Review: Sword and Pen (The Great Library #5) by Rachel Caine

Sword and Pen (The Great Library #5) by Rachel Caine

Berkley Books

Publication Date: September 3rd, 2019

Hardcover. 368 pages

About Sword and Pen:

"With the future of the Great Library in doubt, the unforgettable characters from Ink and Bone must decide if it's worth saving in this thrilling adventure in the New York Times bestselling series. 

The corrupt leadership of the Great Library has fallen. But with the Archivist plotting his return to power, and the Library under siege from outside empires and kingdoms, its future is uncertain. Jess Brightwell and his friends must come together as never before, to forge a new future for the Great Library . . . or see everything it stood for crumble."

This series has gotten better and better with each book and this final installment is no exception to that pattern. I remember reading Ink and Bone and feeling very ambivalent about it--it was a rough start, but there was enough in there that I was still interested in the series. It was honestly just a stroke of luck (or fate?) that I received an ARC of the second book on NetGalley, decided to give it a shot, and eventually fell in love with everything about the series.

I tend to struggle with writing reviews for books that are finales or far into a series beacuse I'm not sure how to go into detail without also giving away spoilers for everything leading up to it. Because of that, I'll try not to go into specifics, but please be forewarned that if you haven't read this series or caught up to this book, there will probably still be minor spoilers for previous books in this series. I'll have no spoilers for this book, though!

Sword and Pen picks up shortly after the events of the previous books with all of our favorite characters struggling to protect the future of the Great Library. Everyone has grown up and matured so much since the story started out in Ink and Bone and it's honestly been one of the most satisfying and enjoyable experiences that I've read in a while. Jess, Morgan, Dario, Khalila, Santi, Thomas, Glain, and Wolfe are all present and continue to shine in the best ways possible. I love their relationships with one another and how they work together despite having so many contrasting personalities and entirely unique perspectives on their world. I love the grudging hate-yet-respect-friendship between Dario and Jess, the complications in the relationship between Jess and Morgan--rather than the usual 'completely in love with no problems' scenario you see in most books--the gradual yet passionate blossoming love between Dario and Khalila, and of course the beautiful partnership of Wolf and Santi.

Khalila, Thomas, Wolfe, and Santi remain my favorite characters, though Dario is also one that's grown on me a lot over the last few books and I can't help but love him. Khalila is the most elegant, intelligent, eloquent, badass woman I've come across in fiction in a while and I absolutely love how she handles herself in these books and in every situation and continues to grow into her new roles and abilities. Jess continues to be a character that I can't say I've ever really liked, but I still have a respect for him that leaves me attached to him as a character and it's been an incredibly wild ride following him on this adventure.

The stakes are incredibly high at pretty much every moment of this book and it left me feeling highly anxious for everyone all the time--it's stressful! There is a great mix of high-intensity action scenes interspersed within scenes that more seriously explore some of the many incredible themes that are present in this series. I've also loved this rather abstract and highly complex magic system that exists, especially concerning Obscurists and the sort of powers that Morgan works with. The potential in these areas is unlimited and I would love to just spend time exploring more of it even after everything's that happened--and especially after one particular thing that happens in this book near the end.

Sword and Pen continues to dive deeper into the idea of ownership over knowledge and who should have access to what types of it and so on. These are the themes and ideas that I have most loved diving into and exploring with all of these characters that I love. There's also something special about how Caine incorporates messages of hope and optimism into some horrifying and entirely gloomy situations. There's violence and hatred and unblievably dangerous tensions at play, but there's also this overwhelming presence of hope that conveys the notion that nothing is ever lost and that words and ideas and a desire for truth and freedom will always be around somewhere.

Overalll, I've given this epic conclusion to an equally epic series five stars! I wish I could stay in this world and continue to learn more as our characters continue to grow, but I'm more than satisfied with the story we've been given. I am already wanting to go back and re-read this series from the beginning to remember how much it grows and evolves over time.

*I received an ARC of Sword and Pen courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating or enjoyment of the novel.*

Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Sword and Pen by Rachel Caine & A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker

 

Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

I have more than a few August releases I still want to feature this month for CWW, so this week I'm sharing three instead of only two because it's hard to narrow it down!

This week's upcoming book spotlights are: 

Sword and Pen (The Great Library #5) by Rachel Caine
Publication: September 3rd, 2019

Berkley Books

Paperback. 368 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

From Goodreads:

"With the future of the Great Library in doubt, the unforgettable characters from Ink and Bone must decide if it's worth saving in this thrilling adventure in the New York Times bestselling series. 

