Beginning with the chanced encounter between a broken young man and a company of girls preordained to a bitter fate, SukaSuka weaves the harrowing tale of former Quasi-Brave Willem Kmesh who was thrusted into a foreign and unforgiving post-apocalyptic world. Through Willem's desperate attempts to forge his convictions anew and as he confronts his haunting past, SukaSuka questions deeply the duality of good and evil, the frivolity of justice, the purpose of heroism, of choice and predestiny, and how one copes with their most dreaded losses of their loved ones.

This novel scrupulously brought its characters to life with depictions of agonizing emotions and intertwining fate. A young soldier who shoulders the survival of an entire civilization professed herself to be a disillusioned maiden desperate for affection; a man-eating troll of bullish strength and unfaltering joviality is but a wearied mother concealing her bitterest regrets; yet more comical, perhaps, was the hulking reptilian whose austere presence masked a compassionate and fatherly tenderness. SukaSuka portrays each of its characters as a meticulously-crafted clockwork of contradictions, illuminating the very passions, insecurities, and paradoxes that encapsulate human nature. The unlikely bonds tethered by the griefs of a motely group of individuals cast its dying world in a warmly glow.

At the corners of my faded memory are the many fables of otherworldly enchantments upon which my very fondness for fantasy was founded. Those were the tales of the tragic Oedipus, of the mighty Heracles and his impossible feats, of the long journeys of the shrewd Odysseus, of Orpheus who was cursed by his own peerless musical talents, or of Eros and Psyche torn apart by their forbidden love. In a similar fashion, SukaSuka is a story that is inspired by the classics, that imitates the classics, that appeals to the readers' penchant for the classics. Reminiscent of the mythologies which had so delicately stolen my juvenile heart, SukaSuka enraptures me as a story that sought to convey itself with the utmost grace and sentiment whereas the reader's enjoyment was secondary - it is a quality which defines timeless literature as opposed to cathartic entertainment. As I witness the story unfold before my eyes, I cannot help but marvel at the author's ingenuity and penmanship. Indeed, SukaSuka is a light novel which is yet to be matched by another of equal caliber. It is, in my heartfelt opinion, nothing short of a masterpiece.

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I started this series after watching the anime and boy did it not disappoint. This is more than likely the most under appreciated light novel out there right now. It's not your standard cliche light novel self insert story. The characters are well written and believable. The setting is also very intriquing. The background and lore in this series is something else. It's basically a world that was once your standard light novel setting until an HP Lovecraft style apocalypse destroyed all surface life. This isn't a story about the good guys saving the world and everyone living happily ever after. The heroes failed to save the world long ago and now those who are left can only stave off the inevitable. Even seeming victories come with unforseen costs. Yet through all of this the characters continue to live their lives, mindful of the fact that the world has not yet ended. It's sad, beautiful, and something more people should read.

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