Tag: LN

Spice & Wolf, Vol. 4 (LN)

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Spice & Wolf, Vol. 4 by Isuna Hasekura
Series Name: Spice & Wolf (Light Novel)
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Commerce
Intended Age Group: 15+
Publisher: Yen On/Yen Press
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-7595-3108-6
Rating: 3/5
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Description from the Book

Continuing their journey north, Lawrence and Holo stop in the village of Tereo in hopes of finding a local abbey where they might uncover more information regarding the fate of Holo’s ancient home, Yoitsu. Soon after their arrival, though, the companions are caught up in a local dispute between Tereo and the neighboring town of Enberch that could cost Lawrence and Holo both their fortunes and their lives! With the Wisewolf’s help, can Lawrence devise a way to save an entire town from ruin – and his skin and that of his traveling companion in the process?

Personal & Info

I think this is the first volume to dip in rating, which is pretty good, if you ask me. One through three are solid fours, and any series is bound to have a dip eventually. Honestly, I expected a dip much sooner.

Characters

The book starts approximately six days after the events of volume three. Lawrence and Holo seem to be getting along better than ever. They have a more solid and trusting relationship than before the catastrophic events involving Amati. However, at this point, they seem to be hyperaware of other couples. I think the implication of Holo and Lawrence liking each other, or looking like a couple to outsiders, is getting more emphasis.

Story & Thoughts

I don’t think the story for this one is quite as strong as the others. It isn’t nearly as much of a nail-biter, because it’s made clear Lawrence and Holo are truly in no danger, unlike every volume, so far. It’s actually extremely disappointing how quickly the option to flee comes to mind.

This volume deals more heavily with the status of religion while in the village of Tereo. The religious aspects of the story are more of a background thing until now. The affairs of a church and the desire to protect the village are a main theme of the story, probably not how you would think, though.

It’s unfortunate how foolish the villagers of Tereo are. They seem like a hive mind of distrust, except for a small number. They seem to be living on ignorant luck until Lawrence and Holo come to visit. I find it surprising a village that small would even have any secrets. Shouldn’t the whole village know everything about everything involving what goes on?

I always hear gossip spreads like wildfire in places like that, yet nobody seems to know anything about the Father Franz deal except the village elder Sem and Elsa. The deal gets high praise in the story, but when you think about it, it actually seems flimsy. It’s no wonder this problem occurs so shortly after the arbitrator dies.

I know what a miller is, but I guess I never thought they would be distrusted. It makes sense when you look at it from a more primitive and less educated perspective, though. I doubt the villagers in this book have much of an education. They seem rather superstitious and paranoid. I hope Evan’s life gets better.

Notable Issues

I see in this volume, they overlook the details about Holo’s ability to transform. The first few volumes make it clear she needs to either ingest wheat, or fresh blood, to trigger the change, or have enough energy for it, or something along those lines. She seems to change form without any of that in this one. It never says she eats any wheat to do it, nor does she bite anyone for blood. I’m not sure why it’s different here.

Spice & Wolf, Vol. 3 (LN)

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Spice & Wolf, Vol. 3 by Isuna Hasekura
Series Name: Spice & Wolf (Light Novel)
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Commerce
Intended Age Group: 15 & up
Publisher: Yen On/Yen Press
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-7595-3107-9
Rating: 4/5
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Description from the Book

Having narrowly escaped financial ruin, Lawrence turns his attention to helping Holo find her ancient homeland in the North. But how long can a traveling merchant afford to wander the countryside looking for a village that he suspects may have ceased to exist long ago? When a rival merchant sets his sights on Lawrence’s beautiful companion, though, can Lawrence truly be confident that Holo will remain by his side? Has the time come when Lawrence must ask himself whether his relationship with the Wisewolf is business or pleasure?

Personal & Info

I read this one almost two months ago as of typing this. This review catches me up on where I’m at in the series. I’ll be circling around to volume 4 soon.

Characters

It’s been a few weeks now(one week since volume 2) since Lawrence met Holo. By now, Lawrence is confident in his ability to read Holo and trusts her implicitly. However, that gets put to the test in this volume.

I get the impression Holo’s personality makes communication difficult. Despite trying to learn how to read Holo since day one, Lawrence can’t always be sure when she’s serious, or how to interpret her intent. She often says the opposite of what she means, but that’s not always reliable either. He can’t speak outright with her, because in most cases, she would mock him. It makes for good banter, but I don’t think it makes for a healthy relationship. Despite this, I’m interested in seeing how their relationship progresses.

Story & Thoughts

I can safely say I love the series, so far, and I plan to continue reading it for as long as I can.

This volume has the same structure as the first two, as expected. I also noticed a running theme of something being a potential risk for causing Holo to leave in each. That might get old fast. I can excuse it for the first few, because Lawrence and Holo are still figuring out their compatibility, but I hope it’s not a constant as the series goes on.

Holo has an admirer. It was bound to happen eventually. She’s constantly described as pretty, and she always draws attention. This, as well as a series of interactions between Holo and Lawrence, lead to some hefty tension and drama.

A large chunk of the story for this volume hinges on Lawrence making decisions without Holo’s assistance. It was interesting to see how he handled himself after relying on her for weeks. She’d clearly become a crutch for him, so something even as simple as bouncing ideas off her, and suddenly being unable to, was a huge change. It gives his character growth a chance to shine as he is tested with an important business deal. He even uses some previous experience with blunders to his advantage, which makes me happy.

This one was a nail-baiter right up until the end. I think it picked up quicker than the first two, and held the tension longer. There was no gradual resolution. I literally had no idea if things would work out until the end of the last chapter.

Spice & Wolf, Vol. 2 (LN)

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Spice & Wolf, Vol. 2 by Isuna Hasekura
Series Name: Spice & Wolf (Light Novel)
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Commerce
Intended Age Group: 15 & up
Publisher: Yen On/Yen Press
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-7595-3106-2
Rating: 4/5
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Description from the Book

Following his good fortune in Pazzio, Lawrence is confident that he is on the path to realizing his dream of becoming a town merchant. One ill-informed business decision, though, leaves him teetering on the brink of bankruptcy and ruin! With no assets to his name – other than the cunning of his fetching traveling companion, Holo the Wisewolf – Lawrence may need to resort to illicit means to put his affairs in order. With all of the merchant’s plans hinging on one beautiful young shepherdess – for whose vocation Holo holds no affection – Lawrence’s prospects, both personal and professional, are looking grim!

Personal & Info

I’m not going to lie. It’s been a couple months since I read this volume, and some bits and pieces have not stayed fresh in my memory, but I’m actively reading this series, and not far in, so I want to get reviews up for the first few volumes, so I can review every volume without any missing.

Characters

It’s been two weeks since Holo and Lawrence met. Lawrence is still learning how to read Holo’s jokes, moods, and gibes. He seems to be catching on, but can’t be sure of much. He’s got a good idea of Holo’s personality by now, and his own wit is getting better with practice, however, he is still no match for Holo. He tends to misread some important situations and get the wrong idea about what’s going on in her head. Holo is much the same as in the first volume. Snarky, witty, occasionally childish, and ever learning about the current world.

Story & Thoughts

Sometimes a series will have a good first volume, and it’ll dip in quality the second. I’ve heard this is common especially for light novels, which is why I usually reserve judgement about a series until I’ve read a couple volumes. This series, however, did not have that issue. If I was unsure about the series before, I’m definitely sure I like it now.

This book holds up well as a second volume. The story has the same slow introduction. Them traveling somewhere, meeting the relevant characters for the volume, followed by encountering a significant problem or event, and having to deal with it, resulting in a tense edge of your seat finale. This will probably be the basic formula for the series.

The economic descriptions in this one were easier to understand. It was still relevant to money, but the premise was simpler, so it was a little easier to read. I didn’t have to go back and re-read things multiple times to get anything.

Notable Issues

Aside from typos, which pretty much any book is going to have, I noticed something that was likely a translation or editing error. Early on in the book, it was stated Lawrence had purchased swords, because they were referred to as arms, and doubly verified as Holo’s bed being packed full of sword hilts. This was contradicted later when they said it was twenty sets of armor.

Spice & Wolf, Vol. 1 (LN)

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Spice & Wolf, Vol. 1 by Isuna Hasekura
Series Name: Spice & Wolf (Light Novel)
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Commerce
Intended Age Group: 15 & up
Publisher: Yen On/Yen Press
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-7595-3104-8
Rating: 4/5
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Description from the Book

The life of a travelling merchant is a lonely one, a fact with which Kraft Lawrence is well acquainted. Wandering from town to town with just his horse, cart, and whatever wares have come his way, the peddler has pretty well settled into his routine – that is until the night Lawrence finds a wolf goddess asleep in his cart. Taking the form of a fetching girl with wolf ears and a tail. Holo has wearied of tending to harvests in the countryside and strikes up a bargain with the merchant to lend him the cunning of “Holo the Wisewolf” to increase his profits in exchange for taking her along on his travels. What kind of businessman could turn down such an offer? Lawrence soon learns, though, that having an ancient goddess as a traveling companion can be a bit of a mixed blessing. Will this wolf girl turn out to be too wild to tame?

Personal & Info

I’ve wanted to get more into light novels, and I can say from experience good ones have been hard to find for as long as I can remember. Many of the ones I initially wanted to read are now out of print, or were never completed in English. I decided to test the waters again, and I heard this series was one of the best, so here we are.

I think it’s important to mention I have not read the manga, nor have I seen the anime, so this was my first exposure to the series in general.

Before I delve in, the book has a few color pages right inside the cover. These are particularly interesting because they appear to be preview images, like if you were to watch a TV show and the episode started off with a sizzle reel of what’s to come. I haven’t seen this kind of thing in books before. Usually it’s just some cute artwork or a poster fold out. Speaking of cute artwork, though, the table of contents has a cute chibi image of Holo.

Characters

Okay, now on to business. Let’s start with the characters. Lawrence and Holo seem well thought out. Lawrence comes off as a bit of a blank slate character with merchant skills and a kind heart, because he lives life on the road, traveling alone. Holo, on the other hand, has a strong personality. Her snarky behavior is good for encouraging Lawrence’s character growth, and even expanding his wit. The two have great banter, and it helps pass the otherwise dull parts of the book in an amusing way. A large chunk of the first few chapters(there are six total in this book) was spent getting to know them, and world building.

Story & Thoughts

This is an interesting series. I’d heard it was mostly commerce themed, so I wasn’t sure if I would like it. Lo and behold , it’s actually intriguing to read. Some of the stuff went over my head, so I’m sure it’s not for everyone.

The story delved into the value of coin based money, and how you can tell if a coin’s value has changed. They mentioned weight, purity, even sound, then continued on to explain how fluctuations in coin value affect society, markets, and how profit can be earned. Lawrence explained those things to Holo, which functioned as explaining it to the reader. Holo understood quickly, but the reader might not. I personally had to slow down a little and re-read that section to make sure I got it, or at least understood enough to follow the story related parts of what they said. They weren’t always super clear. Sometimes there were some dots you’d have to connect yourself to understand their full meaning.

Complexities aside(not that they are a bad thing), the story is good. It’s not particularly exciting. Most of the story is travel based, for obvious reasons, but the banter between Holo and Lawrence fills that space nicely. Things ramp up when an opportunity to make some major cash arises, and the final segment of the book left me at the edge of my seat. The ending was a little odd. No spoilers, but the last chapter ended a bit abruptly. There’s an Epilogue that finishes it up and ties together all the loose ends. I hadn’t seen one used that way before. Usually, they’re after the actual ending, and show what characters do after the story, but no, this series uses Epilogues as the wrap up.

I’ve heard this is supposed to be a romance series. If it is, it’s definitely a slow burn. I didn’t see anything in this volume to indicate it was a romance, aside from the whole man and woman traveling alone thing.