Magus of the Library Vol II
By Mitsu Izumi
“What fun's a story without unlikely odds?” Master Ganan
Today we're going to review Volume II of the series Magus of the Library, which I started at the beginning of the month. If you haven't read Volume I yet... Go do it. No, I'm serious, go read the book, the review will be right here when you get back. If you have read Volume I, feel free to take a peek at the review below on Volume II since there will be spoilers for Volume I below.
Volume II takes place about seven years after Volume I. Our protagonist and dare I say hero (Dare, Dare!), Theo Fumis, has grown from a small boy with a large dream to a strapping young man stepping forth to realize it. In those seven years, he has changed from a village outcast to a village success story. This volume covers his journey from his home to the grand city of Aftzaak, the city of books, and home to the central library. His goal is to take the test to become a Kafna.
A Kafna is sort of an equivalent of a librarian but they not only maintain the library but repair the books and venture forth into the wilds to obtain new books for the collection (Oh that is an awesome thing!). This means some Kafna are adventurers worthy of being recorded in texts in their own right. Theo doesn't hope to become such an adventurer, however, for him simply becoming a Kafna and being to provide himself and his sister Tifa with a comfortable life is enough... Although he'll admit to wanting his own bookshelf of books. Considering my own library, the fact that he considers a single bookshelf an ambition is painful but considering the fact that Theo comes from a preindustrial society in a lot of ways is understandable (Yeah, Bro… to people pre-Gutenberg, either of our libraries would be insane.).
That said Theo has a bit of a hill to climb. First is the fact that he's a poor kid from the middle of nowhere and Kafna are an educated elite. As such the job is usually filled by the daughters of educated, wealthy families. While it's never said in the story directly, I wouldn't be surprised if the Library, which is always hungry for funds, encourages wealthy families to send their daughters as a way of getting them to also open their wallets (Oh that’s really common historically. Hell, the Prestige of passing the exam might be enough for alumni networks…). Parents are more likely to open their wallets for something their children are passionate about after all. Another issue is that Kafna is seen as primarily a woman's job.
We see several female characters react rather passionately about this because like many societies the actual careers open to women are limited and even if being a Kafna isn't a road to wealth; it is a road to social prestige and economic independence, which in such a setting can be hard to come by for women without making rather harsh compromises. This is bluntly pointed out by Mihona Qoahau in that men frankly have more roads to advancement than women and some women will see Theo becoming a Kafna as taking a spot away from a woman. Although I would note she's not hostile towards Theo, just blunt.
Like Theo, Mihona is also journeying to Aftzaak to take the test. She's a rather dramatic and blunt young woman. Desperate to come across as a cool, calm, confident beauty but in her rush to do so she rather self sabotages herself(That also happens a lot.). That said, she is clever and resourceful and I rather enjoy having her around. She certainly doesn't hesitate to help Theo out when she can. Plus, given the fact that she isn't any older than Theo, I can forgive her ambitions to look cooler and more confident than she really is. After all, don't we all want to make a good impression? (Also teenagers are just like that.)
On the flip side of this, we have Alv Tlaloque, who is a cool and confident young man, if not a trifle brash. It's easy to go too far with characters like him and make them seem arrogant and self-absorbed, but Ms. Izumi manages to keep him from going too far. Mostly by having him show off his coolness by helping Theo through a combination of cunning brashness and challenging Theo's intelligence to get the help he needs. This makes Alv an interesting fellow, who will help you by providing you the tools you need to succeed but who will also step back and let you fail if you don't have the talent or education to make use of them. (Well, we do learn through failure…)
We also met Master Ganon, Theo's mentor and boss. Master Ganon is known as both a drunk and an educated man, as well as the master-builder of Theo's home village. Upon finding out Theo's ambition, Master Ganon not only challenges Theo, but helps him study and puts him to work so Theo can not only hone his mind but also his body. Also, this helps Theo gather the money he needs to afford to take the exam since Theo has decided to refuse charity (I can understand wanting to stand on your own two feet that way…). He's an interesting character but Ms. Izumi uses him sparingly so Theo has to solve his own problems in each of the towns we visit.
Speaking of towns, the book takes us through a couple on the way to Theo's goal. Towns such as the Creator of Itzamna, also called booksellers row. A town where there are more bookbinders and booksellers than anywhere else on the continent. There's also the town of Espleo, the town of water wheels where industry is starting to stir as vast paper mills rise up to feed the ever-growing need for paper. These paper mills are staffed by workers from across the region, giving Espleo a rough working-class feel compared to the middle-class Itzamna and the firmly upper class and rarefied air of Aftzaak.
Ms. Izumi can communicate these class divisions through her excellent writing, without bluntly saying it through the dialogue of each settlement's natives but also through the pace and plot themselves. Rather than saying "this is a working-class city and this is not'' we have it shown to us. We see used booksellers and people standing in line for the newest hottest novel release in Itzamna. We run into pawnshops and cocky troubleshooters for hire in Espleo and in Atfzaak, we run into the Kafna and their exams. Ms. Izumi isn't just limited to her writing, but also uses her frankly lovely art. Her art is amazing as she draws beautiful looks into the countryside and the wildlife as well as detailed scenes of the city life and a wide variety of detailed costumes for her characters based on real-life cultures. This makes the book not just fun to read but a treat to simply look at and enjoy. That said the art is in black and white so if you need color, you'll be disappointed.
Volume II is still rather low stakes but gives us a look at a young man willing to confront high barriers to entry and long odds to achieve his dream. It's also, much like the first volume a bit of a love letter to books and reading which shockingly I approve of. It's a good relaxing and fun read and I encourage everyone to give this series a try. Oh, one last note, on the title page you'll see a note saying it's based on Kafna of the Wind. This is an in-world book, not a real one. We'll discuss that a little more in the future but for now, just know you shouldn't spend a lot of time looking for it. Magus of the Library Volume II by Mitsu Izumi gets an A.
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