This book would have been a LOT better if it wasn't written in the first person, meaning we jump around to lots of characters, all of which aren't in the intro, and if we didn't get Ayato's sexual thoughts on women. Where in one scene he's going to sexually assault a sleeping woman, then tells her sister that "He'd never do that." Yeah OK Mr. Rapist wannabe. The story itself is... OK. It tries to be mystery sci-fi, but there isn't mystery as we see the bad guys side and them attacking is all to toughen Ayato up... I mean really. Just tell him what's up and let's solve this thing.THEN there's the editing. My copy says it's a first edition..... I'm wondering if it was an editor's edition because it had numerous misspellings, character switchings and that [Insert Picture from Page 275 Here] like.. super random. I really wonder if I got the whole novel. I mean fan translations were better than this. ( )

This book would have been a LOT better if it wasn't written in the first person, meaning we jump around to lots of characters, all of which aren't in the intro, and if we didn't get Ayato's sexual thoughts on women. Where in one scene he's going to sexually assault a sleeping woman, then tells her sister that "He'd never do that." Yeah OK Mr. Rapist wannabe.
The story itself is... OK. It tries to be mystery sci-fi, but there isn't mystery as we see the bad guys side and them attacking is all to toughen Ayato up... I mean really. Just tell him what's up and let's solve this thing.

THEN there's the editing. My copy says it's a first edition..... I'm wondering if it was an editor's edition because it had numerous misspellings, character switchings and that [Insert Picture from Page 275 Here] like.. super random. I really wonder if I got the whole novel. I mean fan translations were better than this. ( )

This review was originally written for the website ListerX.com, which is now defunct. It can also be found on my blog, The Graphic Librarian.

Cover
Personally, I don't care much for the cover art due to the high contrasts which aren't especially appealing to me. However, I do think the art fits nicely with the overall feel of this novel. It creates an aura of loneliness, solitude, exposure, and desolation - all of which are sensations that the main character, Ayato, is forced to deal with throughout the story. So, although I find the cover unattractive; it still does an excellent job of conveying what's going on in the plot. In addition, the text layout is also nicely done. The title font has a very strong sci-fi feel to it and the volume and author information is nicely subdued without being completely overshadowed by the rest of the cover. Sadly, the back cover leaves a great deal to be desired. There are no images of any kind, only a solid deep blue background and a story blurb with text so small that it almost hurts my eyes to read it. Simply changing the font from black to white would probably have made a huge difference, but even still, the overall design of the back cover is in serious need of re-vamping.

Artwork
There are seven different full page images scattered throughout the book, plus 3 pages of character designs at the very front. While the designs are mildly useful in visualizing some of the main characters, there are plenty of characters introduced which aren't pictured, which may lead to confusion for some. And, of course, for those who've already seen the anime, they're a completely unnecessary addition to the book. The various illustrations are unimpressive for the most part, just smeary-looking black and white images of RahXephon, which would probably look a lot better in color. However, the two images that actually have people in them are done in an entirely different art style which feels less like pencil sketches and more like finished manga panels. The lines looked inked rather than penciled and the shading creates superior highlights and shadows. If only this style could have been used for all of the illustrations rather than just a select few.

Plot
**Possible Spoilers Warning**
Before actually going into the plot I'd like to briefly discuss the technical problems I found in this novel. Whoever was hired to edit this book needs to get their act together. There was at least one grammatical or spelling error on practically every page - very obvious mistakes, not just the nit-picky things that only an English teacher would notice. In addition, none of the characters seemed capable of using contractions, that might be okay when reading words supposedly coming from a military official, but when coming from a 17 year old boy, it just sounds odd and it got extremely distracting after awhile. Naturally, these issues made for some very stilted reading.

Then on top of that the point of view kept jumping around from one person to another so quickly that I very rarely had time to adjust to one train of thought before it would switch on me and I'd have to adjust all over again. Granted, the idea is clever and makes for a much more layered plot line, but even with the chapters appropriately labeled I often had trouble keeping all of the characters straight. Of course, for those who've actually seen the anime (I haven't), this probably won't be a problem because they'll already be familiar with all of the characters and their relationships.

Okay, so now that I've said all of that, let's move on to the actual plot. The story opens with the introduction of Ayato Kamina, a typical high school student who's just turned 17. He lives with his single mother, loves art, and isn't sure what he wants to do when he graduates - perfectly normal except for the fact that when Ayato was 8 the Earth was attacked by an unknown foe and everything was completely annihilated. Only Tokyo managed to survive the "War of Invasion" due to a special Defense Barrier which kept out Earth's mysterious enemies. At least that's what Ayato and everyone else has always been taught, but when Tokyo is invaded only a few days after Ayato's birthday he quickly learns that Tokyo's government has been lying to its citizens. The outside world still exists and they're still at war. . . with Tokyo, which is being controlled by an alien race known only as the Mu. For some unexplained reason Ayato's 17th birthday sets off a strange series of events. It seems he is destined to pilot a very powerful super weapon and both sides will stop at nothing to retrieve both him and the weapon - a mysterious bio-mech known only as RahXephon.

Ayato finds himself naturally torn between the outside world that needs his help and Tokyo, the only home he's ever known, where all of his friends still live in ignorance. However, Ayato knows he's still not getting the whole truth regarding his home and the aliens who've invaded it. For instance, why is Tokyo time so much slower than the outside world's? And why is it that Haruka Shiotow, the first Outsider he's ever laid eyes on, seem to know him so well? And how exactly is his mother involved in it all? One thing's for sure, Ayato's not going to get the answers he wants easily. How far is he willingly to go to discover the whole truth?

Content Warnings
Language = It's possible there was some, but nothing really stood out while I was reading, so if there is any it's pretty mild stuff.

Violence = It's a war - people die, but there's nothing graphic.

Nudity = Not really, the only things close is a scene where Haruka's changing clothes and the picture shows her in her bra.

Sexual Situations = Well, Ayato is peeping on Haruka while she's changing, but that's as close as it gets and it doesn't describe much of anything.

Ratings
Cover - 7/10 - The front's okay; I really like the title font, but the back needs serious improvement.

Artwork - 6/10 - A couple of them are nice; but overall the art is a useless inclusion in this novel.

Plot - 6/10 - The plot itself is fascinating (even if you don't care for mecha) but the technical errors are beyond annoying.

Overall - 6/10 - This volume could use a lot of improvements in various areas, thus the lower rating, but the story itself was exciting and interesting. ( )