Strike the Blood, Vol. 8 (light novel): The Tyrant and the Fool (Strike the Blood (light novel), 8) Paperback – January 30, 2018

The seventh and eighth volumes of *Strike the Blood* are an interconnected story. Though they do not have a huge cliff-hanger, and each one can be read alone as a single adventure, the seventh volume does set the stage for volume 8.In this story, Kojou's sister, Nagisa, who has had health problems from time to time, collapses in gym class, and is sent to the hospital under the supervision of their mother, a medical doctor and researcher, Mimori. While she is there, other events unfold that lead the reader, and Kojou himself, to certain revelations of his past, and how he obtained the powers of the Fourth Progenitor, the world's "mightiest vampire".I can't say too much without spoiling some plot points for the two-part story, but suffice to say that there is a lot of time spent in flashback territory. We are taken back to two different time periods. First, three years prior, when the chain of events leading up the the main story of the series was set in motion, and secondly, several months prior to the start of the series, when Kojou met and become close to the previous Fourth Primogenitor, Avrora Florestina. It is through this that we as the audience learn, and it's hinted that Kojou learns again, the truth of how he went from a normal high school boy to the person he becomes.Of course, not everything is revealed to Kojou, though it is revealed to us. Presumably, he will learn the complete truth eventually, but right now there are secrets within secrets that not everyone has learned about.I really enjoyed this flashback story for a few reasons. First off, it finally answered some major questions for the audience. One such question obviously being how the heck this ordinary human became the Fourth Primogenitor. That is impossible in this series. A human can not possibly manage to overpower and consume a vampire, especially one of this awesome power and magnitude. But in-universe there is a good reason shown for how this worked out.The second thing I enjoyed was how the story threw one for a swerve. Everything about how it at first appeared - at the start of the series - Nagisa was cured is wrong. While some of the general assumptions many made were close to the truth, almost none were correct. In fact, the series of events was intended to work out differently by the various folks controlling things from behind the scenes for what they saw (presumably) as the greater good. And if not for Kojou and Avrora (who is instrumental in this as it's the story of her death and bequeathing powers to Kojou), things would have ended up somewhat close to how the Lion King Agency and other governments wanted, but yet in a horribly wrong way that would have been really, *really* bad.The only actual issue I had is that I think that the villain of the story was nerfed. They went down too easily, in my opinion. Not because the story of how this happened made no sense. It made quite a bit of logical sense. My issue is that there wasn't nearly as dramatic a battle as I'd hoped there to be. Or expected. Then again, I guess that this subversion might work to the author's advantage for suprising us. I just would have like some more development and build-up, so the result would have looked more like a good story, and less like a *Deus ex machina*. It *wasn't* that, as the reasons in-universe make sense, but it was so sudden and all, and this worked to the detriment of the resolution.Of course, this does raise some interesting questions for the actions of, memories of, and other aspects of Kojou's Beast Vassals. But I can't say anything more on that, or else major spoilers will be given.The characters were certainly fun, though I have a sort of love-hate relationship with the Akatsuki siblings' parents. Gajou and Mimori are cool, and they do endeavor to take the steps necessary to save their daughter, but they are also sooooo immature, bratty at times, and such, that it is annoying.Veldiana was a fun character. She is tragic for much of the series, until she gets a strange, but appropriate, happy ending. And of course, the back-stories of other characters too, including Yaze and Asagi were explored in terms of how they met Kojou and so forth. This fleshing out of the characters made them more than the somewhat caricatured folks they leaned into at times. Asagi is so much more than the gorgeous and stylish genius hacker, and Yaze is so much more than the enigmatic true watcher of Kojou. This deepening and expanding of the characters was appreciated.These two volumes, showing details fans had only conjectured upon before, developing the characters more, and introducing new ones of great interest, were certainly worth reading. Highly Recommended.Rating for Vol. 7: 4/5 Stars.Rating for Vol. 8: 5/5 Stars.Overall Rating: 4/5 Stars.

Ties up a bunch of loose ends an plot points that have been building until now, but at the same time it feels like the authors using a crowbar to insert both Asagi and this entire arc into the existing framework. Far too often I felt like this books timeline had progressed into one of the prior books when it actually hadn't, was rather discombobulating.I guess the best part is that from here on it's all forward progress.

Oh my a history lesson and a good story. Being older I would not mind a series based on a archeologist who came back to life.

I love Strike the blood good History, nice MC and a lot of WAIFUS if you wanna try this LN see first the Anime because the LN is 100% better

I enjoyed learning about Avrora and seeing how she impacted Koujo and Nagisa's lives not much i didn't enjoy

Reçu rapidement, bon rapport qualité/prix. Je recommande.