AnimeSuki Forums

nsmcho · 2010-12-14, 08:57

Thanks...I didn't know Horo was blonde.
It looks like they asked Juliet from Lost to pose for this cover, then they added the ears and tail.

Vexx · 2010-12-14, 12:43

Horo is not "blonde" ... its more of a light russet color I'm guessing (like some wolves have). I think they were going for a wheat color with the model. Its not totally off and you could ascribe some of the difference to the lighting.

Russet is a brown color with a reddish-orange tinge.

Nora is "blonde" (more in the Scandinavian bright sort of way).

Picture comment: I'd like to shoot whoever did the ears :P they are an amateurish disaster.

The composition and the garb aren't bad... she seems a bit tall. Whatever.... :P
For cosplay she was fine... for a book jacket cover which defines that impulse buy in the store: Meh.

Kamonichan · 2010-12-14, 19:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vexx

Horo is not "blonde" ... its more of a light russet color I'm guessing (like some wolves have). I think they were going for a wheat color with the model. Its not totally off and you could ascribe some of the difference to the lighting.

Russet is a brown color with a reddish-orange tinge.

Holo's hair is described as being the same color as her tail (or maybe vice versa), which in turn is described as you said. I didn't actually know there was any species of wolf with a russet coloration until I saw some on the Discovery Channel.

More on topic, I canceled my order with RightStuf and put one in at B&N. That copy is already on its way.

Edge Meltdown · 2010-12-15, 16:28

^ is B&N better than Borders?

Vexx · 2010-12-15, 20:41

If you have a membership... it might be. I order a lot of things from B&N and the 10%-40% discount and often free shipping works for me.

Kamonichan · 2010-12-15, 21:35

I scored a deal from a different store that apparently has a partnership (didn't know until I got the offer), so it was cheaper for me. Also, Borders and I have a poor history when it comes to manga and light novels, so I stay away from them unless it's an actual book.

Rajura · 2010-12-17, 22:56

Amazon sent me my copy today... some monkey must have been operating the shrink wrap device.

The book was sealed in the plastic on a piece of card board... no problem there. However, the dust jacket, cover, and the first 20 or so pages were caught by the shrink wrap, so they were pulled back and the book was somewhat warped.

Did they think I would not notice (or not care)? Poor job Amazon, poor job!
I'm glad I was too lazy to cancel my order from Rightstuf!

Kamonichan · 2010-12-17, 23:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rajura

Amazon sent me my copy today... some monkey must have been operating the shrink wrap device.

The book was sealed in the plastic on a piece of card board... no problem there. However, the dust jacket, cover, and the first 20 or so pages were caught by the shrink wrap, so they were pulled back and the book was somewhat warped.

Did they think I would not notice (or not care)? Poor job Amazon, poor job!
I'm glad I was too lazy to cancel my order from Rightstuf!

Hmmm. Never had a problem with Amazon, but I feel your pain. My copy came in today, and was apparently sitting on the porch for about 8 hours before I checked the tracking number and saw that they'd delivered it. Ah, Holo, you are back in my life again. Time to get reading!

poleno · 2010-12-18, 10:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rajura

Amazon sent me my copy today... some monkey must have been operating the shrink wrap device.

The book was sealed in the plastic on a piece of card board... no problem there. However, the dust jacket, cover, and the first 20 or so pages were caught by the shrink wrap, so they were pulled back and the book was somewhat warped.

Did they think I would not notice (or not care)? Poor job Amazon, poor job!
I'm glad I was too lazy to cancel my order from Rightstuf!

absolute similar situation but only first 7 pages with cover were caught and pulled back. Over time, pages straighten up. But the cover has an incurable defect.
This is my first problem with amazon.

JThree · 2010-12-20, 09:59

Well, I just skimmed through the third volume, which I got via amazon on Friday.
I have to admit I have mixed feelings about the book.

Please remember, I haven't seen the second season anime yet, so my impressions are based mainly on what I've read. Reading between the lines, I find Amiata (spelling?) somewhat a victim of the problems between Lawrence and Holo. He got a raw deal. Granted he's young and he's impetuous, but I feel both Lawrence and Holo played him mercilessly, and it was wrong for Holo to use her feminine wiles for this purpose.

