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sangloup's review against another edition
5.0
Extra Book #17.... not part of the EBN Challenge.
Book 2 by Greg Cox based the the TV series "The Librarians"
I very much enjoyed the book. It was a lot of fun and had a great twist at the end.
Book 2 by Greg Cox based the the TV series "The Librarians"
I very much enjoyed the book. It was a lot of fun and had a great twist at the end.
babyleo's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
lyucky's review against another edition
4.0
Fun twist and I appreciated the one-liner wink to Leverage.
laurenla's review against another edition
3.0
Written clearly and professionally. This adventure has our group of intrepid Librarians separate better to sort out a series of crimes savouring of Mother Goose rhymes. Reminiscent of a simplistic Jasper Fforde Thursday Next adventure, starring my favourite people, Librarians. Setbacks and failures are a large part of their operations, with lots of jokes along the way.
I was unfamiliar with the characters but quickly brought up to speed. I enjoyed this book enough to want to try the TV series (PS, better stick with the books). I will look for others in this series.
I was unfamiliar with the characters but quickly brought up to speed. I enjoyed this book enough to want to try the TV series (PS, better stick with the books). I will look for others in this series.
kat_impossible's review against another edition
4.0
**I was provided with an eARC by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!**
If you didn’t know already, The Librarians is a show on TNT and this book is sort of like a companion story for said show. In fact, this is already the second book about them, however, I haven’t read the other one yet (as I don’t believe it’s truly necessary to read them in the right order seen as they are closed stories, kind of like episodes).
I want to start by saying that Greg Cox managed extremely well in capturing the voices of the different characters! They feel exactly like the people I saw on screen, as well as their relationships with each other and that’s already something I appreciate very much. Now that might make you believe that you have to watch the show beforehand to enjoy this book, but if you are up for riddles, rhymes and adventuring, I think you can enjoy the book without actually having seen an episode. You might miss a couple references to previous storylines or happenings from the past, but you will still be able to get the general gist of things.
All in all, this was a really fun ride! The whole tale was dynamic and well crafted, although a bit predictable. I found that the switch of perspective became a little formulaic at times, but it doesn’t really take away from the enjoyment. It’s a page turner for sure, simply because you want to know if you are right with your theories or not. I would definitely read more upcoming tales from our Librarians, because let’s face it, you can never have enough Cassandra, Ezekiel and Stone!
Fazit: 3.5/5 stars!
If you didn’t know already, The Librarians is a show on TNT and this book is sort of like a companion story for said show. In fact, this is already the second book about them, however, I haven’t read the other one yet (as I don’t believe it’s truly necessary to read them in the right order seen as they are closed stories, kind of like episodes).
I want to start by saying that Greg Cox managed extremely well in capturing the voices of the different characters! They feel exactly like the people I saw on screen, as well as their relationships with each other and that’s already something I appreciate very much. Now that might make you believe that you have to watch the show beforehand to enjoy this book, but if you are up for riddles, rhymes and adventuring, I think you can enjoy the book without actually having seen an episode. You might miss a couple references to previous storylines or happenings from the past, but you will still be able to get the general gist of things.
All in all, this was a really fun ride! The whole tale was dynamic and well crafted, although a bit predictable. I found that the switch of perspective became a little formulaic at times, but it doesn’t really take away from the enjoyment. It’s a page turner for sure, simply because you want to know if you are right with your theories or not. I would definitely read more upcoming tales from our Librarians, because let’s face it, you can never have enough Cassandra, Ezekiel and Stone!
