Ink and Bone (The Great Library #1)

August 03, 2017

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Author: Rachel Cain

Genre: Fantasy, Steampunk, Dystopian

Blurb: Knowledge is Power. Power corrupts. 

In a world where the ancient Great Library of Alexandria was never destroyed, knowledge now rules the world: freely available, but strictly controlled. Owning private books is a crime.

Jess Brightwell is the son of a black market book smuggler, sent to the Library to compete for a position as a scholar... but even as he forms friendships and he finds his true gifts, he begins to unearth the dark secrets of the greatest, most revered institution in the world.

Those who control the Great Library believe that knowledge is more valuable than any human life - and soon both heretics and books will burn...

I haven't really read steampunk before so I was excited to start this novel. The beginning of the novel drew me in and  I soon became fond of Jess Brightwell, Khalila and Dario (Spanish speakers for the win!). However as the novel progressed, I preferred Thomas. He was a boss



He wanted to create the printing press after it had been rejected by the Library many times! And he also died. Gosh darn it. Authors always ought to stop killing the best characters! *cries*



Rachel Caine's writing style is very nice and easy to get immersed in. Even though it took me a while to finish this book, I was grateful that her writing didn't make the book drag and seem heavy to get through.

As for the negative aspects... the book seemed to drag a lot in the middle? I lost interest in the plot and most of the characters. Thankfully, I regained some interest in the end.

I also did not like the romance between Jess and Morgan. I could not see the point in it and it was also a bit insta-lovey. I felt that there was unnecessary drama and they did not actually like each other that much. I was hoping that there would be no romance but unfortunately that was not the case. Also Morgan was boring as heck.

I wanted to know more about Khalila and Dario. I didn't care for Their romance> but as individual characters they could've been more awesome than they already were.

Also,

Then the wall next to it slid open, and Wolfe stepped into another, hidden corridor. The eye of Horus was inscribed on the tiles that lined the hall.

That must've looked a little creepy, but hey, better for them to experience it than me, right?

I was a little confused at  the beginning because the Irish word for police was used. Garda.

Now this isn't necessary a criticism, but it was pretty scary.


The man looked up at him with an insanely bright gleam in his eyes. "You don't know how long I've waited for this," he said. "There's nothing like possessing the best, boy. Nothing." As Jess watched in numb horror, the man tore a page from the book and stuffed it into his mouth.
😞

And lastly, what does a Codex even look like?!

Recommendation: 15+


3 stars out of five


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6 comments

  1. I've heard a lot about this book, and it sounds interesting, but scary books generally aren't for me. Just... no thank you. I'm easily scared & have never watched a horror movie. (nor do I want to.) Does this have much egyptian mythology in it? Because that would be rather interesting. The only other book with Egyptian mythology I've read is The Red Pyramid.

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    1. Oh it isn't really scary, there are creept bits but I'm sure you'd be able to read it. (I don't want to read horror, either!)

      I don't think it has much Egyptian mythology but I don't remember it that much? xD Sorry.

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  2. I WAS ALWAYS REALLY DRAWN TO THAT COVER *heart eye emojis* it's just so pretty!! UGH. I kind of really want to read this book now.... because LIBRARIES <3

    rock on,
    abbiee

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    Replies
    1. I just hope you'll enjoy it a lot more than I did! xD

      Thanks for commenting, Abbiee!

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  3. My library got these books a little while ago, and I've been eyeing them ever sense! lol. I kinda hate romance for romance's sake, but it does sound so interesting... I don't know if I'll check these out or not yet.

    Nice review!


    Alexa
    thessalexa.blogspot.com
    verbosityreviews.com

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    Replies
    1. I'll say just give it a try. My Goodreads friends who've read this usually liked this.

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Keep it all clean, man. Well, if you really wanna curse, use minor swear words. And I mean the minorest of minor ones.

"Or what?" you ask in indignation.

"Or else."