He may have needed a lesson in humility, but still he was used, and it wasn't right to use a young man's feelings for material gain, period.

We didn't get to actually see any scenes where Holo flirted, teased, and "played" the young fish merchant, but if we had the readers might have felt just a tad sorry for him, even though we might have to admire her technique, and even find it amusing.

Holo even played on his sympathy and naviete, even before the con went down, so I don't think it was his fault.

I do like the relationship between Holo and Lawrence, the interplay, the banter between them really works. The turning point of the novel is where Holo finds out about her village being destroyed, and the dramatics are good, but I wish the author had spent more time on that scene. He could have spent a whole chapter on Lawrence's reaction to her wanting a baby at that moment, before heading off into the night.

Does anybody else feel this way? More later.

JThree

BashZeStampeedo · 2010-12-20, 14:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by JThree

We didn't get to actually see any scenes where Holo flirted, teased, and "played" the young fish merchant, but if we had the readers might have felt just a tad sorry for him, even though we might have to admire her technique, and even find it amusing.

Holo even played on his sympathy and naviete, even before the con went down, so I don't think it was his fault.

I felt sorry for him, because he was clearly outclassed by both Holo and Lawrence, yet he foolishly let his arrogance and childishness get the better of him. First Holo set him and Lawrence up, and both fell for it (though Lawrence realized she was trying to toy with Amati from the get-go). But when Holo lost control of the situation, Amati also had to deal with a desperate Lawrence.. and we all know that desperation over Holo brings out both the best and worst in him.

It really wasn't Amati's "fault" that Holo played him for a fool (the fact that it was no one's "fault" makes it a tidy little story). However, he certainly proved that he was a fool who needed to have the chip on his shoulder removed. Despite that, neither Lawrence nor Holo did any real damage to him, nor did they intend to. You can argue that this was actually a pretty tame ending for him, a slap on the wrist. It was really Holo and Lawrence that got the worst of it by far. Hell, Lawrence practically gave away all his pride in this story, in front of his friend, guild, children, and Holo.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JThree

The turning point of the novel is where Holo finds out about her village being destroyed

For me the turning point was when Holo realized that Lawrence was panicking over that event, not the event itself. She clearly didn't have the courage to confront him directly (which caused the whole thing to spiral out of control). In her own weakness, she had uncovered the truth that he really WAS that oblivious to their feelings, and wasn't just playing games. Worse, she was too angry and timid to chase after him, despite knowing full-well that letting him go would only result in disaster.

For me this volume was really about showing that the two of them are really on the same page - Holo's not as wise as she claims, at least when it comes to relationships. She didn't even realize that Lawrence really WAS that oblivious, and worse, she committed exactly the same mistakes she was mad at him over. Heck, she didn't even know what she wanted him to say - he honestly just stumbled across the right words to say to cheer her up (her biting his hand, of course, could be read in a number of ways).

Quote:

Originally Posted by JThree

I wish the author had spent more time on that scene.

I wish we could see at least some of the story from Holo's perspective. It would have been great to read about her chats with Deanna, and what possessed Deanna to screw with her like she did (I get the impression that Holo pissed Deanna off a little).

JThree · 2010-12-20, 20:28

[QUOTE=BashZeStampeedo;3400338], yet he foolishly let his arrogance and childishness get the better of him. First Holo set him and Lawrence up, and both fell for it (though Lawrence realized she was trying to toy with Amati from the get-go). But when Holo lost control of the situation, Amati also had to deal with a desperate Lawrence.. and we all know that desperation over Holo brings out both the best and worst in him.It really wasn't Amati's "fault" that Holo played him for a fool (the fact that it was no one's "fault" makes it a tidy little story). However, he certainly proved that he was a fool who needed to have the chip on his shoulder removed.

I'm not to sure about this, he didn't have a chip on his shoulder until Holo had told him "lies" about Lawrence's treatment of her.

Despite that, neither Lawrence nor Holo did any real damage to him, nor did they intend to. You can argue that this was actually a pretty tame ending for him, a slap on the wrist.

