Scan barcode
A review by graculus
Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs
4.0
After a bunch of books which I thought would work for me but failed to stick the landing, this book was a really pleasant surprise. There's been a plethora of books in recent years about magical libraries or magical books, so I have to admit I wasn't expecting all that much.
The book opens with one of our protagonists, Esther, who is working as an electrician on a research station in Antarctica where she's just signed on for another 12-month contract - prior to this, she's led a very peripatetic lifestyle, having been warned by her father not to stay in anyone place longer than a year. This is, we discover, all to do with the possession by her family of some magical books and how they react to both Esther and her half-sister Jo. One of those books, we later discover, has taken life of Esther and Jo's father and something about Esther means that if she goes home, their hidden farmstead can be located and staying in one place too long puts Esther at risk as well. It doesn't take long before one of a new set of workers coming into the Antarctic base turns violent towards Esther and her girlfriend, meaning that Esther has to protect them both and then also leave both her job and girlfriend behind.
Meanwhile, literally on the other side of the world in London, we meet our other main protagonist, Nicholas - his family is involved with these magical books too, as he leads a sheltered life as someone whose blood is literally used as part of the ritual to create them. While he's gone along with what's been asked of him before, Nicholas starts to question what he's been told about how his very constrained world actually works, especially when his uncle's long-term partner helps him discover things aren't quite as he's always been told. When Nicholas takes the opportunity to leave the world he knows, his path naturally crosses with that of Esther and things develop from there.
The author does a really nice job of keeping all the moving parts of this novel working out, with some solid character work and some nice touches to the world-building - I particularly liked the idea of magical NDA, which were used/broken effectively as a way to drop new information in and take things in directions I didn't 100% see coming. At least one of the twists later on was a little predictable but others weren't and that kept me involved all the way through to the end. This looks like being a standalone novel but I'd be happy to read more about these characters and will also definitely keep an eye out for whatever this author does next.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, via Netgalley. This is my honest review of the book in question.
The book opens with one of our protagonists, Esther, who is working as an electrician on a research station in Antarctica where she's just signed on for another 12-month contract - prior to this, she's led a very peripatetic lifestyle, having been warned by her father not to stay in anyone place longer than a year. This is, we discover, all to do with the possession by her family of some magical books and how they react to both Esther and her half-sister Jo. One of those books, we later discover, has taken life of Esther and Jo's father and something about Esther means that if she goes home, their hidden farmstead can be located and staying in one place too long puts Esther at risk as well. It doesn't take long before one of a new set of workers coming into the Antarctic base turns violent towards Esther and her girlfriend, meaning that Esther has to protect them both and then also leave both her job and girlfriend behind.
Meanwhile, literally on the other side of the world in London, we meet our other main protagonist, Nicholas - his family is involved with these magical books too, as he leads a sheltered life as someone whose blood is literally used as part of the ritual to create them. While he's gone along with what's been asked of him before, Nicholas starts to question what he's been told about how his very constrained world actually works, especially when his uncle's long-term partner helps him discover things aren't quite as he's always been told. When Nicholas takes the opportunity to leave the world he knows, his path naturally crosses with that of Esther and things develop from there.
The author does a really nice job of keeping all the moving parts of this novel working out, with some solid character work and some nice touches to the world-building - I particularly liked the idea of magical NDA, which were used/broken effectively as a way to drop new information in and take things in directions I didn't 100% see coming. At least one of the twists later on was a little predictable but others weren't and that kept me involved all the way through to the end. This looks like being a standalone novel but I'd be happy to read more about these characters and will also definitely keep an eye out for whatever this author does next.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, via Netgalley. This is my honest review of the book in question.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Death