The corrupt leadership of the Great Library has fallen. But with the Archivist plotting his return to power, and the Library under siege from outside empires and kingdoms, its future is uncertain. Jess Brightwell and his friends must come together as never before, to forge a new future for the Great Library . . . or see everything it stood for crumble."

This series has gotten so good and I have been dying for this finale! I can't wait to see how Caine concludes this incredible series.

and...

A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker

Publication: September 10th, 2019

Berkley

Paperback. 384 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

From Goodreads:

"In the Before, when the government didn't prohibit large public gatherings, Luce Cannon was on top of the world. One of her songs had just taken off and she was on her way to becoming a star. Now, in the After, terror attacks and deadly viruses have led the government to ban concerts, and Luce's connection to the world--her music, her purpose--is closed off forever. She does what she has to do: she performs in illegal concerts to a small but passionate community, always evading the law. 

Rosemary Laws barely remembers the Before times. She spends her days in Hoodspace, helping customers order all of their goods online for drone delivery--no physical contact with humans needed. By lucky chance, she finds a new job and a new calling: discover amazing musicians and bring their concerts to everyone via virtual reality. The only catch is that she'll have to do something she's never done before and go out in public. Find the illegal concerts and bring musicians into the limelight they deserve. But when she sees how the world could actually be, that won't be enough."

This sounds like a really interesting premise that I'd love to explore. These futuristic scenario books seem to be really popular lately and I've been really enjoying them, so I look forward to seeing what this is like!

What do you think about these upcoming releases? What are your anticipated upcoming releases?

Review: Smoke and Iron by Rachel Caine

Smoke and Iron (The Great Library #4) by Rachel Caine 

Berkley Books, 2018

Hardcover. 430 pages.

Note: This synopsis is for the fourth book in The Great Library series, so it may have soft spoilers for previous books.

About Smoke and Iron:

"To save the Great Library, the unforgettable characters from Ink and Bone, Paper and Fire, and Ash and Quill put themselves in danger in the next thrilling adventure in the New York Times bestselling series. 

The opening moves of a deadly game have begun. Jess Brightwell has put himself in direct peril, with only his wits and skill to aid him in a game of cat and mouse with the Archivist Magister of the Great Library. With the world catching fire, and words printed on paper the spark that lights rebellion, it falls to smugglers, thieves, and scholars to save a library thousands of years in the making...if they can stay alive long enough to outwit their enemies."

The Great Library series is one that just keeps getting better and better! If you've read any of my other reviews, then you'll know that I was pretty lukewarm about this series for the first two books, but I kept getting galleys of them somehow so I just kept reading (why not?) and I'm so glad I had that chance because now I absolutely love this series. Initially, I thought this was going to be a four-book series, but apparently there is still going to be one more book and I am more than okay with that.

This book is not in the epic fantasy genre, but it is still incredibly epic in scope and themes. In previous books, there were a lot of issues with pacing, with some books being too fast-paced and others that didn't move quite quick enough. With the previous book, Ash and Quill, and now this book, I think Caine has finally found her ultimate groove and has created a really well-rounded book, complete with incredible characters, a page-turning plot, and a great mix of action and calmer moments of discussion, planning, etc,

Rachel Caine is brilliant at developing characters and it's astounding to me how much all of these characters have grown on me and how much their personalities have developed. In Smoke and Iron we visit a few different POVs, but our main focus seem to be on Khalila, Jess, and Morgan, as those are the main three POVs we follow (though there are a few others here and there). Khalila has easily moved to the forefront of my favorite characters because of this book. I already liked her, but this book cemented just how incredible she is. She is beautiful, poised, tough, kind, not afraid to defend herself and her friends, always looking to do what's right--in short, she's basically a badass, but she does it with this incredible grace that I will never stop admiring.

Jess is pretty much in trouble with everyone in this book--especially his friends--for his crazy schemes, but everyone of course still loves him in the end. Jess has always been one of my least favorite characters, simply because I just haven't ever cared as much about him as others, but I still appreciate what he brings to the story. I was disappointed that we didn't get more of Brendan, Jess' twin, in this one, but Jess pretending to be Brendan was almost as good.

Morgan always seems to be thrust into some of the worst positions possible, but she takes them all with strength and determination and never stops trying to help the gang's goals. Morgan is another character that has really grown on me and I've loved seeing her own personal development throughout this series. I wish we could have seen more of Darrio, Glaine, and Thomas, but I also understand that they have had more of a focus in past books and might still in the next book. Wolfe and Santos are also still big players and I just love their relationship--it's truly inspirational and a beautiful example of love that undergoes countless obstacles, but always endures.

Caine continues to constantly throw surprises at us and is not pulling any punches in this book. Your heart will go from despair to anger to hope to heartbreak to suspense and all the way around in endless loops--but it's awesome. The automata continue to be an incredibly interesting invention and I enjoyed seeing more of Morgan's Obscurist powers be put to use and explored as a big part of this installment.

