Ink and Bone

The Great Library

By: Rachel Caine

Narrated by: Julian Elfer

In an exhilarating new series, New York Times best-selling 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....

© 2015 Rachel Caine LLC (P) 2015 Recorded Books

Outstanding - never a dull moment!

An intelligent, unique, and well written story! The narrator, Julian Elfer is possibly the best I've listened to ... As a former Drama teacher & current Teacher Librarian, I deeply appreciate the talent it takes to bring the story alive. Julian rocks it! Each character is distinct and believable. I didn't want to stop listening. It's one of those books that makes you take a longer route - walking or driving, appreciate long stoplights and disregard traffic jams - it's that absorbing. (oh and there is the occasional missed exit...)

Puh-tolemy?

Story was mostly engaging and the narrator gave a good performance. However, his pronunciation of Ptolemy was cringe-making.

mind capturing

took a few chapters to get the gist of this tale but then couldn't wait to see what came next. Reminded me of Harry potter

A bit dark but engaging

Big fan of Rachel Caine and I found this to be an engaging work. Good world building. The story and world is dark and a bit scary. In the story the Library is like “Big Brother” and corruption is everywhere. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. There is a little G rated romance but not a huge part of the story. There is a little steampunk style magic but not a lot of that either. I will probably go on to the next book as it is a series. It did not end on a cliffhanger but it was not wrapped up at all.
Worth your time and the audio version of the book was extremely well done. If you enjoy noir style steampunk then I recommend it.

Not what I expected

Interesting preface, but too many unanswered questions. A dark cloud of ignorance that kept getting worse.

An Interesting Alternate Reality Read

I was immediately immersed in this alternate reality tale. Although it took a few minutes to understand what the main character was doing, once I was oriented, and the story emerged, I was hooked.

The book is interesting, without being at all difficult. Good background story to accompany a drive, gardening, or other semi engaging activity. Appropriate for teen readers, if same sex relationships are ok in your book.

Good read.

Enjoy.

Slow start, but riveting once you get into it

I thought I was going to hate this book. The beginning is a little slow, but after the first couple chapters I was completely engaged and could not stop listening. Brilliant story, loved the narrator and am now bingeing the next two books.

Lovely story

I really liked the story. Characters are interesting, full, and engaging. The narrator does a great job also.

Stellar

I absolutely adored this series when it first came out and just started a re-read with the audiobooks. It is just so good! And the audio performance raised the excellence even more!

Great Performance and a compelling Story

Had me from the start. Enough detail of the surroundings that you could recreate it in your mind. But not so much that it was distracting. The characters were well-developed and likeable and grew better over time. I enjoyed the story very much. The performance was amazing