From the Stacks: Libriomancer

Okay, so things got a little hectic with home and work and as usually happens I stop writing blogs and such. For that I really have to apologize. I can say that in the past few weeks I have been able to read a number of books and they have been quite enjoyable, so today I'm going to post up about one that so far has been my favorite read of 2012. 

I love Librarians and libraries and books and magical abilities...and so Libriomancer by Jim C. Hines is perfect. It is the first book in the Magic Ex Libris series. Also, you can tell by looking at "my" copy, I borrowed this from the library. After devouring the book in only a couple hours, I sincerely wish that I had enough money to purchase this book, preferably in hardcover so I could pass it along to all my friends because it is an amazing read.

Libriomancer (Magic Ex Libris Book One) by Jim C. Hines
ISBN: 9780756407391

Summary:

"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 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. . . ."

My Thoughts:

This book most definitely receives a 5/5 for me. I felt so drawn into the story and the world. Though I don't know a lot about the Michigan area and such, I have friends who have lived there so I know how accurate it all is. Plus, considering that I do have a degree in Library and Information Science, I do love when I find a librarian as a main character. Then, let's not forget what I find to be the coolest power out there. What bibliophile has not wished they could reach into a book and pull out a sword or a communicator or just anything. I really like that there are limits to what can be pulled from the book, only objects that are small enough to come out the pages. So, you could reach into a Doctor Who novel and pull out a vortex manipulator, but you could not pull out the TARDIS.

The relationships between the characters are really interesting and I loved all the novels, real and created, mentioned in the book. One of the really awesome characters was Smudge, a spider. And of course I loved Lena, the motorcycle-riding dryad mentioned in the summary.

Seriously, I thought this book was so amazing that it is actually difficult to talk about it because I can't find the precise words to describe the sheer awesomeness of all of this.

Oh, and Jim C. Hines has written up a blog post where he reveals the cover for Codex Born (Magic Ex Libris Book Two), so here's a link to that: http://www.jimchines.com/2012/09/codex-born-cover/

Libriomancer at Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/libriomancer-jim-c-hines/1104880003?ean=9780756407391

Libriomancer at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Libriomancer-Magic-Ex-Libris-Book/dp/0756407397/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1349801891&sr=8-1&keywords=Libriomancer

Other Readings:

In other readings I have finished a couple of other books and hope to have reviews up here soon, and am reading a few others. Currently I am reading The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines (he's a really good author), Grave Mercy by Robin LeFevers, and Master of Crows by Grace Draven.