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Libriomancer
Magic Ex Libris #1
by Jim C. Hines
DAW, $24.95, 308pp
Published: August 2012

Isaac is a libriomancer, a member of a secret organization founded five centuries ago by Johannes Gutenberg to protect the world from supernatural threats. Libriomancers are gifted with the ability to magically reach into books and draw forth objects.

When Isaac is attacked by vampires that leaked from the pages of books into our world, he barely manages to escape. To his horror he discovers that vampires have been attacking other magic users as well, and Gutenberg has been kidnapped.

With the help of his fire-spider, Smudge, and Len--a—a motorcycle-riding dryad who packs a pair of wooden swords—Isaac finds himself hunting the unknown dark power that has been manipulating humans and vampires alike. His search will uncover dangerous secrets and libriomancy, Gutenberg, and the history of magic….

Isaac is a libriomancer, a member of the secret society know as Porters who are tasked with keeping magic from leaking into this world. He has been retired from the field, forbidden to do magic and so spends his days just cataloging books.  But when two vampires show up at the library and try to kill him, things change rapidly. He is aided by a dryad named Lena and his fire-spider Smudge. Isaac is tasked with finding out who is destroying the magical libraries before the released magic destroys the world.

This is an intriguing look at magic via a magical system created by Guttenberg and his printing press. Libriomancers can reach into a book and pull items from them - so long as the item can fit through the page size.  Things like vampires and werewolves already exist in our world but new kinds and powers seem to be formed by the way they are described in current books - we have sparkly vampires known as Sanguinarius Meyerii whose origins are obvious.  The action is fast, taking place over approximately a week, and draws the reader along for an enjoyable ride. The main characters are well-defined as are several of the auxiliary characters. I love Smudge which is weird because overall I really don’t like spiders. The conclusion of this book sets our main characters up for more adventures as Isaac returns, so to speak, to active duty with the Porters. I can hardly wait to dive into the next entry. Recommended. ~~ Stephanie L Bannon

For more titles by Jim C. Hines click here

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