Ink and Bone - Rachel Caine
Book 1 of the Great Library series
Synopsis
What if the Great Library of Alexandria had never been destroyed? In Jess Brightwell's world, it hasn't. Independent and above any nationality or people, the Library is present in every city around the world and rules all knowledge that's given to the people. Through Alchemy, information can be shared, but private ownership of books is forbidden. Jess comes from a family that runs a thriving black market book business. He is sent by his family to train to be in the library's service, but soon finds his loyalties tested, and comes to find that the Library has secrets of its own.
Review
I really enjoyed this book. I love books and libraries and alternate histories, and this has all three.
In any good alternate history, the world-building has to be fantastic, and in this case it really was. It was interesting to see how the library's dominance and technology had changed the course of our known history and how Caine explores this. Computers, airplanes, etc., don't exist. St. Paul's in London is a huge library. Wales and England are caught in a bloody war (Wales is winning). And the thing the library fears most is a simple technology--the printing press.
There is a large cast of characters, though the story is mainly told through the eyes of Jess, the main character. He started off a little bland, but as the story moved along he became a fully formed character. Likewise the other characters, who are also students of the library, seemed to be just names to fill up the story, but as the book progresses, and especially as this small cast goes through some serious struggles, we get to see these characters come into focus and grow. The villain in the beginning, Christopher Wolfe, who serves as their instructor, also goes from a bitter and cruel task master to a multi-faceted and tormented character, forced to make choices that have no right answer. By the end of the book, I was invested in these characters and worried about what would happen to them (it isn't all good, not by a long shot).
The plot itself is good, engaging, and fast-paced. But the story moves around the discussion of freedom of knowledge and the worth of that knowledge. To the Library, books are worth more than human lives, and their duty is to save and preserve all knowledge. But obviously, in this world, not all people agree. There is a faction called the Burners, who argue that books should be available to all people and burn original books so that the knowledge is free of the Library. Jess is somewhere between those camps. He has a love for books, born from smuggling rare original copies, but also detests those who destroy those books. It raises the question: How far should we go to preserve knowledge? It's a question still asked today, when not just knowledge from books are lost, but we see ancient sites like Palmyra being blown up by militant ISIS, or looting in museums after the Arab Spring. As an archaeologist and lover of history, it hurt to see such magnificent buildings from our history be destroyed, and artifacts lost forever.
More than anything, this story is a beautiful testament to the importance of books and the printed word. The invention of the moveable type printing press by Gutenberg in the 1400's is one of the most world-shaking technologies in our history. It was refreshing and engaging to read a novel that acknowledges this and makes it central to the book's plot.
I'm excited to read the rest of the series. If you love books and history, I would definitely recommend.
Review
I give this book 4 stars.
Details
Genre: YA
Language: A couple mild swear words
Sex: None
Violence: Descriptions of an intense battle and some characters are injured and killed.
Book 1 of the Great Library series
Synopsis
What if the Great Library of Alexandria had never been destroyed? In Jess Brightwell's world, it hasn't. Independent and above any nationality or people, the Library is present in every city around the world and rules all knowledge that's given to the people. Through Alchemy, information can be shared, but private ownership of books is forbidden. Jess comes from a family that runs a thriving black market book business. He is sent by his family to train to be in the library's service, but soon finds his loyalties tested, and comes to find that the Library has secrets of its own.
Review
I really enjoyed this book. I love books and libraries and alternate histories, and this has all three.
In any good alternate history, the world-building has to be fantastic, and in this case it really was. It was interesting to see how the library's dominance and technology had changed the course of our known history and how Caine explores this. Computers, airplanes, etc., don't exist. St. Paul's in London is a huge library. Wales and England are caught in a bloody war (Wales is winning). And the thing the library fears most is a simple technology--the printing press.
There is a large cast of characters, though the story is mainly told through the eyes of Jess, the main character. He started off a little bland, but as the story moved along he became a fully formed character. Likewise the other characters, who are also students of the library, seemed to be just names to fill up the story, but as the book progresses, and especially as this small cast goes through some serious struggles, we get to see these characters come into focus and grow. The villain in the beginning, Christopher Wolfe, who serves as their instructor, also goes from a bitter and cruel task master to a multi-faceted and tormented character, forced to make choices that have no right answer. By the end of the book, I was invested in these characters and worried about what would happen to them (it isn't all good, not by a long shot).
The plot itself is good, engaging, and fast-paced. But the story moves around the discussion of freedom of knowledge and the worth of that knowledge. To the Library, books are worth more than human lives, and their duty is to save and preserve all knowledge. But obviously, in this world, not all people agree. There is a faction called the Burners, who argue that books should be available to all people and burn original books so that the knowledge is free of the Library. Jess is somewhere between those camps. He has a love for books, born from smuggling rare original copies, but also detests those who destroy those books. It raises the question: How far should we go to preserve knowledge? It's a question still asked today, when not just knowledge from books are lost, but we see ancient sites like Palmyra being blown up by militant ISIS, or looting in museums after the Arab Spring. As an archaeologist and lover of history, it hurt to see such magnificent buildings from our history be destroyed, and artifacts lost forever.
More than anything, this story is a beautiful testament to the importance of books and the printed word. The invention of the moveable type printing press by Gutenberg in the 1400's is one of the most world-shaking technologies in our history. It was refreshing and engaging to read a novel that acknowledges this and makes it central to the book's plot.
I'm excited to read the rest of the series. If you love books and history, I would definitely recommend.
Review
I give this book 4 stars.
Details
Genre: YA
Language: A couple mild swear words
Sex: None
Violence: Descriptions of an intense battle and some characters are injured and killed.
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