Natsuo Kirino (Out) brings readers a clash between gods and mortals, will and destiny, and life and death in The Goddess Chronicle, a reimagining of the Japanese creation story starring the god Izanaki, his beautiful but doomed wife, Izanami, and the human beings who have the misfortune of getting caught up in their ongoing feud.
Namima has always been second-best next to her stunning and talented sister, Kamikuu, but adores her anyway. Sadly, the sisters have been destined from birth to take different paths: Kamikuu will become the next Oracle of their island and live a life of luxury, but Namima is destined to become the priestess of darkness and to dwell alone. The girls are separated when Kamikuu is sent to begin her training and then when Namima is forced to take up the mantle of priestess of the dead, to live among corpses and ensure their spirits do not wander among the living. When she tries to escape her fate, betrayal by the man she loves lands Namima in the underworld, where she must serve Izanami, a death goddess who understands the pain of scorned love and the thirst for revenge.
Kirino captures the rivalry-laced love of sisters, the bitterness of the female role in mythology and the destructive powers of yearning for vengeance. While Western audiences will not likely recognize the names of the gods and goddesses mentioned in this story, Kirino's story of mortal and immortal passions transcends cultural barriers. --Jaclyn Fulwood, youth services manager at Latah County Library District and blogger at Infinite Reads