The fated day is here. Orario erupts into chaos when an Irregular rampages through the town and armed monsters crawl their way above ground. Terror has come to visit the Labyrinth City-but this couldn't have happened at a better time for Loki Familia.
In their race to find the key to the man-made labyrinth of Knossos, this might be their best lead yet. Braver steels himself for trouble. The Sword Princess broods. And amid all hell breaking loose, a fallen hero becomes a lowly fool. In a battle between people and monsters, these adventurers may all end up grappling with more than they bargained for...
This is one of the strongest of the side novels, not only because it develops Finn impressively while also shedding light on what Loki Familia was thinking and doing during the Xenos arc, but also because it really grounds Aiz as a character. Although she gets much less page time than Finn, her storyline focuses on why she's attached to Bell while exploring her need to be "saved." As a child she sought to become the hero who never came for her, but now she realizes that she still really craves a human connection, even though she doesn't have the emotional intelligence to truly understand that need. She sees Bell as the hero she never had, and I don't mean that in a romantic way. (For the record, I'm now even more invested in Finn/Lilly, even though I doubt it will happen.) For Loki Familia, Bell is the unattainable in ways they can't quite vocalize, and in making that clear, Omori has really grounded both series in a way that wasn't previously established.
I enjoyed the hell out of this volume. Useless if you haven't read 9/10/11 of the main series. This is almost like a companion novel that clears up a lot of stuff in the main volumes. Why did these people react the way they did, what was their motivations, how much did they know about the Xenos at the time. I really liked Finn... was not expecting that at all!
FIRST AND FOREMOST SKIP THE GOODREADS DESCRIPTION! Stinkin SPOILERS!
I didn't like it as much. Here's the thing, that's probably unfair since it is painfully obvious that this has some very strong ties to the main story line for which I am woefully behind on my reading. So had I read that first this may have been significantly better for me. And when I get to the main-line maybe I'll change my rating. But if you haven't read through equal amounts of the mainline (or more)... don't read this yet.
Verdict: I still love this world and realize I've got to get my act together and start reading the mainline more diligently as there are too many inter-weavings. So don't see the 3-star as this being a bad book, but just me not enjoying it as much because I didn't do my homework.
Absolutely excellent, while not as much battle as the parallel volume telling Bell's side, the character growth in this one made it all worth while. Seriously makes me want to re-read the main series volume to fill in the gaps I've forgotten.
All of the series in this family of j light novels are outstanding. Great characters and development for the genre as well as very compelling stories despite covering the same time period and characters from the main branch.
I’ve read bells side first. I just can’t read anymore until I saw the other side, Ais side. Tho I’ve been looking and can’t seem to fine the 11 novel, anyone know what happened?
Some reading the main storyline, you already knew what was going to happen. Not a lot of Surprise. But does a nice job setting up the end of this storyline.