Hideo Kojima (EN)

Koji Suzuki’s Final Novel Delivers Thrilling Sci‑Fi Mystery

I had only read Koji Suzuki’s “Spiral (Rasen)” among his novels (though I’ve seen several of the movie adaptations). After hearing the far too sudden news of MR. Suzuki’s passing, I bought and read “Ubiquitous,” which became his final work. I was astonished by how entertaining it was. Rather than horror, it was the kind of SF panic novel that I love, something very much in the vein of Michael Crichton. The story begins with ice from Showa Station in Antarctica. The fact that this “setup” is revealed at the very beginning makes the structure unmistakably science fiction. If it were pure horror, that would likely come at the end. The story unfolds in parallel, mysterious deaths caused by ice collected in Antarctica and brought to Tokyo, alongside the investigation into a mass death incident that occurred fifteen years earlier within a religious cult. A detective and a reportage writer pursue the truth behind the cases. In that sense, it is very much a mystery. Then a physicist joins, and through scientific insight and acrobatic interpretations of historical texts, the mystery is analyzed further. That contrast, along with the rich and fascinating details, feels incredibly satisfying. Are the two incidents connected? The story moves freely between occultism and science, ultimately arriving at a grand interpretation of the universe itself. Everything becomes “ubiquitous.” This is a favorite of mine 🌱