Red River: Vol. 3

by Chie Shinohara

Synopsis
Yuri, a twentieth-century teen trapped in an ancient Hittite empire, learns the secrets of the Iron Age as her quest to return to her own time continues. Her protector, the dashing Prince Kail, finds out that war with a neighboring kingdom is emminent. At the dawn of war, Yuri and Kail express their growning feelings for one another. The romantic adventure intensifies as Yuri's relationship with Prince Kail (and her chastity) is threatened by an unexpected interloper -- the prince's own half brother!


Review
This is really a bridge book. One arc ends, while another begins. Yuri finally wins over Tito's murderer, as unlikely as that is, with her weapon of choice -- an iron dagger. One must remember that these people are still in the bronze age, so iron was not understood very well. This further cements her in people's minds, because only the goddess would have picked a worthless-looking, rusty dagger. Wait a sec, if it was rusty, doesn't that mean that it's brittle and weak? I mean, I'm no chemist, but I thought rust was bad for swords. And the way she did it -- breaking bricks with that sword. Absolutely ridiculous. But anyway, now she's a hero, and Tito's family: his three sisters and father, promise to give their secret of iron-making only to her.

So there's an upcoming war with the Mitanni, and the Hittite King orders iron weapons to be made. Sure, this sounds nice, like they'll have a definite victory, but Yuri never tries to use this power to ensure her or Kail's position. It's called being proactive, and they could have used the leverage here, oh well.

Finally, Kail's half-brother, Zannanza shows up, and takes an instant liking to Yuri. Of course, the queen uses this to her advantage and controls his mind so that he'll kidnap her and "have his way with her." I'm just surprised, as always, that the characters are never as vigilant as they could be. I figured the whole water trick would be common knowledge by now, but no.

Anyway, as a volume, I thought this one was weak. The climax of the last arc should have been more exciting, but I thought it was anti-climatic. The start of the next arc is so-so so far, so I guess we'll see.

Final thought: I'll keep collecting this series.