Ink and Bone (The Great Library)

I can’t believe I waited so long to read this book. Ink and Bone is amazing! Ink and Bone is a book about books. Now that the sequel is about to come out, I am kinda glad I waited to read this. I need the sequel immediately!Jess lives in a world where books are controlled by The Great Library. The Great Library controls the flow of information in the world. Jess starts off as a runner for his family. His family steals original versions of books and trades them in the black market. Jess isn’t really interested in the family business. His father could see that early on, and set him up with a good education. An education good enough to get him into The Great Library’s service so he could continue to work for his family from the inside. Working for the The Great Library would mean Jess is employed by the enemy.There are three kinds of people in this world.Librarians: work for The Great Library and control the information of the worldDealers: who steal and deal original copies of rare booksBurners: who burn books for political protestEveryone has a journal at birth and is encouraged to write about their lives, the journals become part of the library once a person dies. The Great Library looks good and safe, but it is actually the very thing keeping progress from happening in this world. No one but the library gets original books. In a whole lifetime, you may gain access to an electronic book or get a copied one. Almost no one gets to see an original book.Books are power in this world. Since the library has all the power, and people don’t know any better, a position with The Great Library is a coveted position. In this word there are no printing presses, no way for a book to be shared. All of the best ideas and technology are used for the library only. Oppression is a thing. Which brings a need for Burners. They don’t want the library to have all the power, they burn books and librarians in protest. They are a real threat to librarians throughout the world.Jess is sent into training with The Great Library after passing the entrance exam. He might be the most promising student from his part of the world, but he finds he is just one of many who wants a life working with books. The whole story follows Jess in his studies and his rivalries with other students in Alexandria. Some of this story was reminiscent of Harry Potter, but these kids are older. The stakes are higher. The students are more twisted, and there is much more at stake.The world building in Ink and Bone is pretty amazing. We get to see so much of this world and it is flawlessly described for the reader. I had no problem seeing the world. I have to admit the beginning of this book is a bit slow, but once I got past the first few chapters, and into Jess’ journey, I was completely sucked in. All of the characters are well written. Jess is torn throughout most of this story between reaching his potential for the library and pleasing his family. He knows more than most of his peers and that knowledge is dangerous.There was a bit of romance, but it is so damned complicated. I loved Morgan and Jess together. There is also some great friendships. Those are hard won though. They also get pretty complicated. Within this story is a great adventure and a lot of danger.This book made me so grateful to have access to books and knowledge without persecution. I really enjoyed this book. It ends in a good place with no cliffhangers. I want more of the story though, so I can’t wait to read the sequel. Fans of books and YA fictional history will enjoy this story.

