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siobhan_leahy's review against another edition
5.0
This is the story I wanted from 'the book that wouldn't burn'
ceena's review against another edition
3.0
Feeling underwhelmed, but also melancholic because of the ending...
I ended up not really liking this. I wasn't pulled in as much as I wanted to be, which is rather sad. I do like the set up and the background conspiracy. I liked the intrigue. I just couldn't get myself into it all.
In fact major things happen, to some characters I like, and I felt practically nothing. It was more frustrating than anything. The ending had me feeling unsatisfied -- not even in "ugghhh I need the next book just to fix this." I did feel somewhat sad and tortured by the ending, but will it be enough to read the next book??
I just don't know... perhaps if someone wants to buddy read it, I'll give the next one a try...
I ended up not really liking this. I wasn't pulled in as much as I wanted to be, which is rather sad. I do like the set up and the background conspiracy. I liked the intrigue. I just couldn't get myself into it all.
In fact major things happen, to some characters I like, and I felt practically nothing. It was more frustrating than anything. The ending had me feeling unsatisfied -- not even in "ugghhh I need the next book just to fix this." I did feel somewhat sad and tortured by the ending, but will it be enough to read the next book??
I just don't know... perhaps if someone wants to buddy read it, I'll give the next one a try...
flitzpiepe's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
crankyoldnerd's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
coris's review against another edition
4.0
The Library of Alexandria never burned -- and now it's the near-future, but society has been controlled & shaped in strange ways by its control. Our hero, born into a book-stealing family, applies to become a Librarian ... and heads to Alexandria to study.
Harry Potter meets The Book Thief via Fahrenheit 451 -- and just as good as all of those!
Mostly this is a great YA romp with dark academia vibes, grey motivations, and a lot of shade thrown on ereaders that connect to a central source, licencing rather than owning the text, and can therefore have books edited/withdrawn at any time.
Harry Potter meets The Book Thief via Fahrenheit 451 -- and just as good as all of those!
Mostly this is a great YA romp with dark academia vibes, grey motivations, and a lot of shade thrown on ereaders that connect to a central source, licencing rather than owning the text, and can therefore have books edited/withdrawn at any time.
bibliophilefrombirth's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
4.5
ealasaid_sch's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
disneygirl08's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
emleemay's review against another edition
4.0
"We're nothing but secrets."
Books, alchemy, secret tunnels, books, friendships, rivalries, books and villains who become heroes? Oh, and did I mention books? Oh so many books...
I might complain every time I read that ridiculous "X meets Y" marketing strategy, but I have to admit that Harry Potter meets The Book Thief meets Fahrenheit 451 is a pretty good descriptor for this book. The main character - Jess - is indeed a book thief, and they're are people called Burners who (you guessed it!) burn books for political protest in this alternate world where the Great Library rules.
"The truth was what the library wanted it to be."
So you might be wondering where the Harry Potter part comes in. Well, let's imagine for a second that HP wasn't so much about wizards as it was about alchemists, and that Harry didn't go to Hogwarts but instead went to The Great Library in Alexandria, Egypt. Where there are teachers who may or may not be evil, leaders who almost certainly can't be trusted, and all the friendships and rivalries you would expect from teenagers competing to be scholars.
I can't say it's a perfect book, but it is damn entertaining. From the beautiful descriptions of Alexandria, to the frightening presence of the Library's leaders; from the competition, to the importance of friendship and the mix of funny and touching friendship dynamics. Everyone has secrets and the "bad guys" might not be what you first expect.
After this wonderful, diverse cast of characters, my favourite thing has to be the books. [b:Ink and Bone|20643052|Ink and Bone (The Great Library, #1)|Rachel Caine|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1418350512s/20643052.jpg|39934787] is about love for books, the power of books, the lengths people will go to for books. Also, though this may be unintentional, I got a sense of an underlying symbolism about the difference between ebooks and physical books in our world. Ebooks are convenient, more universal, I read them all the time... but does anything ever really compare to having the physical ink and paper in your hands?
A fast-paced, exciting read. No cliffhanger, but perfectly set up for the sequel. I can't wait!
Edit: And, just in case you were wondering, I didn't like the Morganville Vampires series and that had no bearing on my enjoyment of this.
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Books, alchemy, secret tunnels, books, friendships, rivalries, books and villains who become heroes? Oh, and did I mention books? Oh so many books...
I might complain every time I read that ridiculous "X meets Y" marketing strategy, but I have to admit that Harry Potter meets The Book Thief meets Fahrenheit 451 is a pretty good descriptor for this book. The main character - Jess - is indeed a book thief, and they're are people called Burners who (you guessed it!) burn books for political protest in this alternate world where the Great Library rules.
