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Princess Holy Aura
NEW URBAN FANTASY. What Would You Give to be a Hero? Stephen Russ is a normal guy who finds himself caught up in a strange world of talking rats and elder gods—and the fate of the world rests on his shoulders!
What Would You Give to be a Hero?
Stephen Russ never expected to have to answer that question; he went to work, he stayed in his apartment, sometimes had friends over, and the worst thing he'd had to face was looking for a new job after losing his old one.
But that was before a child's desperate scream led him into an alley filled with faceless winged things that almost killed him, before the strange white rat spoke to him, calling itself Silvertail Heartseeker and telling him that this was but the beginning, that the Stars were almost Right and the forces of Azathoth Nine-Armed would soon be unleashed against the world… before Silvertail said that his courage and willingness to risk himself made him the perfect choice to be one of the defenders of the world against this evil.
A defender named Princess Holy Aura, the first of the five Apocalypse Maidens.
Now Steve understands the choice: not whether he is willing to die, but whether he is willing to live… by giving up "Stephen Russ" to become the one chance that the world has against the monstrous forces that wait on the other side of forever.
What Would You Give to be a Hero?
Stephen Russ never expected to have to answer that question; he went to work, he stayed in his apartment, sometimes had friends over, and the worst thing he'd had to face was looking for a new job after losing his old one.
But that was before a child's desperate scream led him into an alley filled with faceless winged things that almost killed him, before the strange white rat spoke to him, calling itself Silvertail Heartseeker and telling him that this was but the beginning, that the Stars were almost Right and the forces of Azathoth Nine-Armed would soon be unleashed against the world… before Silvertail said that his courage and willingness to risk himself made him the perfect choice to be one of the defenders of the world against this evil.
A defender named Princess Holy Aura, the first of the five Apocalypse Maidens.
Now Steve understands the choice: not whether he is willing to die, but whether he is willing to live… by giving up "Stephen Russ" to become the one chance that the world has against the monstrous forces that wait on the other side of forever.
464 pages, Paperback
First published December 5, 2017
41 people are currently reading
182 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
February 11, 2018
PRE-READ: Because why not?
POST-READ: Way better than it had any right to be!
POST-READ: Way better than it had any right to be!
December 27, 2017
Well now, wasn't this a delight! Princess Holy Aura was one of those books I grabbed on a whim, because the concept sounded cute, but went into with admittedly low expectations as to whether Ryk E. Spoor could deliver. What I got was a book I did not expect, but one that I loved all the more because of it.
Even if you have never read a page of manga in your life, you are familiar with the Magical Girl concept - Sailor Moon and Steven Universe are probably two of the most prominent examples that Western audiences would recognize. With that in mind, I expected a cheesy adventure novel that would parody the genre, but what we get instead is an urban fantasy that actually takes it all fairly seriously.
Before we talk about the story, though we have to talk about Princess Holy Aura, herself, one five teenage Apocalypse Maidens . . . and originally a middle aged man by the name of Stephen Russ! I loved inclusion of gender swap and age regression in what is largely a mainstream urban fantasy novel, and even if I wanted more detail, more self-exploration, I think Spoor did a fantastic job of dealing with such a drastic change. He manages to avoid fetishizing the whole scenario, and instead uses it to gently address some contemporary issues of gender.
As for the story, it pays loving homage to the whole Magical Girl concept, pairing it with some very meta pop culture moments, and then slams all that lighthearted humor up against almost Lovecraftian apocalyptic horror. I took a step back more than once, shocked by how he switched things up on me, but not in a bad way. There were a million ways this could have gone wrong, but I grinned and giggled the whole way through. It is a crazy, frantic story that I am sure must have its flaws, were I to spend the time deconstructing it, but I don't care to that. Instead, Princess Holy Aura is one of those books you enjoy for what it is, walk away with a smile, and keep one eye open for a sequel down the road.
As published on Bending the Bookshelf
Even if you have never read a page of manga in your life, you are familiar with the Magical Girl concept - Sailor Moon and Steven Universe are probably two of the most prominent examples that Western audiences would recognize. With that in mind, I expected a cheesy adventure novel that would parody the genre, but what we get instead is an urban fantasy that actually takes it all fairly seriously.
Before we talk about the story, though we have to talk about Princess Holy Aura, herself, one five teenage Apocalypse Maidens . . . and originally a middle aged man by the name of Stephen Russ! I loved inclusion of gender swap and age regression in what is largely a mainstream urban fantasy novel, and even if I wanted more detail, more self-exploration, I think Spoor did a fantastic job of dealing with such a drastic change. He manages to avoid fetishizing the whole scenario, and instead uses it to gently address some contemporary issues of gender.
As for the story, it pays loving homage to the whole Magical Girl concept, pairing it with some very meta pop culture moments, and then slams all that lighthearted humor up against almost Lovecraftian apocalyptic horror. I took a step back more than once, shocked by how he switched things up on me, but not in a bad way. There were a million ways this could have gone wrong, but I grinned and giggled the whole way through. It is a crazy, frantic story that I am sure must have its flaws, were I to spend the time deconstructing it, but I don't care to that. Instead, Princess Holy Aura is one of those books you enjoy for what it is, walk away with a smile, and keep one eye open for a sequel down the road.
As published on Bending the Bookshelf
dnf
July 22, 2018I really wanted to like this, because magical girls vs Lovecraftian monsters, but I think it's time to admit it just isn't grabbing me, and is honestly a little too self-aware. I'm not discounting the idea of trying it again in the future, but for now I'd just rather read something else.
December 17, 2017
This book was so much fun! And it had some really interesting elements regarding magical girls, and I like how Steve/Holly was handled.
June 24, 2023
Sailor Moon: The Book.
I feel a little bad giving this such a low rating because 1) it is a very niche subject and is clearly a labor of love; 2) the structure of the genre is challenging to adapt to a book and I'm not sure any author could have pulled it off substantially better; and 3) I think a lot of people would really love it.
I'm just not one of those people. And not because it is about magical girls. It's not my favorite genre but I've seen a few over the years. My biggest issue is just that this is a very vanilla take on magical girls. Some people will be totally fine with that, seeing the usual things from a beloved genre playing out in a book instead of on-screen. There's clearly a huge appetite to see the same stories told and retold over the years. (How many Spider-Man origin movies have we had?)
I'm just not one of those people. I wanted some twist (nb: see below for more on this) or novelty or something...but this was mostly a very by-the-numbers take on the magical girl genre.
Admittedly, I only made it 60% of the way in before deciding this wasn't sparking any joy in me, even though I couldn't really point at anything especially wrong or bad about it.
Above I said the structure of the genre doesn't lend itself to novels. By that I mean: magical girl shows have a troupe of characters. They all need to be introduced, have backstories, become people we care about. In a season-long TV they can spend weeks introducing new characters and filling in their backstory. There's also usually a "monster of week" format that can also become a bit tedious in a book. The result is that the first 60% of the book is introducing the 5 magical girls. The author clearly realises that introducing them one at a time would become super-tedious, so we get three at all once around the 50% mark. But the downside is that none of them are real people to us: they're just names on the page.
Wrapped around all of this is something that might be considered a twist: the leader of the magical girl group is actually a 20-something man who has (magically) been put in the body of a teenage girl. To the author's credit this could be handled extremely poorly (for instance, male gaze cringe locker room scenes or whatnot) but he avoids all of that. It's just that -- I don't really know how to put this without seeming mean -- I don't think the author's writing skills are up to the task here. We get some dialogue about how Steve/Holly struggle with their weird-dual-transgender identity but we never really feel it. And that pattern continues for virtually all the characters. Other characters deal with some issues (though with so many characters, limited pages, and the necessity of having fights there's a limit to how much space can be devoted to each of them) but it usually comes across as dialogue where they say how sad they are but....
Recommended for: People who love magical girl shows, are thrilled by the idea of reading a book on the same, and don't mind that it follows the formula pretty closely.
