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aaron_inklings's review against another edition
2.0
Was interesting at points but it just dragged on and on. It felt disjointed, likely due to the multiple authors and the different voices with which they wrote. Might have been better if read in its original, serial form rather than all at once.
drewsof's review against another edition
4.0
Sometimes it does get admittedly a little too predictable and there are some holes in the storytelling here and there that I wonder about – but for a first go at a bold experiment with how we consume stories (and how they’re written, for that matter), I was thoroughly impressed. Even as someone who finds audiobooks distasteful, I found this to be a pleasant experience – although I may try reading The Witch Who Came in From the Cold instead of listening to it. Regardless of what else SerialBox pulls off down the line, however, I’m hooked on Bookburners and can’t wait for season two. It might not be the most incredibly astounding series you’ve found (on your shelves or on Netflix) but it’s a damn good one to add to your roster of reliable entertainment.
More at RB (originally published at the conclusion of the first season's serialized run): https://ragingbiblioholism.com/2016/01/13/bookburners-season-one/
More at RB (originally published at the conclusion of the first season's serialized run): https://ragingbiblioholism.com/2016/01/13/bookburners-season-one/
tough_cookie's review against another edition
3.0
Sal Brooks is a Manhattan cop, used to all sorts of trouble, especially when it comes from her younger brother, Perry. So when he comes to her door late one night under suspicious circumstances, Sal knows he's done something stupid. Unfortunately, it's not the usual trouble she's grown accustomed to; Perry has become possessed by a demon called the Hand and disappears. Right on Perry's heels are the Bookburners, a motley group consisting of a priest named Menchu, a hacker named Liam, and an almost supernatural fighter called Grace. They explain to Sal that they work for the Vatican collecting and storing books that contain demons and fighting the ones that escape. Sal joins up with them in order to hunt down and save her brother, but she quickly finds herself in over her head in this new world full of magic and monsters.
This massive tome contains "season 1" of the Bookburners series, separated into 16 episodes. And the authors did indeed treat the episodes like a television series: short, fast-paced, some episodes not adding much to the overarching storyline. I was worried for a while that that was going to be the case for the entire read; the first half of the season just seemed to be trying to build the setting and give the reader greater insight into the individual team members. Safe to say I was bored for the first three or four hundred pages. But then the main arc began to take off and that really picked up the pace. I have to say, that definitely kept my interest, and I finished the second half of the book in half the time it took me to slog through the first part. It did also manage to end the season like one from a TV series: it left me questioning and deeply unsatisfied. So many things were left unsettled: Perry's "mission", Sal and Liam's relationship, Liam's feelings about Grace's "condition" and his own internal battle, as well as the snapshot incident that occurs at the very end. I know that's meant to keep readers wanting more and eager to read the second season, but it elicited no such response in me. I just wasn't a huge fan of any of the characters; Sal was a little too emotionally detached, Menchu held too tightly to his dogma, Grace was a little too cold, Liam too stubborn, and Asanti (Vatican archivist and part of the team) was simply too underdeveloped for me to get a true feel for her character. I did think she could be too arrogant, though. And the team overall just didn't mesh. There was too much constant friction, and when the time came for them to actually come together as a team, it felt forced and kind of thrown together at the last minute; any time someone expressed a sentiment similar to "I have your back," it didn't really work.
For what it's trying to be, the series is actually pretty good. It simply isn't my cup of tea.
This massive tome contains "season 1" of the Bookburners series, separated into 16 episodes. And the authors did indeed treat the episodes like a television series: short, fast-paced, some episodes not adding much to the overarching storyline. I was worried for a while that that was going to be the case for the entire read; the first half of the season just seemed to be trying to build the setting and give the reader greater insight into the individual team members. Safe to say I was bored for the first three or four hundred pages. But then the main arc began to take off and that really picked up the pace. I have to say, that definitely kept my interest, and I finished the second half of the book in half the time it took me to slog through the first part. It did also manage to end the season like one from a TV series: it left me questioning and deeply unsatisfied. So many things were left unsettled: Perry's "mission", Sal and Liam's relationship, Liam's feelings about Grace's "condition" and his own internal battle, as well as the snapshot incident that occurs at the very end. I know that's meant to keep readers wanting more and eager to read the second season, but it elicited no such response in me. I just wasn't a huge fan of any of the characters; Sal was a little too emotionally detached, Menchu held too tightly to his dogma, Grace was a little too cold, Liam too stubborn, and Asanti (Vatican archivist and part of the team) was simply too underdeveloped for me to get a true feel for her character. I did think she could be too arrogant, though. And the team overall just didn't mesh. There was too much constant friction, and when the time came for them to actually come together as a team, it felt forced and kind of thrown together at the last minute; any time someone expressed a sentiment similar to "I have your back," it didn't really work.
For what it's trying to be, the series is actually pretty good. It simply isn't my cup of tea.
veronica87's review against another edition
4.0
Well, that was fun. This was originally written as a weekly serial and laid out as if it were a television show, albeit written in traditional story format rather than as a script. Four authors undertook to write 16 "episodes" comprised of 5-6 chapters per episode, with each author writing their own episodes. You'd think the result would make for a jarring transition of writing styles when moving from one author's episode to another's but it really didn't. It all flowed rather well.
The story deals with magic, demons, and a secret organization within the Vatican that is tasked with keeping dangerous magic from entering the world. Pledged to this cause is Team Three: a hacker, an archivist, a fighter, a priest, and a newly recruited cop. Much as with a television show, I found myself getting more and more sucked into the misadventures of Team Three, complete with interesting twists and reveals.
