The Biblio Bug

First of all let me start by saying that, ordinarily, Rachel Caine is an author that I avidly avoid.  I don't read paranormal fiction, and, typically, I'm not a fan of dark fiction either.  However that being said, I just had to try this one!  A dystopian fantasy in which the Great Library of Alexandria not only still exists but controls the world? How could I not try it!?

The world of Ink and Bone is a world where it is illegal to own original copies of books. You are allowed to read the facsimile copies the Library puts out in the Codex (think ultimate/universal e-book library), but to own an original paper-and-ink copy of a book could be punishable by death.  It's a world where there is a thriving black market for books and weird anti-Library cults that would sooner destroy books than let the Library have them.  The Libraries are protected not just by guards, but also automatons that at first glance just look like giant, metal sculptures.

This is the world that the main character Jess Blackwell lives in.  He's from a family of black market book dealers and finds himself being sent by his family to infiltrate the Library by basically entering into a training competition to enter into Library service in some position or other.  Quite the pickle he's in huh?  If caught stealing books or doing anything that the Library disapproves of, the punishment is a horrible death.  

You become aware that there is a whole lot more than simply this that's going on in the book  and Jess is stuck in the middle of all of it.  However, I'll leave you to discover the fullness of the intrigue and unrest of the book on your own.

I wasn't really sure what I was going to find when I started reading this, but once I got into it I absolutely loved it!!  The world Rachel Caine has created is believable, compelling, twisted, and absolutely fantastic!  Although the book is certainly a darkish fantasy, it isn't disturbingly dark.  Just dark in that kinda creepy, mysterious, intriguing kind of way.  The book has a great mix of characters, and even the most dislikable character you still can't help but love.  They are well-written and their interaction is believable and not stilted or forced.  They are also not static characters, and it is great to watch how they grow together with all they go through.

First off, I didn't finish this book. I managed to suffer through 19 pages before I gave it up as a lost cause. However, I did take detailed notes on those 19 pages.

I really, really wanted to like this book! The premise sounded really interesting and it could have been great. Unfortunately, it was absolute rubbish!!! There can be no doubt about the author having a great vocabulary, however, great use of the vocabulary he does not have. I happen to love weird, obscure words and yet I couldn't get more than 19 pages into this book. He needs to learn that you don't need to spew every piece of interesting vocab onto the page. He over saturates his writing with words that 90% of people will not know nor have the inclination to find out what they mean. Besides that, he doesn't take care to make sure the vocab is in keeping with the speaker using it!!! Ada is a child, she is not going to know even half of these words, yet alone be using them; the same can be said of the servants: it is highly unlikely that someone in their positions would have know/use those kinds of words. He just pukes up every word he can think of onto the page without regard for who is supposed to be using it. Some of the words/phrasings he used were old-fashioned even for the time period the book is set in so there is no way they would have been used let alone by the person using them!! 

 His narrative style is absolutely horrible!!! It's not even clear whether this is a third person narrative or first person. Sometimes it sounds third person, but then it switches to sound like it's first person. It's just plain sloppy, you shouldn't have to be guessing what the 'voice' of the writing is. In addition to this, the narrative is bogged down with too much, useless drivel. He describes useless things in ridiculous detail, and using the most obscure words possible. His phraseology is also extremely awkward and unnatural. While technically correct grammar, he ignores the other rules of grammar that say when there are more than one option of correct word order choose the least awkward one: he doesn't, instead, he chooses the most awkward. He rambles, it took Ada 5 chapters to get from her house to Alice's and we know they don't live that far from each other as the house was close enough for her to walk to. He also has one chapter that is just two sentences, both dialog. No problem with the chapter being short, but their is no identification for either speakers, because they are talking about Alice you just assume it must be her parents, but nowhere does it tell you this. The way it is written also makes it stand out like a sore thumb because it is not consistent with the rest of his writing. He goes from boring, rambling narrative, to two short sentences of unknown dialog, and then back to the rambling.

There are also multiple examples of serious TMI. Do we really need to read about how bad the baby's excrement/nappies smelled? Or have the author refer to the certain private body parts!?!??! Seriously! How is that necessary information?! Let alone appropriate information, especially since it was regarding an infant. That is beyond TMI and inapproriate, that is down right disgusting, disturbing, and verbal pedophilia. How did this get printed?