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tckcallahan's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting concept. I really wasn’t expecting a dystopian read when I picked up the book but it was definitely fascinating and gripping. The fact that it isn’t too far removed from a truth is what made this a book I could put down. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.
baldwinme40's review against another edition
4.0
I wrote a review of this at the public library, but the internet "mysteriously" crashed and ate it. Shoulda been expecting it, I guess! They're onto me. Will review later, if the Garda don't catch me first.
sarahp85's review against another edition
4.0
My sister has been telling me that I HAD to read this series and I finally started. Took me longer than I thought but that's because life got very busy.
Can not wait to read the rest. Did warn my sister that I will be mad at her if these do not have a happy ending
Can not wait to read the rest. Did warn my sister that I will be mad at her if these do not have a happy ending
magikspells's review against another edition
4.0
Very creative and unique view on the written word and power of knowledge
votesforwomen's review against another edition
3.0
*sighs* I wanted to like this so bad, but I don't think I'll be continuing with the series.
The characters were all flat, and the world never felt explained enough. For instance, if books are banned, WHERE DO THEY COME FROM? Where do black market copies of books come from if there are no printing presses and all the books are uploaded to the library? Why would anyone ever need more than one copy of a book?
Also, Morgan. I'm sorry. But I never, not for one second, found any reason to care about her. There was nothing she did worthy of liking. Her existence kind of made me crazy, and I saw no reason to care about her other than "oh, she's Jess's pretty love interest for no reason at all!" They had no chemistry. And all the other characters...dynamics I've seen, stereotypes for the most part. It was rather disappointing.
I could also never tell if Jess's father cared about him or hated him. Like...okay.
3 stars...it did have some good qualities, but overall I just didn't feel connected enough to either the world or the characters to go on with the series.
Content advisory: Quite a bit of light cussing (mostly d-words, and b******d showed up a number of times too. Kissing, and a couple is implied? to be gay. Also a lot of violence, some of which was related to sieges and was fairly disturbing.
The characters were all flat, and the world never felt explained enough. For instance, if books are banned, WHERE DO THEY COME FROM? Where do black market copies of books come from if there are no printing presses and all the books are uploaded to the library? Why would anyone ever need more than one copy of a book?
Also, Morgan. I'm sorry. But I never, not for one second, found any reason to care about her. There was nothing she did worthy of liking. Her existence kind of made me crazy, and I saw no reason to care about her other than "oh, she's Jess's pretty love interest for no reason at all!" They had no chemistry. And all the other characters...dynamics I've seen, stereotypes for the most part. It was rather disappointing.
I could also never tell if Jess's father cared about him or hated him. Like...okay.
3 stars...it did have some good qualities, but overall I just didn't feel connected enough to either the world or the characters to go on with the series.
Content advisory: Quite a bit of light cussing (mostly d-words, and b******d showed up a number of times too. Kissing, and a couple is implied? to be gay. Also a lot of violence, some of which was related to sieges and was fairly disturbing.
edshara's review
2.0
As a book lover, I thought I would love this book. Instead I found myself just pushing through it. The first 100+ pages seemed to take forever. In the beginning I found the Ephemera's(I think of them as this world's version of E-mail) were confusing and mentioned characters that weren't initially active in the plot. It was a bit difficult to keep track and I did find myself going back to make sure I kept everyone straight. The last half(or less) of the book was more enjoyable and I did find that I was less confused and somewhat more intrigued with the story.
My main issue with the book was the Library didn't want citizens having actual copies of books, yet they could upload books to a blank(to me a blank was something like an empty e-reader; the Library uploads a book and when you're done it disappears). Now as far as I know, the Library didn't alter what the books said, so what's the big deal if people have actual books on bookshelves. I get it just boils down to control, however, this was just weak to me. Their is a chance that certain topics weren't given to the general public, but I can't be certain about that because I wasn't always fully engaged in the story, so that is something I could have skimmed over.
My next issue is, if a citizen shows signs of creating a certain type of device/machine(I won't say what due to possible spoilers) it is considered heresy. Yet it isn't listed as a Law or publically known that a machine/device like this is illegal. So a citizen can mean well and think they are helping, because the Obscurist's (alchemist's that transfer the text of books, people or machinery) are becoming rare, and instead of a pat on the back, they can be punished. That just didn't make sense to me.