Totally disagree with this, when someone takes advantage of you like this, and I'm not just talking about the financial blow to your ego, but the girl who you think liked you, was only using you, than. . . that can really emotionally cripple you. The book even mentions this.

It was really Holo and Lawrence that got the worst of it by far. Hell, Lawrence practically gave away all his pride in this story, in front of his friend, guild, children, and Holo.

I'll have to re-read that chapter again, but didn't Amati also lose his pride and respect in front of everyone as well.

For me the turning point was when Holo realized that Lawrence was panicking over that event, not the event itself.

Excuse me, but didn't Holo panic over the event as well. She was the one who wanted a baby right then, right now.

She clearly didn't have the courage to confront him directly (which caused the whole thing to spiral out of control). In her own weakness, she had uncovered the truth that he really WAS that oblivious to their feelings, and wasn't just playing games.

At that time, Holo was hardly able to think that clearly about the situation herself

JThree

Rajura · 2010-12-20, 20:45

I will contribute my 2yen in a few days. Right now, I have other obligations that prevent me from spelling my opinions in thorough detail.

Regardless, I still think Amati was a little *$^, and I don't particularly feel sorry for him.

Sorry, I just don't.

BashZeStampeedo · 2010-12-20, 22:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by JThree

It really wasn't Amati's "fault" that Holo played him for a fool (the fact that it was no one's "fault" makes it a tidy little story). However, he certainly proved that he was a fool who needed to have the chip on his shoulder removed.

I'm not to sure about this, he didn't have a chip on his shoulder until Holo had told him "lies" about Lawrence's treatment of her.

I think he did, and long before the three of them met. I remember it being implied that the town didn't really respect him beyond his business sense. They saw him as someone who would rather be an outsider than fit in, heck wives even teased their husbands about him like some kind of dashing prince. His own guild turned the whole situation into a theatrical comedy complete with side-betting, and he still didn't care. Hell, he was using the desperate people of the town trying to sell their Pyrite, just so he could make a cheap buck to win someone else's girl.. it wasn't just him being "blinded by puppy love", he didn't care to begin with.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JThree

Despite that, neither Lawrence nor Holo did any real damage to him, nor did they intend to. You can argue that this was actually a pretty tame ending for him, a slap on the wrist.

Totally disagree with this, when someone takes advantage of you like this, and I'm not just talking about the financial blow to your ego, but the girl who you think liked you, was only using you, than. . . that can really emotionally cripple you. The book even mentions this.

Thing is, Amati's both young and inexperienced. If he was this taken in by a two-bit play, then he's actually really lucky if you think about it. Despite Holo's possibly-cruel intent, her plans were thrown off completely (showing just how half-assed they were). Imagine if someone had actually invested some effort into scamming him? Not a good end for him, I'm sure.

I think given his character he would realize how lucky he was to have not lost everything, not whine about it. This would be a solid business opportunity to open some doors of friendship with the townsfolk he had alienated, now that he learned some real humility. I would give him some credit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JThree

It was really Holo and Lawrence that got the worst of it by far. Hell, Lawrence practically gave away all his pride in this story, in front of his friend, guild, children, and Holo.

I'll have to re-read that chapter again, but didn't Amati also lose his pride and respect in front of everyone as well.

Amati didn't really have any pride in front of the people to begin with. If he did he wouldn't have been so brash and theatrical when he first called Lawrence out, among the other things I mentioned above. His ego was hit hard, but other than that..?

In contrast, Lawrence had just about gone bankrupt a few days prior to the story. All he had left was some credit with Mark, what tiny bit of self-respect he had left, and Holo. And he gave all of them up to not lose Horo. He didn't even know he had friends, and was willing to give up his business ties if it was necessary by alienating himself to the entire town (by scamming them in the Pyrite game, the thing that Mark wouldn't do).

Holo, well, we can only speculate. But it seems that she took some major blows to her pride and vanity here as well (and that would definitely be hard for her). She crawled to Deanna for help, and Deanna refused, thus dooming Holo to watch from the sidelines while Lawrence decided whether or not to give up on her. That can't have been fun to watch. And that's just the icing on the cake.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JThree

For me the turning point was when Holo realized that Lawrence was panicking over that event, not the event itself.

Excuse me, but didn't Holo panic over the event as well. She was the one who wanted a baby right then, right now.

Obviously she did, and that's partly why things got out of hand. But I'm not talking about the moment they fought, I meant after that (for basically the rest of the story). She was still panicking like he was, yes, but because the reality of what the fight really meant had started to sink in (when he didn't return like she had asked him to in the last town, and based on what he was doing).

Quote:

Originally Posted by JThree

She clearly didn't have the courage to confront him directly (which caused the whole thing to spiral out of control). In her own weakness, she had uncovered the truth that he really WAS that oblivious to their feelings, and wasn't just playing games.

At that time, Holo was hardly able to think that clearly about the situation herself

I don't doubt that. After all, she had just learned that he was still more or less clueless about her feelings for him, and hadn't even figured out his own feelings for her yet. My point was just that.

If she was thinking clearly anytime after the fight, she would have just tracked him down at night, found him sleeping in the streets, punched him in the face, and dragged him somewhere to have a "friendly chat" in some quiet corner where no one could hear them. But she couldn't face him any more than he could face her.

taichi-kun · 2010-12-23, 21:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rajura

I will contribute my 2yen in a few days. Right now, I have other obligations that prevent me from spelling my opinions in thorough detail.

Regardless, I still think Amati was a little *$^, and I don't particularly feel sorry for him.

Sorry, I just don't.

It's ok, he is an asshole

Rajura · 2010-12-27, 13:09

Well, I got to start reading the book Christmas Eve after my test was completed the day before. I was finally able to finish the last 10 pages after coming off of being on-call for 24 hours this morning.
So, here it is... the long awaited post about what I thought of the whole incident with *spit* Amati *spit*

1) Amati allowed himself to be blinded. It has happened to all of us. Holo is an amazing beauty and he was instantly infatuated with her. He knew nothing of her except her demeanor and physical beauty were unlike anything he encountered.

2) Holo and Lawrence both were starting to want the same thing. Holo wanted Lawrence to be a man. Lawrence, being the idiot he is, could not bring himself to say what he wanted for fear of being teased. To be such a man that would do anything reasonable in business for profit. He sure was inept at doing anything remotely reasonable or logical for love. His fear of being teased by the beautiful Holo kept him from acting.

3) Because Lawrence was jealous (but still a businessman), he let Amati take Holo around knowing Holo would have her heart's desires at his expense. Holo would not begrudge a gift from a "suitor" or any gift for that matter. Why trick him if he is willing to give freely? She just acted the sweet, innocent girl that Amati had dreamed her to be.

4) Amati thought he would be able to "steal" Holo from Lawrence. Even though he was a town merchant, he surely knew what he was doing by taking Holo's companionship from Lawrence. He was unscrupulous. He was ill-intended from the start, once he saw that Holo and Lawrence were not wed.

5) Holo and Lawrence did both act immaturely, as I stated above. They both wanted the same thing. Naturally, Holo wanted a dominate male to tell her his feelings, but Lawrence was an inept coward. This made this escalate and spiral out of control.

6) In his desperation, Lawrence showed how much Holo really meant to him. What he could not say in word, he showed in deed. His fluctuation in confidence was to be expected with every twist. That he had the determination not to give up and to not back down, this showed him to be the better man and better merchant.

7) That he was brought near ruin, Amati got better than he deserved. He knew Lawrence was not a bad guy. If he had bothered to check guild records (I know they had to exist), it would show his credibility and nobility of character. Amati spread lies of Lawrence. Once again, this showed Amati's true character. No woman of worth would attach herself to a man willing to spread falsehoods and destroy others to be with her.

8) Holo forced Lawrence's hand because she thought he would behave as she would if she were him. Once again, misunderstanding each other's inner workings caused their relationship to grow in the end as their understanding did develop at the very end.

9) Amati is simply a king-size @$%. He should have been working in the salt mines at the end of the book. He got off lucky. Again, it is so important, you don't steal another man's woman (even if they haven't come out and said they are an item)... you can tell when a couple is a couple.

10) Yes Holo was finally desperate; she saw things were not in her control and she was driving a wedge between the man she loved and herself. That she took a proactive role really showed how much of a mistake she realized she had made.

