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新説 狼と香辛料 狼と羊皮紙 (Novel) #2
Wolf & Parchment, Vol. 2: New Theory Spice & Wolf
The young man Col and the daughter of the Wisewolf, Myuri, survived the scripture riots in the port town of Atiph. Col spends intense days being pined for after Myuri tells him about her love.
Meanwhile, Heir Hyland commissions them for another next job. In the coming war with the Church's forces, control over the strait between the Kingdom of Winfiel and the mainland will play a crucial role. While Myuri is excited for a new adventure, Col cannot hide his unease after hearing about potential heresy among certain pirates for their faith in the "Black-Mother"!
Meanwhile, Heir Hyland commissions them for another next job. In the coming war with the Church's forces, control over the strait between the Kingdom of Winfiel and the mainland will play a crucial role. While Myuri is excited for a new adventure, Col cannot hide his unease after hearing about potential heresy among certain pirates for their faith in the "Black-Mother"!
296 pages, Paperback
First published March 10, 2017
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192 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 29, 2018
In Summary
Winfiel and the Church may be on the brink of a religious war, but this sojourn to examine the faith of the northern islands winds up being a tale of economics. Despite Col’s devotion to God’s teachings, he relies on the abilities of nonhumans and deception in order to rectify an impoverished community’s financial woes. The way his actions run counter to his dearest beliefs make him less believable as a character, but the larger narrative of the northern islands adventure should hold a lot of appeal for Spice and Wolf fans.
The Review
Volume 2 continues where Volume 1 left off, with tensions high between the Kingdom of Winfiel and the Church. And because the cause of righteousness is Winfiel’s call to arms, they have to be careful about who they ally themselves with in the coming war. Thus, Heir Hyland sends Col to the northern islands, whose inhabitants carry jet images of the Holy Mother, to determine whether the islanders’ faith is true or heresy.
Although Heir Hyland gives Col his mission in the context of the brewing conflict, this story winds up being more about the mystery behind the Black-Mother figures and the plight of region’s impoverished populace, who are frequently forced to sell their own children. The plot actually closely matches the pattern of Hasekura’s Spice and Wolf novels. Our characters go to explore a new place that also has a problem, their investigation unearths an astounding discovery, and that information plus the characters’ know-how allow them to craft a solution to the area’s problem. The resemblance is all the stronger because the region’s problems are economic, and the solution involves conjuring a “miracle” to manipulate the Church, a tactic used more than once in the Spice and Wolf series.
This makes for an interesting external conflict, especially when the truth about the monk Autumn and the Black-Mother figures come to light, but the resolution of Col’s internal journey is problematic. After all, Col is an idealistic, aspiring priest, not a cunning merchant. He’s pitting himself against the corruption of the Church and therefore conducts himself in strict accordance to God’s teachings. When his naive belief collides with the stark misery of the islanders, it makes for a gripping crisis of faith. Ultimately, he chooses to save the islanders by resorting to a method that he previously would have condemned. However, this moral compromise doesn’t seem to cause him any guilt or ambivalence about the faith he represents. And in the end, he remains determined to devote his life to God even though he doesn’t know if that God exists.
Another somewhat problematic element is the dynamic between Myuri and Col. Like Holo in Spice and Wolf, Myuri always seems to have the last word. However, Holo is a centuries-old wisewolf while Myuri’s a reckless tomboy half Col’s age. Although her puppy-like enthusiasm and her crush on Col seem fitting (lots of kids do crush on adults, after all), it seems weird that she constantly gets the better of Col.
This light novel includes the first eight pages of illustrations printed in color, world map, seven black-and-white illustrations, and afterword.
For more manga and book reviews, drop by my blog Keeping It In Canon!
Winfiel and the Church may be on the brink of a religious war, but this sojourn to examine the faith of the northern islands winds up being a tale of economics. Despite Col’s devotion to God’s teachings, he relies on the abilities of nonhumans and deception in order to rectify an impoverished community’s financial woes. The way his actions run counter to his dearest beliefs make him less believable as a character, but the larger narrative of the northern islands adventure should hold a lot of appeal for Spice and Wolf fans.
The Review
Volume 2 continues where Volume 1 left off, with tensions high between the Kingdom of Winfiel and the Church. And because the cause of righteousness is Winfiel’s call to arms, they have to be careful about who they ally themselves with in the coming war. Thus, Heir Hyland sends Col to the northern islands, whose inhabitants carry jet images of the Holy Mother, to determine whether the islanders’ faith is true or heresy.
Although Heir Hyland gives Col his mission in the context of the brewing conflict, this story winds up being more about the mystery behind the Black-Mother figures and the plight of region’s impoverished populace, who are frequently forced to sell their own children. The plot actually closely matches the pattern of Hasekura’s Spice and Wolf novels. Our characters go to explore a new place that also has a problem, their investigation unearths an astounding discovery, and that information plus the characters’ know-how allow them to craft a solution to the area’s problem. The resemblance is all the stronger because the region’s problems are economic, and the solution involves conjuring a “miracle” to manipulate the Church, a tactic used more than once in the Spice and Wolf series.
This makes for an interesting external conflict, especially when the truth about the monk Autumn and the Black-Mother figures come to light, but the resolution of Col’s internal journey is problematic. After all, Col is an idealistic, aspiring priest, not a cunning merchant. He’s pitting himself against the corruption of the Church and therefore conducts himself in strict accordance to God’s teachings. When his naive belief collides with the stark misery of the islanders, it makes for a gripping crisis of faith. Ultimately, he chooses to save the islanders by resorting to a method that he previously would have condemned. However, this moral compromise doesn’t seem to cause him any guilt or ambivalence about the faith he represents. And in the end, he remains determined to devote his life to God even though he doesn’t know if that God exists.
