Ink and Bone (The Great Library)

Rachel Caine writes interesting fantasy, and I have read all of her series. I am a person who doesn't want to outguess the author - always looking for surprises! I found this book to be well written, and intriguing. I especially enjoy a lengthy, well developed plot and characters, and this book provides both. Waiting for the next book in this series!

I enjoyed this book very much! It was a thrilling read and made me feel many different feelings! I really like that the main character is a male. It's a nice change from all the wishy washy female leads that seem to be dominately present.

A great 'what if' idea that shows how the outcome of a single event can shape the world. A beautiful telling of that idea through believable, realistic characters that pull you along for a thrilling ride! Young or old, this is a must read book!

Wow! Been waiting to find another good author and series. I'm so sad I have to wait for the second installment. Well written, fantastic characters and plot and had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. Keep them coming Ms. Rachel Caine!

I loved the Stillhouse Lake series and thought I'd found a new favorite author but Ink and Bone was very disappointing. Did not hold my attention even with great effort and I finally abandoned it entirely. I won't purchase another title by this author without reading a sample first.

Oh Ink and Bone, with your beautiful cover and your captivating concept. How I wanted to love you, cherish you, declare you my latest favorite book. You had all of the elements of something I would absolutely love…intriguing mystery, sinister doings, all kinds of magic filled craziness set against this epic world of great mystical libraries and forbidden books. Taken as a whole these plot points are exactly what I liked about Ink and Bone, I was definitely intrigued by the world-building and the elements of magic make up a bulk of the story. That being said, I never really felt like I understood the world in which it took place. I didn’t a grasp of whether of not this was an alternate history or dystopian world, which totally nagged me throughout the book. Being thrown right into the action from the very beginning was disorienting as well and I would have preferred at least a little bit of back story.

I also had a tough time with the amount of characters in the book. Personally, I prefer a book in which we get to know a handful of characters intimately, rather than a large group of them. Maybe it’s just me, but I get easily confused with so many people in the mix, and I had a hard time even caring about most of the characters. I would have appreciated either a smaller group or a little more character development from some of them that would have compelled me to be invested in their stories.

Bottom line: I enjoyed this book in many ways but in the end felt disconnected. There were points I couldn’t put this book down and others that were a chore to get through. I am quite aware the I am in the minority with this opinion because so many people loved Ink and Bone, so you should absolutely give this one a chance and then come back here and let me know what you think.

Rachel Caine re-imagines a world where the Great Library at Alexandria was not destroyed all those years ago, but instead thrived and became the foremost hub of information in the world with its branches, or Serapeum, found in every city. I say “it” when referring to the Library because it’s very clear the Library is this imposing omnipresent force.

With omnipotence, there will always be opposition. Here, it comes in the form of Burners. These are people who use Greek fire to make statements against the Library’s restrictions on what information is deemed “safe” for the masses. Another form of opposition to the Library comes from smugglers. Those who take original books—not the “blanks” the Library gives out that can only be filled by what the Library deems acceptable from their Codex—but original ink and paper and leather bound tombs, and gain profit from the sale/distribution of them. I should mention owning these original works is illegal (so stated by the Library), thus the smuggling.

Jess Brightwell was born into a family of smugglers, although they present a very distinguished front to the outside world. Early on, we know Jess loves books. Originals. He loves the feel, smell, the information they contain. He does assist in the family business, but his heart truly is not in it. Ever the strategist, Jess’s father decides Jess needs to join the Library as a mole for the family. Once Jess complies, he starts questioning his loyalties to his family, but once he starts opening doors to the Library’s world, he discovers its secrets run deep.

Can I just say, “Loved it, read it”? Will that suffice? No? Okay, well, here goes:

When all is said and done I was blown away by Ink and Bone. Caine intricately works through the twists and turns of Jess’s world. While Ink and Bone does feature a wide variety of secondary characters (all of them with good and bad qualities that I came to love equally), this is Jess’s story. The moment he signs on to train with the Library, his family problems get pushed to the background. Although they are always there lurking, and we’re reminded of them, they play second stage to setting up what’s really going on behind closed-doors at the Library. I look forward to digging into Jess’s family in future books, but here I was more than content to find out just what kind of sinister Big Brother-type we were dealing with.

Jess was a good, if somewhat unreliable character. He starts out thinking that because he’s in a business of secrets that there is very little he doesn’t know. Actually, it’s the opposite. There’s A LOT Jess doesn’t know about the world, but he gets a big dose of a reality check once he starts his training. Thus, the twists and turns. It’s a little eerie to think that Jess’s other postulants may have something to hide, like himself. But we discover everyone is hiding something. Some secrets we find out over the course of Ink and Bone and others I hope come to light somewhere down the line. Either way, we’re in for a very interesting ride.

