A Certain Scientific Railgun, Vol. 1


Motoi Fuyukawa - 2007
    PART RAILGUN. ALL AWESOME.Welcome to a world where mysticism and science collide, and supernatural powers are derived from either science or religion. At the heart of this world is Academy City, an advanced metropolis whose population is comprised mostly of students. The majority of students are enrolled in the city's "Power Curriculum Program," where they must learn to master their latent psychic powers. Out of several million students, only seven are deemed powerful enough to have Level 5 status.Meet Mikoto Misaka, the third most powerful Level 5 esper in Academy City. Together with her best friend Kuroko Shirai and the other members of Judgment, a student-run law enforcement agency, Mikoto delves deep into the dark heart of the scientific sprawl she calls home, and uncovers secrets she wishes she hadn't!

Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! (Light Novel) Vol. 1


Ryuto - 2021
    Soon, he's living as "Hiro" the mercenary, with a tricked-out spaceship and a babe on each arm! There are space pirates to fight, girls to rescue, and trouble to get into (and hopefully out of). Hiro is going to live his new life to the fullest!

The River King


Alice Hoffman - 2000
    The students at the prestigious prep school don't mix with locals. Even within the school, hierarchy rules as freshman and faculty members find out where they fit in and what is expected of them. But when a body is found in the river behind the school, a local policeman will walk into this enclosed world and upset it entirely. A story of surface appearances and the truths submerged below.

How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord, Light Novel Vol. 1


Yukiya Murasaki - 2014
    One day, he is summoned to a world outside his own-- but with the same appearance he had in the game! There, he meets two girls who both proclaim themselves to be his Summoner. They perform an Enslavement Ritual to turn him into their Summon... but that’s when Takuma’s passive ability Magic Reflection activates! Instead, it is the girls who become enslaved! Though Takuma may be the strongest Sorcerer there is, he has no idea how to talk with other people. It is here he makes his choice: to act based on his persona from the game!“Amazing? But of course... I am Diablo, the being known and feared as the Demon Lord!”So begins a tale of adventure with an earth-shakingly powerful Demon Lord (or at least someone who acts like one) taking on another world!

The Forest of Wool and Steel


Natsu Miyashita - 2015
    . . It was life-making.Tomura is startled by the hypnotic sound of a piano being tuned in his school. It seeps into his soul and transports him to the forests, dark and gleaming, that surround his beloved mountain village. From that moment, he is determined to discover more.Under the tutelage of three master piano-tuners – one humble, one cheery, one ill-tempered – Tomura embarks on his training, never straying too far from a single, unfathomable question: do I have what it takes?Set in small-town Japan, this warm and mystical story is for the lucky few who have found their calling – and for the rest of us who are still searching. It shows that the road to finding one’s purpose is a winding path, often filled with treacherous doubts and, for those who persevere, astonishing moments of revelation.

The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, A Rún, Vol. 1


Nagabe - 2016
    The girl and the beast should never have met, but when they do, a quiet fairytale begins. This is a story of two people--one human, one inhuman--who linger in the hazy twilight that separates night from day.

The Violet Knight, Vol. 1


Yohna - 2016
    The day before her university entrance ceremony Yuki’s father tells her he’s from another world, before throwing her off their condo’s balcony on the 14th floor. The next thing she knows she’s rescued by the handsome Fourth Prince of Adolunde and forced into a contract with him. Yuki travels to the front lines of a war she knows nothing about to keep out of reach of the psychotic First Prince of Adolunde. He will go to any lengths to sacrifice her as the Legendary Witch she resembles. What will happen to Yuki? Will she revert to her true age and return home? Or will Adolunde’s first prince burn her at the stake? The Violet Knight is one of the first Josei Japanese Light Novel series officially in English!

The Hole


Hiroko Oyamada - 2014
    During an exceptionally hot summer, the young married couple move in, and Asa does her best to quickly adjust to their new rural lives, to their remoteness, to the constant presence of her in-laws and the incessant buzz of cicadas. While her husband is consumed with his job, Asa is left to explore her surroundings on her own: she makes trips to the supermarket, halfheartedly looks for work, and tries to find interesting ways of killing time.       One day, while running an errand for her mother-in-law, she comes across a strange creature, follows it to the embankment of a river, and ends up falling into a hole—a hole that seems to have been made specifically for her. This is the first in a series of bizarre experiences that drive Asa deeper into the mysteries of this rural landscape filled with eccentric characters and unidentifiable creatures, leading her to question her role in this world, and eventually, her sanity.

How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom: Volume 1


Dojyomaru - 2016
    After he presents his plan to strengthen the country economically and militarily, the king cedes the throne to him and Souma finds himself saddled with ruling the nation! What's more, he's betrothed to the king's daughter now...?! In order to get the country back on its feet, Souma calls the wise, the talented, and the gifted to his side. Five people gather before the newly crowned Souma. Just what are the many talents and abilities they possess...?! What path will his outlook as a realist take Souma and the people of his country down? A revolutionary transferred-to-another-world administrative fantasy series starts here!

The Pretenders


Charlaine Harris - 2014
    But Calexa can’t hide from the dead—and because she can see spirits, they can’t hide from her.Then one night, Calexa spies a group of teenagers vandalizing a grave—and watches in horror as they commit murder. As the victim’s spirit rises from her body, it flows into Calexa, overwhelming her mind with visions and memories not her own.Now Calexa must make a decision: continue to hide to protect herself—or come forward to bring justice to the sad spirit who has reached out to her for help...

Orange 1


Ichigo Takano - 2012
    At first, she writes it off as a prank, but as the letter's predictions come true one by one Naho realizes that the letter might be the real deal. Her future self tells Naho that a new transfer student, a boy named Kakeru, will soon join her class. The letter begs Naho to watch over him, saying that only Naho can save Kakeru from a terrible future. Who is this mystery boy, and can Naho save him from his destiny? Includes the first chapter of the bonus story, Haruiro Astronaut!

Parasite Eve


Hideaki Sena - 1994
    New life begins at the cellular level, but when that cell contains restless mitochondria, it will aspire to be much more than just a speck in a petri dish. Parasite Eve was the basis of the hugely popular video game of the same name and has been cinematized in Japan, where the novel’s smashing success helped set off a horror boom that has only been intensifying ever since.When Dr. Nagashima loses his wife in a mysterious car crash, he is overwhelmed with grief but also an eerie sense of purpose; he becomes obsessed with the idea that he must reincarnate his dead wife. Her donated kidney is transplanted into a young girl with a debilitating disorder, but the doctor also feels compelled to keep a small sample of her liver in his laboratory. When these cells start mutating rapidly, a consciousness bent on determining its own fate awakens from an eonic sleep.