Fazit: 3.5/5 stars!
sleepysarah's review against another edition
4.0
Great characterization of personages created for a TV show! Cox sticks with their TV personalities and the crazy, unpredictable, and mind-baffling events that “wild magic” brings to their adventures!
elephant's review against another edition
4.0
Cassandra, Ezekiel and Stone, guardians for the Library that houses magical items, set out on a search for the missing parts of the Mother Goose spells after a series of odd events. There is lots of action and adventure as they battle Mother Goose, the Three Blind Mice and others in a attempt to get the spell book and stop Humpty Dumpty from being put back together again because that would be the end of the world as we know it. The book is full of action and a fun read!
adancewithbooks's review
4.0
I received a copy of this book through Netgalley from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
The Librarians is of course a title that will be catching to us readers. If you did not know, The Librarian was first a movie with a few sequels starring Noah Wyle. Movies I loved despite how cheesy they were in parts. A few years ago this movie inspired a tv show called The Librarians with three new Librarians while still having Noah Wyle’s character Flynn appear from time to time. This book is an extra story set inside this world, and already the second one by Greg Cox.
I’ll be honest and say I have not had the chance to see all seasons or episodes of The Librarians tv show. So I was very curious if this book would still be a good read for me. The answer is yes. You do need a working knowledge of the world and a bit of an idea of the characters but that is to be expected when reading this type of book. But other than that it is easy to read for those of us who have not been able to see a lot of the tv show. You also do not need to have read the first novel.
The writing in this book was solid giving us some more details and perhaps small bits of insights on the inner workings of the characters. I think my only complaint would be that this book is written as an episode of the show. It could be inserted in the show easily. The drawback of that is that this doesn’t always work in book form. For most of the book we follow Baird but we get the point of view of all main characters and the targets mentioned in the synopsis at some point. They split up in the middle of the book where we switch to another character every chapter. It pulled me out of the story of that moment here and there.
I also have to say that the start is really predictable story wise. I don’t think this is necessarily the authors fault but the formula of the show. Like I said what works on the screen doesn’t always work in book form. But the predictability eased out a little nearing the ending. I did guess that twist though!
The most important element however is how well the characters and the feel match up with the actual show. And that was done rather well. I could picture our characters pulling certain facial expressions. These characters all have their own quirkiness. I mostly could appreciate some of the thoughts characters had about each other, especially the three librarians. In that regard I would have preferred or would love to see a book entirely in the point of view of one of them with a lot more depth in thoughts. But one can’t get everything.
As a whole though this book exceeded by expectations. After having read various types of tv show novelizations I have had some duds. But I was happily surprised by the writing and characterization of the show. And I think this is a great book to stand next to the series for the fans.
The Librarians is of course a title that will be catching to us readers. If you did not know, The Librarian was first a movie with a few sequels starring Noah Wyle. Movies I loved despite how cheesy they were in parts. A few years ago this movie inspired a tv show called The Librarians with three new Librarians while still having Noah Wyle’s character Flynn appear from time to time. This book is an extra story set inside this world, and already the second one by Greg Cox.
I’ll be honest and say I have not had the chance to see all seasons or episodes of The Librarians tv show. So I was very curious if this book would still be a good read for me. The answer is yes. You do need a working knowledge of the world and a bit of an idea of the characters but that is to be expected when reading this type of book. But other than that it is easy to read for those of us who have not been able to see a lot of the tv show. You also do not need to have read the first novel.
The writing in this book was solid giving us some more details and perhaps small bits of insights on the inner workings of the characters. I think my only complaint would be that this book is written as an episode of the show. It could be inserted in the show easily. The drawback of that is that this doesn’t always work in book form. For most of the book we follow Baird but we get the point of view of all main characters and the targets mentioned in the synopsis at some point. They split up in the middle of the book where we switch to another character every chapter. It pulled me out of the story of that moment here and there.
I also have to say that the start is really predictable story wise. I don’t think this is necessarily the authors fault but the formula of the show. Like I said what works on the screen doesn’t always work in book form. But the predictability eased out a little nearing the ending. I did guess that twist though!
The most important element however is how well the characters and the feel match up with the actual show. And that was done rather well. I could picture our characters pulling certain facial expressions. These characters all have their own quirkiness. I mostly could appreciate some of the thoughts characters had about each other, especially the three librarians. In that regard I would have preferred or would love to see a book entirely in the point of view of one of them with a lot more depth in thoughts. But one can’t get everything.
