Saturday, June 20, 2020

A Witch's Printing Office volume 2 (read for fun)

I was really excited to see a volume 2 for this series. I had so much fun with volume 1 that I pre-ordered this volume, and I was not disappointed. This volume delivers on the same light-hearted humor and fantasy-parodying, but also delivers on extended world building and a little more continuity. 

Like the previous volume, each chapter stands on its own as a short story, but this time the short stories can link together as one narrative. This is done by having characters from one short story show up in a later one. It is simple to arrange this seamlessly by having the characters gather for Magiket, such as Demon Lord Satziiko.

Magicket's fame as reached the underworld, and Demon Lord Satziiko has signed up for a booth. So not only are there humans and magical creatures selling spell scrolls (and dungeon maps, and primers on medicine for adventurers, and slash fanfiction of the local deities), but demons as well. The phrase "overnight fiends" as become literal, and it is hilarious.  But that is just one story. 

Another story stars Miss Aile, a young noble girl who is frustrated with all-day studying, basically cloistered in her family's mansion. So she runs away from home to see the world and accidentally boards a ship headed to Magiket. 
She is adorable. She looks cute, tries to act grown-up, and gets swept up in the event. She even bonds with Mika over similar parent troubles. She has a fantastic character arc, and a satisfying conclusion to her introductory story. There is also a sequel hook, suggesting that she will appear later. 

The fantasy parodies show up again, this time in the form of dragon hunting and the Sword-in-the-Stone template. Neither are original ideas but they are written and displayed in a way that only this particular setting could achieve, which makes them new. 

The art is still beautiful. Aile, again, is adorable, and the landscapes featured are great to look at, but the dragon is fearsome. 
The arrangement of the panels helps to keep the action moving and provide for twists, or punch-lines as the case may be. There is little true danger here, but tension is still maintained in this way. 

Trickster Eric Novels gives "A Witch's Printing Office volume 2" an A+

Click here for my next book review (for fun): Ultimate Book of Martial Arts

Click here for my previous book review (for fun) Rising of the Shield Hero - volume 1

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.

No comments:

Post a Comment