Mitsu Izumi

Magus of the Library, volume one, is the start of a series about a planet where books are very important, and so are the Kafna, as librarians are called. At a time where parts of the USA are banning books and threatening librarians, this is a welcome fantasy.

A great deal of this world was wrecked by a fog called 'the ashen death,' brought by the Emissary of Wormwood. The various races fought among each other for the remaining land and sought to destroy the culture and knowledge of other show more races. Everything, even words, have an energy called 'mana' by those people called 'magi' (magus in the singular) who can do spellcasting, called 'kalachpwa'. The Emissary of Wormwood was defeated by seven magi before the races started warring against each other. The magus who constructed the great hall to preserve all texts and memories of all the races became the Magus of the Library.
(Texts are any form of writing on any form of writing material.)

The librarians of the Central Library in the city of Aftzaak manage (conserving, protecting, restoring) text collections throughout the still usable land. The test to become a kafna is very difficult and few succeed. The kafna also set up branch libraries. The goal is to have a 100% literate population. That is why even an insignificant, out-of-the-way village such as Amun has a library.

It is in the village of Amun where this story starts, for this is the home of an unusual six-year-old boy named Theo Fumis. The village is in the territory of the Hyrun race, who probably have brown skin and eyes. Their hair is black. The slums of the village is where Theo lives with his older sister, Tifa. Theo is hated by most villagers because he has pale skin, blond hair, moss-green eyes, and long, pointed ears. Theo is only half Hryun. Almost everyone but his sister calls him 'Long-Ears'.

His sister Tifa is overworking and under-eating to send Theo to school because she believes that being able to read will enable him to go anywhere he wants and escape the slums. Theo didn't want to go, but now he loves books. So does his friend, Sakiya Menes, beloved daughter and only child of Osser Menes, merchant and caretaker of Amun's library. Too bad Osser won't allow people from the slums to check out books. (Given that Theo is the only slum child to attend school, the people there are probably illiterate, as Tifa is, but it's still rude.)

Osser catches Theo reading a library book and is quite harsh with the boy, taking it from him. Theo is a big fan of the popular series, The Adventures of Shagrazaat, about a pirate captain with a crew made up of all the races. He longs for a hero to show up and whisk him away.

As it turns out, a dealer found a damaged grimoire and wrote to the Central Library about it. Four Kafna have come to collect it. The oldest and leader is Anzu, mother of six. She seems sweet, but there's a story that one may see a giant serpent behind her when she is angry. Is it true? She's from the liaisons office. Two of the Kafna are from the restorations Office: Nanako Wattle (renowned for her speed) and Pipiri, who is a member of that very small and winged race called the Kokopa. The one who really captures Theo's attention is Sedona of the protections Office. Sedona and her magnificent horse, Birou, save Theo when several little boys gang up on him.

Theo does Sedona a good turn when he protects her favorite book from being rained upon. Sedona does Theo a good turn using a medical book when Tifa collapses from exhaustion and malnutrition. Sedona is willing to give Theo alms to purchase food for Tifa, but the boy insists on earning it. He takes her to his special place -- where one may overlook the entire village. There, Sedonna is twice astonished. Meeting a sacred beast of legend, the one-horned ferriona, known for keen intelligence and ferocious temperament, is the first time. Finding out that the the ferriona is Theo's dear friend, Kukuo, is the second.

After giving Theo a flying carpet ride, Sedona lends Theo her book. Osser assumes he's swiped a library book and takes it from him.

Osser is home and realizes that it's not a library book. He did acquire the grimoire from the finder just as a status symbol. He doesn't know that the fact it is leaking mana from its damage makes it dangerous until it sets the library on fire. Theo, noticing the fire, rides Kukuo to rescue Sedona's book.

I have a book of Japanese tales, one of which was about a warrior who had been given a second chance by a new lord. The house was on fire and the lord's important documents were in danger of being burned up. The warrior rushed to the room, cut his torso open, thrust the documents inside, and fell forward, dead. The documents survived. I couldn't help thinking about that story when Theo does something almost as drastic to protect Sedona's book (after saving Osser).

The fire is put out, the library is saved, and so is the grimoire. Theo is a hero. Sedona tells him to keep the book until they meet again. Osser is chastised because, as Anzu quotes to him, 'No library shall discriminate against patrons on the basis of race, gender, or disparity in social or economic status'.

Six years pass. 13-year-old Theo is a hard worker and a village favorite. He's getting ready to journey to Aftzaak to take the test to become a librarian.

I love the enthusiasm about books and librarians! (I'm a former librarian). Theo is a very engaging character. I went ahead and ordered the second volume because I enjoyed the first so much.

Horse fans should love Birou.

Monkey fans should love Sakiya Menes' monkey, Keko (such world-weary expressions the creature has!).

Fantastic beasts that look rather like a wolf lovers should enjoy Kukuo.

The art is beautiful. show less

In Magus of the Library volume 2, Theo Fumas sets off south with his mentor, Ganan Kyassit of Ganan Masonry, to take the Kafna (his world's name for a librarian) exam in Aftzaak, City of Books and the Great Central Library. The art is beautiful and we get a full page illustration of the interesting places they go through.

As in the first volume, this one takes place in the Hyron Autonomous Region, but not everyone Theo will encounter will be a Hyron. Theo is an 'Amity child' (as we learn show more children of mixed blood are called). He's half Hyron, the race that tried to wipe out the Hyron, the race that is his other half. Theo looks like a Hyrun -- blond, pale skinned, moss-green eyed, with long, pointed ears. That makes him stand out anywhere he goes. He's grown to like the way he looks, even though people outside of his home village are taken aback.

In the town of Khamsa, some Ratka, who are tall, with long ear lobes and almond-shaped eyes, are attacked by a young Hyron girl named Chaak. It turns out that she's upset because her sister is marrying a Ratka man. The two men she attacked overlook her insulting their entire race because Theo speaks to them in their native tongue. Theo helps Chaak to learn about the Ratka at her local library. He also uses his water power to save Chaak from a nasty death.

The way Theo deals with a couple of book bandits in Itzamna the city in a crater, home of Boloksellers Row, is quite exciting. There he meets 13-year-old Mihona Qoahau, a girl who also wants to take the Kafna exam.

Still another Kafna hopeful is met in Espleo town. Alv Tlaloque is the same age as Theo and Mihona, but he's short. He more than makes up for that with his brains, which he uses to help Theo acquire the Hulua, or duoaltail, a rare rodent from the Southern continent, that they found wounded in the street from its abusive owner. This Hulua is a rarity among its kind because she is a citlapol, what we would call an albino. Citlapol are supposed to possess a great amount of mana (magic), but some think they bring disasters with them. When Theo wonders what to name his new friend, a voice in his head says, 'Uira'.

We get some flashbacks of 6-year-old Theo's life here and there in the book. They illuminate what has made him the teen he is today.

The scenes of the Great Central Library are as gorgeous as photographs of a great Medieval cathedral. I'd be gawking as much as Theo if I were there.

There are 800 candidates taking the Kafna exam, but only 20 or so are expected to make it. Theo meets one of them, a member of the tiny, winged race called Kokopa. Her name is Peperico Pradhatti. I've read through volume 5, so I know that some of the exam takers' we see on p. 212 will be named later.

I loved volume one, but I love volume two even more. If you love books and libraries, this is a series you should not let yourself miss. show less

A manga that is essentially a fantasy adventure in celebration of books and libraries? Yes please! Beautiful art and a compelling world with relatable elements makes sinking into this story easy, even for new readers of manga. Our main character is an impoverished boy with a love of reading and a sense of justice, and his subsequent adventures with a team of kafna - librarians with mystical powers that protect and collect books and texts. Troves of accurate information about the history of show more language and writing, accurate scientific knowledge, and true facts about how books are cared for and preserved litter these pages, making this as serious a book as it is fantastical. A great choice for any library, and a manga with heart, character and adventure but without the graphic violence of sexualized content so many include. show less

Magus of the Library, volume 3, continues the Kafna (librarian) exam from volume 2. Theo, our 13-year-old hero, meets three other exam takers. The first is Sala Sei Sohn, a Kadoe. The members of her race go about masked. A mean girl was about to remove Sala Sei's mask when Theo stopped her, explaining that, for a Kadoe, having the mask removed would be the same as if a Hyron were to be forcibly stripped of all clothing. It turns out that Miss Son studies mana, the eight types of magic. Hers show more is thunder. She correctly figures that Theo has water mana. When they meet a Kafna patrolling the city, Sala Sei realizes he's a light magus. She is one of the exam takers seen on p. 212 of volume 2.

The second is Ohgga, who has cat ears and cute little fangs. She dresses like a belly dancer from Earth. She's another Amity child, like Theo, only she's half Hyron and half Creyak. She was reared in Creyak territory. (I find it interesting that the two half-Hyron characters we've met don't look like their Hyron half at all.) Ohgga is very friendly and very observant. She is one of the exam takers seen on p. 212 of volume 2.