11) I think the question Amati asked Holo was if Lawrence had made it with her. Traveling together, he may have seduced her at some point Amati must have thought. That is a major insult to a woman to be asked such a thing... especially so early. It would have been Holo's business to offer him such details. It also degraded her character to imply such a Wisewolf would so easily give her body to some male. Amati had already lost before he began, but that was when his fate was truly sealed.

I know I have missed many points, if you want other points addressed or if you care to refute a point, I would love to continue the discussion on this thread!

snsninja · 2010-12-27, 14:46

Just ordered volume 3 from B&N yesterday so it should be here in a few days

By the way the second season covers books 3 and 4 right?

Kamonichan · 2010-12-27, 15:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by snsninja

Just ordered volume 3 from B&N yesterday so it should be here in a few days

By the way the second season covers books 3 and 4 right?

No. For some reason, the anime skipped volume 4. The second season covers books 3 and 5, which is a shame, because the story in volume 4 is supposed to be really awesome. Can't wait for June.

tyranuus · 2010-12-27, 17:36

Yep, looking forward to Vol 4 here, especially as I fell in love with the series after the fan translations got nixed so haven't read it.

My understanding from what little I DO know of Book 4 is that they likely dodged it to avoid ending up with a parallel repeat in some ways of the previous arc, but also because book 5 left a decent point to end the series for the time being.

Mr. Anime · 2010-12-27, 17:43

not that i dislike u (rajura) being a lawrenceXhoro fan (they are probably my favorite anime couple as well^^) buuuuuuut dont u think u are exagerating a bit concerning the "evil" character of amati. If u compare him to people in real life he seems pretty normal to me.
do u think horo fell in love with lawrence in or before volume 3? i think even in volume 4 or 5 its still unsure if she already loves him.

2010-12-14, 12:43	Link #1322
Vexx Obey the Darkly Cute ... Author Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ... Age: 66	Horo is not "blonde" ... its more of a light russet color I'm guessing (like some wolves have). I think they were going for a wheat color with the model. Its not totally off and you could ascribe some of the difference to the lighting. Russet is a brown color with a reddish-orange tinge. Nora is "blonde" (more in the Scandinavian bright sort of way). Picture comment: I'd like to shoot whoever did the ears :P they are an amateurish disaster. The composition and the garb aren't bad... she seems a bit tall. Whatever.... :P For cosplay she was fine... for a book jacket cover which defines that impulse buy in the store: Meh. __________________ "It Really IS Rocket Science", Novel series rough drafts; vol. 1 thru vol. 3 complete Volume 4 in work, Visit the thread for short stories!

2010-12-15, 20:41	Link #1325
Vexx Obey the Darkly Cute ... Author Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ... Age: 66	If you have a membership... it might be. I order a lot of things from B&N and the 10%-40% discount and often free shipping works for me. __________________ "It Really IS Rocket Science", Novel series rough drafts; vol. 1 thru vol. 3 complete Volume 4 in work, Visit the thread for short stories!

2010-12-17, 22:56	Link #1327
Rajura My wolfu is >> your waifu Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Charleston, West Virginia Age: 42	Amazon sent me my copy today... some monkey must have been operating the shrink wrap device. The book was sealed in the plastic on a piece of card board... no problem there. However, the dust jacket, cover, and the first 20 or so pages were caught by the shrink wrap, so they were pulled back and the book was somewhat warped. Did they think I would not notice (or not care)? Poor job Amazon, poor job! I'm glad I was too lazy to cancel my order from Rightstuf! __________________ Primary Faith: Christianity Secondary Faith: Holoism

2010-12-20, 20:45	Link #1333
Rajura My wolfu is >> your waifu Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Charleston, West Virginia Age: 42	I will contribute my 2yen in a few days. Right now, I have other obligations that prevent me from spelling my opinions in thorough detail. Regardless, I still think Amati was a little *$^, and I don't particularly feel sorry for him. Sorry, I just don't. __________________ Primary Faith: Christianity Secondary Faith: Holoism

