“To defeat the minotaur known far and wide as the King of the Labyrinth, Zara, the son of the hero Panzel, embarked on a journey of self-improvement. Over the course of his travels, he met many influential figures—including a daughter of the mountains, a lamia, and a shrine maiden—with each encounter contributing immensely to his growth. On the latest leg of his trip, he meets a knight in red armor named Laura. But shortly after Zara joins her party, the knight's hometown falls victim to a bloody siege. With many life-changing adventures behind him, Zara returns to the Sazardon Labyrinth…but will his newfound strength and experience prove sufficient for him to emerge with the minotaur's head?” (Yen Press)
Spanning decades and generations, “King of Labyrinth” started off as a familiar RPG fantasy title in the Light novel format–looting and leveling up the primary goal of all adventures into the labyrinth. However, the second book opened up the world past the video game-inspired material, into a fantasy world rich with politics and fascinating characters. A world that grew as the legendary Minotaur (the ‘king of the labyrinth') existed as a trophy for the greater hero to claim. As the second release expounded on the lore of the fantasy landscape, Shien Bis would offer interludes that updated the reader on the beast's constant quest for a worthy battle within the dungeons.
This approach made the series exciting for both fans of more ‘traditional' forms of fantasy telling and Japanese role-playing games, and there was reason to be excited to see how Shien Bis would cap off the series in the third and final book. Unfortunately, the answer is much of the same as the previous but delivered in a drastically underwhelming fashion. In part, the rushed tone of the final volume kills the sense of wonder of the previous two books, but the fault lies mostly in cramming in an abstract narrative with a new dungeon where ‘nothing is as it seems'. In order to keep the review spoiler-free, it is hard to expand much beyond this, but readers who read both volume1 and volume 2, can expect familiar structure but more emphasis on exposition and a slightly absurd turn in the action.
The novel still manages to maintain some charms of the previous work, since Shien Bis is an extremely talented writer when it comes to describing action-heavy sequences, and he certainly has a command of the world he crafts–no loose ends or convoluted storytelling for such an expansive world. Consequently, there are still points where the reader will be deeply drawn into the world of “King of Labyrinth”, even as the story begins to feel rushed and bordering on the absurd. In particular, the new protagonist of the book, Azra, wields power beyond even that explored in the previous books.
Like the previous two books, “King of Labyrinth: Gods Beasts and Humans” is released in hardcover with a dust jacket, making all three books really pop on the shelf. Furthermore, the paper quality is a nice, thick off-white and the cover art across all the volumes is wonderfully stylish which also makes it a joy to collect the physical release. The only thing lacking is additional art throughout the novel or opening samples/mini-poster. These are always a bonus and not essential, but it would have been welcome to have the last book in the series add a bit of flair for readers who have been collecting the series.
The final entry is certainly a letdown when compared to the first two releases, lacking the excitement, creativity, and intrigue of what came before it. However, the journey to get there is still worth giving “King of Labyrinth” a read, even as Shien Bis falters in the execution he proves to be an exceptional talent in the light novel format. Personally, I will be excited to check out any of his future titles that are translated for a Western audience.
film et vision du monde, sur la littérature