A Modest War

The Stars Series Light Novel #2

by Hiroyuki Morioka, Toshihiro Ono (Illustrator), Giuseppe Di Martino (Translator)

The war between the spacefaring civilization of the Abh Empire and the united forces of surface-dwelling “Landers” has commenced in earnest — and it promises to decide the destinies of all of humankind across the cosmos.

Flung into the fray of a war they never wanted, Jinto and Princess Lafier must find a way to aid the Empire’s war efforts, but they are hindered by a less than savory fellow Abh and by United Humankind forces alike, all while stranded and bereft of supplies. What allies can they find on an unfamiliar world blanketed by anti-Abh propaganda? How can they even evade capture while the planet’s police are hot on the lookout for them? The pair’s mettle — and their bond with each other — shall be tested and then some in the exhilarating second chapter of their personal saga! Be there to watch an epic space opera romp unfold!

Genres: Light Novel, Science Fiction, Manga, Fiction, Romance, Space

212 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 11, 1996

Reviews

[hotsake (André Troesch) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5
Another fun book that continues the adventures of Jinto and Lafiel. Slightly lower rating because of the nonending.

[Maverynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is hte part of the story that really cranks out the whole tsundere princess needs a man to teach her the ways of the world and she needs to "be a woman" and wear a dress and garbage that really kills any kind of seriousness that the character has. Morioka talks about how Lafiel came to him as a muse and what we get is a stereotype of a person than an actual person.
I will say however that Lafiel is smart and is ready to shoot people when she needs to so it's not totally ruined by her always being in distress and needing Jinto to save her. Jinto of course treats her as if she is always going to be falling into distress and it's rather painful to watch.

We also get to know the Abh origin story that the anime doesn't quite relate clearly (if at all?) and we also have a dump truck load of Baronh to learn as well... joy. Mixed in with TokyoPop's need to take the easy way out, well, I hope you memoried all that.

[Chris Duval · Rating 4 out of 5]

The original trilogy won the Seiun in 1997. It's a fun space opera, very light. In English the flow is somewhat disturbed by parentheticals that give Baronh transliterations for the words whose meaning was just rendered in English. (The editor said, in Volume I, that the Japanese version put the Baronh in "rubi" (furigana) above the kanji, so the linear flow was less obstructed.) When just the Baronh transliterations are given, which is quite common, a reader has to jump to the glossary or commit the term to memory. These two factors make the book slightly less of a quick read than it otherwise would have been.

[Hyperion · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still love the relationship and witty banter between Jinto and Lafier. I don't remember the anime being as funny as the books have been. I may need to give it a rewatch at some point. The surprise inspection scene was my favorite and cracked me up. We also get the history of the Abh, which was interesting. I look forward to the next volume. Great stuff.

[Ayman Teaman · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has been so long since I have watched & read this, but it was very enjoyable with credible settings, lovable characters, good action and plot twists.

Not much else to say!

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable read, highly recommend this series.v