Another somewhat problematic element is the dynamic between Myuri and Col. Like Holo in Spice and Wolf, Myuri always seems to have the last word. However, Holo is a centuries-old wisewolf while Myuri’s a reckless tomboy half Col’s age. Although her puppy-like enthusiasm and her crush on Col seem fitting (lots of kids do crush on adults, after all), it seems weird that she constantly gets the better of Col.
This light novel includes the first eight pages of illustrations printed in color, world map, seven black-and-white illustrations, and afterword.
For more manga and book reviews, drop by my blog Keeping It In Canon!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 5, 2019
This book was way more religion-focused than Wolf and Parchment, Vol. 1, and I will admit that it ruined it a little for me. In my mind, no belief is wrong as long as it leads you to do good things, and Col constantly talking about how beliefs were wrong and finding small loopholes to make them wrong really annoyed me!
I'm also really starting to notice the repetition that is this authors style. I was it in Spice & Wolf, Vol. 01, but somehow it wasn't as bad there. It may be because the way it was done there was somehow more natural, but I honestly don't know.
What I do know is that we get it, Col, Myuri is not human and you constantly talk down about her wolf-blood even when you talk to yourself.
So yeah.
I will continue to read this series, however, as I am fond of Myuri and want to know what happens to her and if she gets the joy and happiness in life she deserves
I'm also really starting to notice the repetition that is this authors style. I was it in Spice & Wolf, Vol. 01, but somehow it wasn't as bad there. It may be because the way it was done there was somehow more natural, but I honestly don't know.
What I do know is that we get it, Col, Myuri is not human and you constantly talk down about her wolf-blood even when you talk to yourself.
So yeah.
I will continue to read this series, however, as I am fond of Myuri and want to know what happens to her and if she gets the joy and happiness in life she deserves
January 4, 2020
The saga continues
So the adventures of Col and Myuri continue - this time it’s cold, dark, and there is a miracle on a distant and lonely island that may hold the key to success int impending war between Winfiel and the Holy Church. And Col is the one who has to decide whether the miracle island is a reliable ally!
This is more philosophical and less mercantile than Spice & Wolf but the same gentle energy runs through it and it benefits from that familiarity. New readers should beware - at *least* read volume 1 of Wolf & Parchment but ideally read all 17 volumes of Wolf & Spice first :)
So the adventures of Col and Myuri continue - this time it’s cold, dark, and there is a miracle on a distant and lonely island that may hold the key to success int impending war between Winfiel and the Holy Church. And Col is the one who has to decide whether the miracle island is a reliable ally!
This is more philosophical and less mercantile than Spice & Wolf but the same gentle energy runs through it and it benefits from that familiarity. New readers should beware - at *least* read volume 1 of Wolf & Parchment but ideally read all 17 volumes of Wolf & Spice first :)
October 27, 2018
The journey of Myuri the wolf-human and Col, the aspiring priest takes them to the desolute North where their hardiness are put to the test. The story started out strong, with well-written imagery of long travels and visiting new places. Towards the middle of the book, the author brilliantly described a most surprising scene, which concerns a side character in this novel. However, the story is perhaps not well-planned out, as the narrative became slightly incoherent and peters out towards the end.
September 21, 2022
El titanic
Un buscador de tesoros inicia la exploración submarina de los restos del mítico Titanic. El hallazgo del dibujo de una joven, milagrosamente conservado, le conduce hasta Rose, una anciana centenaria que afirma ser la retratada. Comienza así la evocación de un amor de juventud nunca compartido con nadie, que tuvo como marco el malhadado barco que en 1912 se llevó consigo al fondo del mar a 1.500 personas
Un buscador de tesoros inicia la exploración submarina de los restos del mítico Titanic. El hallazgo del dibujo de una joven, milagrosamente conservado, le conduce hasta Rose, una anciana centenaria que afirma ser la retratada. Comienza así la evocación de un amor de juventud nunca compartido con nadie, que tuvo como marco el malhadado barco que en 1912 se llevó consigo al fondo del mar a 1.500 personas
July 11, 2018
the change from economics to faith is now visible here, with the author more hesitant, I find, to confront faith. It is definitely a difficult topic to broach, and I feel like it was only used to 80% of its potential, but the story works. I enjoyed it, however, and look forward to more on Col & Myuri's adventures
April 18, 2019
The story is sloppy and the characters are green. Yes the cast is younger, but that doesn't make up for the fact that the book was less than interesting. But the introduction of the whale, and the future sheep might set up a nice reunion and core plot piece for the future convergence with Spring Log. Which is the only prospect that's keeping me interested right now.
May 10, 2019
Better than the first one. Finally started to answer the question that had been bothering me since the first book. Col knows there are non-humans in the world, so why does he attribute everything to one god? Still a little disturbed by Myuri's age as well. Just saying.
October 5, 2018
Very good, in my oppinion even better than the first.
September 8, 2021
I love how he can write a more serious plot, whilst still keeping the characters beautifully light. A wonderful addition.
February 6, 2022
Bit of an improvement from the first book, the characters have grown a semblance of personality.
However the story itself isn't very interesting or well presented.
However the story itself isn't very interesting or well presented.
February 10, 2021
Relationship deepens and the worldbuilding and story gets saucier. What's not to like?
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews