Spice & Wolf - Vol. 7 - Book Review

5/31/2015 - 11:27 PM - GMT +8
By: Seth Legaspi



Volume 7, of the Spice & Wolf light novel series by Isuna Hasekura, is a collection of 3 side stories that gives more background on the characters, more specifically, Holo.  First of all, I would like to say that this is indeed, as stated, a collection of side stories, and of course, in relation to that, skipping it won't really leave a lot of gaps in the story. However (yes however), this volume presents  more Holo fluffiness, and even emphasizes Holo, by going through an entire side story in Holo's point of view!

The volume begins with a novella about Holo, most likely before she met Lawrence, or even before she came to the small village of Pasloe, the starting point of Lawrence and Holo's journey. What makes me want to talk about this story, is that it emphasizes Holo's treatment of her companions. A sort of 'origin' story that presents her as that 'teasing' yet caring kind of wisewolf for a long time already.

This volume also tells some small stories about their travels, like what became of the entire carriage of apples in volume 1's epilogue, which is seen in episode 7 of the Spice & Wolf, season 1, anime series.

Once I reached the final side-story, I then realized that it was in Holo's point of view! Yes, as I declared in the first paragraph, an entire side story in Holo's pov (point of view). This side-story, is essentially the 'Wolf and Amber Melancholy' OVA (Original Video Animation).  Essentially. For one, the dialogue's quite different, and two, which I believe is the most important part, and I will reiterate again, unlike the OVA, this side-story is entirely in Holo's pov!!! Yes, this side-story confirms Holo's essential thoughts! It shows how her mind works when she talks with Lawrence! It displays Holo's inner feelings about Lawrence's interactions! It was predominantly fluffy. FLUFFY!

This volume, was again translated by Paul Starr, and I would like to state that his translation, with the usage of English words such as 't'is',  really helps in the setting of the Spice & Wolf world.

As of the moment of this article's posting, Yen Press has published and english localized 14 volumes of the Spice & Wolf light novel series.

"I am a wisewolf- I know enough about the world to know there are things I don't know."
                                                                                                            -Holo the Wisewolf

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