Ash and Quill (The Great Library #3) by Rachel Caine

Words can kill.

Hoarding all the knowledge of the world, the Great Library jealously guards its secrets. But now, a group of rebels poses a dangerous threat to its tyranny...

Jess Brightwell and his band of exiles have fled London, only to find themselves imprisoned in Philadelphia, a city led by those who would rather burn books than submit. But Jess and his friends have a bargaining chip: the knowledge to build a machine that will break the Library's rule.

Their time is running out. To survive, they'll have to choose to live or die as one, to take the fight to their enemies - and to save the very soul of the Great Library...

Review

As expected, just like Ink and Bone, Paper and Fire left off in a totally expected way. Needless to say, I was super excited to jump into the third book in the series! Thank goodness I was able to download an ARC from NetGalley, shortly before it was released!

I don't want to give away any spoilers, but my reaction after finishing this book:

OMG! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!

This book was non-stop action, like the first two books, but I expected this book to bring some feelings of closure. However, I think this book ended with an even bigger cliffhanger than either of the first two in the series!

I was seriously upset after finishing this book. I arranged to read the first three books back to back, and at that time, I thought The Great Library was a trilogy. After finishing this book, I discovered that there will be two more books in the series. 

Again, this book brought about so many twists and turns in the plot that there would be no way to guess what would happen next. I definitely did not expect it to end the way it did. Of course, I hoped that this book might wrap some things up, not because I don't want to read more books in this series; on the contrary, I just want to be able to read them now and see what happens next!

I never ever would have expected the ending. I don't want to put any spoilers here, but it was almost like the author had put so many crazy plot twists in, with situations that no one would ever guess the characters would get in to, that she decided at the end to throw in something that might be an obvious in any other book. Yet, I NEVER would have guessed it, since the rest of the book has much more complex methods of problem solving. 

If these books sound even remotely interesting to you, READ THEM! I guarantee you will enjoy them, and I hope you love them as much as I did! 

Here are a couple of my favorite quotes from this book:

No one with a book is ever along, even in the darkest moments.

When all the world is a clock, bow, you don't make a key. You become a key. 

After getting over my initial shock, I did a little research and it looks like there are going to be (at least) two more books in the series. However, they do not have titles or cover art yet. Considering that this book was just released on July 11th, the next two books may not even be written yet. :( 

On one hand, I am super excited to be able to keep reading and see what happens nect in the story, especially since I was not sure exactly how I felt about the way this book ended. Again, I don't want to give away any spoilers, so I won't reveal any more. 

On the other hand, I'm going to have to wait SOOOO LOOONG to see what happens next, which sucks hard! It makes it even worse that I have no idea how long yet. I know I will be scouring the internet to try to get ARCs, though! 

Putting my feelings about waiting to see what happens next aside: I ABSOLUTELY ♥ ♥ ♥ed this book! Finishing it has just left me with such mixed emotions! Finishing it, I feel sad and super anxious about waiting to see what happens next. Reading the book made me feel a whole different range of emotions, though!

However, I am kind of glad that I didn't do this research before reading this book. I think I would have gone into it with a different perspective, if I knew that there will be two more books. 

Also, I will say that I definitely understand why there will be (at least) two more books in The Great Library series. Each book has been so jam packed with action. I don't see how the author could have ended the story with this book, without either doubling it in length or taking out some major aspects of the story. 

Again, I ♥ed this book, and I know that the next two will be great! I am just sad that they are not in my hands right now! I will be waiting super impatiently for the next two books to be released! 

I received a copy of this book from the publishers, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. 

Paper and Fire (The Great Library #2) by Rachel Caine

With an iron fist, the Great Library controls the knowledge of the world, ruthlessly stamping out all rebellion, and in the name of the greater good, forbidding the personal ownership of books. 

Jess Brighwell has survived his introduction to the sinister, seductive world of the Library, bu serving in its army is nothing like he envisioned. His life and the lives of those he cares for have been altered forever. His best friend is lost, and Morgan, the girl he loves, is locked away in the Iron Tower, doomed to a life apart from everything she knows.

After embarking on a mission to save one of their own, Jess and his band of allies make one wrong move and suddenly find themselves hunted by the Library's deadly automata and forced to flee Alexandria, all the way from London.

But Jess's home isn't safe anymore. The Welsh army is coming, London is burning, and soon, Jess must choose between his friends, his family, and the Library, which is willing to sacrifice anything and anyone in the search for ultimate control...

Review

Ink and Bone was AH-MAY-ZING! So, I couldn't wait to read this book. I downloaded it immediately after finishing Ink and Bone and started reading, even though it was getting late and I knew I would probably stay up way too late reading (which I did). 

I love the characters in this book! The author did an excellent job with character development. The deeper you get into the story, the more you learn about them, but the author also does a great job of keeping some things a mystery so that you just want to keep learning more about them. Even some of the characters that I hated in the first book continue to develop in this book and make you like them more and more. Even those that I still didn't like at the end of this book, I definitely understood them better. 

You have to admire the teenagers int his book! They are all super brave a courageous when something happens to the people they care about, they will go to the ends of the earth to help save them, even if it is reckless and dangerous. 

I wondered if the author was inspired by the growing popularity of digital books today and the fact that more and more people are seeing physical books as almost obsolete. The way everyone in the book can get "blanks" to read, which are basically magical digital books, that instead of loading from the internet, an Obscurist sends the book they want to their blank. The Library holds all the originals, and chooses which content the people can access. However, Jess craves the sensations of reading real, physical, leather-bound, handwritten "originals."I have heard many avid readers explain the similar feelings about reading digital books today and just wanting to feel the book in their hands, smell the paper and be able to dog-ear pages (NOT ME! I consider this sacrilege, but some people do it! I have a slight obsession with keeping my books in pristine condition.). The way that Jess talked about and longs for "originals" is very reminiscent of this, on a whole other level though, since it is actually illegal to own them. 

Jess missed handling originals. He'd grown so addicted to the feel of those books - the individual differences in the bindings, the leather or fabric covers, the weight of papers, the smell. They were very different experiences than these Blanks, which felt so... sterile, somehow. Words that could be readily discarded and replaced didn't have the same moral heft to them, to him, but he recognized he was a rebel and an outcast, even among those who love the Library. 

I found an interview with the author explains some of her inspiration from the book. While in the book, people must request for their blanks to be filled with content that they select from a directory of books approved by the Library, the author explains that although so many books are available digitally today, but there are still so many that are not and only physical copies exist. Also, if you purchase a digital copy of a book, you cannot resell it, and the rights-holder can remove your access if they want. Click here to read that interview. In it she says:

So, I wanted to talk about how in a world where ebooks (i.e., Blanks and their contents) are controlled by the Library, physical books are an act of real rebellion and sedition. The Library doesn't own it, and can't control it. And for them, that's dangerous.

OMG! This book was even better than I anticipated! There were so many surprises that I never could have guessed would happen. 

I was so excited to see what followed the first book, and while I thought a few things in this book might happen, I had not idea that most of this book would happen. It addresses much more than the questions I had after finishing the first book but left me with quite a few more. 

This book is super action-packed! Something big that is essential to the story is constantly happening. 

In short, this book was just as good, if not better than the first! Forgive me for not writing more, I just downloaded the third book in the series, Ash and Quill, and absolutely cannot wait another minute to start reading it! I'll post my review soon!

Ink and Bone (The Great Library #1) by Rachel Caine

In an exhilarating new series, New York Times bestselling author Rachel Caine rewrites history, creating a dangerous world where the Great Library of Alexandria has survived the test of time...

Ruthless and supremely powerful, the Great Library is now a presence in every major city, governing the flow of knowledge to the masses. Alchemy allows the Library to deliver the content of the greatest works of history instantly - but the personal ownership of books is expressly forbidden.

Jess Brightwell believed in the value of the Library, but the majority of his knowledge comes from illegal books obtained by his family, who are involved in the thriving black market. Jess has been sent to be his family's spy, but his loyalties are tested in the final months of his training to enter the Library's service.

