Libriomancer (Magic Ex Libris, #1)

by Jim C. Hines

Isaac Vainio is a Libriomancer, a member of a secret society founded five centuries ago by Johannes Gutenberg. As such, he is gifted with the magical ability to reach into books and draw forth objects.

But when Gutenberg vanishes without a trace, Isaac finds himself pitted against everything from vampires to a sinister, nameless foe who is bent on revealing magic to the world at large... and at any cost.

• ISBN10: 1448176646
• ISBN13: 9781448176649
• Publish Date: 22 August 2013 (first published 1 August 2012)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 3 August 2024
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Ebury Publishing
• Imprint: Ebury Digital
• Format: eBook (EPUB)
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[malberto]

So, the premise of this book is probably the dream of every reader: To be able to reach in a book and take out whatever, I mean the possibilities are endless, but when I first started reading I couldn't concentrate and ended up dropping. So, I was looking for something to read this week and pick it up again and this time I liked, not the best book in the world, a lot of clichés, but you know 3 stars, solid C, pass with reservations, a chance to improve in the future.

Therefore I'll recommend this to anyone who's a fan of urban fantasy and doesn't have anything better to read, flip through, see what's what.

[wyvernfriend]

Libriomancer gets bonus points for being a very cool idea. More of a 3.5 than a 4 star read, in my estimation, but I found it interesting.

Isaac Vainio is a librarian, who adds information to books catalogued by him, things that only make sense to Libriomancers, he misses his days on the field, but now his life is more sedate, until some vampires come after him and he has to resurrect his rusty libriomancer skills and try to save the day.

I liked the concept, there were times when I felt a little lost by the story but overall I enjoyed it and look forward to more of this series.

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

I love the concepts in this book. Libromancers are able to conjure items that fit through the pages of books the fight the evil in this world. In the end, I just wasn't a fan of writing. Unlike Jim's Princess books, this one didn't flow as well. It felt rushed--almost like an ill-written first novel.

My favorite thing about the novel was it was very apparent that Jim loves books and that books have had a profound impact on his life. Which, as an avid reader myself, I can appreciate. I mean who wouldn't want to pull Dorothy's slipper from the pages of [b:The Wonderful Wizard of Oz|236093|The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Oz, #1)|L. Frank Baum|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327894516s/236093.jpg|1993810] or use Lucy's cordial from [b:The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe|100915|The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #1)|C.S. Lewis|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1336139107s/100915.jpg|4790821] on a loved one. It was this passion for books that kept me reading. I couldn't wait to see what item would materialize next.

“Every libromancer had a first book. Etched more sharply into my memory than my first kiss, this book had been my magical awakening.”

“Like any child raised on tales of magical worlds beyond paintings and mirrors and wardrobes, I had yearned to enter Middle Earth, to reach through.”