As a whole though this book exceeded by expectations. After having read various types of tv show novelizations I have had some duds. But I was happily surprised by the writing and characterization of the show. And I think this is a great book to stand next to the series for the fans.
nightxade's review
4.0
With thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I was unfamiliar with The Librarians TV series when I was given the opportunity to read Greg Cox's first tie-in novel. I immediately fell in love with the quirky characters and the fantastical adventures of librarians who guard the magic and secrets hidden in books. I also really loved that the book offered little tidbits of fact with its fantasy. An opportunity to learn a thing or two while being thoroughly entertained? I'm in!
This story takes us back to the literary creation of on Elizabeth Goose who, in 1719, published a children's book filled with rhymes that we all know well. But as any good librarian knows, words have power. As part of the Mother Goose Treaty, the Librarian of that time was able to destroy all of the copies of Mother Goose's spellbook--except the one that is now causing all sorts of trouble for our heroes and the distant offspring of the great storyteller.
Since reading The Librarians and the Lost Lamp, I've excitedly gotten into watching the show and have come to know the characters, each of whom Cox captures easily in his writing. Here, Cox has to work a little harder because the story separates the group as they chase down the three pieces of the spellbook and try to keep Mother Goose at bay. As in the show, Flynn is unsurprisingly absent from the adventure, preferring to work alone, while the other share the snappy banter. While the latter is somewhat of a loss when Ezekiel, Cassandra, and Jake are forced to work with the Goose heirs, I appreciated the opportunity to get the know the characters better on their own. Their respective chapters let them focus on the individual strengths that have made them the first group of Librarians where the order originally only had one at a time. And while they all work well together because of those strengths and balancing each other's weaknesses, it's nice to know that they are still fully fleshed out individual characters who can run solo when they need to.
As I've said, there are several moments of educational value--as there should be in a story about librarians--even magical ones. I've learned that vinegar is a spider deterrent and I can now recite additional verses to several classic Mother Goose rhymes.
The story itself holds up as well as any campy fantasy adventure mystery should. The Librarians never take themselves too seriously, and Cox does the same, leading to a light-hearted romp that was a delight to read.
www.bibliosanctum.com
I was unfamiliar with The Librarians TV series when I was given the opportunity to read Greg Cox's first tie-in novel. I immediately fell in love with the quirky characters and the fantastical adventures of librarians who guard the magic and secrets hidden in books. I also really loved that the book offered little tidbits of fact with its fantasy. An opportunity to learn a thing or two while being thoroughly entertained? I'm in!
This story takes us back to the literary creation of on Elizabeth Goose who, in 1719, published a children's book filled with rhymes that we all know well. But as any good librarian knows, words have power. As part of the Mother Goose Treaty, the Librarian of that time was able to destroy all of the copies of Mother Goose's spellbook--except the one that is now causing all sorts of trouble for our heroes and the distant offspring of the great storyteller.
Since reading The Librarians and the Lost Lamp, I've excitedly gotten into watching the show and have come to know the characters, each of whom Cox captures easily in his writing. Here, Cox has to work a little harder because the story separates the group as they chase down the three pieces of the spellbook and try to keep Mother Goose at bay. As in the show, Flynn is unsurprisingly absent from the adventure, preferring to work alone, while the other share the snappy banter. While the latter is somewhat of a loss when Ezekiel, Cassandra, and Jake are forced to work with the Goose heirs, I appreciated the opportunity to get the know the characters better on their own. Their respective chapters let them focus on the individual strengths that have made them the first group of Librarians where the order originally only had one at a time. And while they all work well together because of those strengths and balancing each other's weaknesses, it's nice to know that they are still fully fleshed out individual characters who can run solo when they need to.
As I've said, there are several moments of educational value--as there should be in a story about librarians--even magical ones. I've learned that vinegar is a spider deterrent and I can now recite additional verses to several classic Mother Goose rhymes.
The story itself holds up as well as any campy fantasy adventure mystery should. The Librarians never take themselves too seriously, and Cox does the same, leading to a light-hearted romp that was a delight to read.
www.bibliosanctum.com