2010-12-27, 13:09	Link #1336
Rajura My wolfu is >> your waifu Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Charleston, West Virginia Age: 42	Well, I got to start reading the book Christmas Eve after my test was completed the day before. I was finally able to finish the last 10 pages after coming off of being on-call for 24 hours this morning. So, here it is... the long awaited post about what I thought of the whole incident with spit Amati spit 1) Amati allowed himself to be blinded. It has happened to all of us. Holo is an amazing beauty and he was instantly infatuated with her. He knew nothing of her except her demeanor and physical beauty were unlike anything he encountered. 2) Holo and Lawrence both were starting to want the same thing. Holo wanted Lawrence to be a man. Lawrence, being the idiot he is, could not bring himself to say what he wanted for fear of being teased. To be such a man that would do anything reasonable in business for profit. He sure was inept at doing anything remotely reasonable or logical for love. His fear of being teased by the beautiful Holo kept him from acting. 3) Because Lawrence was jealous (but still a businessman), he let Amati take Holo around knowing Holo would have her heart's desires at his expense. Holo would not begrudge a gift from a "suitor" or any gift for that matter. Why trick him if he is willing to give freely? She just acted the sweet, innocent girl that Amati had dreamed her to be. 4) Amati thought he would be able to "steal" Holo from Lawrence. Even though he was a town merchant, he surely knew what he was doing by taking Holo's companionship from Lawrence. He was unscrupulous. He was ill-intended from the start, once he saw that Holo and Lawrence were not wed. 5) Holo and Lawrence did both act immaturely, as I stated above. They both wanted the same thing. Naturally, Holo wanted a dominate male to tell her his feelings, but Lawrence was an inept coward. This made this escalate and spiral out of control. 6) In his desperation, Lawrence showed how much Holo really meant to him. What he could not say in word, he showed in deed. His fluctuation in confidence was to be expected with every twist. That he had the determination not to give up and to not back down, this showed him to be the better man and better merchant. 7) That he was brought near ruin, Amati got better than he deserved. He knew Lawrence was not a bad guy. If he had bothered to check guild records (I know they had to exist), it would show his credibility and nobility of character. Amati spread lies of Lawrence. Once again, this showed Amati's true character. No woman of worth would attach herself to a man willing to spread falsehoods and destroy others to be with her. 8) Holo forced Lawrence's hand because she thought he would behave as she would if she were him. Once again, misunderstanding each other's inner workings caused their relationship to grow in the end as their understanding did develop at the very end. 9) Amati is simply a king-size @$%. He should have been working in the salt mines at the end of the book. He got off lucky. Again, it is so important, you don't steal another man's woman (even if they haven't come out and said they are an item)... you can tell when a couple is a couple. 10) Yes Holo was finally desperate; she saw things were not in her control and she was driving a wedge between the man she loved and herself. That she took a proactive role really showed how much of a mistake she realized she had made. 11) I think the question Amati asked Holo was if Lawrence had made it with her. Traveling together, he may have seduced her at some point Amati must have thought. That is a major insult to a woman to be asked such a thing... especially so early. It would have been Holo's business to offer him such details. It also degraded her character to imply such a Wisewolf would so easily give her body to some male. Amati had already lost before he began, but that was when his fate was truly sealed. I know I have missed many points, if you want other points addressed or if you care to refute a point, I would love to continue the discussion on this thread! __________________ Primary Faith: Christianity Secondary Faith: Holoism Last edited by Rajura; 2010-12-27 at 17:41. Reason: Typo

2010-12-14, 08:57	Link #1321
nsmcho Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Age: 42	Thanks...I didn't know Horo was blonde. It looks like they asked Juliet from Lost to pose for this cover, then they added the ears and tail.

2010-12-15, 16:28	Link #1324
Edge Meltdown AxS HxM TxA RxS JxK HxM Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: akihabara :D Age: 36	^ is B&N better than Borders?

2010-12-15, 21:35	Link #1326
Kamonichan Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2010	I scored a deal from a different store that apparently has a partnership (didn't know until I got the offer), so it was cheaper for me. Also, Borders and I have a poor history when it comes to manga and light novels, so I stay away from them unless it's an actual book.