Overall this felt like a mix of actual televisions shows, Warehouse 13 and The Librarians - with a bit of Haven thrown in. A second season is already written and available for purchase as individual episodes at Serial Box publishing but I'm torn between diving in right now or waiting for all of season two to be published in a single volume (as they've done with season one). Either way, I'll continue to follow Team Three's adventures.
The story deals with magic, demons, and a secret organization within the Vatican that is tasked with keeping dangerous magic from entering the world. Pledged to this cause is Team Three: a hacker, an archivist, a fighter, a priest, and a newly recruited cop. Much as with a television show, I found myself getting more and more sucked into the misadventures of Team Three, complete with interesting twists and reveals.
Overall this felt like a mix of actual televisions shows, Warehouse 13 and The Librarians - with a bit of Haven thrown in. A second season is already written and available for purchase as individual episodes at Serial Box publishing but I'm torn between diving in right now or waiting for all of season two to be published in a single volume (as they've done with season one). Either way, I'll continue to follow Team Three's adventures.
careythesixth's review
5.0
A priest, a cop, a hacker, an archivist and a kung-fu fighter walk into a library...
Seriously, that's the premise and I ate. it. up.
This series is so much fun and I need other people to read it so I can geek out with them. Sal Brooks is the newest member of the Bookburners (but don't call them that to their faces), a black ops team run out of the Vatican with the mission to find and collect (or destroy) magic books that have the power to hurt regular people. It's a little X-Files, a little Welcome to Night Vale, a little Warehouse 13, a little police procedural, and a lot of awesome. I'm in love.
Seriously, that's the premise and I ate. it. up.
This series is so much fun and I need other people to read it so I can geek out with them. Sal Brooks is the newest member of the Bookburners (but don't call them that to their faces), a black ops team run out of the Vatican with the mission to find and collect (or destroy) magic books that have the power to hurt regular people. It's a little X-Files, a little Welcome to Night Vale, a little Warehouse 13, a little police procedural, and a lot of awesome. I'm in love.
mmmmgreen's review
4.0
I'm disappointed that the second in the series is not available digitally to read while I have all this time! The book is broken into different adventures of this Vatican supernatural beings and items containment group (for lack of a simple word). Each adventure is tied to the main story but has a separate incident. Great read!!
sbisson's review
5.0
Recent Reads: Bookburners. Max Gladstone's urban fantasy dream team delivers a serial tale of Vatican magic hunters. A big, fast, fun read.
qwerty88's review
5.0
This book really does feel like a episodic tv show, right down to chapter breaks where the commercials would go. And the pacing and beats and revelations fall where they would be in a tv season. And I read 800 pages over the course of a long weekend.
This was pure entertainment.
This was pure entertainment.
anuragsahay's review
4.0
I picked up this book for two reasons: I love the idea of serialised novels, and I love Max Gladstone's work on the Craft sequence.
I couldn't help but pick this up when it was available for sale, and I quite enjoyed it. The book suffers from not being written by the same author - there is a noticeable effect in both quality and tone in different episodes, and while characterisation is remarkably consistent, worldbuilding is not as much.
In any case, this makes me very interested in more works by Gladstone, and I might consider buying into the Serial Box format.
I couldn't help but pick this up when it was available for sale, and I quite enjoyed it. The book suffers from not being written by the same author - there is a noticeable effect in both quality and tone in different episodes, and while characterisation is remarkably consistent, worldbuilding is not as much.
In any case, this makes me very interested in more works by Gladstone, and I might consider buying into the Serial Box format.
nakedsteve's review against another edition
5.0
Full disclosure: I received this book for free as a sweepstakes prize from tor.com.
Right there on the copyright page: "Originally published in e-serial format online."
This book is the story of an American cop (Sal) whose brother gets possessed by a demon, who then finds herself rushed into the shadowy world of the Vatican's demon response unit. Does that sound like the one sentence summary of a TV show? It should. Because this book is actually a collection of 16 episodes of an online series. And you know what? This model works. It felt like reading a TV show—each episode had it's own short story arc, and the whole season had a much grander arc.
The four authors who did this are all accomplished writers of fantasy fiction, but they spoke here with a common voice, clearly collaborating throughout the series.
I really liked this. It hits a lot of my "fun" buttons, and the pace of the story in "serial" form means that nothing ever bogged down in overblown exhibition. The beats kept coming, and it really kept my interest throughout.
I don't think I want all of my novels to read this way, but this was a really great switch from the novels I usually read. I had a lot of fun with this.
5 of 5 stars.
Right there on the copyright page: "Originally published in e-serial format online."
This book is the story of an American cop (Sal) whose brother gets possessed by a demon, who then finds herself rushed into the shadowy world of the Vatican's demon response unit. Does that sound like the one sentence summary of a TV show? It should. Because this book is actually a collection of 16 episodes of an online series. And you know what? This model works. It felt like reading a TV show—each episode had it's own short story arc, and the whole season had a much grander arc.
The four authors who did this are all accomplished writers of fantasy fiction, but they spoke here with a common voice, clearly collaborating throughout the series.
I really liked this. It hits a lot of my "fun" buttons, and the pace of the story in "serial" form means that nothing ever bogged down in overblown exhibition. The beats kept coming, and it really kept my interest throughout.
I don't think I want all of my novels to read this way, but this was a really great switch from the novels I usually read. I had a lot of fun with this.
5 of 5 stars.