Library's review
That's the basic setup for Ink and Bone, a young-adult novel that features Jess Brightwell as a teen-ager sent by his book-smuggling London family to study at the Library in Alexandria — with a view to gaining access to ever more valuable books to sell, of course. Competing with Jess for the coveted placements at the Library are other young people from around the world, including a German engineering student named Thomas and a young woman from Oxford, Morgan, who is desperate to keep hidden the fact that she has a special power that the Library desperately needs to survive. If they discover her, they will imprison her for life. Can Jess save her? Can he discover the Library's secrets before they discover his?
I enjoyed this book quite a lot. The characters were engaging and clearly drawn while not quite sinking to the level of stereotype. If the writing (as to be expected in a book aimed at young adults) was a bit simplistic at time, the themes explored in the book are a cut above many YA novels I've read, including most recently [The Nest] and also the [Ashfall] series. There's a fair bit of magic and alchemy spinning throughout that adds a pleasing element of fantasy to the dystopia. And of course, a book about books is like catnip to all of us here at LibraryThing.
This is apparently the first in a planned series. I would definitely read the second one when it's published later this year.
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Fantasy. Science Fiction & Fantasy. Young Adult Fiction. Young Adult Literature. HTML:In this exhilarating series, New York Times bestselling author Rachel Caine rewrites history, creating a dangerous world where the Great Library of Alexandria has survived the test of time.â?¦ Ruthless and supremely powerful, the Great Library is now a presence in every major city, governing the flow of knowledge to the masses. Alchemy allows the Library to deliver the content of the greatest works of history instantlyâ??but the personal ownership of books is expressly forbidden. Jess Brightwell believes in the value of the Library, but the majority of his knowledge comes from illegal books obtained by his family. Jess has been sent to be his familyâ??s spy, but his loyalties are tested in the final months of his training to enter the Libraryâ??s service. When his friend inadvertently commits heresy by creating a device that could change the world, Jess discovers that those who control the Great Library believe knowledge is more valuable than any human lifeâ??and soon both heretics and book… (more)