Libriomancer - Magic Ex Libris, Bk 1 Author:Jim C. Hines Isaac Vainio is a Libriomancer, a member of the secret organization founded five centuries ago by Johannes Gutenberg. Libriomancers are gifted with the ability to magically reach into books and draw forth objects. When Isaac is attacked by vampires that leaked from the pages of books into our world, he barely manages to... more » escape. To his horror he discovers that vampires have been attacking other magic-users as well, and Gutenberg has been kidnapped.
With the help of a motorcycle-riding dryad who packs a pair of oak cudgels, Isaac finds himself hunting the unknown dark power that has been manipulating humans and vampires alike. And his search will uncover dangerous secrets about Libriomancy, Gutenberg, and the history of magic. . . .« less
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An incredible concept (the hero can reach into books and pull out anything of a reasonable size from their stories) with a little too much detail about how it works. I wanted to get on with the story (battling vampires, searching for Gutenberg, falling in love) and didn't need all the detail about how magical constructs functioned. Still, I think it will be one of those books that I think about for a long time.
The main character Isaac is a retired libriomancer. As a libriomancer Isaac has the power to reach into books and take items written about out of the book. Since he is retired he is now a librarian with a magic spider that when something bad is going to happen the spider goes up in flames. Vampires come to beat some information out of Issac, information about the magic community he has left. This fight brings retired libriomancer back in the magical world full force.
I love books that are about books, librarians, and reading. Finding a fantasy book about this character, the libriomancer, is probably a power that every lover of books and reader would love to have. Imagine taking excalibur out to fight with. A space age stun gun to stun enemies. Some libriomancer even took characters out of books like a dryads.
This book reminded me of The Magicians by Lev Grossman but not as serious. There was a lot more fun and humorous moments. The fact that the book says this is the first book in a series makes me jump for joy.
The only issue I had with the book is that it seemed short. I wanted more to read! I am eagerly awaiting the next book in the series and maybe I should check out more books by Jim C. Hines.
This book is wonderful! The basic premise, that the collective imaginings of everyone who's read a book creates a storehouse of magic that a gifted libriomancer can use to pull items from the book into the real world, is fantastic on its own. The book's story, about an exiled libriomancer called into active service when a series of strange attacks damage the network of underground magicians working to keep book leakage at a minimum, is action-packed, exciting, and thoughtful. The world and the plot are beautifully imagined and crafted. I got an extra kick out of the settings based on actual places in Michigan. An excellent book I would recommend to anyone; can't wait to read the sequel.
eliclaire - , reviewed Libriomancer: (Magic Ex Libris, Bk 1) on
This book had a lot going for it. For one, it's about books, and magic. Things I love. Patrick Rothfuss, who is one of my favorite authors of all time, gave this book five stars. It was an original idea and incorporated a lot of historical characters (somewhat accurately).
But ... it ended up not being for me. I really didn't like the whole vampire plot - Anne Rice has ruined all vampires for me, I don't like really any others. The whole Isaac and Lena thing felt cheesy, and don't even talk to me about the last twenty pages with the automaton. Lots of situations weren't explained or the explanations were far too simple. The books conclusion was quite silly, as well.
I'm not saying this book is bad, just that it wasn't for me. It was a quick read and fun at parts ... but it just didn't work all together. Except for Smudge. Why can't we all have fire spiders?!