I feel a little bad giving this such a low rating because 1) it is a very niche subject and is clearly a labor of love; 2) the structure of the genre is challenging to adapt to a book and I'm not sure any author could have pulled it off substantially better; and 3) I think a lot of people would really love it.
I'm just not one of those people. And not because it is about magical girls. It's not my favorite genre but I've seen a few over the years. My biggest issue is just that this is a very vanilla take on magical girls. Some people will be totally fine with that, seeing the usual things from a beloved genre playing out in a book instead of on-screen. There's clearly a huge appetite to see the same stories told and retold over the years. (How many Spider-Man origin movies have we had?)
I'm just not one of those people. I wanted some twist (nb: see below for more on this) or novelty or something...but this was mostly a very by-the-numbers take on the magical girl genre.
Admittedly, I only made it 60% of the way in before deciding this wasn't sparking any joy in me, even though I couldn't really point at anything especially wrong or bad about it.
Above I said the structure of the genre doesn't lend itself to novels. By that I mean: magical girl shows have a troupe of characters. They all need to be introduced, have backstories, become people we care about. In a season-long TV they can spend weeks introducing new characters and filling in their backstory. There's also usually a "monster of week" format that can also become a bit tedious in a book. The result is that the first 60% of the book is introducing the 5 magical girls. The author clearly realises that introducing them one at a time would become super-tedious, so we get three at all once around the 50% mark. But the downside is that none of them are real people to us: they're just names on the page.
Wrapped around all of this is something that might be considered a twist: the leader of the magical girl group is actually a 20-something man who has (magically) been put in the body of a teenage girl. To the author's credit this could be handled extremely poorly (for instance, male gaze cringe locker room scenes or whatnot) but he avoids all of that. It's just that -- I don't really know how to put this without seeming mean -- I don't think the author's writing skills are up to the task here. We get some dialogue about how Steve/Holly struggle with their weird-dual-transgender identity but we never really feel it. And that pattern continues for virtually all the characters. Other characters deal with some issues (though with so many characters, limited pages, and the necessity of having fights there's a limit to how much space can be devoted to each of them) but it usually comes across as dialogue where they say how sad they are but....
Recommended for: People who love magical girl shows, are thrilled by the idea of reading a book on the same, and don't mind that it follows the formula pretty closely.
December 7, 2017
If you liked Sailor Moon, do NOT miss this one.
Had a blast the whole time, rooting for the characters, enjoying their dilemnas but also, in particular, the honesty with which the whole challenge was brought to all the protagonists and their parents, due to Steven being a good guy.
Also... there was ONE scene which I found absolutely, totally, awesomely well done, namely, when Steven as Holly has to walk down a street at night (I shall skip the reasons) and can't use his/her powers (I shall also skip the reasons) and realize that said street was quite safe to walk as a 30 something big guy but not so as a 15 something little girl.. It came out outstandingly well, and even tho it is a minor point in the story, it shows how good a writer Ryk is, as the scene really, really works on an awesome level of creepiness...
Check the "On Site for the Apocalypse" on the Baen website and pray that Ryk gets a contract for a sequel. :)
I did read the book as eARC from Baen Books, posted the review today only as the book hit the shelves, electronic or physical only 2 days ago.
Had a blast the whole time, rooting for the characters, enjoying their dilemnas but also, in particular, the honesty with which the whole challenge was brought to all the protagonists and their parents, due to Steven being a good guy.
Also... there was ONE scene which I found absolutely, totally, awesomely well done, namely, when Steven as Holly has to walk down a street at night (I shall skip the reasons) and can't use his/her powers (I shall also skip the reasons) and realize that said street was quite safe to walk as a 30 something big guy but not so as a 15 something little girl.. It came out outstandingly well, and even tho it is a minor point in the story, it shows how good a writer Ryk is, as the scene really, really works on an awesome level of creepiness...
Check the "On Site for the Apocalypse" on the Baen website and pray that Ryk gets a contract for a sequel. :)
I did read the book as eARC from Baen Books, posted the review today only as the book hit the shelves, electronic or physical only 2 days ago.
