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とある魔術の禁書目録 [Toaru Majutsu no Index] (Novel) #18
A Certain Magical Index, Vol. 18 (light novel)
Index has returned to London on the orders of the English Puritans, only to find herself in the center of a coup-d'etat spearheaded by the Knights! After they seize most of the UK, the entire country is put under martial law while the sorcerers of the Puritan faction continue to resist. As the civil war rages, Touma Kamijou follows Index's trail to Folkestone where he unfortunately runs directly into the mastermind of the coup herself, the second princess Carissa...and God's Right Seat Acqua?!
260 pages, Paperback
First published June 10, 2009
13 people are currently reading
177 people want to read
About the author
Kazuma Kamachi
245 books151 followersKamachi Kazuma (鎌池和馬) is a Japanese-born light novel author and the original creator of the Toaru Majutsu no Index light novel series and Toaru Kagaku no Railgun, its spin-off manga series.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 20, 2025
Time - [02h 35m 24s]
October 17, 2012
Found (in English translation by fans) here-
www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?...
These are such incredible fun (in an almost 24 with theology and magic kind of way)! The Japanese light novel has much to teach the stunted and affectation afflicted young adult genre in English and it's a shame these are not more popular and are made available only through the gracious efforts of readers willing to translate them in their spare time.
What makes a light novel successful is perhaps that imagination is unbridled and always allowed to run in healthy excess. The style is transparent and to the point (even allowing for translation), but this only facilitates a mental picture to render in more vivid colour (the illustrations evoke manga and anime) and makes the occasional poetic description or metaphor all the more memorable. There is little in the way of wanton wish-fulfillment which so plagues adolescent fiction in English these days (save perhaps for sometimes gratuitous 'fan-service') and even the least eccentric characters have an ideal facet to them rather than being wholly insecure in just about everything (indeed, insecurities are played largely for laughs where they are minor, and lead to significant ordeals where they are not). It should be said that where characters are concerned, eccentric is much the norm (and makes the 'slice-of-life' respites all the more enjoyable). In spirit, the Queen in this particular volume (as well as the previous one) could easily have come out of an alternate reality Alice book!
On the whole, the outlook is positive, and nothing so paltry as realism (often made to take a break- though all the while adopting surprisingly consistent internal mechanics of the 'supposition' of a world the book concerns; in other words, the author takes pains to make the plot sound- also, where an author like J K Rowling wants her magical world demarcated, Kazuma Kamachi has it subsumed, either behind religion or sometimes quite literally in cases like the Amakusa Church) is allowed to brace either idealism or indeed cynicism. The protagonist (though he sometimes become merely a sounding-board for others, or a rock upon which their conceits are broken, making characters like Accelerator and later Hamazura Shiage, more popular), and indeed any party which comes into conflict with another (many do, since the premise of the series is that science and magic coexist in quite a tense and tentative equilibrium), is made to confront and examine the full extent of their commitment and test their resolve.
This way of going about it makes for compelling fantasy, since the fantastic situations and scenarios don't exist for their own sake, but to honestly progress either character or ideal in a gripping and entertaining manner.
I suppose I've gone on about the merits of light novels over young adult fiction more than providing a review, but this will serve as a review of the whole series in spirit, as To Aru Majutsu no Index can be considered a prototype for the light novel to aspire to.
www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?...
These are such incredible fun (in an almost 24 with theology and magic kind of way)! The Japanese light novel has much to teach the stunted and affectation afflicted young adult genre in English and it's a shame these are not more popular and are made available only through the gracious efforts of readers willing to translate them in their spare time.
What makes a light novel successful is perhaps that imagination is unbridled and always allowed to run in healthy excess. The style is transparent and to the point (even allowing for translation), but this only facilitates a mental picture to render in more vivid colour (the illustrations evoke manga and anime) and makes the occasional poetic description or metaphor all the more memorable. There is little in the way of wanton wish-fulfillment which so plagues adolescent fiction in English these days (save perhaps for sometimes gratuitous 'fan-service') and even the least eccentric characters have an ideal facet to them rather than being wholly insecure in just about everything (indeed, insecurities are played largely for laughs where they are minor, and lead to significant ordeals where they are not). It should be said that where characters are concerned, eccentric is much the norm (and makes the 'slice-of-life' respites all the more enjoyable). In spirit, the Queen in this particular volume (as well as the previous one) could easily have come out of an alternate reality Alice book!
On the whole, the outlook is positive, and nothing so paltry as realism (often made to take a break- though all the while adopting surprisingly consistent internal mechanics of the 'supposition' of a world the book concerns; in other words, the author takes pains to make the plot sound- also, where an author like J K Rowling wants her magical world demarcated, Kazuma Kamachi has it subsumed, either behind religion or sometimes quite literally in cases like the Amakusa Church) is allowed to brace either idealism or indeed cynicism. The protagonist (though he sometimes become merely a sounding-board for others, or a rock upon which their conceits are broken, making characters like Accelerator and later Hamazura Shiage, more popular), and indeed any party which comes into conflict with another (many do, since the premise of the series is that science and magic coexist in quite a tense and tentative equilibrium), is made to confront and examine the full extent of their commitment and test their resolve.
This way of going about it makes for compelling fantasy, since the fantastic situations and scenarios don't exist for their own sake, but to honestly progress either character or ideal in a gripping and entertaining manner.
I suppose I've gone on about the merits of light novels over young adult fiction more than providing a review, but this will serve as a review of the whole series in spirit, as To Aru Majutsu no Index can be considered a prototype for the light novel to aspire to.
June 22, 2019
It's fun to read, but no literary masterpiece. I'm aware of this fact and as much as I cant help but feel a little akward reading books of this nature, it's important to have fun and enjoy literature; I've learned something from the emotions this series brought out of me. The meaningful deep masterpiece, and that which gives us joy and introspection - both are important.
January 6, 2021
The fight between Knight Leader and William was pretty hype and cool in the beginning, but as the sequence of events continue with the combination of forces against Carissa, I didn't find it particularly engaging, especially since Carissa hasn't really been an "interesting" villain and her sisters are much the same.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews