Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
William Morrow (2023), 416 pages
Description
"Follow where this novel leads and you will be lost in a bewitching spell, a book of magic about books of magic . . . extraordinary." - MARLON JAMES"If, like me, you're a fan of Holly Black and Leigh Bardugo, pick up this book at once." -- KELLY LINK In this spellbinding debut novel, two estranged half-sisters tasked with guarding their family's library of magical books must work together to unravel a deadly secret at the heart of their collection--a tale of familial loyalty and betrayal, and the pursuit of magic and power.For generations, the Kalotay family has guarded a collection of ancient and rare books. Books that let a person walk through walls or manipulate the elements--books of magic that half-sisters Joanna and Esther have been raised to revere and protect.All magic comes with a price, though, and for years the sisters have been separated. Esther has fled to a remote base in Antarctica to escape the fate that killed her own mother, and Joanna's isolated herself in their family home in Vermont, devoting her life to the study of these cherished volumes. But after their father dies suddenly while reading a book Joanna has never seen before, the sisters must reunite to preserve their family legacy. In the process, they'll uncover a world of magic far bigger and more dangerous than they ever imagined, and all the secrets their parents kept hidden; secrets that span centuries, continents, and even other libraries . . .In the great tradition of Ninth House, The Magicians, and Practical Magic, this is a suspenseful and richly atmospheric novel that draws readers into a vast world filled with mystery and magic, romance, and intrigue--and marks the debut of an extraordinary new voice in speculative fiction."Ink Blood Sister Scribe is so many things at once: an adventure, a puzzle, a twisty thriller, and a tender romance. . . . I adored it." - ALIX E. HARROW.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member VictoriaGD
Come Home
Emma Torzs’ debut novel is a spellbinding story about forgiveness, family, and magical books. Where the librarians literally bleed for their craft. When Joanna Kalotay finds her father killed by one of these unbreakable books, she is left with a mystery that threatens the lives of her
The bases of Emma Torzs’ story are the very books themselves. Each book is bound with blood, to complete a single magical spell that a Scribe writes into reality. Each character has their own history of how they came across these mysterious books, and how they are made. Joanna lives a very secluded life, now haunted by her father’s memory. As her mother begs her to leave the home that protects these books, Joanna must decide if protecting them is worth her life. Her half-sister Esther has been running from a secret that killed her mother. Now that she has found love, running is not what she wants anymore. They are both living underneath a family secret that threatens to consume their future.
Also involved is Nicholas the last Scribe, a writer and bookbinder of the Library. Nicholas has lived a very sheltered life controlled by his persuasive uncle. With the help of his bodyguard, the secretive Collins, he must expose his uncle’s lies and escape the Library. Don’t forget Sir Kiwi, his adorable emotional support Pomeranian. With the help of Esther they uncover a lifetime of secrets and revelations.
Emma Torzs does a great job introducing each character, and giving them an understandable backstory as to why they are trapped within these secrets. Each character also has a complicated relationship with their parents, though many of these feelings are left unresolved. The ending was a bit predictable, due to the entirely planed out nature of the mission, but their new friendship was easy to root for. A magical read about the love of books, and the price of protecting them.
Emma Torzs’ debut novel is a spellbinding story about forgiveness, family, and magical books. Where the librarians literally bleed for their craft. When Joanna Kalotay finds her father killed by one of these unbreakable books, she is left with a mystery that threatens the lives of her
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family. Her sister Esther and the bookbinder Nicholas must solve this mystery before it is too late.The bases of Emma Torzs’ story are the very books themselves. Each book is bound with blood, to complete a single magical spell that a Scribe writes into reality. Each character has their own history of how they came across these mysterious books, and how they are made. Joanna lives a very secluded life, now haunted by her father’s memory. As her mother begs her to leave the home that protects these books, Joanna must decide if protecting them is worth her life. Her half-sister Esther has been running from a secret that killed her mother. Now that she has found love, running is not what she wants anymore. They are both living underneath a family secret that threatens to consume their future.
Also involved is Nicholas the last Scribe, a writer and bookbinder of the Library. Nicholas has lived a very sheltered life controlled by his persuasive uncle. With the help of his bodyguard, the secretive Collins, he must expose his uncle’s lies and escape the Library. Don’t forget Sir Kiwi, his adorable emotional support Pomeranian. With the help of Esther they uncover a lifetime of secrets and revelations.
