A Witch's Printing Office - volume 1
This is something I found at my local library, and I like it so much I purchased a copy for myself. It is that much fun.
This is the story of Mika Kamiya, a witch who runs a printing office in a typical medieval fantasy world. She is also the head of the Magic Market Prep Committee, which runs the Magic Market. It is a semi-annual event where magic-users can gather to purchase spells from each other, be they expert professionals of large factions or amateurs working overnight just for this event.
In other words, it is basically a magical world version of real life's Comic Market/comiket. That is where its humor lies.
This is a Low Fantasy comedy story, and it likes poking gentle fun at dark/ high/otherwise serious fantasy stories. Each chapter begins with a bait-and-switch joke that APPEARS as though something epic is going on when it is actually something more mundane/non-dangerous.
For instance, the first chapter has the patrons of a tavern noting that a lot of monsters are gathering in "the Holy Land", which makes them think that the demon lord is reviving. There's even a group of knights whose mission is to slay these monsters. However, these monsters are revealed to be conjured familiars of of mages who are attending Magic Market, and the knights are slaying them because it is against the rules for a familiar to hold a mage's place in line, especially overnight. This happens in real-life, apparently, and the people who do it are called "overnight fiends".
This is not the only joke that parallels the real life Comic Market. Some of them are quick and obvious, but some are more subtle, or take longer to prepare. One in particular had me thinking "No way...This isn't leading up to that, is it?" Then I laughed when the story did indeed lead up to that.
It is not all jokes, though. Chapter 2 takes an unexpected turn for the dramatic, and has excellent catharsis. Chapter 5 is intense. Even though it is a Mundane-Made-Awesome sort of chapter, it is still an exciting chapter. Chapter 6 is a complete package of drama, character development, humor, and plot progression.
I like Mika as a character. She is cute and friendly, but also serious about her job and has admirable work ethic. It is her pride as a professional that leads her to pull an overnight-er to complete urgent print jobs, and her concerns about her office staying solvent that create packages like "dragon slayer", which makes the job cost twice as much if it needs to be completed by morning.
Other characters aren't quite as well-rounded or developed as Mika is, but they are still plenty distinct and have interesting arcs to themselves. Naki the Necormancer, for instance, is sympathetic and Gandolf is a funny old man.
The artwork is great.
--> The battle with the "overnight fiends" looks epic, as does the "battlefield" that Broadway fights upon.
--> The settings, magic market, taverns, and, of course, the titular printing press, are all detailed and interesting to explore.
--> The characters, like Mika and Naki, are cute.
Trickster Eric Novel gives "A Witch's Printing Press volume 1" an A+
Click here for my next book review: Tai Chi Bible
Click here for my previous book review (for fun): Spice and Wolf: Town of Strife 1 - v 8
Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration). His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.
This is something I found at my local library, and I like it so much I purchased a copy for myself. It is that much fun.
This is the story of Mika Kamiya, a witch who runs a printing office in a typical medieval fantasy world. She is also the head of the Magic Market Prep Committee, which runs the Magic Market. It is a semi-annual event where magic-users can gather to purchase spells from each other, be they expert professionals of large factions or amateurs working overnight just for this event.
In other words, it is basically a magical world version of real life's Comic Market/comiket. That is where its humor lies.
This is a Low Fantasy comedy story, and it likes poking gentle fun at dark/ high/otherwise serious fantasy stories. Each chapter begins with a bait-and-switch joke that APPEARS as though something epic is going on when it is actually something more mundane/non-dangerous.
For instance, the first chapter has the patrons of a tavern noting that a lot of monsters are gathering in "the Holy Land", which makes them think that the demon lord is reviving. There's even a group of knights whose mission is to slay these monsters. However, these monsters are revealed to be conjured familiars of of mages who are attending Magic Market, and the knights are slaying them because it is against the rules for a familiar to hold a mage's place in line, especially overnight. This happens in real-life, apparently, and the people who do it are called "overnight fiends".
This is not the only joke that parallels the real life Comic Market. Some of them are quick and obvious, but some are more subtle, or take longer to prepare. One in particular had me thinking "No way...This isn't leading up to that, is it?" Then I laughed when the story did indeed lead up to that.
It is not all jokes, though. Chapter 2 takes an unexpected turn for the dramatic, and has excellent catharsis. Chapter 5 is intense. Even though it is a Mundane-Made-Awesome sort of chapter, it is still an exciting chapter. Chapter 6 is a complete package of drama, character development, humor, and plot progression.
I like Mika as a character. She is cute and friendly, but also serious about her job and has admirable work ethic. It is her pride as a professional that leads her to pull an overnight-er to complete urgent print jobs, and her concerns about her office staying solvent that create packages like "dragon slayer", which makes the job cost twice as much if it needs to be completed by morning.
Other characters aren't quite as well-rounded or developed as Mika is, but they are still plenty distinct and have interesting arcs to themselves. Naki the Necormancer, for instance, is sympathetic and Gandolf is a funny old man.
The artwork is great.
--> The battle with the "overnight fiends" looks epic, as does the "battlefield" that Broadway fights upon.
--> The settings, magic market, taverns, and, of course, the titular printing press, are all detailed and interesting to explore.
--> The characters, like Mika and Naki, are cute.
Trickster Eric Novel gives "A Witch's Printing Press volume 1" an A+
Click here for my next book review: Tai Chi Bible
Click here for my previous book review (for fun): Spice and Wolf: Town of Strife 1 - v 8
Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration). His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.
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