If I can't find the rest of the books in the series at my local library, I won't continue. I'm interested enough to see if it gets any better, but if the only way I can get the books is to purchase them, its not going to happen.
My main issue with the book was the Library didn't want citizens having actual copies of books, yet they could upload books to a blank(to me a blank was something like an empty e-reader; the Library uploads a book and when you're done it disappears). Now as far as I know, the Library didn't alter what the books said, so what's the big deal if people have actual books on bookshelves. I get it just boils down to control, however, this was just weak to me. Their is a chance that certain topics weren't given to the general public, but I can't be certain about that because I wasn't always fully engaged in the story, so that is something I could have skimmed over.
My next issue is, if a citizen shows signs of creating a certain type of device/machine(I won't say what due to possible spoilers) it is considered heresy. Yet it isn't listed as a Law or publically known that a machine/device like this is illegal. So a citizen can mean well and think they are helping, because the Obscurist's (alchemist's that transfer the text of books, people or machinery) are becoming rare, and instead of a pat on the back, they can be punished. That just didn't make sense to me.
If I can't find the rest of the books in the series at my local library, I won't continue. I'm interested enough to see if it gets any better, but if the only way I can get the books is to purchase them, its not going to happen.
freadomlibrary's review against another edition
4.0
Actual rating 4.5 stars
This review was originally posted at https://freadomlibrary.wordpress.com/
I received an e-ARC of this book from Penguin and Berkeley, NAL via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
Critically
Plot – 4 out of 5 stars
I didn’t know what I was expecting from this story, besides a book about books, but it’s so much more than that. It’s really intriguing and the author shows a lot of creativity when it comes to the world building and how the world is. It immediately pulled me in and kept my interest the entire way. This book was very fast paced and included alchemy, adventure, war and conspiracies. It’s super intricate and there are some amazing themes.
Writing Style – 4 out of 5 stars
I quite liked this author’s writing style. It’s simple yet intriguing. At the beginning, the world building was rocky but slowly became more inclusive and easier to understand. The writing style has intricate and beautiful moments yet is still easy to read. However, I think most of the book was used to set up the background information and set up for future books.
Characters – 3 out of 5 stars
This is where the book fell a little bit for me. I enjoyed the side characters a lot more than I did our main character Jess. He felt very flat and uninterested to me even though he was the one narrating the entire story. He’s very serious and intense. He’s grown up being taken advantage of so he’s used to being distrustful. I felt him to be sincere and dedicated but at the same time, he has a tendency to be selfish. He’s kind of an inconsistent character, I never really felt a connection with him and he seemed unsure about everything that was happening around him. He couldn’t really decide what he wanted to do or think or want. It was really frustrating. However, I felt like the side characters had a lot more personality and were a lot easier to connect to. There’s quite a few of them but my particular favorites were Morgan, Thomas and Khalila. The great part about them beside their distinct personalities and attitudes is that they all come from different places around the world which adds diversity to the cast.
Emotionally
The plot was intriguing. We follow Jess, who comes from a family of book smugglers in a world where the Great Library of Alexandria exists and has control of all the knowledge and how it is spread throughout the world. He is forced by his father to take the test to become a worker of the Library but things get a lot more complicated than he bargained for. I was surprised with how quickly I became invested in this story and in the history of the world. Even though some things weren’t completely explained, it was still easy to absorb and interesting. It’s so surprising how the author shapes the world considering how there is only one shift: The Great Library of Alexandria wasn’t destroyed. It completely changes how progress would develop all of the world. I’m really interested in what themes that brings up and that this series is playing with. What is more important, life or knowledge. How far should we go to preserve books? And who should be in charge of something like that? All these things combined made the plot really interesting, not only the kinds of challenges the group of teenagers we meet have to go through to be accepted into service of the Library but also the obstacles that they didn’t suspect. There are also sections of correspondence, or writings or an anecdote from a third party that gives a different sort of depth to the book that I wasn’t expecting. Yet, it kind of all felt like a set up for the following books. Everything felt momentary, like just the beginning to what the journey was actually going to be about.
