Gaav's Challenge

スレイヤーズ [Slayers] #7

by Hajime Kanzaka (Writer), Rui Araizumi (Illustrator)

Guided by Xelloss, an agent of the Greater Beast Zelas Metalium, Lina Inverse and her crew make their way to the heart of Dilse Kingdom--a country with many hidden mysteries--including the Claire Bible. While it seems fate has deemed that Xelloss take Lina to those manuscripts, she's not sure what his real plan is...but she really wants that Claire Bible, so she'll do whatever it takes!

Genres: Fantasy, Light Novel, Manga, Fiction, Comedy, High Fantasy, Japanese Literature

198 pages, Paperback

First published December 10, 1993

About the author

Hajime Kanzaka (神坂一) is a Japanese novelist and manga writer.

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gourry figuring out the truth about Xellos before anyone else and then assuring him that he doesn't look that old will always be one of my favorite parts of this storyline.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 The story really starts to pick up in volume 7. We start to get a lot deeper into the Slayers lore and history here. That’s great and it’s interesting however it’s a bit muddled and there’s a lot of players involved. Since many of them don’t get a lot of page time I struggled to keep up with whose who.

On the plus side most of Xellos’ big reveals are now out there and that’s cool.

I still love this cast of rogue’s and while some of the humor doesn’t always hit it’s still a really fun sword and sorcery comedy.

[Jane Lebak · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume is full of Mazoku, and some of it was confusing. I'll say that's because it's been a year since I read the last volume, so blame the reader rather than the writer.

Lina's voice is still amazing, and I enjoyed the whole team acting together. Everyone other than the team has their own personal objectives, and that means all the players are subtly acting against one another even when they appear to be on the same side. I like this storyline because of how it keeps shifting, and I'll probably read volume 8 sooner rather than later.

[Jose Luis Meza Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book that literally ends with "To Be Continued".

The stakes are higher for our group of heroes. They meet dragons and finally encounter Claire´s Bible.

Be sure to give this one a read along with the next one as you'll understand more things this way.

[Anthonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for manga lovers everywhere. Lina inverse is dishing out some serious payback.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun while it lasted. Took some time to read this one because I got distracted. This is where Lina finally gets her hands on the Claire Bible. Xellos also also seems to get more “screen” time here.

And I have the same complaint: if I have to read again how Ra Tilt is the strongest of the shamanistic spells that hits the spectral aura or whatnot I’ll throw a fit. We knew that like, 5 books ago. And I suppose somebody who’s reading book 7 isn’t a new reader.

I had planned to take a break after this book to read something else (German teacher gave me a German book to read) but this literally ended a “to be continued”

[Rafael Yamano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book. The problems with it are that it's shorter than the others and that it ends mid battle, in a cliffhanger. But the story is progressing well, going into the plot of what the anime depicted as Slayers Next. Most of what happened in the previous books, like the intrigues in Seillune, are explained here, along with who fused Seigram with Vezendi. Another problem with this book is that the name of the villains, Raltaak and Rashtaat, are too similar. But besides that, it's a very good book.

[shay allyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, so I have rated every new translation as 5 stars, but volume 7 is my fave so far. Probably because this volume features the most of Xellos, everyone's favorite secret-keeping mazoku/demon/monster. Gaav is a much better, more interesting character in the novel than the anime too. Lina & co.’s rising dread of high-ranking demons is very palpable here too. Loooove it!

Also, Goodreads?

DIFFERENT TRANSLATIONS BY DIFFERENT PUBLISHERS ARE NOT VARIATIONS OF THE SAME EDITION.

xoxo,
a disgruntled librarian

[Bob Mackey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun and frivolous like the rest of the series, though this seventh volume up the stakes and puts most of the cards on the table—though I think it's the first one to end with a "to be continued." A worthwhile read if you've been following the Slayers novels up to this point, but as always I'm waiting for these books to get beyond what the '90s anime series adapted so I'm not constantly haunted by a sense of vague familiarity.

[Marc Tinent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esta novela tiene todo lo que le pido a Slayers. Aventura, acción, algún chistecillo y grandes revelaciones. Ya está metida de lleno en el imaginario de la colección, y durante toda la lectura tienes la sensación de estar en pleno clímax. Quizá el único pequeño problema es que se nota que es un capítulo más en una serie, pero eso pasa en la mayoría de libros anteriores al final.

[Frrobins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read the TokyoPop translation several times and seen the corresponding anime episodes more times than I can count, yet let me say after having the experience of reading this installment one chapter at a time as it was translated by J-Novel Club, it was still riveting and left me at the edge of my seat waiting for the next chapter even though I knew good and well what would happen. Storytelling at it's finest!