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新説 狼と香辛料 狼と羊皮紙 (Novel) #8
新說 狼與辛香料 狼與羊皮紙 8
以騎槍術比賽化解王子間的芥蒂，
平息溫菲爾王國的爭端後沒幾天，
有個使者來到了寇爾等人面前，
為的是請「黎明樞機」參加已經八十年沒召開過的大公會議。
寇爾將查明會議真偽的工作交給迦南，
和繆里繼續推行聖經的印刷大計，
前往大學城雅肯尋求物資與新大陸的消息。
寇爾當流浪學生時，曾在雅肯待過一陣子。
如今城裡爆發了將其撕裂成兩部分的亂象，
且中心人物的別名居然是「賢者之狼」──？
平息溫菲爾王國的爭端後沒幾天，
有個使者來到了寇爾等人面前，
為的是請「黎明樞機」參加已經八十年沒召開過的大公會議。
寇爾將查明會議真偽的工作交給迦南，
和繆里繼續推行聖經的印刷大計，
前往大學城雅肯尋求物資與新大陸的消息。
寇爾當流浪學生時，曾在雅肯待過一陣子。
如今城裡爆發了將其撕裂成兩部分的亂象，
且中心人物的別名居然是「賢者之狼」──？
- GenresLight Novel
344 pages, Paperback
First published August 10, 2022
48 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 30, 2024
In Summary
The Church is holding an ecumenical council, the first in decades! This is a real opportunity for religious reform, so Col and Myuri return to the mainland. However, they get distracted while in Aquent by the mission of the wolf spirit Lutia to right the academic town’s social wrongs. This detour from Col’s primary mission is introduced halfway through the volume, and because of that, the arc comes off as rushed and the resolution too conveniently tidy.
The Review
Col and Myuri have spent quite a bit of time in the island kingdom of Winfiel. Now their travels take them back to the mainland. The reasons are threefold. One, they need to secure a supply of paper for Col’s scripture translation. Two, they seek what information they can get about the new continent. Three–and most outrageously–Col is being summoned for an ecumenical council, the first the Church has held in over a century.
That last reason is a bombshell for our characters. Much of the first two chapters is spent discerning whether the messenger delivering the news is legitimate; what an ecumenical council is; and what it could possibly mean for Col’s cause. Fortunately, Archivist Canaan is able to confirm the authenticity of the messenger and convinces Col to attend. Thus, Col and Myuri find themselves back on the mainland.
With such a monumental event impending, I assumed the ecumenical council would be the focus of this volume. Well, not really. Rather than head directly for the Holy See to take on this churchwide meeting, our adventurers instead stop at the academic city of Aquent. The rationale being that Col needs to prepare himself for the debates ahead, and what better place to do it than what is essentially a scholar’s town specializing in ecclesiastical law. And because it is a scholar’s town, they can also inquire about paper supplies and possible leads about the new continent.
This town holds special significance for Col. Readers of the original Spice and Wolf series will recognize it as the city he lived as a wandering student prior to encountering Myuri’s parents. Thus, part of the story involves Col sharing these childhood memories with Myuri and facing some old demons as those childhood memories are closely tied with the town’s darker practices.
Supposedly, Hasekura-sensei used a 16th-century schoolmaster’s autobiography as a reference for traveling students and academic cities. However, the predatory situation described in Aquent sounds rather convoluted. The virtual enslavement of the youngest, poorest students is plausible, but the roaming gangs of academic elite and the textbook gambling are harder to swallow. Plus, everything falls neatly along the lines of the evil privileged wealthy and the righteous downtrodden poor.
At any rate, their sojourn in Aquent ends up less about pursuing their three goals and more about executing justice upon the system that preyed upon Col’s younger self. And the personification of that movement is the leader of the oppressed students, Lutia the Wise Wolf.
And yes, Lutia is a wolf spirit, one who’s had no contact with any wolf kin. Because the only wolf Myuri’s dealt with previously is her mother, it’s a singular moment for the two characters when their paths cross.
That aside, Lutia and the cause she champions are problematic. The secret regarding the couple who adopted her was something I suspected the moment she told her backstory. And when Canaan sets forth his solution to right the city’s wrongs, Lutia’s response strikes me as extreme. Myuri’s participation in Lutia’s scheme can be attributed to her immaturity, but for Lutia to deal a blow to those she considers her pack doesn’t make sense given the years under her belt and the loyalty that supposedly characterizes her species. Plus, it seems odd that she wouldn’t consider how her eternal youthfulness might eventually threaten her status quo.