To be honest, I still don’t know if I like Jess or not. There were sometimes that I felt for him, for his upbringing and his situation but then there were other times where he was self-absorbed and I just wanted to scream at him to look at the big picture. I was rooting for him because I was rooting for the group of characters. They had to deal with really heavy things in this book and I just wanted everyone to be safe. So I obviously wanted him alive but he’s so indecisive at times and also kind of selfish which causes some sucky consequences toward the end of the book. I’m hoping that his character will develop and improve in later books.
However, the side characters were awesome. So much diversity, emotion and life packed into them that it’s surprising to me that the author can write such vastly meh characters like Jess and then so many supporting characters that kick serious ass. My favorite out of all of them is definitely Thomas, he’s what you would call a gentle giant. He’s so incredibly smart and so sweet but also naive. It’s unfortunate because it gets him into trouble and it’s just sad Then there’s Galin, who comes off as a huge jerk and she kind of is. She’s really tough and wants to be in what’s considered the military in this world. It took me awhile to warm up to her and it also happened that way for the rest of the cast, but I feel like she’s going to be important part of the series. Then we have Morgan who I don’t want to talk about as much but she’s just very very unlucky for such a spitfire of a girl. Wolfe is also one of my favorite characters, he’s the teens’ mentor and he’s tough and rough around the edges but he’s been through so much and he’s still fighting and doing the best he can with what he’s been dealt. I love him!
Before I wrap this up I want to talk about something that bothered me: the romance. There are quite a few romances in this book, some established others developing. While one of them I appreciated and rooted for, there were others that I felt weren’t developed the best way possible. There were no love triangles thank God and no instalove which is also great but they did feel like they were rushed. It was almost like the characters interacted one or twice, three times tops (at least that the reader sees) and suddenly they have an intense connection. I appreciate that it wasn’t right off the bat but it would’ve been so much better for it to have developed happily and slowly. I hope that improves in the next books.
Overall, I really liked this book. The plot caught my attention quickly and the world building and setting were super interesting and intriguing. The writing style is simple yet easy to read and entertaining. The characters are a mix between amazingly developed or a bit flat and unemotional. The romance needs improvement but I’m looking forward to seeing how the series continues.Then there’s Galin, who comes off as a huge jerk and she kind of is. She’s really tough and wants to be in what’s considered the military in this world. It took me awhile to warm up to her and it also happened that way for the rest of the cast, but I feel like she’s going to be important part of the series. Then we have Morgan who I don’t want to talk about as much but she’s just very very unlucky for such a spitfire of a girl. Wolfe is also one of my favorite characters, he’s the teens’ mentor and he’s tough and rough around the edges but he’s been through so much and he’s still fighting and doing the best he can with what he’s been dealt. I love him!
Before I wrap this up I want to talk about something that bothered me: the romance. There are quite a few romances in this book, some established others developing. While one of them I appreciated and rooted for, there were others that I felt weren’t developed the best way possible. There were no love triangles thank God and no instalove which is also great but they did feel like they were rushed. It was almost like the characters interacted one or twice, three times tops (at least that the reader sees) and suddenly they have an intense connection. I appreciate that it wasn’t right off the bat but it would’ve been so much better for it to have developed happily and slowly. I hope that improves in the next books.
Overall, I really liked this book. The plot caught my attention quickly and the world building and setting were super interesting and intriguing. The writing style is simple yet easy to read and entertaining. The characters are a mix between amazingly developed or a bit flat and unemotional. The romance needs improvement but I’m looking forward to seeing how the series continues.
This review was originally posted at https://freadomlibrary.wordpress.com/
I received an e-ARC of this book from Penguin and Berkeley, NAL via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
Critically
Plot – 4 out of 5 stars
I didn’t know what I was expecting from this story, besides a book about books, but it’s so much more than that. It’s really intriguing and the author shows a lot of creativity when it comes to the world building and how the world is. It immediately pulled me in and kept my interest the entire way. This book was very fast paced and included alchemy, adventure, war and conspiracies. It’s super intricate and there are some amazing themes.
Writing Style – 4 out of 5 stars
I quite liked this author’s writing style. It’s simple yet intriguing. At the beginning, the world building was rocky but slowly became more inclusive and easier to understand. The writing style has intricate and beautiful moments yet is still easy to read. However, I think most of the book was used to set up the background information and set up for future books.
