I was very excited to start reading the story, so I finished the prologue right away!
I know nothing of the story, so I’m curious what it’ll turn out to be.
For now we see an impossibly powerful magician, so I wonder what hardships she could possibly face. The man at the end of the prologue is intriguing as well.
Looking forward to reading the next part!
Unrelated note: I couldn’t read this book via ImmersionReader app on my iPad because lookups don’t work with this book. The whole behaves like a hyperlink or something. If anyone faced this and knows what to do about it, please let me know =( Because of that I had to read the book on the laptop, which is less cozy.
Well, this was a very short week. In comparison to the last pick 妊娠カレンダー, this book feels very different, refreshingly straightforward and…forgiving (like, it’s ok if there’s a sentence I don’t understand because it won’t make me miss some very subtle clue as to what’s really going on).
In true fantasy LN intro style, we get thrown straight into the action. So far, I haven’t found anything I specifically want to comment on. Looking forward to next week.
Unfortunately can’t help you there, because I’m using Bookwalker and its app. ImmersionReader looks cool, though. How does it usually work? Do you need epubs without DRM to use it?
Read 2 pages so far of the prologue. Not used to this type of vocabulary so it’s really slowing me down, but I can tell a lot will be reused so it’s just a matter of getting those first exposures over with
Plus I’m having some technical issues with dictionary lookups done directly in the bookwalker app, so I’m having to look them up the more annoying way of using a separate dictionary app to search for them via radical search or drawing them, or remembering other words with those kanji to write them out
I’m reading it on Immersion Reader on my phone and it works just fine. Granted, I only just started and looked up 2 words so far, but those worked. So maybe it’s your copy who has a problem?
This week felt kinda short, or was I just too invested in the story? I like the start so far, it felt engaging and (personally) easy to read and interesting. I wonder if Isabel will appear further in the story - she seems quite responsible in her role for her age, I liked her character so far, but I’m guessing since the focus of the story is the magician, she might not appear again. I’m also interesting to see which direction the story will take in the next few chapters. I haven’t read fantasy in a while, so I’m looking forward to this book!
I read the set once without lookups to see if I at least understood enough (I did), and then I re-read with lookups to get a full understanding.
I was definitely a bit in shock when I found words I technically knew, but didn’t recognize because a lesser used kanji was selected (充分 instead of 十分, for example). This is going to be an interesting read through
Nah, it was engaging but also definitely shorter than what we usually get in this club. Quite a gentle start to the week.
And might I just add what a pleasure it is to read a book where katakana names add up to normal, recognizable names like Isabel, Monica and Alan, instead of letter salad that reads like someone fell asleep with their forehead on the keyboard? Now if we could all do that… looking at you, とんがり帽子.
I’m also curious to see if Isabel will play a larger role in the series. I also expect the focus of the story to switch to Monica after the prologue, but Isabel and her noble house also got just enough attention that I sorta expect them to make an appearance again.
That sounds really tedious. I lean on those lookup functions so much I’d be lost without them.
Speaking of which, my device dictionary didn’t know 翼竜, so I used google picture search and found out it’s not just some fantasy species, but the real-world word for pterosaur. I hope someday we’ll read a book about dinosaurs, so I can flex with already knowing this.
It is indeed tedious, that’s why I decided to finish my read through with no lookups after I got tired of it. But I found a temporary workaround of using my ipad, which is massively old and is forced to an older version of bookwalker, dictionaries, and OS and thankfully that one works fine, so I re-read with lookups to compare. It was actually a pretty neat exercise to see how well I understand with no assistance, so I might do the same for future chapters.
I’m only a few pages into the prologue right now and I haven’t been looking up every word, but so far it looks like we’re following a noblewoman preparing for a dragon attack. I’m seeing a lot of katakana names for what I think is the name of the country and also the noble family she’s in.
A vocabulary list would be nice to keep track of proper nouns I think, but I’m not sure if anyone’s started one for this book yet.
I don’t think anyone has yet. I could add a simple table at the end of the OP with a list of names so far as of this week if that helps? I always highlight those in my ebook on bookwalker, so that should be easy.
Is anyone making a vocabulary list or planning to?
I think a list of names as a table in the start posts to the weekly threads would definitely be helpful. It looks like this story is going to have quite a large cast, and when you’re reading at a slow pace, it’s always easy to forget who’s who.
As for a vocabulary list, most IBCs start with an empty one and then rely on the members to fill it. Can’t hurt to have one, imo.
If someone could create one, I’ll add it to the OP and home thread. I don’t have much experience with vocab lists in the book clubs, so I’ll leave it up to you all.
I finished the prologue. I still want to read it again looking up more of the words but I got most of what was happening I hope. One thing I was a little confused about was where they were, I assumed they were outside somewhere when they were in a manor or a house the whole time I think. When Isabell goes out on the balcony is when I realized they’re in a mansion.
This felt a little short but it’ll be longer in the coming weeks I’m sure.
To check what I understood here’s a quick summary. Please roast me for any mistakes so I can learn.
Rideal (romanization can be weird) kingdom is under attack by dragons, this is kind of comparable to a natural disaster which kills people. Isabelle and her servant Agatha are in a room waiting out the attack when Agatha’s little brother Alan comes into the room excited that the capital has sent a magician. It’s the silent witch. Isabelle doesn’t immediately believe it but does open the balcony and stares in shock at all the dragons flying around but also the big glowing white gate that’s opened in the sky. Once Isabell is safely inside there’s a description of the silent witch having an embroidered robe and hood and a black cat. She’s one of the seven sages in the kingdom who are talented magicians. Before the prologue ends there’s also an unnamed man who’s definitely going to buy the silent witch’s body pillow when it’s on sale.
Not only that a sorcerer was sent, but that she single handedly defeated the dragon without any casualty!
Then the flying dragons are spotted and Isabel conjectures that they were part of the black dragon’s “gang” or whatever, and now that he’s gone they’re running hammock.
The silent witch then pops up and summons a series of spells that not only one-shot the dragons but also softly land them in a tidy heap to prevent collateral damage from having dozens of dead dragons falling all over the city.
I haven’t read past that point yet so I can’t comment on the rest. It’s a pretty comfy read so far but I only have the Amazon sample to work with because I can’t figure out how to buy it anywhere
By the way 翼竜 apparently can mean “pterosaur” but that’s not how we’re supposed to understand that right? They’re not dinosaurs.
That explains the use of ボス to describe the big black dragon. I thought it was odd to use a video game like term for it, but in a light novel that may be common.
Yeah that felt a bit improper to me too but it’s certainly quite common to have these “anachronistic” (for lack of a better word) loanwords even in fantasy fiction. It’s not uncommon to have a character drop a random “レッツゴー！” on their way to go fight some orcs.
Home Thread
I might trying fiddling with my de-drm tool and such.
I always highlight those in my ebook on bookwalker, so that should be easy.
