Book Review: ‘The Sorcerer King of Destruction and the Golem of the Barbarian Queen’ #2
The Sorcerer King of Destruction and the Golem of the Barbarian Queen (Light Novel) Vol. 2 by Northcarolina My rating: 4 of 5 stars The newly branded sorcerer king, previously heralded as the one to bring ruin to all the world, journeys westward and finally stumbles upon a human settlement. More of a waystation, really. Just a place to stop for a comfortable bed, a bite to eat, and perhaps exchange a few goods for local currency. What could possibly go wrong? THE SORCERER KING OF DESTRUCTION #2 picks up where the previous volume concluded. The protagonist and his golem guardian roll into a rural town and mix it up with the locals. But as one might assume, nothing really goes according to plan. Nemaki and Gol clash with regional gangsters, interrupt the business of local merchants, and accidentally manifest a reputation as a nightmarish duo of sorcerer and warrior witch. The last of these is the result of a gradual pooling of the random acts of violence, keen drama, and patient storytelling readers pocketed from the book series' previous installment. As with the first book, THE SORCERER KING OF DESTRUCTION #2 is not for fans of isekai tales who favor the immediacy of all-or-nothing adventure sagas. It is a sometimes agonizingly slow read, with the narrator simmering over minute details and rummaging through alternate scenarios for pages at a time. During fight scenes, for example, Nemaki will spend an eternity negotiating tactics with himself. So much so, the inertia of the battle tends to fade by the time anything substantive occurs. It's great to know the man is sensitive to his surroundings, but listening to him internally debate the merits of his abilities without end, in the middle of a battle, when he should be acting on behalf of the golem standing in front of him, is a bit of a letdown. Also, again, this is not the novel for fans who rely on sycophantic banter between the titles romantic interests. And despite the introduction of new human characters, such as a magic-tool merchant, his daughter, and a handful of assassins, the novel's overreliance on the narrator to speak to the mental and emotional state of every scene amounts to a spectacular draw on reader attention and stamina. Nemaki is famously clueless in some facets of his awareness. And while this is part of the book's humor, one must also note how the author narrowly frames and applies most of the book's dialogue. To clarify, the dialogue is less natural and rhythmic than it is doggedly convenient. These inadequate speech dynamics aren't bad, per se, merely a signal to readers of the author's creative limitations. Altogether, readers who enjoyed the first volume will surely enjoy the current volume. Nemaki continues to cause trouble for others despite intending goodwill. His golem, Goltarou, continues to cause all sorts of mayhem, violence, and torture despite her ruby-red eyes and wan smile. The narrator's comical inability to put two and two together, to draw the simplest conclusions, is plentiful. This includes his failing to realize Gol's accidental downing of a massive, feral deer was the fortuitous killing of the infamously destructive Flame Bicorn ("Why do I feel like I've seen those features on something before? [..] My imagination as acting up," p. 212), as well as his failing to realize that when he wipes down Gol's body every night, he's effectively giving her a sensual massage and mistakes her arousal for discomfort ("There could be no doubt; she was definitely malfunctioning. I was racked with a horrible regret," p. 130). And while the action scenes in THE SORCERER KING OF DESTRUCTION #2 carry the delayed drama of a character too caught up in his own thoughts, they deliver nonetheless. Gol faces off against new golem types, Nemaki must outsmart the group tactics of multiple baddies, and in one scene in particular, the two pair up for an awkward but cleverly written interrogation whose decadence doesn't quite manifest until much later in the story.
Light-Novel Reviews || ahb writes on Good Reads