The third is a Hyron girl who believes she's the best student. Natica Quapan is a bigot who assumes that Theo and Ohgga got in to meet a diversity quota. She gives them insulting nicknames, 'Weuweu' for Theo because he smells the dirt and fields of the country. She calls Ohgga 'Huone," which means 'immodest woman' in Hyron. I liked the way Ohgga handled her.

Part two of the exam is an interview. Theo is certain he's completely muffed that one

Part three has the would-be Kafna split into groups of three. Each group is given a difficult reference question that must be answered within a certain time, but none are told how much time they have.

Nasty Natica hates the fact that she's in a group with Theo and Ohgga. She proclaims herself their group leader, but she's not fit for that. She gets quite upset with Theo, who is all about cooperation with other groups, and even asks a candidate from another group with help. Ohgga handles Natica again, pointing things out to the selfish snob. I'm a former librarian myself, so I found the methods and reasoning Theo's group used to find the answer very interesting. How various candidates react to not finishing in time was also very interesting.

The test over, Theo picks up his pet, Uira the Citlapol (albino) duotail, from his dorm room and explores the city. A very pale little old lady runs past him. She hides in some bushes, asking Theo to lie to those chasing her. He doesn't. She escapes and meets Theo again. Theo insists she treat him with proper courtesy. She does.

Theo tells her his name, but when he asks her for hers, she tells him to call her 'Granny'. She takes him to the Park of the Great Magus. There's a very tall statue of that Magus, the Magus of Reason. He was the one of the seven who saved the world, but didn't return. He looks like a Haupi.

The scene suddenly switches to a little girl and her mother. The little girl is thrilled to have checked out a book from the library. She's about to greet a rooster when it's grabbed and eaten by a large humanoid with a head shaped like a bird. The humanoid's body is highly decorated. It snatches up the little girl and jumps away. We're told it's a hostile spirit. Members of the Central Library Protections Office are dispatched to capture it.

We learn that the hostile spirit was ordered to cause chaos, which it does.

Granny and Theo part, but the spirit brings the crying girl to the top of the statue of the Great Magus. During the battle, Granny is extremely impressed by Theo, noting that he is using the matlalcueye, not that Theo knows that's what he's doing. Uiru helps because she loves Theo.

The Protections Office Kafna save the day. Granny demonstrates her mana. She warns Theo that he doesn't know how to use his mana and he could have died. What she says about herself is enough for Theo to realize who she is, but we have to wait some pages to find out.

We see who sent the spirit, but do not learn that person's name.

There is a conversation between the Central Representative of the Library and a sage. When Komako Kaulikk learns that Master Kin, Magus of the Almanac, is retiring, she realizes she is the last of the six mages who survived saving the world still active. She's very worried about what will happen after she retires, because mages' successors will act in the interests of their own races instead of for the good of all. She fears there will be another war between the races unless they can find a link in the next generation -- someone who can unite all races.

Theo returns to his native village of Amun, certain he has failed. It's graduation day from the village school for Theo's class. There are some nice, homey scenes, such as the graduates discussing what they'll do next. Theo was the best in his class. Acat, the second best (who lent a suit to Theo to wear to take the exam), is worried. His desire is to be a hamna, a scholar. He's mad that Theo might give up.

Theo introduces Uira to his best friend, Kukuo, the sacred beast. I loved what Kukup told Uira he would do to her if she ever hurt Theo and Uira's response.

It turns out that quite a few people in the village have ideas about what Theo could do with his life if he doesn't become a Kafna. They're quite passionate about wanting him to follow their choices. Theo's older half-sister, Tifa, wants him to be happy. Perhaps the most touching scene is with Master Ganan, who hired Theo to work at his masonry when the teen was only six.

Theo gets the message that tells him whether he passed or failed the exam.

As for Uira, she's quite jealous of Sakiya, the girl who was once Theo's only human friend. Luckily, Sakiya's monkey, Keko, can handle Uira. More disquieting, Uira has a nightmare about her past on pages 141 and 142. What we learn from it does not suggest that Uira has learned her lesson.

The art is still beautiful and I'm thoroughly enjoying what we learn about this world and the races and creatures on it. It has Seven Seminal Texts. This volume gives us a one-page summary of each, in this order: the Disk of Nezahuapaleha in chapter 10, The Paean of the Seven Trees before chapter 11, the disc by the Haupi again before chapter 12 with The Trine by the Kadoe on the page after the disc, The Allameynk by the Ratka, and The Four-Page Voyage by Tsuni Shiro before chapter 13. Before chapter 14, we get the last two, which had opposite effects. The Black Text is the one that got most of the Haupi slaughtered by the Hyron. On the other hand, the single-sheet 'Roar for the Morrow' ended the Ratkas' enslavement of the Creak.

I still love this manga! show less