The Scrivener's Bones: Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians

Below is an excerpt of my full review of the first four books in the Alcatraz series: This review goes in line with that of the Alcatraz series, more specifically the attitude of a Smedry. You see, they are trouble makers, and are prone to getting themselves into life threatening situations. They have an uncharacteristic attitude when dealing with any situation. The more danger, the more excited they are. Through thick and thin, Smedry's are rarely to be found with a sour mood. They are bubbly, charismatic, bold, audacious, and have a knack for getting themselves into trouble. Wait, I said that did I not? Gack! You see, I imitating a number of characters found in this book. Granpa Smedry, Alcatraz, talking dinosaurs. Yes, you read correctly, talking dinosaurs with a British accent, and as we know, those Brits are refined, calm, and well-mannered; dinosaurs are no exception! They really know how to cause trouble for Librarians, like eating the entire C section of the Science Fiction shelf and moving six books out of their proper places. Okay, so maybe they are useless as Bastille said... The only thing worse than talking dinosaurs are talking rocks, but I tell you, the dinosaurs are a treat! To round off this paragraph, I leave you this quote from Grandpa Smedry if you think I am making any of this up: I am a Smedry, and we do ridiculous, unexpected, eccentric things like this all the time. The Alcatraz series is a tremendously fun read. My friend that recommended Mistorn and Elantris did not bother giving these books a shot because of their young adult emphasis, despite being a lover of Sanderson's work. Aspiring Asimovs, what a horrible reason! Lots of fun, many laugh out loud moments, tons of humor and wit, with a great story to boot! The books are written from the first person perspective of Alcatraz Smedry, written as a biography of how he became the hero of the Free Kingdom and to dispel the many myths about how it happened. The books are much shorter than all of Sanderson's other works, easily read in two or three days, and are extremely enjoyable. I cannot recommend these books enough! Unfortunately Scholastic decided to not sign Sanderson for the fifth and final book. According to his assistant via Twitter, Sanderson will finish the series, but it's still a few years out, which is a shame. When I found out about this, I shook my fist at Scholastic and demanded they be burned alive with the Firebringer's Lens. You'll have to read the books to know what that's about ;)

Reader thoughts: So funny. Sanderson definitely tries a few new styles in the Alcatraz books, from non-sequential and non-integer chapter numbering, to inserting some dire pages at the end of the books to ruin the experience of anyone who tries to cheat and read the last pages first. Alcatraz is very sarcastic. Almost too much, although I found his character more refreshing than annoying overall. He's not rude like Sage in The False Prince or like Max in The Angel Experiment. He's more like Percy Jackson, all wit and cleverness. In this book, Alcatraz learns how important information is. Over the entire series he keeps coming across the idea that bigger guns and bigger bombs don't win a war. The side with more information (from truth to secrets to research) is more powerful. He wants blasting glasses, but he gets ones that tell him the relative age of objects instead. What 13-year-old wouldn't be disappointed? He turns it to his advantage, though. One of my favorite moments of this book is when Alcatraz kicks Bastille to save her life. Writer thoughts: Sanderson does what few MG/YA fantasy authors dare, he gives his main character parents! That's right, in this book, we find out both of Alcatraz's parents are alive (or were very recently). Many fantasy books are more intent on making the young protagonists into orphans so they have to fend for themselves. Alcatraz goes from a foster kid to having a grandpa and cousins (in the first book), to having an evil mom, to having a rather neglectful dad by the end of the second. With Alcatraz surrounded by family members, how is he ever going to be in danger for a book's climactic moment? Here are some of Sanderson's strategies. 1, throw some of these family members in prison. 2, trap the family members in an underground labyrinth. 3, have them turn evil. 4, make them fall into a coma. 5, use transporter's glass to kidnap them. See? Parents and cousins are quite useful. Authors can build tension by endangering unimportant, er, dearly loved family members.

Brandon Sanderson is one of the bright new lights in the world of epic fantasy--his Mistborn series are among the most exciting fantasies that I have read in years. So I was very enthusiastic when I heard about his young adult series about a young man who has a talent for breaking things. Alcatraz's first adventure was a delightful romp through a world of conspiracies perpetrated upon all of us "Hushlanders" by the evil Librarians. Sounds crazy? Well, it was so crazy that maybe he is right...maybe the librarians are all out to get us. So I was very happy that the second book, Scrivener's bones has come out to some fanfare. The same Alcatraz is back--but a little more self assured, in more command of his talent. His collection of crazy family members are also back, as is Sanderson's talent for inventing new and original magic systems. The Ocularists are a very interesting take on magic, and one that people who are into these things will really enjoy. The real star of the show, however, is Sanderson's writing. It is crisp, funny, engaging, and really fun. I found myself turning pages so quickly that I was getting fingerburn. I laughed out loud on multiple occasions, and closed the book pleased that I had taken another trip through some really original locations--flying glass dragon, anyone? This is not Harry Potter. Alcatraz is simply not as weighty as that young magician. His characters are not as well rounded or complex as those of JKR; however, I don't think that was his intention. He has created a fun alternate universe, a fun new magical system, and now gives us some more depth to this very likeable young character. I would recommend this for younger teen readers, or for people (like me) who are rapidly becoming fanatics about Sanderson's novels.

I enjoyed this book a lot. One of my favorites. Filled with puns. When u finish the book u will see the world from different prespective .... Believe me...

I really like how Sanderson keeps my kids engaged in the story, once we got this book it kept disappearing till the kids were each done reading it, after that I got my turn. A great read, just as lighthearted and fun as the first one.

My granddaughter totally loves these books so I gave them a go. I suspect the writer was inserting inside jokes for his friends here and there. I think I’m not in love with these books enough to keep reading the series but then, I’m not the age group they’re aimed at. But the writer definitely has a clever sense of humour and this series is sure to have a strong fan base.

It has been bought as a present and was requested by a family member. I am sure that it will be enjoyed as much as the first book in the series.It arrived very promptly from the seller, thank you.

I loved this book— but reviewing the whole series: the author has abandoned the series. The last book ends on a cliffhanger , but that was 5 years ago. It doesn’t take 5 years to write a short YA book, and it’s a bit disappointing to wait for long. I can’t recommend this series , as it looks like yet another that will never finish