"The truth was what the library wanted it to be."
So you might be wondering where the Harry Potter part comes in. Well, let's imagine for a second that HP wasn't so much about wizards as it was about alchemists, and that Harry didn't go to Hogwarts but instead went to The Great Library in Alexandria, Egypt. Where there are teachers who may or may not be evil, leaders who almost certainly can't be trusted, and all the friendships and rivalries you would expect from teenagers competing to be scholars.
I can't say it's a perfect book, but it is damn entertaining. From the beautiful descriptions of Alexandria, to the frightening presence of the Library's leaders; from the competition, to the importance of friendship and the mix of funny and touching friendship dynamics. Everyone has secrets and the "bad guys" might not be what you first expect.
After this wonderful, diverse cast of characters, my favourite thing has to be the books. [b:Ink and Bone|20643052|Ink and Bone (The Great Library, #1)|Rachel Caine|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1418350512s/20643052.jpg|39934787] is about love for books, the power of books, the lengths people will go to for books. Also, though this may be unintentional, I got a sense of an underlying symbolism about the difference between ebooks and physical books in our world. Ebooks are convenient, more universal, I read them all the time... but does anything ever really compare to having the physical ink and paper in your hands?
A fast-paced, exciting read. No cliffhanger, but perfectly set up for the sequel. I can't wait!
Edit: And, just in case you were wondering, I didn't like the Morganville Vampires series and that had no bearing on my enjoyment of this.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr | Youtube
blove0312's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Reread ending 8/5/24:
This series is phenomenal. I cannot understand how the rating is under 4. The first time I read these, end of 2021 I think, I was blown away. I’ve got them on Audible and paperbacks, and they’re in my yearly rotation no matter what.
The Great Library of Alexandria never burned and in fact it and the librarians run the world. England is losing an apparently many hundreds of years war against Wales, where we begin our journey with Jess, the son of an infamous book smuggler. Why are we smuggling books? Because owning physical copies of books is illegal. The library has codices and “blanks” (essentially tablets) where you can download any copy of any book ever written (or so they’ll have you think). But there are still many people out there like me, and probably many of you, who think owning a physical book cannot be beaten. And so, the need for smugglers came about.
Jess’s father buys Jess an opening to go to the Great Library in Alexandria to test and train to become an apprentice and earn a chance to become part of it. With the strings attached of course that he is to make illegal runs for his father and learn (spy) all he can to pass it back out. There are only 6 openings to be filled, and I believe we start off with about 24 young adults. Jess and a few others become close as the group is whittled down, and then they’re sent into the heart of the war, Wales pressing in on Oxford, to save books at the library before it falls. And what he’ll learn will turn everything he thought he knew upside down; the Great Library isn’t so great after all, and they are willing to go to any length to keep some knowledge hidden away, killing people, imprisoning them, destroying their inventions.
Scholar Christopher Wolfe is one of my favorite fictional characters, ever. I apparently have a huge soft spot for fictional gay men (see Lord John Grey from Outlander, Robbie Fontaine from Green Creek, Magnus Bane from TMI/TID/etc. Jack Hawthorn from The Last Binding…).
This series is phenomenal. I cannot understand how the rating is under 4. The first time I read these, end of 2021 I think, I was blown away. I’ve got them on Audible and paperbacks, and they’re in my yearly rotation no matter what.
The Great Library of Alexandria never burned and in fact it and the librarians run the world. England is losing an apparently many hundreds of years war against Wales, where we begin our journey with Jess, the son of an infamous book smuggler. Why are we smuggling books? Because owning physical copies of books is illegal. The library has codices and “blanks” (essentially tablets) where you can download any copy of any book ever written (or so they’ll have you think). But there are still many people out there like me, and probably many of you, who think owning a physical book cannot be beaten. And so, the need for smugglers came about.
Jess’s father buys Jess an opening to go to the Great Library in Alexandria to test and train to become an apprentice and earn a chance to become part of it. With the strings attached of course that he is to make illegal runs for his father and learn (spy) all he can to pass it back out. There are only 6 openings to be filled, and I believe we start off with about 24 young adults. Jess and a few others become close as the group is whittled down, and then they’re sent into the heart of the war, Wales pressing in on Oxford, to save books at the library before it falls. And what he’ll learn will turn everything he thought he knew upside down; the Great Library isn’t so great after all, and they are willing to go to any length to keep some knowledge hidden away, killing people, imprisoning them, destroying their inventions.
Scholar Christopher Wolfe is one of my favorite fictional characters, ever. I apparently have a huge soft spot for fictional gay men (see Lord John Grey from Outlander, Robbie Fontaine from Green Creek, Magnus Bane from TMI/TID/etc. Jack Hawthorn from The Last Binding…).