The Great Library Series – The Book Diva's Reads

Ash And Quill (The Great Library #3) by Rachel Caine
ISBN: 9780451472410 (hardcover)
ISBN: 9780698180833 (ebook)
ASIN: B01M5CRY9P (Kindle edition)
Publication date: July 11, 2017
Publisher: Berkley

The unforgettable characters from Ink and Bone and Paper and Fire unite to save the Great Library of Alexandria from itself in this electrifying adventure in the New York Times bestselling series.

Hoarding all the knowledge of the world, the Great Library jealously guards its secrets. But now a group of rebels poses a dangerous threat to its tyranny…

Jess Brightwell and his band of exiles have fled London, only to find themselves imprisoned in Philadelphia, a city led by those who would rather burn books than submit. But Jess and his friends have a bargaining chip: the knowledge to build a machine that will break the Library’s rule.

Their time is running out. To survive, they’ll have to choose to live or die as one, to take the fight to their enemies—and to save the very soul of the Great Library…

In a not too distant future, but a world quite unlike the one we live in, the Great Library of Alexandria and its satellite libraries or serapeums rule the world. The Library has the power what knowledge is acceptable and unacceptable, what books are acceptable and which are forbidden, and the general public will never know the difference. Well, the public might not know the difference if it weren’t for groups like the Burners and a small group of Library employees that have uncovered the truth and are willing to fight against the tyranny, injustice, and power that is the Great Library. The fight that started in Alexandria, Egypt has taken our intrepid fighters to Rome, Italy, London, England, and continues in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the third installment of the Great Library series by Rachel Caine with Ash and Quill.

We were introduced to Jess Brightwell, Khalila Seif, Glain Waithen, Thomas Schreiber, Morgan Hault, and Dario Santiago when they were postulants to the library, studying under Scholar Christopher Wolfe and guarded by Captain Niccolo Santi. Since then we’ve witnessed the arrest and torture of Thomas simply because he invented a printing press, what amounts to the arrest, isolation, and attempted forced mating (i.e. rape) of Morgan as an Obscurist, and the demotion of Glain simply because she survived a training exercise along with Jess. Khalila and Dario were promoted to research Scholar positions after completing their training and they bore witness to the murder of Dario’s training supervisor simply because he asked her for assistance. Together, Jess, Khalila, Glain, Morgan, Dario, Chris, and Nic are able to get Thomas out of prison and survive another attempt on their lives and just when they think they’ve got it made, they’re “rescued” by burners and taken to Philadelphia. Philadelphia is a city that has been living under siege for over one hundred years, so resources or slim to none. Once again, our troop bands together and tries to make the best of a bad situation and negotiate their way out, but things quickly go from bad to worse and another rescue is required. This time the Brightwell “cousins” (smuggling connections, not blood family connections) step up and provide much-needed transportation out of America for the exiles. Can Jess trust his “cousins” to do the right thing for himself and his friends? Can he finally trust his twin brother and father?

I was excited when provided the opportunity to read Ash and Quill by Rachel Caine because I’ve been reading the Great Library series and fell in love with it. Good news: I’m also excited that the series is not ending with book three, yay! Bad news: Ash and Quill ends with a cliffhanger folks. (No, I’m not going to tell you what the cliffhanger is, read the book!) Once again, there’s a lot of action taking place in the book and our intrepid fighters have to deal with not only the Great Library and its supporters, but also the Burners and their supporters not to mention the Brightwell clan. The Library is after complete power, the Burners are after freedom from tyranny and oppression, and the Brightwell clan and their ilk are after wealth. How can idealism possibly win against them? Don’t despair, our team has a plan. I don’t know what the plan is, but I’m presuming it will be revealed at some point in book four or book five (yes, there are at least two more books in this series). I found Ash and Quill to be a fast-paced and engaging read. I’m glad none of the primary characters have been killed off (I hate it when that happens) and we’re introduced to a whole new cast of bad guys and pseudo-bad guys in Philadelphia and England. If you’ve read Ink and Bone, and Paper and Fire, then you know you want to read Ash and Quill. If you haven’t read this series, then let me pique your interest by saying that this is a world where there aren’t any bookstores, aren’t any local library systems, home libraries are illegal, and the great library of Alexandria has not only survived but has become a superpower that has deemed electricity forbidden. Interested? Of course you are, so get a copy of book one Ink and Bone, and book two Paper and Fire to read before grabbing a copy of Ash and Quill. Once you get immersed in this world, you won’t want to let go. I’m looking forward to the next installment in the Great Library series as I can hardly wait to see what happens next.

Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes via NetGalley. I was not paid, required, or otherwise obligated to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Enter to win a print copy of book one in the Great Library series, Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine. This giveaway is courtesy of the publisher and is open to residents of the United States only (sorry). Please use the Rafflecopter form below to enter.

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Paper and Fire by Rachel Caine
ISBN: 9780451472403 (hardcover)
ISBN: 9780698180826 (ebook)
ASIN: B016JPTGZ4 (Kindle version)
Publication Date: July 5, 2016
Publisher: NAL

In Ink and Bone, New York Times bestselling author Rachel Caine introduced a world where knowledge is power, and power corrupts absolutely. Now, she continues the story of those who dare to defy the Great Library—and rewrite history…

With an iron fist, The Great Library controls the knowledge of the world, ruthlessly stamping out all rebellion, forbidding the personal ownership of books in the name of the greater good.

Jess Brightwell has survived his introduction to the sinister, seductive world of the Library, but serving in its army is nothing like he envisioned. His life and the lives of those he cares for have been altered forever. His best friend is lost, and Morgan, the girl he loves, is locked away in the Iron Tower and doomed to a life apart.

Embarking on a mission to save one of their own, Jess and his band of allies make one wrong move and suddenly find themselves hunted by the Library’s deadly automata and forced to flee Alexandria, all the way to London.

But Jess’s home isn’t safe anymore. The Welsh army is coming, London is burning, and soon, Jess must choose between his friends, his family, or the Library willing to sacrifice anything and anyone in the search for ultimate control…

Imagine a world where the leading superpower isn’t a national government or religion. In this world, there’s one organization that has ruled for centuries and that organization is the Great Library. In this world, there’s no such thing as bookstores. The Great Library allows you to read portions of books and anything that doesn’t fit with their agenda is banned. Any library scholar or affiliate that comes up with ideas that may minimize the Library’s power is deemed an enemy and arrested. This is the world that Jess Brightwell and friends live in. Jess and friends must decide if they’re willing to adhere to strict Library guidelines or think for themselves in the second book in The Great Library Series by Rachel Caine, Paper and Fire.

After our introduction to The Great Library in Ink and Bone, Jess and friends had finished their postulant training. Morgan had been forced into service as an Obscurist, never able to leave the Iron Tower. Glain Wathen had become a training officer in the High Garda, living to protect the Great Library no matter what. Khalila Seif and Dario Santiago had become Library Research Scholars. Jess is a low-level Garda-in-training and Thomas, an engineering genius, is reported as killed presumably for creating a printing press. Down, but never out, Jess is looking for answers to why the Library killed Thomas. With a little help from Morgan and a local book smuggling family, is that Thomas is still alive and being kept in a prison facility far away. Jess and friends must decide if they want to free their friend Thomas and if so, if they’re willing to fight the might of the Library no matter the cost?

I found Paper and Fire to be just as riveting a read as Ink and Bone. I’m somewhat enamored with a world that still has the great Library at Alexandria, but this is definitely tempered by the notion that bookstores are nonexistent and I could only read and own approved “books” via the library. (No these are printed books that we’re used to be a cross between printed books and digital books.) Ms. Caine has crafted a believable dystopian world based on a desire for control and power and the Library is powerful beyond anything we could possibly imagine. She provides romance, dysfunctional family drama, and tons of internal and external conflict for all of the characters to deal with. The head of the library, the Archivist, and his assistant, the Artifex Magnus, are willing to do anything to ensure their world view continues. There are people fighting against the Library and its control, but they are just as blinded by their vision as the Archivist and Artifex Magnus. It was disheartening to learn that the Obscurist as forced into service and treated no better than slaves. The female Obscurists are even raped in order to perpetuate the Obscurist line. (No, I won’t tell you if this has been Morgan’s fate or not…read the book!) There’s a lot happening in Paper and Fire and I could go on and on about everything, but if you’ve read Ink and Bone I’ll simply say “read this book.” If you haven’t read Ink and Bone, start there; you’ll probably want to binge read both books so make sure you have a few days to read and enjoy. I eagerly await the next addition to The Great Library Series to find out what happens next.

Read free stories from The Great Library Series here.

Disclaimer: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. I was not paid, required, or otherwise obligated to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Buy the Book

Available from BookDepository | Alibris