2010-12-20, 09:59	Link #1330
JThree Member Join Date: Sep 2010	Well, I just skimmed through the third volume, which I got via amazon on Friday. I have to admit I have mixed feelings about the book. Please remember, I haven't seen the second season anime yet, so my impressions are based mainly on what I've read. Reading between the lines, I find Amiata (spelling?) somewhat a victim of the problems between Lawrence and Holo. He got a raw deal. Granted he's young and he's impetuous, but I feel both Lawrence and Holo played him mercilessly, and it was wrong for Holo to use her feminine wiles for this purpose. He may have needed a lesson in humility, but still he was used, and it wasn't right to use a young man's feelings for material gain, period. We didn't get to actually see any scenes where Holo flirted, teased, and "played" the young fish merchant, but if we had the readers might have felt just a tad sorry for him, even though we might have to admire her technique, and even find it amusing. Holo even played on his sympathy and naviete, even before the con went down, so I don't think it was his fault. I do like the relationship between Holo and Lawrence, the interplay, the banter between them really works. The turning point of the novel is where Holo finds out about her village being destroyed, and the dramatics are good, but I wish the author had spent more time on that scene. He could have spent a whole chapter on Lawrence's reaction to her wanting a baby at that moment, before heading off into the night. Does anybody else feel this way? More later. JThree

2010-12-20, 20:28	Link #1332
JThree Member Join Date: Sep 2010	[QUOTE=BashZeStampeedo;3400338], yet he foolishly let his arrogance and childishness get the better of him. First Holo set him and Lawrence up, and both fell for it (though Lawrence realized she was trying to toy with Amati from the get-go). But when Holo lost control of the situation, Amati also had to deal with a desperate Lawrence.. and we all know that desperation over Holo brings out both the best and worst in him.It really wasn't Amati's "fault" that Holo played him for a fool (the fact that it was no one's "fault" makes it a tidy little story). However, he certainly proved that he was a fool who needed to have the chip on his shoulder removed. I'm not to sure about this, he didn't have a chip on his shoulder until Holo had told him "lies" about Lawrence's treatment of her. Despite that, neither Lawrence nor Holo did any real damage to him, nor did they intend to. You can argue that this was actually a pretty tame ending for him, a slap on the wrist. Totally disagree with this, when someone takes advantage of you like this, and I'm not just talking about the financial blow to your ego, but the girl who you think liked you, was only using you, than. . . that can really emotionally cripple you. The book even mentions this. It was really Holo and Lawrence that got the worst of it by far. Hell, Lawrence practically gave away all his pride in this story, in front of his friend, guild, children, and Holo. I'll have to re-read that chapter again, but didn't Amati also lose his pride and respect in front of everyone as well. For me the turning point was when Holo realized that Lawrence was panicking over that event, not the event itself. Excuse me, but didn't Holo panic over the event as well. She was the one who wanted a baby right then, right now. She clearly didn't have the courage to confront him directly (which caused the whole thing to spiral out of control). In her own weakness, she had uncovered the truth that he really WAS that oblivious to their feelings, and wasn't just playing games. At that time, Holo was hardly able to think that clearly about the situation herself JThree

2010-12-27, 14:46	Link #1337
snsninja Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2009	Just ordered volume 3 from B&N yesterday so it should be here in a few days By the way the second season covers books 3 and 4 right?

2010-12-27, 17:36	Link #1339
tyranuus Team Spice and Wolf UK Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: England Age: 36	Yep, looking forward to Vol 4 here, especially as I fell in love with the series after the fan translations got nixed so haven't read it. My understanding from what little I DO know of Book 4 is that they likely dodged it to avoid ending up with a parallel repeat in some ways of the previous arc, but also because book 5 left a decent point to end the series for the time being. __________________ Total Anime watched= Enough. What can I say? I'm a convert... *** PRAY FOR SPICE AND WOLF III and faster Yenpress novel releases! Reading: None at the moment

2010-12-27, 17:43	Link #1340
Mr. Anime Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Germany Age: 34	not that i dislike u (rajura) being a lawrenceXhoro fan (they are probably my favorite anime couple as well^^) buuuuuuut dont u think u are exagerating a bit concerning the "evil" character of amati. If u compare him to people in real life he seems pretty normal to me. do u think horo fell in love with lawrence in or before volume 3? i think even in volume 4 or 5 its still unsure if she already loves him.