Django Wexler is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors. After the Wells of Sorcery series (I still have to add the review of book 3) this was yet another interesting series.
The concept is simple and will appeal to all fantasy readers: magic is real, and can be retrieved from books. Wizards are very adapt readers with lots of experience (we call them 'the old readers'). They all have shape shifting libraries, and get their powers from reading books.
Are you hooked yet?
Young Adult
This is a young adult, but Wexler isn't afraid of killing of main characters, or describe bad events. Nothing too gruesome, but he's not sugarcoating it. I like the result, though adult supervision might be required when a very young reader takes a shot at this.
This ain't Kansas... nor Wonderland
If I would have to describe this book with a few words, I'd say a mix of Alice in Wonderland and Inkheart. That the main character is called Alice can't be a coincidence. She ends up as an orphan, being apprenticed to her uncle Geryon, who turns out to be 'an old reader'.
And he, just like all the other 'old readers' turns out to be not such a nice guy. Alice, a new reader herself, takes the fight to him and the others, with the help of a talking cat, friends, and magical superpowers. Add a tiny bit of sarcasm, some humor, and lots of 'sense of wonder'' and there you have The Forbidden Library.
Titles
- The Forbidden Library
- The Mad Apprentice
- The Palace of Glass
- The Fall of the Readers
Narration
Fit and match. Is it a suprise that better books have better narrators, and worse books tend to have worse narrators? This one's good and matching.
The Verdict
A good read, suitable for both Young Adults (some caveats) and Adults. Read!
(Heh, maybe I should have spread this review out over four parts, make it look more impressive 😎)
Dapper / TellTales! #113
No comments:
Post a Comment