Book Review: Libriomancer by Jim C. Hines
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Magic
Series: Magic Ex Libris #1
Publisher: DAW (August 2012)
Author Info: www.jimchines.com
Wendy’s Rating: 3 of 5 stars
I’m not going to say this was the greatest story ever, or that I really came to care about the characters and their fate, but for the sake of the magical concepts in this book, I will recommend that every bibliophile put it on their list. Because how many book lovers have ever read a book and not imagined what it would be like to visit or even live in the worlds we read about? A libriomancer isn’t quite able to do that without going crazy, but they can pull out elements of books to use in the real world. Fighting monsters? Reach in and grab Excalibur to tip the scales in your favour! Wounded in battle? Grab a healing potion from Narnia!
Okay, I am not normally presented with such situations, but I would totally raid Cersei Lannister’s dinner table when I get a bit peckish, and Hermoine Granger’s time turner would sure come in handy now and then.
Fortunately, there are porters to make sure libriomancers don’t get carried away or take advantage of their magical abilities, lest the veil between reality and magic fall apart. That’s where Isaac Vanio comes in. A porter on suspension for overuse of his powers (in self-defense), he comes under attack, throwing him into the centre of a mystery involving vampires, a dryad, murdered mentors, and the founder of the porters.
I will go ahead and make the inevitable comparison between Isaac and Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden, in that they are both males, both wear long jackets, and both wield magic. Isaac is much less self-deprecating than Harry, and, once you get over the initial comparison, he holds his own as a character, especially when the dryad, Lena becomes involved. In fact, I’m not sure either of Hines’ characters would be as interesting without the other, though the pairing does feel a bit forced due to Lena’s circumstances.
Lena is an unusual character in that she directly speaks to the treatment of female characters within this genre/industry and many others. Like the objects Isaac is able to pull from books, Lena herself was pulled out of a book – one written for the sole purpose of (male) fantasy, creating a creature bound to her partner. She has no identify of her own and conforms to her partners’ beliefs and desires. Basically, an unwitting sex slave.
While her sexuality plays a part in her personality within the story, Hines focuses first and foremost on her physical strength and her determination. She is not a creature without fear, but she confronts everything head on, with her only true weakness being those she loves. After the loss of her mate, Lena comes to Isaac more or less seeking a replacement, but Isaac struggles with this as he doesn’t want to take advantage of her. Hines handles the relationship well, without dragging it on or making it all unbearably sappy, and gives both Isaac and the reader a lot to chew on when it comes to Lena’s choices and free will.
As I said, this wasn’t the greatest story ever. The plot took some interesting twists and turns, but nothing overly thrilling. The best part about this book is the libriomancy, as well as the recommendations it offers as Isaac rattles off the various reads in his arsenal.
The BiblioSanctum 
I just recently bought this at book outlet. I worry about the Dresden comparison. I love Dresden so that worries me.
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There are not many prominent male protagonists in urban fantasy (that I know of), so I included the comparison because for me, it simply can’t be helped. I don’t think Isaac is trying to be Harry though. He holds his own — or rather, he functions well enough with Lena at his side and some interesting magic. Otherwise, it’s a very different read and character. Just not as good as the Dresden Files.
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I definitely agree I see more female protags rather than males. But I have read a few.
Generation V – ML Brennan
Sandman Slim – Richard Kadrey
I think there is one by …a Michael Carey? (oh bother I forget)
Dead Things – Stephen Blackmoore
Dying is my Business – Nicholas Kaufman
I’m just trying to ponit some out if in case you were hankering for a male lead instead
ahhhh who else – but you are totally right I can always quickly name five female leads but harder for me to come up with male leads in UF
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Thanks 🙂 Urban fantasy isn’t my usual, which is why I really only know Harry. And for women, I don’t know much beyond Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld, Anita Blake and maybe a few others.
I’ve been eyeing the Iron Druid Chronicles as well, for males.
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I’m totally listening to the first Iron Druid book right now – I’m like hmmm one hour from finishing the audio – very much enjoying it.
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This one sounds strange, I do like strange
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The magic was definitely really neat. Now when I read subsequent books, I’ve started thinking about what I’d want to pull out of them with my own libriomancy.
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It’s always difficult when you start to compare the story to other novels. I didn’t really know this one but I’m sorry it wasn’t as good as you thought.
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The comparison didn’t throw me off much beyond the superficial issues, and I actually didn’t want into the book expecting too much, so I wasn’t overly disappointed. I was more interested in the magic itself, and I don’t think it let me down there.
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The premise of this sounds very cool 😀
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I enjoyed this book! But with such a powerful ability, I knew there had to be some limitations. There were just way too many damn rules to libriomancy, too many restrictions to what Isaac could and couldn’t do, which were, of course, more often than not determined by the situation. It took away a bit of the awesomeness somewhat, but I’m still looking to continue this series.
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That’s true. There certainly was the dangerous potential to god machine everything, which was ironically countered each time.
(I still totally want to be a libriomancer though…)
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