Title: Ink and Bone (Amazon Link)
Author: Rachel Caine
Release Date: July, 2015
This is an absolutely glorious piece of divergent fiction. I’ve got three kids under the age of two who are all just easing into regular sleep schedules, and I stayed up until 3AM to finish it. I simply couldn’t stop, and finishing a chapter turned into reading the last 140 pages. I recommend it to anyone who loves books, enjoys science fiction, or regency steam-punk. It’s not quite urban fantasy, but it’s close enough that fans of that genre should like it as well.
Rachel Caine has built a phenomenally realistic world in which the Library at Alexandria never fell, and instead has become a global institution not unlike the Catholic Church. Her protagonist, Jess Brightwell, is a young man who grew up versed in the darker side of life and who learns that light and morality subjective at best as he competes for a spot in the staff of the Library.
My favorite character by far was Niccholo Santi, captain of the High Garda affiliated with the students. That said, everyone who crossed the pages of this work had layers and dimensions that made them undeniably human.
Ink and Bone is the first work in “The Great Library” series, and I’ll admit – I can’t wait for the second.