Emma Torzs does a great job introducing each character, and giving them an understandable backstory as to why they are trapped within these secrets. Each character also has a complicated relationship with their parents, though many of these feelings are left unresolved. The ending was a bit predictable, due to the entirely planed out nature of the mission, but their new friendship was easy to root for. A magical read about the love of books, and the price of protecting them.
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LibraryThing member KallieGrace
So good! Set in our modern day world, but there's magic. Books contain spells, and only Scribes can write them, but there is only one or two Scribes left. One family is trying to protect what little they know about magic, and one "family" is trying to control all magic. Slowly uncovering family
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secrets and putting the pieces together from Antarctica to London to Vermont. Show Less
LibraryThing member ecataldi
I didn't know how badly I needed another Practical Magic-esque book in my life until I read this! Two estranged sisters couldn't be further apart. Joanna can read and react to magic and has made it her life's work protecting her families magical book collection. Esther meanwhile has travelled
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around the world - never staying in one place more than half a year. When their father dies she doesn't even come home; hiding behind excuse after excuse. Because of a few wealthy magic wielding English folk - the soon may need to put their differences aside to protect themselves and their family's legacy. Told through multiple perspectives - this story or magic, family, betrayal, and friendship is gripping and inventive. It doesn't need a sequel but I would love if there were one - the characters were all so great! Show Less
LibraryThing member Hccpsk
Nicholas lives a life of trapped privilege under the oppressive eye of his uncle, but as the last scribe for the magical Library he understands why he needs to stay hidden and safe — his blood and magic are necessary to write the spells that power the Library. On the opposite end of the spectrum,
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Esther has been running for a decade never staying in the same place for more than a year to keep her sister, Joanna, safe. As these two stories begin to converge in Emma Torzs’ Ink, Blood, Sister, Scribe, Nicholas, Esther, and Joanna realize that they’ve all been lied to and they must work together to solve the mystery and survive. Torzs has written an excellent magical novel with well-developed characters and a quick-moving plot sure to please readers of Leigh Bardugo, Lev Grossman, and similar authors. Show Less
LibraryThing member rivkat
Well, it’s not “A X of Y and Z” as a title, but I’m not sure I like keywords better, but that’s the only hesitation I have. Another variant on the hidden library—this one with books of magic that have to be written in the blood of scribes but can only be read by non-scribes; scribes
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themselves are immune to magic. Joanna can hear magic; her sister Esther can’t. After a book drains her father dry of blood, Joanna is left alone to care for her family’s secret library. Esther left years ago after her father warned her that she disrupted the family’s wards and put them in danger, and also warned her to move every year without fail. When Esther tests that proposition, thinking herself safe in Antarctica, she finds that magical danger can follow her. Meanwhile, Nicholas is a scribe whose health is failing from being drained; his uncle runs their library, which he lends out for power and wealth. When he’s attacked again, after losing his eye years before, his concerns about his position become more than pressing. The ultimate confrontations are tense and full of family history, though I could have used a little more Judaism (the kaddish plays a role, but more as curiosity than lived culture). Show Less
LibraryThing member OpheliaAutumn
This book was pretty much everything I wanted a book to be.
I loved the story and the concept, and I was so excited to see it being developed the way it was.
I loved the cast of characters and their different points of view - their lives sometimes so different from each other, longing for something
Acknowledging the complexity of human nature and the choices we make - ex: was Joanna and Esther's father right to act like he did?
The chapters about Esther in the Antarctic base were so well researched and evocative, not only of the place, but of what the experience might do to someone, especially someone like Esther (no spoilers here!). Some paragraphs were truly heartbreaking, some heartwarming.
The magic system was so interesting, and I feel like Emma Törzs managed to make the most of her wonderful concepts, so this book was truly a joy to read.
On top of that, the end and the evolution if the characters were very satisfying.
I loved this book!
Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK for gifting me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
I loved the story and the concept, and I was so excited to see it being developed the way it was.
I loved the cast of characters and their different points of view - their lives sometimes so different from each other, longing for something
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else, having made sacrifices others don't even know about...Acknowledging the complexity of human nature and the choices we make - ex: was Joanna and Esther's father right to act like he did?
The chapters about Esther in the Antarctic base were so well researched and evocative, not only of the place, but of what the experience might do to someone, especially someone like Esther (no spoilers here!). Some paragraphs were truly heartbreaking, some heartwarming.
The magic system was so interesting, and I feel like Emma Törzs managed to make the most of her wonderful concepts, so this book was truly a joy to read.
On top of that, the end and the evolution if the characters were very satisfying.
I loved this book!
Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK for gifting me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
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LibraryThing member shelleyraec
Ink Blood Sister Scribe is a story of magic, mystery, power, and betrayal by debut novelist Emma Törzs
“Wherever you are, you must leave on November 2 and keep moving for twenty-four hours, or the people who killed your mother will come for you, too.”
Twenty-eight year old Esther Kalotay has
“We’re here to protect the books, to give them a home, to respect them—not to interrogate them.”
Abandoned by her older half sister who is off travelling the world, and with her mother unable to cross the property boundary, Joanna Kalotay lives alone in rural Vermont, the sole remaining guardian of the magic-filled books her late father spent a lifetime collecting.
“For once, he wanted somebody to look at him and see what he could do. And to see, maybe, what it cost him.”
As the last known living Scribe and heir to The Library, the largest collection of magical books in the world, 24 year old Nicholas Maxwell lives a cosseted life. He appreciates the protection of his Uncle Richard, who has raised him after his parents tragic death, but he longs for more freedom.
I have to be honest, it took longer than I liked for Ink Blood Sister Scribe to hook me, there was something disjointed about the introduction to the characters and their world. It took me a while to make sense of the magic, particularly with how it affected the sisters, and there are still some elements of the system that seems to be contradictory.
The characters of Esther, Joanna and Nicholas are distinctly drawn, and I liked all three. Esther is the boldest, forced into independence she has had to learn how to take care of herself, but is tired of always being alone. Joanna’s world is very small and lonely, and I felt sympathy for her. Nicholas, who arguably has the most drama to contend with as he learns the truth about his family’s legacy, has the clearest character growth arc.
The pace picks up markedly in the second half of the book as the story seems to find its rhythm, helped I think by the union of the three main characters, and higher stakes. The foreshadowing was a touch heavy handed so there were few surprises in the plot overall, but there were some tense scenes, and the finale was exciting.
For me, the concept of Ink Blood Sister Scribe was really strong but unfortunately I found the execution lacking, so I’m left with mixed feelings about this one.
“Wherever you are, you must leave on November 2 and keep moving for twenty-four hours, or the people who killed your mother will come for you, too.”
Twenty-eight year old Esther Kalotay has
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been adhering to the edict set by her father for the last decade, but having found love in the middle of Antarctica, she decides to take a risk and remain past the deadline. It’s not long before she realises she’s made a terrible mistake.“We’re here to protect the books, to give them a home, to respect them—not to interrogate them.”
Abandoned by her older half sister who is off travelling the world, and with her mother unable to cross the property boundary, Joanna Kalotay lives alone in rural Vermont, the sole remaining guardian of the magic-filled books her late father spent a lifetime collecting.
“For once, he wanted somebody to look at him and see what he could do. And to see, maybe, what it cost him.”
As the last known living Scribe and heir to The Library, the largest collection of magical books in the world, 24 year old Nicholas Maxwell lives a cosseted life. He appreciates the protection of his Uncle Richard, who has raised him after his parents tragic death, but he longs for more freedom.
I have to be honest, it took longer than I liked for Ink Blood Sister Scribe to hook me, there was something disjointed about the introduction to the characters and their world. It took me a while to make sense of the magic, particularly with how it affected the sisters, and there are still some elements of the system that seems to be contradictory.
The characters of Esther, Joanna and Nicholas are distinctly drawn, and I liked all three. Esther is the boldest, forced into independence she has had to learn how to take care of herself, but is tired of always being alone. Joanna’s world is very small and lonely, and I felt sympathy for her. Nicholas, who arguably has the most drama to contend with as he learns the truth about his family’s legacy, has the clearest character growth arc.
The pace picks up markedly in the second half of the book as the story seems to find its rhythm, helped I think by the union of the three main characters, and higher stakes. The foreshadowing was a touch heavy handed so there were few surprises in the plot overall, but there were some tense scenes, and the finale was exciting.
For me, the concept of Ink Blood Sister Scribe was really strong but unfortunately I found the execution lacking, so I’m left with mixed feelings about this one.
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Awards
Locus Award (Finalist — First Novel — 2024)
IAFA William L. Crawford Fantasy Award (Finalist — 2024)
Minnesota Book Awards (Finalist — Genre Fiction — 2024)
NPR: Books We Love (2023)
The New York Times Notable Books of the Year (Fiction — 2023)
Locus Recommended Reading (First Novel — 2023)
Lariat Adult Fiction Reading List (Selection — 2024)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Adults (Selection — 2023)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2023-07-06
Physical description
416 p.; 9 inches
ISBN
0063253461 / 9780063253469