I think Ink and Bone can appeal not only to fans of urban fantasy or fantasy, but also to anyone who loves books. You can feel Caine’s reverence for the word (written or computerized) jump off the page (or e-book as the case may be).

(Review taken from bookish blog Literary Weaponry)

3.75/5

Sigh. I started off trying to write a full, comprehensive review of this book but I just can’t come up with the words for it. Why? I have conflicted feelings. Even deciding on a rating was difficult. On one hand I enjoyed the general premise of the book. The idea of the Library of Alexandria having survived and become a major player in the world is truly fascinating. The historical Library of Alexandria is immensely interesting to me and I love reading about it, watching documentaries about it, and will pick up pretty much anything that the Library is included in so I was really excited to read this book.

I must admit, how they set up the Library as a more of less a major political superpower is incredibly interesting. People are forbidden from actually owning books but they can, in a nutshell, download a book from the library to read if they have permission to do so. It isn’t done in a digital format but, more or less, a magical format where the text appears on paper documents belonging to individuals. It took a while for me to understand that as it wasn’t made very clear but just hinted at through context clues.

However, in this story, the Library has become corrupted and they don’t want the public at large having the knowledge that they squirrel away. This, understandably, has made many groups and factions upset and has lead to an underground network of book smugglers. Sadly, the smugglers were a let down. They weren’t interested in preserving knowledge and the pursuit of intellectual evolution but instead they were in it merely for the profit, willing to sacrifice anyone in their way. It was disheartening.

My other disappointment was the characters themselves. The major players all started off as individuals quickly evolving as the story progressed. However, at just over the halfway point, the characters stagnated. They had been through a major ordeal and they remained at who they were mentally at that point for the remainder of the story. It made the second half of the story drag terribly and I genuinely stopped caring about all but one of them and he was technically a minor character.

In a nutshell, this book had a compelling concept and delivered on its promises to a certain extent. Could it have been better? Absolutely. Will I still read the next book in the series? Most likely but I hope that the story progressing more fluidly with more character development in the next installment.

The Great Library was started to ensure that the wisdom of mankind was safeguarded. However, since its advent during the reign of the Egyptian Pharaohs, the Library has stagnated, hoarding its knowledge, and stifling any dissent.

Jess is the son of a book smuggler. Printed books outside the Library’s control are contraband, and the penalty for owning these forbidden tomes is death. Though he has lived his life defying the Library’s hold on the printed word, he understands the value of protecting knowledge. When his family is able to get him a coveted position to train as a Library Scholar, he is secretly excited for the opportunity. Once his training starts, however, he discovers he may have been safer as a smuggler.

First of all, I can’t believe I waited this long to read this book, it has been filling up my feed for ages now, and the third book in the series is due out soon.

The world building in this book is fantastic. Caine manages to combine steampunk with dystopian near-future, and it works. This is a world built on steam, alchemy, and high technology. It manages to feel both nostalgic and futuristic at the same time. The characters that inhabit the book are similarly complex and well-crafted.

As Jess starts out his training with the Library, we begin to hope that we can stay with the “Hogwarts with Books” aspect. Alas, soon any illusions about the Library are tugged away and we find ourselves in a dystopian world where knowledge is a coveted resource, and this supreme entity will go to any lengths to keep their monopoly.

Honestly, it’s a bit like the store took over the world. The Library is a repository of knowledge, and the information deemed “acceptable” to be released to the public is done via “blanks,” electronic books to which the texts can be sent via alchemy. In a world where increasing digitization has vastly changed the concept of ownership, Ink and Bone feels like a cautionary tale. It certainly made me look at my kindle in a new light.

This book is a great adventure story, and fans of books like the Hunger Games will enjoy this series. Though I’m sure this book is considered YA, the subjects being dealt with are mature and complex, and there is a lot here for older readers (like me). Now I’m off to get the next book in the series (hard copy, not in kindle format).

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

Jess Brightwell lives in world were books are banned. Not just banned... owning one is a death sentence. Jess and his family work in the black market - stealing, trading, and selling books. Actual, physical books. A dangerous life, and one that Jess isn't all too happy about. At the age of sixteen, his father gives him an ultimatum, work for the Great Library or leave home.

The Great Library is the organization that tracks and transcribes books. They are the group that determines which information gets out to the public. People have "blanks," think ereader, where they can read books. Learning and reading is encouraged, but the information available is highly regulated. Jess's father thinks having an inside man at the Library will help the family business. Jess believes in the Library, but he also has a love and appreciation for physical books. A position with the Library is expensive and involves a challenging evaluation process. Jess joins the class of students wanting to work with the Library, and he and his classmates learn the Library is a lot more nefarious than they ever imagined.

Ink and Bone is the first book in The Great Library series by Rachel Caine. A fun and exciting fantasy series. I really enjoy Caine's writing style, and love getting lost in creative and fascinating worlds. Great for fans of young adult fantasy stories, especially stories of dystopian worlds.