Divine Incursions - LN 1
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Official Synopsis
NEITHER GOOD NOR EVIL In this world, there exist divine beings beyond mortal understanding. To them, the concepts of morality mean nothing. From destructive physical manifestations to the manipulation of dreams and the distortion of the very fabric of reality, the gods continuously threaten peace across Japan. And humans are completely at their mercy. Agent Katagishi and his junior partner, Miyaki, belong to a secret government organization tasked with investigating supernatural incidents. It’s their job to handle cases involving deities and the dangerous humans who worship them. And in the midst of it all, Katagishi is determined to track down his missing wife, even if it forces him to confront a terrible truth…
I started this book in February and it took me till now to finish reading it. That's not to say that it's a bad book (it's pretty good), but the structure of this book sort of killed my flow for wanting to continue reading due to its episodic nature.
The front half of the book explores how our two main characters, Katagishi and Miyaki, investigate and report on several disconnected supernatural occurrences that happen and are attributed to gods. These events are called "Divine Incursions", hence the name of the books.
While I don't normally read horror novels, I am interested in supernatural investigation series like "Ghost Hunt", "Mysteries, Maidens, And Mysterious Disappearances", and "Dr. Ramune: Mysterious Disease Specialist", usually in manga or anime form. This was a first for me to read such a series in novel form.
I thought maybe I would have a tough time feeling "scared" since it's missing the visual component, but the opposite ended up being true. There were several moments that caught me off guard because the descriptions do a good job of selling the confusion and lack of understanding the MCs have for what they're seeing. They're in as much shock as the reader is, which sells the suspense even more.
Another thing that's notable about this series is that unlike the other works I mentioned previously, many of the incidents encountered in this book have no conclusive resolution or ending (sorry for the mild spoilers, but you find this out in the first case of the book). The main characters state many times that humanity is powerless against the divine, and can at best mitigate it's power by decreasing a god's influence slowly over time.
This was part of why I had trouble finishing the book. Unlike other series where plot points may slowly get resolved and build up to something more, many of the cases felt like a bucket of cold water. There was nothing for the main characters to do other than report what they've experienced. Luckily, there is more of a plot in the latter half of the book, and I would say it does end satisfactorily.
This volume felt very self contained, and the next book happens to be a prequel. From what I understand this is a 4(?) book series, so not overly long either. It's nice to read something different in the light novel space!
The next book is out on May 12, 2026.