series volume 1 is a wonderful mystery novel that is worth your time. (the narrator uses 'nonsense' a lot, and he's pretty relatable so that's why I mimicked him for the review title. if you'll excuse me.)
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