This happens to be a cumulative review of the first 3 books in the series.An alternate reality where the Library of Alexandria survives?!?! It’s every book lover’s dream- sign me up!!!!!Actually, that’s exactly what I did. I originally put in a request through Netgalley to view “Ash and Quill”. I quickly learned that “Ash and Quill” was book number 3 in “The Great Library” series and I would need to be (better) acquainted with the characters AND story line. Luck must have been on my side because I also had the opportunity to review “Ink and Bone” (book number 1 in “The Great Library” series”. I was destined to read this series- so I took it upon myself to purchase book 2 to bring them all together.What exactly does this world look like with preserved knowledge? Pretty similar to today, just a larger emphasis on knowledge running the world. Even in this bookworm’s world, someone is always hungry for power. People are still put into groups, and it seems each group has it’s own caste system. And yet again as we spiral down to the underprivileged, groups and caste systems dissipate and it’s an absolute free-for-all for survival.The Library, which is essentially the government, primarily focus on:“Knowledge is Power”However, knowledge is not meant for all. It’s true that the highest positions within the Library are privy to every and all information. It is up to the positions of power to filter out (or in) what they deem necessary. If it’s an original work that could bring about rebellion, the inventor is labeled a heretic, his/her original text is sent to the black archives, and the library is saved. If it’s an original work that benefits the present and future, the Obscurists (think of them ALMOST as magicians) will copy the original work into blanks. Blanks could be a hit or miss. Information may be omitted or added to depending on the idea the Library is trying to convey.“Knowledge is Power”It is in in that simple motto where groups start to break down.Smugglers: wish to preserve original books: it is their trade: money to be made.Burners: political statement: will burn any book to break the Library’s hold on originalsObscurists: the group in the library that “mirror’s” original booksScholars: protect any and all books, no matter the costsReaders are introduced to Jess Brightwell- who at the time is 10 years old. The Brightwell family runs a book smuggling operation- not just any books; originals. Just because you are a young member of the family, does not mean you are exempt from smuggling duty. Jess knows for certain he does not want a future career within the family business. One prominent memory for Jess was a run were a customer dubbed an “ink licker” ate an original book, for:“. . .there’s no act of possession more complete than consuming the unique. . .”Jess may have been born into a book smuggling business, but ,“. . .[he] was born with ink in his blood. . .”making him consciously aware that he would do anything to protect a book.Tired of paying for a son who refuses to take over the family business, Callum (ever the opportunist) decides to use his son for bigger and better things; placement in the Library, and a chance to make return investment on years of tutelage.Jess passes the placement test, sending him to Alexandria with a train full of hopeful postulants. Whilst on the train ride, we learn of the other characters who will frequent the books:Thomas: from Germany. Has a large build, and hopes to get placed in engineering.Khalila: from the Middle East, very pretty, the first person to EVER score 100% on the exams.Glain: Welsh, solid dislike for Jess since he’s English and they’re in a war; very plain, brash.Dario: spanish, arrogant- used to getting what he wants.Morgan: late arrival; on the run from the library, safest place is right under their nose for the time being.Scholar Wolfe: intimidating; black robes, shoulder length hair, not the average teacher. Forced into teaching as a punishment (although the reader will not know that until much later).Santi: member of the High Garda, assigned to Scholar WolfeSo for the most part this is our rag tag team for the series. Naturally there are other minor characters introduced throughout, but these here are your main focus.Scholar Wolfe is expected to whittle down his applicants to 6; through lessons, practical life lessons, hand on tasks, as well as common sense training. The Library deems them fit to go on a mission to Oxford for the retrieval of Originals at the sister library. The problem? They are walking right in the middle of the English/Welsh war.Even in this alternate reality, history repeats itself. Usually, repeated ideas are the most dangerous, and most likely to draw (unwanted) attention from the Library; which is exactly what Thomas has done. Thomas has invented a machine that renders Obscurists obsolete, as well as challenging the powerful hold the library has on it’s information flow. What innocent Thomas is unaware of, is his invention has actually been “invented” before. . .centuries, decades, and years prior. Each invention discovered, each inventor silenced and/or tortured, and all evidence of either of the two ever existing wiped clean.Luckily, our crew of miscreants has someone seasoned in the Library’s conduct; Scholar Wolfe. It is through Wolfe’s intuition that leads Jess to realize Thomas has been taken. It is through a hypnotic trance that Wolfe is able to tell the group where Thomas may be kept, and it is Wolfe’s ability to help everyone steer clear from the Library as much as possible.Throughout the 3 books it’s Battle—–>Rescue—–>Rest—–>Repeat. Not only do we have human obstacles our group must face, but also automated (specifically engineered for the Library) and chemical.Unbeknownst to me, I originally thought this was only a 3 book series. Upon looking up information on Goodreads, I learned that it is actually a 5 book series (YAY!!!!). In my personal opinion, this series (all around) is an amazing read. I typically love alternate realities, but lately it seems that they have been overdone. By breathing life back into the Library of Alexandria, it gives a historical spin on what “could have” been our future. The story line flows- for the most part, I did not hit a boring spot that I had to put down and take a break. Caine has developed this world beautifully- everything is well thought out, described, and intoxicating. The depth of the characters makes you easily fall in love with them- and I HIGHLY suggest at starting with book 1, do not skip books.It is also my opinion that this series be developed either into a video game (yes you read that right!) or a TV series. Yes, I loved it that much, and I really think it would do well! So, here at Quitterstrip, I cannot wait to continue with this series.All 3 books get a solid 4 star rating

Ink and Bone is an easy book to read, it's written in third person and it flows very easily. However, the chapters are rather long - averaging about 30 minutes on my kindle, although a couple were shorter and some were longer.The book centres on Jess Brightwell, a young man who is sent to the Great Library in Alexandria to study and hopefully work for them. But the Libraries in this world as not like the libraries we all know. In Jess's world, the great Library has seized power; it has its own army and it has made it illegal to own your own books. The library maintains that what it does, it does for the greater good. But is it really a force for good? Or will it do anything to hold onto the power it has?I really liked this book! It’s a fascinating look into the power of information, who has it, who controls and why. It really dives right into exploring the power of knowledge and the written word. And books! You can tell this book was written by a bookworm, it really captures the magical quality of books and why we read. The first scene in the book with the lengths Jess has to go to complete his mission and the Ink Licker, though rather disturbing, really hammered home why reading, knowledge and history is so important.There was a few things I didn't like about this book, hence why I only gave it 4 stars. The relationships between some of the characters felt a little forced, especially Jess's and his love interest. The blurb on here is also quite misleading; the so called heresy is not the primary focus of the book! So much other stuff happens! Which I won't get into as I don't want to spoil the book for anyone else, but there is a lot more to this book than Jess just discovering what his friend has done.Maybe a slight spoiler here, but the book is quite dark. There is a lot of death (not all we see, but still, it’s there), there is a war and the Great Library itself has a very ruthless streak. So you can imagine the kind of stuff that is hinted at or mentioned. None of this is that explicit, the author does not go in that much detail, which I think is a testament to how well she has written this book and parts still made me very uncomfortable. This is no means a light hearted read, but it’s a very good one! So if I haven't completely put you off by this review, check it out for yourself!

How did it take me so long to read this book?It's 2025, the Great Library of Alexandria never fell and instead it and its agents rule the written word. Jess and h S family are book smugglers, selling real books to the highest bidder, a job that requires stealth and cunning to deliver contraband under the noses of the English Garda.When he is 16 years old Jess' father informs him that he will never be ruthless enough to take over the business because he values books more than his own life, instead he has bought him an opportunity to join the library by taking the entrance exams in London.Soon Jess is on his way to Alexandria with a group of similar postulates to undergo a series of tests to determine who is worthy to join the Library, whether as garda, scholar, obscurist or other.Imagine a world where: automata guard various daughter libraries across the world; where everyone is given a personal journal at birth, which is then returned to the Library at death; where Burners rebel for the freedom to keep their own thoughts private from the Library; where people can download books into 'blanks' to read and the wealthy can own a library of blanks; where the Library is omnipotent and resistant to change.I love a good fantasy series, I grew up on David Eddings and Robert Jordan and this reminded me of why I love them so much; the group of characters, the misfits, the rebellion. So glad I already have the next two books ready to read.Bonus? It's only 99p on Kindle at the moment.

Set in an alternative world where the Great Library of Alexandria survived the fire that resulted in the destruction of the accumulated knowledge of the ancient world. The Great Library is now a separate country, protected by its own standing army, grown with vast power, with its own unquestioned and unrivalled supremacy. Jess Brightwell has been sent to the Great Library as a spy for his criminal family.Fun fact: Rachel Caine's Morganville series is what got me into serious reading. My sister bought each book as it was published and when she outgrew them, she gave them all to me. And I'm not kidding, Rachel Caine's (and Darren Shan) vampire novels are what inspired me to write and strive to become an author. And I think The Great Library will overthrow Morganville as my favourite Caine series. It was SO GOOD!Seventeen-year-old Jess comes from a family of book smugglers, in a time in which it is illegal to own printed novels. If you want access to a book, it must come from the Great Library in Alexandria, but owning the books yourself is against the law. Jess is sent by his father to the library to train with other students to get a position in the Great Librarian - but also to be a spy for his family, and get books his family to smuggle. But soon Jess realizes that the Great Library isn't what it seems. His loyalties will be tested in many ways, and Jess will be forced to choose a side.Right from the start, this whole book was so suspenseful and ominous. No book will ever be perfect but, damn, this was so perfect for me. The beautiful description of Alexandria, to the frightening appearance of the Burners and the Library. (I'm not kidding, I was mentally screaming when a man started EATING A RARE ARISTOTLE BOOK)I think my favourite thing about the book was the diversity. I loved the supporting characters so much, and they were the best part of the book for me. Jess is the protagonist, but there are several other students. There were twenty at first, but only six spots are open. Dario, Jess's roommate in Alexandria, is a nuisance, but I think I liked him by the time we got to the end. Khalila is an intelligent girl. (she's also wearing a hijab which made me sooo happy!! I kept telling my family- "Look there's a Muslim character in here! She's smart and amazing!") Thomas is a friendly boy with a very smart creative engineering mind. Glain is a cold Welsh girl, mainly to Jess, because of the conflict between their home countries. Morgan is a late arrival, mysterious and odd to everything, especially Jess. Wolfe is the Scholar who is in charge of the students, and he is ruthless and a bit scary. Captain Santi keeps guard of the students and Scholar. I’m not going to lie, I didn’t like Wolfe at first but he’s an interesting one, once you get to know him...I highly recommend this to anyone!!! A creative, alternative history world with amazing writing and characters who love books. I'm so excited for the sequel, and I'm so glad I'll be done with exams by the time it's released!