When his friend inadvertently commits heresy by creating a device that could change the world, Jess discovers that those who control the Great Library believe that knowledge is more valuable than any human life - and soon both heretics and books will burn...

Review

I have been wanting to read this book for quite some time, so when I saw it listed on Blogging for Books, I jumped at the opportunity to read it. Within the next couple of days after requesting it, I also found a book called Ash and Quill on NetGalley and requested it, just because it sounded awesome. Little did I know that Ash and Quill is the third book in The Great Library Series! So, I immediately put a hold on the second book, Paper and Fire, to download it through the library, hoping the hold would be up by the time I read this book so that I wouldn't have to wait and could read all three, back to back. 

By the way, with a name like The Great Library, how could this series not be awesome?! All of the other books I've read about magical libraries have been AWESOME (i.e. The Library at Mount Char and The Invisible Library series)! Who doesn't love a book about books?!

The very beginning of the book starts with a letter from ancient Egypt, talking about the Pharaoh banning women from studying at the library, before jumping into the story. Here is an exerpt:

His divine  wisdom can kiss my common arse. We bling and hobble half of the world, through such ignorance and I will not have it. Women shall study at the Serapeum as they might be inclined. Let him execute me if he wishes, but I have seen enough of minds wasted in this world. I have a daughter.
My daughter will learn.

When I read this, I knew immediately that I would like this book!

Then the prologue starts to get into the story, beginning by explaining that Jess runs books (literally RUNS with them), which are super rare, around London with his family, which is illegal. Owning some books carries the death penalty.

They are called cutters, which are children and teenagers, that literally run books around London. However, they ran in packs, with most of them only carrying trash, in case they were caught, which was often, whether by the Garda or by people wanting money for turning them over to the Garda. The prologue explains one trip where Jess runs a book to an old man that doesn't go quite as planned.

Jess' father was in charge of their family's operation, which is famous for smuggling books. He collected the books, hired the cutters, and mapped out their routes, which they were to stick to at all costs, as at first, they started together in a pack, then spread out, taking individual paths to stretch the Garda thin.

Jess' brother died, because he was caught but kept silent about his identity and his family to protect them. Liam was only 17 years old at the time, and Jess was only 10 and had no idea how he would ever live up to his brother's legend. 

After reading the prologue, I knew I would LOVE this book! And all of this happens before the book even properly begins. 

The actual story starts when Jess is 16 and his father signs him up to train to work for the Library and spy for him. 

I also loved the aspects of historical fiction in this book! Although it is set in the future, it takes place in a world in which the Great Library of Alexandria was never destroyed, and it now rules the world.

The Library's propaganda says, "When you steal a book, you steal from the world."

Imagine a world in which anyone, anywhere, could create and distribute their own words, however ignorant or flawed! ... We cannot be weak if the Library is to resist this invasive, persistent disease of progress. 

There are excerpts between chapters, with bits of history that contribute to the story, usually letters from historical figures, and some current important figures in the Library. 

I particularly liked this excerpt. This is from a letter from Thomas Paine in 1795, voicing the Burner philosophy against the Library. Of course, access to this is strictly controlled and only accessible by the highest levels of the Library.

There are three parts to learning: information, knowledge, and wisdom. A mere accumulation of information is not knowledge, and a treasure of knowledge, in itself, is not wisdom.

The Library holds itself to be the keeper of both knowledge and wisdom, but it is not true. So much should never be held in the hands of so few, for it is a natural, venal habit of men to hold power. And knowledge is the purist form of power.

But there is no wisdom without knowledge, no progress without danger, and I am not the Library's child! I must argue my own information, build my own knowledge, and through experience, transform it into the treasured gold of wisdom.

This book went so many different directions that I never would have expected! It is fast-paced, and I loved everything about it! It made me laugh, it made me cry, and feel a whole wide range of emotions in between.

After finishing this book, I immediately downloaded Paper and Fire and started reading it, even though it was super late, and I probably should have just gone to bed...

Stay tuned for reviews for the next two books in the series! I'm about half-way done with Paper and Fire now.

I received a copy of this book from the publishers, through Blogging for Books, in exchange for an honest review.