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The Fall 2023 Light Novel Guide




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Andrew Cunningham



Joined: 01 Feb 2006
Posts: 443
Location: Seattle
PostPosted: Sat Sep 30, 2023 9:41 am Reply with quote
Lucia is a spin-off of Dahlia in Bloom, but you don't mention that in your review. If you haven't read the main series, do you think that affected your ability to enjoy this volume? (I've been super into Dahlia, but haven't tried the spin-off yet. It's on my to read pile.)

Definitely can't recommend The Deer King highly enough. By the author of Moribito, it's a extended analogy between viral infections, invasive species, and conquering empires, all of which prove equally disruptive to the existing systems. Only fun. Uehashi's an anthropology professor who writes on the side, and her books are always super dense like that.
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Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer


Joined: 16 Dec 2008
Posts: 2606
Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City
PostPosted: Sat Sep 30, 2023 10:12 am Reply with quote
Andrew Cunningham wrote:
Lucia is a spin-off of Dahlia in Bloom, but you don't mention that in your review. If you haven't read the main series, do you think that affected your ability to enjoy this volume? (I've been super into Dahlia, but haven't tried the spin-off yet. It's on my to read pile.)


I actually liked Lucia a lot more than Dahlia - it's more committed to its plot, whereas Dahlia annoyed me by wandering off and being more about eating and drinking. I'd say if you love the characters and crafting aspects of Dahlia, you may like Lucia even more. (Though if it's the social aspects of Dahlia you like best, Lucia may fall a little flat.)
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Andrew Cunningham



Joined: 01 Feb 2006
Posts: 443
Location: Seattle
PostPosted: Sat Sep 30, 2023 10:27 am Reply with quote
Yeah, I'd definitely say the grown-ups drinking wine parties is the main plot of Dahlia, and the crafting a subplot she occasionally gets around to.
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AQuin1904



Joined: 13 Nov 2021
Posts: 264
PostPosted: Sat Sep 30, 2023 1:01 pm Reply with quote
A lot of the review of The Deer King comes down the fact that it was always published under Kadokawa's general literature imprint. Yen has been adding non-light novels to their lineup (like The Samurai and the Prisoner earlier this year) but haven't created a separate a separate imprint for them. I guess they're trying to expand into the space the Vertical has usually occupied. Not creating a separate label probably increases the chance that their existing LN readers will give these books a shot.
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dm
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Joined: 24 Sep 2010
Posts: 1354
PostPosted: Sun Oct 01, 2023 9:54 am Reply with quote
Gosh, Rebecca, looking over the titles in this collection of reviews, I felt a great deal of sympathy for you, but there appear to have been some gems among the isekai.

The Deer King sounds great, I'm going to have to look for that.

So does (this surprises me) the Godzilla books. Publication by the U.Minnesota Press is not a complete surprise --- they also publish the Mechademia collections of scholarly anime and manga studies.

The Lawyer in Shizukuishi Sleeps with a Wolf sounds really intriguing. Without your review, I wouldn't have given the book a second glance.
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PumpkinMouse



Joined: 05 Oct 2014
Posts: 80
PostPosted: Mon Oct 02, 2023 4:16 pm Reply with quote
AQuin1904 wrote:
Yen has been adding non-light novels to their lineup (like The Samurai and the Prisoner earlier this year) but haven't created a separate a separate imprint for them.


I was definitely confused for a minute there because I knew The Deer King was originally a book and thought it had been converted to a light novel somehow. Anime smallmouth + sweatdrop
Been looking forward to reading it ever since I saw the movie!

Lucia and the Loom sounds like it'll fill that (hopefully-soon-to-be-filled) Style Savvy-shaped hole in my heart, so I think I'll pick that up too when I get the chance.
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TarsTarkas



Joined: 20 Dec 2007
Posts: 5823
Location: Virginia, United States
PostPosted: Tue Oct 03, 2023 2:52 am Reply with quote
I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons

An unredeemable light novel. A painful read, cause you really feel for Leticia Dorman. Any comedy elements completely fail because everyone in the light novel is against Leticia Dorman and have no problem supporting the prince's actions. They allow her to believe she is free for a little bit, giving her a taste of heaven, before stealing it away forever. I mean she is literally locked up in the castle, with no real privacy. The prince intends to 'stockholm' Leticia into loving him. What happens to Leticia, is what Katarina Claes (My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!) fears Prince Geordo will do to her.

What they do to Leticia is mind numbing cruel. Reminds me of a certain vampire anime where they torment a young woman continuously until she falls in love with one of them.

I love 'I'm in Love with the Villainess' light novels, but 'I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons' takes it to torture porn levels.

My Magical Career at Court

I think this is a fun one too.

The Deer King

Thanks for 'The Deer King' review. Going to read this one.
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