A prequel to Yuki's popular Godchild
, The Cain Saga
is an anthology of five different tales all set in the same 19th- and early 20th-century London locale and concerning the young mystery-investigating earl, Cain C. Hargreaves. "Forgotten Juliet," the opener, is a ghost story about grave robbers, a dead girl, some green poison that isn't what it seems and a romance that shouldn't have been—the already knotty story line is further confused by some poorly organized artwork. "The Youths Who Stopped Time" is a more engaging mystery set in a posh boarding school circa 1918 and taking its atmosphere of naughty schoolboys and secret societies straight from the film Young Sherlock Holmes
(as Yuki admits in one of her chatty columns sprinkled throughout). Yuki also admits to being a huge Twin Peaks
fan, whose influence shows itself throughout, especially the closer one gets toward the final, Laura Palmer–inspired story. The tone overall registers in high camp. Although Cain
will have no trouble pleasing fans of Godchild
, it's hard to imagine those already not well-versed in that story having much patience with this fast-paced but garbled collection. (Oct.)
