I wanna be a libriomancer!
Seriously, this concept is so awesome. And the book references many of my favorite books and authors as part of the hero's library. Also, we have a hero who is a librarian and damn proud of it.
This book had a great idea and explored the implications of that idea thoroughly, while leaving room for expansion later. The characters are well-drawn and relatable. I would recommend this book to anyone with even the faintest interest in speculative fiction. ( )

Isaac has been working as a librarian for the past two years, cataloging works for both his small-town library and the secret society of magic users that he used to be part of. After over-using his magic, he almost got kicked out, but was allowed to remain on the fringes in this auxiliary role. All of that changes when a couple of vampires show up at the library and try to kill him. He's fortunate that Lena, a dryad, is following the vampires. Between Isaac and Lena, the vampires are dispatched (including the other vampires that were waiting at Isaac's house), and the two set out to figure out what's gone wrong with the treaty that usually keeps the vampires more or less in check. They discover that the aforementioned secret society, the Porters, is in disarray, with agents killed or kidnapped, including 400-year-old Johannes Gutenberg, the founder of the Porters. Could a rogue agent or former agent be behind it all?

That's kind of a sloppy summary, as I don't want to give too much away. There's a lot going on in this book, with the sort of plot that dashes from one big fight or disaster to another, with some witty quips in between. I loved the idea of Libriomancy, the magical ability to reach into books and pull out anything small enough to fit within the book's covers, though I am still confused, after finishing the book, about some of the rules and limitations of the magic. This is straight-up mind-candy, with not a lot of substance behind the flash -- and that's just fine; sometimes one needs just that kind of read. If it's what you're looking for, go right ahead. I probably won't read more in the series, but I don't regret having read this one. ( )

Remember the Pagemaster? The 1994 American live-action animated film starring Macaulay Culkin where he gets transported into the realms of famous books? Well, Libriomancer plays with a similar concept: What if books were actually magic and one was able to harness their power to pull out objects to defend themselves from vampires?

Okay. So its not exactly like the Pagemaster but both share the share theme: both the Pagemaster and Libriomancer are about the magic of books. Being a librarian, like the main character of Libriomancer, I loved this book.

Jim Hines has created a system where the magic of books becomes real, usable, and not always safe. Isaac is a libriomancer, a member of a secret organization founded by Johannes Gutenberg to protect the world from supernatural threats. Able to magically reach into books and pull forth objects, libriomancers are the protectors of our world. When vampires leaked from the pages of our world attack Isaac, he teams up with a ass-kicking dryad named Lena to slay some vamps and to unravel the supernatural mystery lurking in the UP.

This is a book written for geeks like me, who've always dreamed of holding Excalibur, a light saber, a ray gun and fighting evil. It combine witty pop culture references with urban fantasy quite nicely and is a fast-paced adventure/supernatural thriller.

recommended for fans of: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Librarians, Terry Pratchett, and Patrick Rothfuss. ( )

3.5 ( )

3.75 stars

Isaac is a librarian (a cataloguer), and is horrified when a few vampires come into his library and destroy it (and try to destroy him)! Isaac was also once a libriomancer and a Porter. He was banned from using magic a couple of years back, though, by the secret society of Porters. As a libriomancer, he is able to reach into books and pull things out to use in this world.

It seems that vampires have been hunting down Porters and are trying to start a war (or something) with them. But who is controlling them and why is this happening? Can Isaac help find out what’s going on (with the help of Lena, who herself has come out of a book)?

I enjoyed this. I’m not always a fantasy fan, but as a librarian (and cataloguer), I quite enjoyed that part of the book, and the fact that Isaac (and other libriomancers) was/are able to pull things out of books. That’s pretty cool. I really liked Isaac’s pet fire spider (pulled from a book, of course). I was also a bit amused by the bibliography at the end, which included made up titles in the book. I’d have given it 3.5 stars (good), but wanted to give the extra ¼ star for the librarian who loves to research! ( )