The most prominent part of this series, for me, is the overarching theme of knowledge and the public's access to knowledge. This is, of course, what the entire series is about, but each book just hammers it home and goes deeper into this topic as the books progress and things become more and more dangerous and intense. Although the world systems int his book are very different from our own, it is still incredible relevant and touches upon some crucial topics that I feel should be discussed as often as the characters in this book discuss them. This is a series that I really think is underrated and I would love to see more people try out. I'll admit I had a hard time getting into it, but once you hit your groove it really takes off.

Overall, I've given Smoke and Iron 4.5 stars! I cannot wait to see how this all wraps up.

Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository

*I received a copy of Smoke and Iron courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating of the book.*

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Ash and Quill by Rachel Caine

Ash and Quill (The Great Library #3) by Rachel Caine. Berkley, 2017. Hardcover. 386 pages.

I've been reading this trilogy-turned-series since the first book, Ink and Bone, was available on NetGalley. After reading Ash and Quill, the third installment, I have found this series to be really growing in its potential. Paper and Fire was the second book in this series, and if you read my last review, you know that it didn't really hit home with me. However, where Caine seemed to falter a bit in the second one regarding too much action, not enough plot development, and a lack of intrigue, Ash and Quill seems to pick up and leap forward stronger than ever.

I was already skeptical going into Ash and Quill for reasons mentioned above, and I also didn't really remember a lot of specifics from Paper and Fire, so suffice to say I was really unsure if I'd be able to get into this book and enjoy it as much as I hoped I would. Although there were definitely a few things that I needed a refresher on, for the most part the events of this book helped me remember the more important plot points from previous books (for once in my life, I actually wanted an author to do the annoying recap at the beginning of a book), and I found myself enjoying this book from the very start.

From that start, I was pretty much hooked throughout the entire book. It seems that Caine has hit her stride with the characters and the where she wants to go with this series, and both of those elements made this book a really enjoyable ride. Caine has a great writing style that balances efficient, concise prose with emotional, more elaborate prose in a perfect way. She adds page breaks or chapter changes at the most proper moments with great finesse, something that I often find myself frustrated with in some books when new chapters are added too often or at odd times.

(Note: If you have not read the first two books and you plan to, this section might have some discussion that would potentially spoil plot points from the first two books.)



The new setting of Philadelphia with the Burners was a big departure from their previous location, and I think she handled the entire situation really well. I think the Burners themselves are fascinating because of how controversial their opinions and viewpoints are. Because of that, I was glad to have a good portion of this book devoted to being in the midst of the Burners and the regular citizens living in Philadelphia with them. This section did drag on a lot, however, and I did eventually want to speed things up a bit.

Another thing that I have always appreciated in this series, and that I continued to like in this book, is that Caine keeps the entire world in focus. She mentions a huge array of countries from all over the world, which really keeps things in perspective. I feel like a lot of books with this dystopian-feel seem to center on only one or two main continents and leave others out, so I appreciated hearing about what was going on in other places.

I'd also like to point out how much I enjoy Caine's diverse cast of characters! I am absolutely not an expert on the matter, and I'd love to see the opinions of others who have more experience, but I felt that she had good representations of LGBTQ characters, religiously diverse characters, and ethnically diverse characters. It's something that is so effortlessly blended into this book that it comes across incredibly natural, and I love it.

Regarding specific characters... look, I'm still on the fence about Jess. I don't know what it is, but he's just really not someone that I can really seem to like. He's just... not that interesting. This doesn't bother me too much because the rest of the character are all fantastic, and that brings me to something I noticed. I don't know if this how other people feel, but Ash and Quill seemed to really highlight the other characters' strengths and journeys a lot more than Jess', and I really, really liked it. It was especially neat to me that, although Jess is a pivotal character in this series and has his own strengths, the rest of the characters are just as important. Thomas is the main man with the power to create the most important object in this book, Morgan has strong magical abilities that puts her at great important, Khalila is incredibly talented and the most social adept of the group, and Dario is just... well, Dario in all of the best ways possible; he's definitely grown on me. Glain was sort of put in the backseat - she was mentioned so rarely that I often forgot about her. Wolf and Santi are, as always, amazing and I love them. Also, I've found myself oddly intrigued with Jess' brother, Brendan, who provides such a foil to Jess' character while also remaining something innately familial about them that it's fascinating.

Overall, Ash and Quill was a great read and I am looking forward to the next installments in this series. Four stars from me!

*I received an ARC of Ash and Quill courtesy of NetGalley and Berkley books. This has no effect on my rating/review of the book!*

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