Book: Ink And Bone by Rachel Caine

Published July 2015 by NAL|298 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the e-book from the library

Series: The Great Library #1

Genre: YA Dystopia/Alternate History/Steampunk

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 believes 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 he 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…

When I heard Rachel Caine had a book coming out, I knew I had to read it!  She is definitely an author I have on auto-buy, so I knew I’d be reading it, and it didn’t even matter what it was about, because I think she writes some really cool stories.  Ink And Bone was no exception!

I really liked the idea of the Great Library Of Alexandria still being around, and having daughter libraries all over the world.  The Library is also extremely powerful, and as far as their power goes, I was very much reminded of the Catholic Church.

There’s something about Ink And Bone that’s both steampunk and sort of futuristic at the same time.  But it really works, especially with some of the technology in the book.  Particularly with how they get copies of the books to the daughter libraries.

I can’t imagine a world where the flow of information is very restricted, to the point that owning books are illegal. There’s a black market, of course, and even groups of Book Burners.  It’s amazing the lengths people will go to in order to have books, and it really makes me glad I don’t live in that world.

Can you imagine a world where there is no Gutenberg Press, because it’s deemed too dangerous?  I can’t, and it’s sort of scary to think about.  I was struck by how much the Library didn’t like progress…and it did make me think of the e-reader/print debate going on today.  It’s really the closest parallel I can think of.

The characters, particularly the secondary characters, didn’t particularly stand out to me, and it took me most of the book to figure out who was who.  At least where his classmates are concerned.  I think they have a lot of potential, but I also felt slightly distanced from them, so maybe that’s it.

I think, of all the characters, Wolf and Santi were the most interesting.  There’s a lot more to them, especially Wolf, than we see in the book.  Wolf is particularly interesting, because of why he was teaching, and him wanting to protect his students.  I want to know more about him!

I have such a vivid picture of the library, and the different jobs there, and Caine created such an intricate world. There are quite a few mysteries in this book, and I want to know more about this world.  I also really liked the letters and such we got before each chapter.  It really added to the world and I hope it continues in the next book.

I also can’t wait to check out the playlist at the end of the book.  It’s one of my favorite things about her books, and I’ve always found some really cool music because of it, so I’m sure this one will be just as good as the other ones.

4 stars.  I really enjoyed it, and even though it wasn’t quite 5 stars, it came really close.  It’s a great book about books.