Boasting something of an unusual pedigree, to say the least, the most recent novel from prolific Japanese author Miyuki Miyabe, Ico: Castle in the Mist, took its inspiration from the Playstation 2 action-adventure game ICO.  As an avid enthusiast Miyabe was evidently moved to pen the novelisation of the storyline found therein, and though she took numerous liberties with both the world of the game and the characters dwelling within it the end result is a novel that is both highly inventive yet faithful to the initial themes of the cult game which inspired it. 

In Toksa village, every generation a child is born with small horns.  By the child’s thirteenth birthday the horns will have grown long and curved, and he will be sent to the Castle in the Mist as the Sacrifice.  Ico is one such child, and his story begins as the Castle is calling for him.  Those familiar with the game will know that a young girl is trapped within the Castle, however, and together her and Ico must attempt not only to escape with their lives but try to work out the secret of the Castle’s terrible hunger. 

Originally published in Japan in 2004, Ico has taken a long time to reach these shores, and it’s thanks to the indefatigable Madman that it made it at all.  The resultant 370-page edition is a rather fetching affair, retaining the de Chirico-inspired cover artwork of game director Fumito Ueda, and has been superbly translated by Alexander O. Smith.  Miyabe’s prose retains a stirring lyricism that perfectly underscores the drama of young Ico’s journey, her dialogue is, like that of the game, sparse and cleverly elucidative, and the story she weaves populated by a rich cast of characters.  It’s an enjoyable tale expertly told, easily as immersive as the game which inspired it, and just as difficult to walk away from.