Characters – 3 out of 5 stars
This is where the book fell a little bit for me. I enjoyed the side characters a lot more than I did our main character Jess. He felt very flat and uninterested to me even though he was the one narrating the entire story. He’s very serious and intense. He’s grown up being taken advantage of so he’s used to being distrustful. I felt him to be sincere and dedicated but at the same time, he has a tendency to be selfish. He’s kind of an inconsistent character, I never really felt a connection with him and he seemed unsure about everything that was happening around him. He couldn’t really decide what he wanted to do or think or want. It was really frustrating. However, I felt like the side characters had a lot more personality and were a lot easier to connect to. There’s quite a few of them but my particular favorites were Morgan, Thomas and Khalila. The great part about them beside their distinct personalities and attitudes is that they all come from different places around the world which adds diversity to the cast.
Emotionally
Spoiler
I’ve heard good things about this book, but I was really surprised with how hooked into it I became.The plot was intriguing. We follow Jess, who comes from a family of book smugglers in a world where the Great Library of Alexandria exists and has control of all the knowledge and how it is spread throughout the world. He is forced by his father to take the test to become a worker of the Library but things get a lot more complicated than he bargained for. I was surprised with how quickly I became invested in this story and in the history of the world. Even though some things weren’t completely explained, it was still easy to absorb and interesting. It’s so surprising how the author shapes the world considering how there is only one shift: The Great Library of Alexandria wasn’t destroyed. It completely changes how progress would develop all of the world. I’m really interested in what themes that brings up and that this series is playing with. What is more important, life or knowledge. How far should we go to preserve books? And who should be in charge of something like that? All these things combined made the plot really interesting, not only the kinds of challenges the group of teenagers we meet have to go through to be accepted into service of the Library but also the obstacles that they didn’t suspect. There are also sections of correspondence, or writings or an anecdote from a third party that gives a different sort of depth to the book that I wasn’t expecting. Yet, it kind of all felt like a set up for the following books. Everything felt momentary, like just the beginning to what the journey was actually going to be about.
To be honest, I still don’t know if I like Jess or not. There were sometimes that I felt for him, for his upbringing and his situation but then there were other times where he was self-absorbed and I just wanted to scream at him to look at the big picture. I was rooting for him because I was rooting for the group of characters. They had to deal with really heavy things in this book and I just wanted everyone to be safe. So I obviously wanted him alive but he’s so indecisive at times and also kind of selfish which causes some sucky consequences toward the end of the book. I’m hoping that his character will develop and improve in later books.
However, the side characters were awesome. So much diversity, emotion and life packed into them that it’s surprising to me that the author can write such vastly meh characters like Jess and then so many supporting characters that kick serious ass. My favorite out of all of them is definitely Thomas, he’s what you would call a gentle giant. He’s so incredibly smart and so sweet but also naive. It’s unfortunate because it gets him into trouble and it’s just sad Then there’s Galin, who comes off as a huge jerk and she kind of is. She’s really tough and wants to be in what’s considered the military in this world. It took me awhile to warm up to her and it also happened that way for the rest of the cast, but I feel like she’s going to be important part of the series. Then we have Morgan who I don’t want to talk about as much but she’s just very very unlucky for such a spitfire of a girl. Wolfe is also one of my favorite characters, he’s the teens’ mentor and he’s tough and rough around the edges but he’s been through so much and he’s still fighting and doing the best he can with what he’s been dealt. I love him!
Before I wrap this up I want to talk about something that bothered me: the romance. There are quite a few romances in this book, some established others developing. While one of them I appreciated and rooted for, there were others that I felt weren’t developed the best way possible. There were no love triangles thank God and no instalove which is also great but they did feel like they were rushed. It was almost like the characters interacted one or twice, three times tops (at least that the reader sees) and suddenly they have an intense connection. I appreciate that it wasn’t right off the bat but it would’ve been so much better for it to have developed happily and slowly. I hope that improves in the next books.
Overall, I really liked this book. The plot caught my attention quickly and the world building and setting were super interesting and intriguing. The writing style is simple yet easy to read and entertaining. The characters are a mix between amazingly developed or a bit flat and unemotional. The romance needs improvement but I’m looking forward to seeing how the series continues.Then there’s Galin, who comes off as a huge jerk and she kind of is. She’s really tough and wants to be in what’s considered the military in this world. It took me awhile to warm up to her and it also happened that way for the rest of the cast, but I feel like she’s going to be important part of the series. Then we have Morgan who I don’t want to talk about as much but she’s just very very unlucky for such a spitfire of a girl. Wolfe is also one of my favorite characters, he’s the teens’ mentor and he’s tough and rough around the edges but he’s been through so much and he’s still fighting and doing the best he can with what he’s been dealt. I love him!
Before I wrap this up I want to talk about something that bothered me: the romance. There are quite a few romances in this book, some established others developing. While one of them I appreciated and rooted for, there were others that I felt weren’t developed the best way possible. There were no love triangles thank God and no instalove which is also great but they did feel like they were rushed. It was almost like the characters interacted one or twice, three times tops (at least that the reader sees) and suddenly they have an intense connection. I appreciate that it wasn’t right off the bat but it would’ve been so much better for it to have developed happily and slowly. I hope that improves in the next books.
Overall, I really liked this book. The plot caught my attention quickly and the world building and setting were super interesting and intriguing. The writing style is simple yet easy to read and entertaining. The characters are a mix between amazingly developed or a bit flat and unemotional. The romance needs improvement but I’m looking forward to seeing how the series continues.
rballenger's review against another edition
3.0
Type of read: Commuter Read.
What made me pick it up: Looking for books to fulfill the April TN R.E.A.D.S challenges (read a book set in a bookstore or library).
Overall rating: 'Ink and Bone' is a 'Harry Potter' meets 'Percy Jackson' meets 'Atlas 6' situation and I am all here for it. I literally stumbled across this book while searching for something to fulfill the April TN R.E.A.D.S challenge of a book set in a book store or library (seriously, I just searched 'library' on my public libraries available now audio books and 'The Great Library' series was one of the first ones to pop up). I love the fact that the library is both a place and a character. There is so much dimension to 'Ink and Bone.' There were two things I struggled with in 'Ink and Bone.' The first being that it was set in the future and in the past or at least that's what it felt like. I struggled to get my bearings on the time setting. The second, and much less annoying but still irking, is that the chapters are so dang long. The majority of my audiobooks, I listen to either on my commute or while I'm working. When the chapters are so long it makes it hard to find good stopping points. (Yes, I'm being nitpicky. No, I don't care.) Overall, those things didn't bother me enough to not want to continue the series so I look forward to what book two has in store.
Reader's Note: I enjoyed 'Ink and Bone' as an audiobook and Julian Elfer is an AMAZING narrator. They truly made the book come to life.
What made me pick it up: Looking for books to fulfill the April TN R.E.A.D.S challenges (read a book set in a bookstore or library).
Overall rating: 'Ink and Bone' is a 'Harry Potter' meets 'Percy Jackson' meets 'Atlas 6' situation and I am all here for it. I literally stumbled across this book while searching for something to fulfill the April TN R.E.A.D.S challenge of a book set in a book store or library (seriously, I just searched 'library' on my public libraries available now audio books and 'The Great Library' series was one of the first ones to pop up). I love the fact that the library is both a place and a character. There is so much dimension to 'Ink and Bone.' There were two things I struggled with in 'Ink and Bone.' The first being that it was set in the future and in the past or at least that's what it felt like. I struggled to get my bearings on the time setting. The second, and much less annoying but still irking, is that the chapters are so dang long. The majority of my audiobooks, I listen to either on my commute or while I'm working. When the chapters are so long it makes it hard to find good stopping points. (Yes, I'm being nitpicky. No, I don't care.) Overall, those things didn't bother me enough to not want to continue the series so I look forward to what book two has in store.
Reader's Note: I enjoyed 'Ink and Bone' as an audiobook and Julian Elfer is an AMAZING narrator. They truly made the book come to life.
rockwrengj's review against another edition
5.0
Fantasy has been my overwhelming first choice of genre since I picked up Anne McCaffrey's Dragonflight in 1979 at the age of 10. After 40 years of reading Fantasy, at times I feel that I've read every possible story there is to be told and rarely do I have the opportunity to lose myself in something original. Ink and Bone grabbed my interest reading the summary and the book did not disappoint. Although this series is listed as YA+, I found it entirely appealing and difficult to put down. It was wonderful to lose myself in a story where I didn't know what would happen next. I'm looking forward to continuing the series, there is still a lot of story to be told.