Book Review: The Librarians and the Lost Lamp by Greg Cox
The Librarians and The Lost Lamp by Greg Cox
Genre: Action/Adventure, Fantasy
Series: The Librarians
Publisher: Tor Books (October 11, 2016)
Author Info: www.gregcox-author.com
With thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Disclaimer! I am not a librarian and had not seen the television series prior to reading this book, but now that I have read it, I’m going to remedy at least one of these things!
Flynn Carsen used to be the one and only Librarian in a long line of those tasked with protecting the world from the magic hidden within the pages of our favourite books. Ten years ago, he went up against the villainous Forty Thieves to stop them from accessing the powers of Aladdin’s Lamp. A decade later, Carsen is no longer alone in his duties, as he is joined by a new generation of Librarians, and their Guardian, who must once again save the world from the Forty and a djinn who’d really like to bust out of his cage…
I had not even heard of this series before (thanks a lot, Canadian television) prior to receiving this book, so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but Cox quickly sets the tone with the introduction of Carsen, the quirky and charming Librarian who gallivants around the world in a tweed suit. He doesn’t exactly sound formidable, especially considering what he’s up against, and as the story progresses, we see that his skills are mostly limited to his vast knowledge of books. But we’ve all known how surprisingly cool librarians can really be and what they bring to the adventure table, after Evie made her proclamation and proved her worth in The Mummy.
Flip to the future, where the new group of Librarians bring some other interesting skills to their role, with characters that don’t fit the typical mould of either the librarian, or art historian, mathematician, or world class thief, as well as the former military officer who protects them. But of course they work together well enough to save the day and offer a lot of fun for the reader while doing so.
While I was expecting magic and fantasy to feature prominently in the story, what with Exaclibur showing up early on, I was extremely pleased with the inclusion of historical events and geographical details, many of which are very much relevant now. In particular, when Carsen’s adventure takes him to Baghdad, there is ample time spent on the city’s rich cultural history in juxtaposition with the destruction that has been wrought by war.
Like I said, I’m no librarian myself, but I’d like to think that actual librarians would appreciate the fun–which is why I’ve now suggested the series to my librarian friends and will definitely be checking it out myself.
The BiblioSanctum 
I just picked up my review copy of this yesterday. As a huge fan of the series, I’m definitely anxious to give it a read.
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So jealous that you’ve been watching it all along. I don’t think it ever aired in Canada, so I have to do some hunting.
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ToI be totally honest when I first looked at this I just thought ‘not for me’ – now i’ve read your review I admit you’ve turned me around. This sounds great.
Love your GIFs
Lynn 😀
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It’s just such a fun read. I hope you like it!
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I like the show, it was quirky
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The book definitely catches the quirky vibe.
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This is the second mention of this book I read today: I guess there’s a not-so-hidden message here… 😀
Thanks for sharing!
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*whispers* reeeeead it…..!
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Sounds fun. I got a copy of this book, and may have to make time to read it sometime soon
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Definitely worth it. A fun read.
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As another Canadian, I feel the need to defend our country a little. The original Librarian trio of movies with Noah Wylie aired here ages ago. And the new series The Librarians airs on Space. Usually it airs within a couple of days of its debut on TNT. Additionally, they tend to run the previous season in advance of the debut of the current season. Hope you check it out. I definitely need to check out the books. Thanks for the review.
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You’re right! I actually did find that it was on SPACE when I was hunting around for it, but it wasn’t presently airing. I’d also not seen it advertised on that station any time now or in the past. I totally missed it and am so disappointed. Definitely will fix that.
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This sounds like fun! It’s so funny, I saw the cover and thought how did they get all of these famous people to be on the cover of the book – hello, it’s a TV show, too! Time for some coffee lol
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Grab a coffee and read The Librarians 😉
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This sounds pretty much up my street!
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Enjoy!
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Oh, yay! I really enjoy the TV series (it’s ridiculous but fun) but had no idea there was going to be a tie-in book.
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The tie-in really seemed to get the characters really well.
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I’m excited to crack open my review copy now!! This sounds like so much fun – just what I was hoping for. Great review, Wendy 🙂
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I hope you enjoy it!
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