Paper and Fire

Originally posted on bluchickenninja.com

There are two things you need to know about this book. The first is that read almost all of it in a single day. The second is that I was only 25% of the way through this when I went and preordered the next book. I think that says more of how I feel about this book than any other versions of “I like it” that I could come up with.

The strange thing I find with this book is it isn't in a genre I normally read. This may be a surprise but I don't read massive amounts of YA any more because I always feel that I can't connect with the characters. But for some reason I love this. I love that it's about the Library of Alexandria which is this thing people always go on about how amazing it would be if it were still around. But it's about freedom of information which is turning into a really important thing in the world we're living in just now.

I like the fact that this gang of kids actually has some adult figures around. Telling them what they are doing may not be the best or right thing to do. One of the things that always annoys me about YA books is how the adult characters being forgotten. In this the adults are part of the “gang”.

I love that you have a diverse cast of characters. It touches on sexuality and normalises LGBT relationships. The characters feel real because they are all motivated by something. Their actions aren't always the right ones. It feels like an adventure. And I love that this book made me feel real sadness when a robot cat died. Of course I also love that it's a book about books.

Exciting action, interesting characters and great worldbuilding.....so far, The Great Library series is excellent.

This is definitely a transition book - building off the worldbuilding and character development of book 1, but clearly leading to bigger, better things in book 3. Unfortunately it suffers a bit as a result, the overarching canon of Caine's bigger picture took priority so the insular story of this book seemed a little shallow. But this also did a lot of obvious and important setup, ensuring characters have expanded their skillsets and learned valuable information that will surely lead them on their way.