Kieli, Vol. 1 (Light Novel): The Dead Sleep in the Wilderness Volume 1

by 壁井ユカコ and Yukako Kabei

Kieli is a reclusive girl isolated by her ability to see ghosts. Her only friend is her "roommate," Becca, the precocious spirit of a former student still residing in Kieli's dorm. Everything in Kieli's life changes suddenly when the girls meet the handsome but distant Harvey who, like Kieli, can see ghosts. He also turns out to be one of the legendary Undying, an immortal soldier bred for war now being hunted by the Church. When Kieli joins Harvey...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0759529299
• ISBN13: 9780759529298
• Release Date: July 2009
• Publisher: Yen on
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.0" x 7.5"
• Age Range: 16 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 11 and higher

Customer Reviews

So Good!!

This is such a good YA paranormal series! If you can get your hands on it I'd give it a try! <3

Super-Awesome- Incrediously-Uber-Fantastic

A really interesting and wonderfully fun story. It leaves you wanting so much more after the end of the volume. I highly recommend reading this -apparently short =[ - but amazing series.

Fantastic novel.

Many of the previous reviews are for the manga version of this series. I highly recommend the manga as well, as it is a faithful reproduction of this novel and has great artwork. As for the novel: As the summary states: Kieli is a young, orphaned girl with the ability to see ghosts. This has made her a bit of a social outcast at her school. Then one day she runs into Harvey, another young man with the same ability, and the Corporal, a ghost who has possessed an old beat-up radio. This is the first time she's ever met anyone else who can see the things she does, so she ends up following them, curious and longing for answers. The novel itself is a quick but very enjoyable read. The characters are very interesting and complex. The short length of the book limits too much character development, but there really is a good amount of it here for a light novel. The description is vivid and it was incredibly easy for me to fall into the world of Kieli and "see" what was happening. But what was most surprising to me were the occasionally deep comments scattered throughout the story. Despite her young age, Kieli is disillusioned by what she alone has been able to see, and she has a rather jaded view of the hypocrisy of the religious society she lives in. The bond that forms between Kieli and Harvey is unlikely and yet stronger because of it, as they both offer each other something that they'd never really had before. It's a great story that I really couldn't help but get immersed in, and I couldn't put down the book until I'd finished. Now I can't wait for the next volume to be released! The book itself is nice production-wise. There are some beautiful color pages, one for each chapter title page, at the front. Interspersed throughout the book are illustrations, as is customary for light novels. I highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys steam-punk, sci-fi, or really anyone who enjoys good stories with interesting characters.

A Touching Drama/supernatural manga

I really enjoyed this manga. I was so disappointed that it was only two volumes. I found it touching. I thought the religious ideas were interesting and the premise unique. Mainly, Harvey is a great character and so is the corporal haha The artwork is breath-taking!

Awesome, I wish it was longer!

I really love this series. I love the characters and the story. I just wish it was longer! I was so sad when I realized it was only two books. I plan on buying the novel when it's translated into english.

She sees dead people...and zombies

Kieli is sort of a manga mashup of the sixth sense meets xxxholic. With out going too much into the story I'll give a quick summary. There was a great world war 80 years ago. The war depleated all of the natural resources on the planet (not explicitly earth), and the leaders of the countries were running out of soldiers, so they created new ones with the recycled old ones (called here, the undead...basically zombies). The undead could not be killed (thus the reasoning for undead...). The only way to kill them is pulling out their hearts. After the war, the leaders of the church executed all of them... Back to the story...some years pass on, Kieli is found at a boarding school, she meets a friend, who turns out to be a ghost. Come to find out, Kieli can see dead people, then she runs into another person who can see dead people too, and who happens to be an "undead", carring a radio. The story gets more interesting from there. Its your typical shojo affair, but not so typical story line. It is also much more violent (severed body parts, blood soaked clowns..etc). The art is a little gothic that reminds me of xxxholic, (the seeing ghosts things and the inability to separate the dead from the living does remind me of Watanuki). For some reason, the undead man (harvey), the radio and Kieli begins on what is going to be a long journey (that reminds me of Dazzle...another good manga). The language can get harsh, and its a little violent, but it does not distract from engrossing storytelling. The artwork is well detailed and awesome, one of the "hidden gems" of the manga section.