Spice and Wolf (light novels)

Spice and Wolf (狼と香辛料, Ōkami to Kōshinryō, lit. "Wolf and Spice") (stylized as Spice & Wolf) is a light novel series written by Isuna Hasekura with illustrations by Jyuu Ayakura. The series began on February 10, 2006 and is still ongoing. Yen Press holds the license to translate and release the series in English.

Plot
A traveling merchant's job is a lonely one. Since his work requires him to always be on the move, Kraft Lawrence keeps his focus on collecting profit in the hopes of being able to open up his own store one day. During one of his stops, he inadvertantly frees a wolf spirit named Holo. Unlike Lawrence, she has been tied down to a single village for centuries due to an ancient promise. Since it seems like the village people no longer have need of her, she takes a chance with the flustered merchant, asking him if he might be able to bring her back to her distant hometown of Yoitsu. Cunning, wise, and not without a fair amount of mischievousness, Holo may just be the business partner Lawrence never knew he needed.

Volumes

 * See also: List of light novels

There are currently 23 light novels.

10th Anniversary
In 2016, Hasekura revisited the series in order to celebrate its 10th anniversary. In addition to beginning a spin-off series, he continued Lawrence and Holo's story. Each of these new volumes have the subtitle Spring Log, and are a collection of short stories and novellas.

Taking place ten years after the events of the 17th light novel, these stories are about the daily lives of Lawrence and Holo as a married couple, bathhouse owners, and parents.

Reception
To be added...

Trivia

 * The title of the series is a reference to the two main characters: "wolf" refers to Holo's true nature as a wolf spirit, and "spice" refers to Lawrence.
 * The novels have been adapted into a manga and anime series. The main premise has also been used for video games.
 * When the light novels were first released in English, Yen Press gave the first six volumes orginial covers. The manga-style illustration of Holo was instead used as a dust jacket. The reason this was done was to reach a wider audience.