Magus of the Library 2

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 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 show more 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