How to read Kara no Kyoukai/The Garden of Sinners
Kara no Kyoukai (literally translated The Boundary of Emptiness, officially translated The Garden of Sinners) is a light novel series by Kinoko Nasu, of Tsukihime and Fate fame. It was Nasu's first published work, originally published online in the 90s. You might know it most for the ufotable movie adaptations, or for the main character Shiki being playable in FGO.
This series predates Nasu's better-known Tsukihime and Fate series, and you can see inklings of ideas he'd reuse and refine in those works. Most prominent of these is the character of Shiki Ryougi, whose name, multiple personalities, and Mystic Eyes of Death Perception would all inspire Shiki Tohno of Tsukihime. This is also the series where Fate's famous Counter Force was first introduced.
The Kara no Kyoukai novels were Nasu's first published work, but have had a rough history in terms of translation to English. There have been bad and just straight up inaccurate attempts, and a publishing company that wanted to put them out officially went under before it had the chance, but now all these years later the series is finally completed in English!
Translators:
Baka-Tsuki (volume 1)
Baka-Tsuki, ShikiRyougiAdmirer, KMP (volume 2)
Yusuke, Manolo, Dullahan (volume 3)
QualityMistranslations/YHK (Future Gospel)
Serouzo (Final Record)
Formatting:
ProtoformX (volume 1, Future Gospel, Final Record)
KMP (volume 2)
Volume 3 uncredited (I assume Yusuke?)
Without further ado, the novels:
Volume 1 (Note: This one also contains the stories in volume 2 but they're incomplete. For Hollow Shrine and Paradox Spiral, read the volume 2 versions)
Volume 2
Volume 3
Future Gospel
Final Record
