Kara no Kyoukai (Nasu Kinoko)
Preface
The English title is Garden of Sinners, while the Japanese title is Kara no Kyoukai.
There are movies made for each section of the light novels, those are reviewed in a different page.
Review
Personally: 10/10
Generally: 9/10
The high ranking is mainly for three aspects of these books:
1) They got me back into reading for my enjoyment after nearly 8 years
2) The author and translator both really did a great job on the style of narration, each character came through with their own tone
3) I adore the weird magic system and lightly philosophical story
That said, I did watch the movies about a month before reading the respective volumes, which helped my imagination.
Ultimately it feels like a common story told through events that would be impossible in real life. Being a metaphor for life and all that (or at least an aspect of life).
What really assists Nasu in his vision is the grim atmosphere that touches each and every character:
It seems that if they aren't crazy, they're stupid.
Not that either are bad, mind you, but that these two types of people clash just like a cat and dog put in the same room.
Every moment was gripping because I got to live in each character's head when they would narrate a chapter, something I felt the movies couldn't replicate. Honestly, besides the main ideas, the light novels and the movies succeed where the other fails and vice versa. Together, the world comes to life.
If one is interested in the series and isn't afraid of reading, I would get through the first 4 movie's worth in the light novels and then watch the 5th movie as a reward. The rest of the story after that is also the most complete in the light novels.
I gave it a 10 because it felt like a story tailored towards me, but I would recommend it as if it were a 9 so most people don't have their expectations set too high.