Kambayashi is covertly sketching out an arc for three agents: Rei, Yukikaze, and JAM. While each is a discreet event, and frequently not connected to the others in any obvious way, they should be read in order. Things unfold through sequential short stories, all but a couple told from Rei’s point of view. Fukai Rei is attached to a special air force division whose sole responsibility is to record everything that happens in every battle and return the data to headquarters.

(I have no idea what JAM stands for, the Japanese is equally vague, and I am just assuming it means Jerkface Alien Menace.) Faery has enough messed up flora and fauna that ground troops are an impossibility everything is fought in the air. JAM are being held at bay, but humanity is unable to push them any further. The combined Terran military beat them back through the portal to a world called “Faery,” where the two sides are locked in a violent stalemate. The following, however, is clear at the outset: Aliens called “JAM” have invaded the Earth through a portal over Antarctica. It is difficult to dig too deeply into the plot here without spoiling much of the fun. It is often ranked on annual lists of the best ever Japanese science fiction and I have seen it recommended several times as a place for Westerners to start with Japan’s non-animated SF. I would not be surprised to find manga, video game, or other spin-offs, but do not currently know of any. It won the Seiun Award for 1984, spawned a sequel (also available from Haikasoru, but as yet unread by either of the Two Dudes), and an anime adaptation.

Kambayashi is a well-regarded, multi-award winning author Yukikaze is probably his most famous book. To sum up, a six month late review of a three year old translation of a twenty year old book. It is probably just as well that the English version chopped off the first two words, “battle fairy,” and kept only the name of the aircraft in the title. (No library copies here, which is somewhat inexplicable considering the two massive library systems I have access to, plus a private Japanese collection downtown.) This in turn is a translation of the 2002 revision of the 1984 book, Sento Yosei Yukikaze ( 戦闘妖精・雪風). Further, Yukikaze is one of the first titles published by Japanese pipeline Haikasoru, in 2010, but I didn’t get a copy until an Amazon gift certificate fell into my hands back in March. I finished Yukikaze back in the spring, but got sidetracked by read-alongs, commitments of one sort or another, gender equality issues, and a touch of real life.

Yukikaze by Chōhei Kambayashi