Jess Brightwell and his friends have achieved the impossible: masterminded an uprising against the Great Library, and toppled its corrupt regime. But while the battle is won, the war is far from over.
A new Archivist must be crowned, one capable of weathering the political storm. With the Library reeling from the coup, foreign nations are circling, eager to plunder the world's knowledge. And the old Archivist, their despotic enemy, has fled into hiding and plots from the shadows. Threats could come from anywhere, at any time. Any of Jess's friends could be wounded or killed in an instant, and the future of the Library itself hangs in the balance.
I have followed these characters through since the beginning - and that *includes* The Great Library. It is - it *has* - a character all its own, one that colors what everyone around it does. It's not sentient, but it is a presence - and that makes it fully a character in these stories. So I came to this, the ending of one of my favorite series' EVER, with some trepidation. What was going to happen to all of these that I have spent so much time with? And worse, this means goodbye - no more anxious and excited waiting for a new story, no more crazy developments...
Rachel Caine *nailed* it. It picks up pretty much right after then ending of book 4, and it doesn't stop moving. And once I hit around Chapter 14, all bets were off. I spent a fair amount of time sobbing - to the point that even one of the cats came to check on me. And she's pretty aloof fluff, so...yeah. Now, I'm a happy crier AND a sad crier, so that's really not going to tell you much - because I *detest* spoilers. Suffice to say that Caine has crafted a series that honors books, libraries, friendship, family, and knowledge. All these things are keys to unlock and open doors for all, and that is exemplified in this series.