I liked the fact that this story was from a boy’s POV, the majority of the books I read have a female protagonist. Jess won me over immediately, with his love of literature and his reluctance to a life of crime. The strained relationship with his parents and twin brother make it easy for you to root for him when it comes time for him to leave.We meet a string of characters who complement Jess’s quest; Thomas is the friendly giant who excels in engineering, Dario is the pain in Jess’s butt, and Morgan is the potential romantic interest. My favourite character is Wolfe, the tutor, who takes no prisoners. He reminds me so much of Snape from Harry Potter, even down to the flowing cloak.The characters are brought to life with expert ease; the fast-paced story keeping you hooked from the first page until the cliffhanger ending. Although the story is left wide open for book two (and hopefully three and four), it is wrapped up in such a way that you don’t feel cheated.There are tears, laughs and tender moments, where the characters you believed were one thing, shock you and tested your beliefs.Any fan of young adult and fantasy will love this book.

Ink and Bone was probably one of those books where I originally wasn’t 100% sold on reading it when it came out – it wasn’t something I thought I would enjoy not like I enjoyed the Weather Warden and Outcast Season books and although it’s taken me over a year to get round to reading it I have to say I’m certainly glad that I did.For those of you who have never read Rachel Caine’s other books this is probably as good a place as any to start however if you have read her other stuff but haven’t read this yet? Get in there.So Ink and Bone is set in a Dystopian universe where the Great Library of Alexandria was never destroyed and books are like gold dust (they should be anyway but this a whole new level of obsession) smugglers and Burners abound in this alternate reality and The Library hold all the cards. Real books are taken by the Library for archiving and they’re replicated into a new form called a blank – which is basically a copy of a book in particular.The story starts with Jess Brightwell doing a run for a customer as per orders from his father – the head of one of the biggest smuggling rings in London – where an original copy of a book is to be delivered to the buyer no questions asked. As a young child Jess is – as expected – pretty impressionable but he also retains his own sense of purpose and sense of right and wrong unlike his twin brother. The “client” who requested the rare book is actually an ink-licker – a book eater – and Jess witnesses the ink-licker devouring this rare one of a kind book and he loses his flagging appreciation for the smuggling trade altogether.His father makes a good point to Jess by accusing him of having ink in his blood as Jess has a bigger appreciation for the books he’s supposed to be smuggling than the family business. His twin -ok the other hand – is the exact opposite and loves being a smuggler and criminal. The ink-licker ends up dying due to a knife in the back and we find out later on that Brendon (Jess’s twin) potentially did it.Jess’s father buys him a position into the Library testing to become a Scholar and so begins the story of Jess and the Library.Jess is out through a series of gruelling tests and to be perfectly honest I think the worst of the lot is putting up with his stuck up roommate Dario but Jess prevails throughout these tests and the trials he and the other postulants go through – including a few near death (and certain death) experiences – Jess is a success even if his tutor is aware of his past and family connections.I loved the writing style as it’s just so Rachel Caine and her work always keeps me intrigued. I also loved the potential (pretty sure and I ship it) relationship between Scholar Wolfe and Captain Santi, it’s got a very good and very clear backdrop and love is love – adore it.Some of the other postulants were a little unlikeable at first but they did grow on me and the best postulant besides Jess is Thomas and man is he wicked smart.I also didn’t like the Artifex Magnus – he just came across as totally slimy and 100% “I’ll do anything to make sure the Library stays in power” attitude and I mean anything.It was all around a very good book with some good and humourous dialogue but also the very serious side to it in terms of the war between the English and the Welsh and the war between the Library and the Burners. Now Burners are a very interesting concept and I can’t wait to see where the next book Paper and Fire takes the series.