October 20, 2017
This read through is from the Advanced Reader Copy. I have tried to avoid spoilers in this review as it is not yet released. I have to admit, I wasn't thrilled with this book to begin with. The premise of the story struck me as a bit creepy and the cover didn't spark my interest at all. However; the story grabs you immediately and drags you through to the end with laughter and tears (sometimes at the same time). Ryk Spoor brings the characters to life on the page and makes you believe in them and care for them, The villians on the other hand are basically two dimensional, but it works well within this context. The book appears to be a stand alone with most (if not all story threads wrapped up at the end), on the other hand, there is still room for a sequel, which I truly hope he decides to write.
December 11, 2018
What would you give up to save the world? That's the tag line and the question posed to our main protagonist. He willingly gives up his ENTIRE identity to become a magical girl and the author handles this change superbly giving it both weight and meaning rather than simple lip service. The author also makes the conflict his magical girls face have equal weight and meaning. The manor in which the story is told relies on the tropes of the magical girl genre but it does not hide from that but in fact makes it a plot point. My only quibble with the book as a whole is that I wish there had been more battles or battle scenes as the overall story progress. This book reminds me a lot of the Madoka Magica anime series but in all the right ways. A mature look at the emotional costs and sacrifices of fighting a war especially when you add the burden of trying to do so ethically.
December 28, 2017
A great book which delivered just about everything I look for but rarely find in a novel. I haven't enjoyed a gender bender this much since S. Andrew Swann's Dragon Princess(2014). I loved the characters and the world, all of which was put together with the greatest care. The heroes and villains were exciting, cool and fun and Stephen/Holly was handled with grace and feeling for a very touchy(for some) subject matter. I haven't read a book with such care, thought, and respect put into a character like Stephen/Holly since David Thomas' Girl(1995).
If you enjoy magical girls, gender benders, Lovecraft or just getting lost in TV Tropes website, grab and copy and have a ball!
If you enjoy magical girls, gender benders, Lovecraft or just getting lost in TV Tropes website, grab and copy and have a ball!
February 14, 2018
An excellent adventure!
The author melds role play, memes, superstition, and many things creepypasta into a coherent focus for the return of ultimate evil to our world--not to mention Princess Holy Aura. Holy and her four compatriots may have been shaped by certain anime tropes as they accepted their burdens but they are very much their own young women. Believable characters fight monstrous evil, in the mall, the local high school and wherever they are needed. The way is open for further adventures and I sincerely hope they are forthcoming!
The author melds role play, memes, superstition, and many things creepypasta into a coherent focus for the return of ultimate evil to our world--not to mention Princess Holy Aura. Holy and her four compatriots may have been shaped by certain anime tropes as they accepted their burdens but they are very much their own young women. Believable characters fight monstrous evil, in the mall, the local high school and wherever they are needed. The way is open for further adventures and I sincerely hope they are forthcoming!
December 17, 2017
Quite Enjoyable
Great book. Sailor Moon style magic girls must fight the apocalypse. Can Steve embrace the girl he must become to save the world?
Great book. Sailor Moon style magic girls must fight the apocalypse. Can Steve embrace the girl he must become to save the world?
December 18, 2017
This book starts off with a fun and amusing concept and continues through lots of exciting action and some interesting personal changes to a big finale.
May 28, 2018
Interesting twist on the concept. I'd like to see more of the characters
May 21, 2019
This is a book for nerds, about nerds, and clearly written by an absolute nerd. To be clear, that's not a complaint: but it is something of warning. Princess Holy Aura is so thoroughly suffused with memes and allusions that a person without at least a requisite minimum of nerdiness would almost certainly enjoy it far less. At the very least, you should have seen a magical girl anime before and have at least a basic understanding of what tabletop RPGs even are.
The most important thing to understand about Princess Holy Aura is that it is not a comedy, or a parody, or a satire. The premise - anime-style magical girl sentai story set in the US, in which the protagonist begins as a burly 35-year-old man, everyone's genre-savvy, the monsters are (literally) Lovecraftian horrors, and everything is influenced by and filtered through memes - might sound risible, but there are serious themes at work here, and (critically) the 35-year-old-man-turns-into-14-year-old-girl thing is never once played for laughs: rather, it's used as a lens to examine identity, privilege, relative age, gender both as identity and as it is perceived by others, and the ethical consequences of the magical girl formula. (The latter is an important theme, but self-scrutinising magical girl shows aren't at all uncommon, so it's as much a part of the formula as it examines it. The identity themes are more unique to Princess Holy Aura.)
It's also important to note that this is not, in any way, a trans story. Stephen Russ begins as a cis man; when he becomes Princess Holy Aura, and then - as a secret identity - Holly Owen, she takes on not only the body but the entire identity of a teenaged cis girl. It is trans-adjacent, and trans readers may see something of themselves reflected in Holly's struggles to come to terms with her identity and later dysphoria as Steve, but readers who are drawn to it for these reasons should also be warned of occasional transmisic phrases: while some of the characters are clearly aware of trans people existing, they also clearly have never actually met one, and something along the lines of "a woman who doesn't want to be a woman" comes up in dialogue twice in the book.
These identity issues aren't just side-content, either. In many ways, they're the main conflict of the book: familiarity with magical girl shows in general leaves little doubt as to the team's eventual victory, but what will happen to Holly/Stephen when it's all over is a significant source of tension.
The anime vibe isn't just in the content and story: it carries over to the writing style, which has a distinctly cartoonish feeling to it at times. It's a very visuals-oriented book, to the point where it almost feels Ryk E. Spoor was transcribing an anime as it played in their head, and it makes very heavy use of italics. A bit too heavy, to my mind, and I say this as a person who tends towards overusing italics themself. If you're a person who a) enjoys anime and b) can visualise easily, this may be a point in its favour; if not, it's definitely a weakness. Many things which would look really cool on-screen don't carry over as well to text, and little use is made of the strengths inherent to prose.
In the end, it was a good book - better than I expected at first - and I'd gladly recommend it. (But only to nerds.)
Selling points: Stephen/Holly is a genuinely good person; all the nerdy references; strong focus on ethics; intelligent examination of identity, privilege, perspective, gender both felt and perceived, sacrifice &c.; fourteen-year-old girls beating the shit out of eldritch horrors; racial diversity; Sikh representation; sensible overturning of tropes.
Warning points: occasional likely-unintentional casual transmisia; cartoonish writing style; lesser focus on psychological problems than was implied, esp. considering potentially traumatising situations and overall lack of neurodivergent and/or disabled representation; also this is clearly a book for nerds and if you're not nerdy enough you probably won't like it very much.
The most important thing to understand about Princess Holy Aura is that it is not a comedy, or a parody, or a satire. The premise - anime-style magical girl sentai story set in the US, in which the protagonist begins as a burly 35-year-old man, everyone's genre-savvy, the monsters are (literally) Lovecraftian horrors, and everything is influenced by and filtered through memes - might sound risible, but there are serious themes at work here, and (critically) the 35-year-old-man-turns-into-14-year-old-girl thing is never once played for laughs: rather, it's used as a lens to examine identity, privilege, relative age, gender both as identity and as it is perceived by others, and the ethical consequences of the magical girl formula. (The latter is an important theme, but self-scrutinising magical girl shows aren't at all uncommon, so it's as much a part of the formula as it examines it. The identity themes are more unique to Princess Holy Aura.)
It's also important to note that this is not, in any way, a trans story. Stephen Russ begins as a cis man; when he becomes Princess Holy Aura, and then - as a secret identity - Holly Owen, she takes on not only the body but the entire identity of a teenaged cis girl. It is trans-adjacent, and trans readers may see something of themselves reflected in Holly's struggles to come to terms with her identity and later dysphoria as Steve, but readers who are drawn to it for these reasons should also be warned of occasional transmisic phrases: while some of the characters are clearly aware of trans people existing, they also clearly have never actually met one, and something along the lines of "a woman who doesn't want to be a woman" comes up in dialogue twice in the book.
These identity issues aren't just side-content, either. In many ways, they're the main conflict of the book: familiarity with magical girl shows in general leaves little doubt as to the team's eventual victory, but what will happen to Holly/Stephen when it's all over is a significant source of tension.
The anime vibe isn't just in the content and story: it carries over to the writing style, which has a distinctly cartoonish feeling to it at times. It's a very visuals-oriented book, to the point where it almost feels Ryk E. Spoor was transcribing an anime as it played in their head, and it makes very heavy use of italics. A bit too heavy, to my mind, and I say this as a person who tends towards overusing italics themself. If you're a person who a) enjoys anime and b) can visualise easily, this may be a point in its favour; if not, it's definitely a weakness. Many things which would look really cool on-screen don't carry over as well to text, and little use is made of the strengths inherent to prose.
In the end, it was a good book - better than I expected at first - and I'd gladly recommend it. (But only to nerds.)
Selling points: Stephen/Holly is a genuinely good person; all the nerdy references; strong focus on ethics; intelligent examination of identity, privilege, perspective, gender both felt and perceived, sacrifice &c.; fourteen-year-old girls beating the shit out of eldritch horrors; racial diversity; Sikh representation; sensible overturning of tropes.
Warning points: occasional likely-unintentional casual transmisia; cartoonish writing style; lesser focus on psychological problems than was implied, esp. considering potentially traumatising situations and overall lack of neurodivergent and/or disabled representation; also this is clearly a book for nerds and if you're not nerdy enough you probably won't like it very much.
November 18, 2020
I know this book came out in 2017, but I need a sequel ASAP.
That being said, it is a stand alone story and well worth the read if you enjoy Sailor Moon,
Puella Magi Madoka Magica, or any other magical girl style story. Sailor Moon is even referenced a couple of times.
The thing that makes this story stand out is that it's an "ethical magical girl" story. The tropes get turned on their heads, the biggest one being that the leader of this group didn't start out as a teenage girl - they were actually a 35 year old guy named Steve. It's Steve sacrificing his identity and physical form that kick off the plot (along with a few Lovecraft monsters) when he becomes Princess Holy Aura (aka Holly Owens). From there, Steve/Holly along with their "dad" Silvertail try to do the right things within the confines of a curse/spell/enchantment to prevent Azathoth Nine Arms from entering our world.
Steve becoming Holly isn't just swept under the rug. There's a lot of understanding what it means to be a teenage girl versus a middle aged man, how to navigate school while fighting Lovecraftian monsters, and keeping their identity a secret from people Steve knew before becoming Holly. Some people might think this could be creepy, but I assure you that is also addressed multiple times.
The story is self aware and can be bogged down with the characters trying to subvert the tropes they know while also trying to embrace them. Overall, I loved the book and even found myself thinking about it so much, I had dreams where I had joined the Apocalypse Maidens in saving the world.
That being said, it is a stand alone story and well worth the read if you enjoy Sailor Moon,
Puella Magi Madoka Magica, or any other magical girl style story. Sailor Moon is even referenced a couple of times.
The thing that makes this story stand out is that it's an "ethical magical girl" story. The tropes get turned on their heads, the biggest one being that the leader of this group didn't start out as a teenage girl - they were actually a 35 year old guy named Steve. It's Steve sacrificing his identity and physical form that kick off the plot (along with a few Lovecraft monsters) when he becomes Princess Holy Aura (aka Holly Owens). From there, Steve/Holly along with their "dad" Silvertail try to do the right things within the confines of a curse/spell/enchantment to prevent Azathoth Nine Arms from entering our world.
Steve becoming Holly isn't just swept under the rug. There's a lot of understanding what it means to be a teenage girl versus a middle aged man, how to navigate school while fighting Lovecraftian monsters, and keeping their identity a secret from people Steve knew before becoming Holly. Some people might think this could be creepy, but I assure you that is also addressed multiple times.
The story is self aware and can be bogged down with the characters trying to subvert the tropes they know while also trying to embrace them. Overall, I loved the book and even found myself thinking about it so much, I had dreams where I had joined the Apocalypse Maidens in saving the world.
November 4, 2018
Stephen Russ is chosen by an ethical rat to become Princess Holy Aura, which means that he will need to become a teenage girl and live through high school (again!) while battling against evil forces of the universe as an Apocalypse Maiden, in the style of so many Magical Girl anime/manga tales. This is both better and worse than it sounds.
The good was that the overall plot idea was both touching and hilarious. As Holly Owen, she navigates new friendships, starts thinking of the rat as her dad, and even tiptoes towards a bit of romance. As Russ, he comes back from time to time to make points that only an adult can make about winning battles. The characters of Holly and Silvertail are pretty rounded overall. And the whole bit about the evil battle between the Apocalypse Maidens and the Lovecraftian Horrors repeating again and again but reshaped by memes each time? Loved it.
The problem was that this book desperately needed a better editor. It became annoying to see the words "argent" or "nigh" over and over again. Most of the language was light and fluffy, but then university-level language was thrust into the descriptions, and it was jarring. Several bits that should have been humorous or touching came off as trite. When I spend half of my time trying to re-phrase entire paragraphs, it takes me out of the story.
So... enjoyable, park-your-brain-at-the-door fun, but you may be aggravated by some of the writing.
The good was that the overall plot idea was both touching and hilarious. As Holly Owen, she navigates new friendships, starts thinking of the rat as her dad, and even tiptoes towards a bit of romance. As Russ, he comes back from time to time to make points that only an adult can make about winning battles. The characters of Holly and Silvertail are pretty rounded overall. And the whole bit about the evil battle between the Apocalypse Maidens and the Lovecraftian Horrors repeating again and again but reshaped by memes each time? Loved it.
The problem was that this book desperately needed a better editor. It became annoying to see the words "argent" or "nigh" over and over again. Most of the language was light and fluffy, but then university-level language was thrust into the descriptions, and it was jarring. Several bits that should have been humorous or touching came off as trite. When I spend half of my time trying to re-phrase entire paragraphs, it takes me out of the story.
So... enjoyable, park-your-brain-at-the-door fun, but you may be aggravated by some of the writing.
February 4, 2021
This reads a bit as a fan fiction to anime series, - which to me, is a minus, making it seem less of a literary work. But perhaps such a judgment is too harsh in this case. This book is written carefully. The author certainly puts lots of effort to address the usual genre silliness, things that are tropes but in real life would be problematic. I liked that the magic recruiter was seriously concerned with the ethics (and wisdom) of sending little girls into battle and chose his champion accordingly. The legal guardians of the girls got full disclosure of the situation (even though they could not choose not to consent to the magic choice).
While it is extremely difficult for me to imagine why a normal adult guy would PREFER to remain a high school girl (my own high school experience being very painful) I guess, life of an insanely beautiful, popular and wealthy high school girl with five friends who'd give everything for her is probably rather swell.
I thought in the end they were a bit unfair to the Prince - the blame is much more on the ancient wizard who at least had some skills and experience to see through things.
In general, the author does an impressively thorough job of tying loose ends and keeping things realistic and logical within the constraints set by the world.
While it is extremely difficult for me to imagine why a normal adult guy would PREFER to remain a high school girl (my own high school experience being very painful) I guess, life of an insanely beautiful, popular and wealthy high school girl with five friends who'd give everything for her is probably rather swell.
I thought in the end they were a bit unfair to the Prince - the blame is much more on the ancient wizard who at least had some skills and experience to see through things.
In general, the author does an impressively thorough job of tying loose ends and keeping things realistic and logical within the constraints set by the world.
February 7, 2019
Really, REALLY good book.
After saving a magical rat Steve finds himself drafted to save the world... AS A MAGICAL GIRL.
The world building and magic system are well thought out, and Ryk uses his experience in anime fandom to look at and use the various tropes involved. The book really looks at how magical girls would actually work, as well as the issues involved, from a modern point of view.
My only gripe is the romance didn't really work for me, but that's a small thing to the rest of the book. Strongly recommended.
After saving a magical rat Steve finds himself drafted to save the world... AS A MAGICAL GIRL.
The world building and magic system are well thought out, and Ryk uses his experience in anime fandom to look at and use the various tropes involved. The book really looks at how magical girls would actually work, as well as the issues involved, from a modern point of view.
My only gripe is the romance didn't really work for me, but that's a small thing to the rest of the book. Strongly recommended.
May 6, 2019
Pretty good fun, and definitely think you should treat this as a 4 star review if you are a big fan of Sailor Moon and similar anime.
On the surface it's very silly and a very silly premise. However, it takes that silly premise to some very complex and interesting places. It has some cringe to it, and the main character is super goody goody noblebright, so if that annoys you it might be a skip for ya.
I'm definitely glad I read it and enjoyed it quite a bit.
On the surface it's very silly and a very silly premise. However, it takes that silly premise to some very complex and interesting places. It has some cringe to it, and the main character is super goody goody noblebright, so if that annoys you it might be a skip for ya.
I'm definitely glad I read it and enjoyed it quite a bit.
October 4, 2019
Wow just wow
I don’t even have words. Amazing,fun, lovable, intelligent, amazing plot and character development. I love every moment of it. I really want another book like this or even a sequel to this book. Keep it up!!!
I don’t even have words. Amazing,fun, lovable, intelligent, amazing plot and character development. I love every moment of it. I really want another book like this or even a sequel to this book. Keep it up!!!
November 23, 2019
Entertaining read
Mix Lovecraft with memes and shoujo manga what do you get? A very very interesting read. Some plot points are a little obvious but when considering the multiple themes to the the story it’s kind of expected, so I highly recommend picking it up.
Mix Lovecraft with memes and shoujo manga what do you get? A very very interesting read. Some plot points are a little obvious but when considering the multiple themes to the the story it’s kind of expected, so I highly recommend picking it up.
June 3, 2022
Surprisingly fun
Magical girl hijinks, but with a thoughtful spin, poking holes in the archetypal story, then repairing them to be even better. Complete story, no cliffhangers to worry about here!
Magical girl hijinks, but with a thoughtful spin, poking holes in the archetypal story, then repairing them to be even better. Complete story, no cliffhangers to worry about here!
August 2, 2021
This book is a brilliant take on the anime concept of the girl heroines, with a few twists along the way.
Great characters, well written as usual by Mr Spoor.
Great characters, well written as usual by Mr Spoor.
February 26, 2022
Really liked this one. Very clever story!
February 2, 2023
You know what? I really liked this! It's well plotted and well executed, and it's also just a fun premise that made me happy. It deconstructs all the standard magical girl tropes and then reconstructs them again, thoughtfully, with love. And it shows that you don't need a superhero story to be dark and gritty in order to have verisimilitude. This is the magical girl story I've been waiting for. A+ book!
February 14, 2020
Really, really good. An interesting gender-bending magical girl story, that takes itself seriously without becoming kitsch, which is an impressive feat because with a subject like that, it's quite a narrow path to follow with precipices into intentional and unintentional comedy on both sides. Quite an effort by the author to create a coherent universe in which the story can hold up, and a quite successful one at that. It has action, comedy, drama and manages to stay true to the tone of the genre in a way that won't make even manly men feel embarrassed. Greatly recommended.
I'd have to make one criticism however: the story can get quite... verbose and exposition-heavy at times. That's especially true in the beginning which can be a bit dense, and the pacing suffers for a while, but then it picks up again once the main character accepts his calling. I hesitated to take off a star for that, but I guess ultimately it was necessary to set up the rest of the story, so I will forgive it.
If the author follows it up with a sequel (and he set it up at the end as well, so no reason not to) at least the exposition is already done, so the pacing should be even better.
I'd have to make one criticism however: the story can get quite... verbose and exposition-heavy at times. That's especially true in the beginning which can be a bit dense, and the pacing suffers for a while, but then it picks up again once the main character accepts his calling. I hesitated to take off a star for that, but I guess ultimately it was necessary to set up the rest of the story, so I will forgive it.
If the author follows it up with a sequel (and he set it up at the end as well, so no reason not to) at least the exposition is already done, so the pacing should be even better.
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