Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside, Vol. 5

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By Zappon and Yasumo. Released in Japan as “Shin no Nakama ja Nai to Yuusha no Party wo Oidasaretanode, Henkyou de Slow Life Surukoto ni Shimashita” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Dale DeLucia.

Sometimes you just can’t balance a book so that the coolest, most exciting stuff happens at the climax. Oh sure, you do your best. There’s an insurmountable monster that has never been killed before, that can easily take on the magic of your two strongest characters. Good stuff, everyone has to work together to achieve victory, lots of near death experiences, etc. But then the readers get to the book and no one is talking about that. They’re all saying “Did you see the part where the tiny spider rides to the rescue on a horse? Because that is a thing that happened.” I’m not even sure how you could top that in future books. The victim being saved is even a former bad guy, and so there’s a “we’re friends now, bond between brothers” scene. Again, one of the characters in that scene is a small spider. Mr. Crawly Wawly is the real hero here.

As you can see by the cover, this book reunited Red and Rit with Yarandrala, the high elf who helped the hero’s party for a time and also had some romantic ship tease, though she is quite accepting of their relationship. In fact, she’s there to invite both of them, as well as Ruti, to come live with her in the elf kingdom… because humans will betray your trust. Yeah, she’s still not over the whole “banished from the hero’s party” thing. As for Red, he wants to get the perfect gem for Rit’s engagement ring, but that involves a long journey to the land of giants, which may not even work out. Still, it’ll be fine. Rit is with him. And Ruti. Oh, and his dwarf friend. And the former mayor of the city, who happens to be a mage. And then Yarandrala shows up with Tisse, Godwin, and Mr. Crawly Wawly. This party is even bigger than the Hero’s Party!

Despite the action sequences, this book is trying its best to be a bit more slow life than the previous one. Ruti is still trying to search for a purpose in life (yay!) and also wants to become lovers with her brother (boo). Fortunately, Red has enough common sense that I’m sure this will go nowhere. Red and Rit are by now sickening everyone they come across with their flirting, even if they’re unaware of it. There’s even time for a visit to a natural hot spring, and the whole book ends with a citywide festival. That said, there are hints that we’re starting to set up for a second arc, as the epilogue has assassins in town, and we also get a long prologue reminding us of the large number of other kingdoms that are also trying to defeat the demon lord. Ruti may be adventuring only when she wants to for now, but can she keep that up?

Overall, good book, and those who watched the anime can start here. Long live Mr. Crawly Wawly.

My Quiet Blacksmith Life in Another World, Vol. 1

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By Tamamaru and Kinta. Released in Japan as “Kajiya de Hajimeru Isekai Slow Life” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Linda Liu.

Obviously one should not read too much into the life of the author from the work they are writing. But sometimes it can be pretty easy to see that the creator is a little bit older than most light novel creators. Especially these days, where Truck-kun has been going after beleaguered office workers rather than shut-in high school NEETs. There’s a lack of gaming terminology and dungeon crawling. The harem, if there is one (there usually is) tends to be more familial than horny, at least on the part of the lead. And, of course, despite having super amazing powers and the ability to save the world, our protagonist wants to do nothing but relax and putter around the house doing what they love best. This is all very well and good. In this book, it turns out what the protagonist (and the author) love best is DIY. You will be reading about making swords and knives. You will be reading about building additions to houses. You will be reading this a LOT.

The setup is cookie-cutter. Our hero, Eizo, dies after saving a cat (but not himself) from a truck while on his way home from his crippling IT job. Turns out the cat was a goddess, and that it was not Eizo’s time to die. To try to salvage this, the goddess sends Eizo to a fantasy world, 10 years or so younger than he was (so about thirty). Eizo wants to be able to create things, so he gets knowledge of blacksmithing and the like, as well as some self-defense skills and magic. And then he’s dumped by a cabin in a forest. He wastes no time setting up shop, and quickly gains two companions: Samya, a beastgirl that he saves after she was savaged by a bear, and Rike, a dwarf who sees his handiwork and demands that she become his disciple. Because yeah, turns out he’s not just a normal blacksmith, he’s The Best There Is.

The edges of this book are interesting. There’s a prologue and an epilogue taking place many years after the main events that play this as “the creation of legends”, complete with a hero vs. demon lord scenario, that I found worked really well. We get two side-stories at the end that show the POV of other characters, and it’s interesting, particularly Helen, who is introduced to us (from Eizo’s POV) as something of a meathead swordswoman, but who turns out to be far more serious and practical when we get inside her own head. Unfortunately (and this is a common problem with slow life books) most of the book is from Eizo’s POV, and Christ, he’s dull. Show, don’t tell is left to die at the side of a ditch here, as we get page after page of him making swords, making knives, doing woodworking, chopping trees, all of which goes on forever. Even the fight near the end, where he takes on a massive bear, is fairly tedious as fights go.

As I said, there’s the hint of a good story around the edges of the book. I may read the second volume. But I think the author would be better off getting into woodworking and metallurgy themselves rather than have their creation tell us about it in excruciating detail.

Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll Do Anything to Become a Librarian!, Part 4: Founder of the Royal Academy’s So-Called Library Committee, Vol. 5

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By Miya Kazuki and You Shiina. Released in Japan as “Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by quof.

I feel this volume is almost deceptively relaxing. On the one hand, everything goes pretty well. Rozemyne does not make social faux-pas that can’t be glossed over somehow. There is an ambush to try to kill her… but she’s nowhere near it and it’s thwarted immediately. There’s a wedding to a woman from an enemy duchy… but she turns out to be a big sweetie pie who just has a case of resting “I look just like my ancestor who nearly destroyed you all” face. That last one, though, hints at the undercurrents we see in this book that I suspect are going to pay off in big explosions down the line. We’ve talked before about how the class system in this series is not going away anytime soon, but that also means that the nobility are going to be what nobility tend to do, which is find ways to quietly murder each other. Time to pick a side. Meanwhile, Rozemyne wants fish.

The author admits in the afterword that this cover (and indeed most of the covers in the series) is theme related rather than specifying actual events. In this case it’s the dyeing competition that Rozemyne is holding in order to introduce the new techniques (and bring back the old, forgotten techniques), and it turns out that Myne’s mother Effa is one of the contestants. Elsewhere, they’re setting up the printing business in the Groschel area, but the way that the nobility treats the commoners who live there turns out to not only be arrogant but also have legitimate negative effects on the printing. And then there’s the aforementioned marriage, as Lamprecht is marrying a woman from the far, far higher in status Ahrensbach district. It’s a political move, yes, but fortunately there seems to be actual love there as well. Finally, Rozemyne heads back to school to start Year 2 at the Academy, where she will face even more problems… not least of which is that the young prince of the realm has confused her for her younger sister.

As I noted above, Rozemyne is getting better at this. She still screws up enough to make Ferdinand (who is in this book far less than usual) smack his forehead, but that’s mostly just when she’s fantasizing about her ideal library, which would require more magic than there is in the world. She can do the meet and greets and keep up with the nobility, and has learned to translate when they’re being condescending, rude or threatening. The best example of this is her discussion with Aurelia, the bride I mentioned before. She screws up in that she’s not supposed to speak directly to the bride in her position… but she doesn’t bat an eyelid as she immediately says she was just talking to herself out loud, and she AND Aurelia then proceed to have an entire conversation like that. (I hope we see more of Aurelia, she seems sweet.)

So yes, an excellent Bookworm volume, and almost calm and peaceful. Ominous. Waiting for the other shoe to drop. Also, when Rozemyne finally does grow up (signs point to Book 28), she will be absolutely terrifying.