Canaan’s resolution to the various conflicts also come too easily and quickly. Aquent’s problems are supposedly deeply entrenched, dating before Col’s time. Yet Canaan devises fixes to them all in a single conversation, and as soon as they act on them, the problems disappear. And the solution that Col offers to fix the problem of Lutia’s loneliness is also accepted awfully fast.
While I generally appreciate how Hasekura-sensei creates challenges for his characters to ponder through, Aquent and Lutia felt like a convenient house of cards set up solely for the purpose for our heroes to knock it down in a single stroke.
Extras include the first eight pages printed in color, a world map, seven black-and-white illustrations, and an afterword.
For more manga and book reviews, drop by my blog Keeping It In Canon!
The Church is holding an ecumenical council, the first in decades! This is a real opportunity for religious reform, so Col and Myuri return to the mainland. However, they get distracted while in Aquent by the mission of the wolf spirit Lutia to right the academic town’s social wrongs. This detour from Col’s primary mission is introduced halfway through the volume, and because of that, the arc comes off as rushed and the resolution too conveniently tidy.
The Review
Col and Myuri have spent quite a bit of time in the island kingdom of Winfiel. Now their travels take them back to the mainland. The reasons are threefold. One, they need to secure a supply of paper for Col’s scripture translation. Two, they seek what information they can get about the new continent. Three–and most outrageously–Col is being summoned for an ecumenical council, the first the Church has held in over a century.
That last reason is a bombshell for our characters. Much of the first two chapters is spent discerning whether the messenger delivering the news is legitimate; what an ecumenical council is; and what it could possibly mean for Col’s cause. Fortunately, Archivist Canaan is able to confirm the authenticity of the messenger and convinces Col to attend. Thus, Col and Myuri find themselves back on the mainland.
With such a monumental event impending, I assumed the ecumenical council would be the focus of this volume. Well, not really. Rather than head directly for the Holy See to take on this churchwide meeting, our adventurers instead stop at the academic city of Aquent. The rationale being that Col needs to prepare himself for the debates ahead, and what better place to do it than what is essentially a scholar’s town specializing in ecclesiastical law. And because it is a scholar’s town, they can also inquire about paper supplies and possible leads about the new continent.
This town holds special significance for Col. Readers of the original Spice and Wolf series will recognize it as the city he lived as a wandering student prior to encountering Myuri’s parents. Thus, part of the story involves Col sharing these childhood memories with Myuri and facing some old demons as those childhood memories are closely tied with the town’s darker practices.
Supposedly, Hasekura-sensei used a 16th-century schoolmaster’s autobiography as a reference for traveling students and academic cities. However, the predatory situation described in Aquent sounds rather convoluted. The virtual enslavement of the youngest, poorest students is plausible, but the roaming gangs of academic elite and the textbook gambling are harder to swallow. Plus, everything falls neatly along the lines of the evil privileged wealthy and the righteous downtrodden poor.
At any rate, their sojourn in Aquent ends up less about pursuing their three goals and more about executing justice upon the system that preyed upon Col’s younger self. And the personification of that movement is the leader of the oppressed students, Lutia the Wise Wolf.
And yes, Lutia is a wolf spirit, one who’s had no contact with any wolf kin. Because the only wolf Myuri’s dealt with previously is her mother, it’s a singular moment for the two characters when their paths cross.
That aside, Lutia and the cause she champions are problematic. The secret regarding the couple who adopted her was something I suspected the moment she told her backstory. And when Canaan sets forth his solution to right the city’s wrongs, Lutia’s response strikes me as extreme. Myuri’s participation in Lutia’s scheme can be attributed to her immaturity, but for Lutia to deal a blow to those she considers her pack doesn’t make sense given the years under her belt and the loyalty that supposedly characterizes her species. Plus, it seems odd that she wouldn’t consider how her eternal youthfulness might eventually threaten her status quo.
Canaan’s resolution to the various conflicts also come too easily and quickly. Aquent’s problems are supposedly deeply entrenched, dating before Col’s time. Yet Canaan devises fixes to them all in a single conversation, and as soon as they act on them, the problems disappear. And the solution that Col offers to fix the problem of Lutia’s loneliness is also accepted awfully fast.
While I generally appreciate how Hasekura-sensei creates challenges for his characters to ponder through, Aquent and Lutia felt like a convenient house of cards set up solely for the purpose for our heroes to knock it down in a single stroke.
Extras include the first eight pages printed in color, a world map, seven black-and-white illustrations, and an afterword.
For more manga and book reviews, drop by my blog Keeping It In Canon!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 26, 2024
Somehow the story felt less intricate and interesting than usual. The setting in an academic city was an interesting premise but underused in the end. Myuri did something that still feels out of character, even after the explanation and conclusion, it still feels weird. But it's the beginning of some big events so I hope it'll lead to better things!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews