Libriomancer

Not at all the book-magic I'm accustomed to from Genevieve Cogman and Rachel Caine...a wee bit infodumpy the first third, some slightly overextended scenes between our Porter protagonist and the Vampires, quite a large acceleration thereafter...but an EPIC ending. My fellow majgickq-disdainers: This is not the book we fear, it is a delightful expansion of a reality we all already know: Novels and tales are, in every important way, real and we can reach into them for what we love and need the most. If you were thrilled to your core by Harry Potter's Patronus or the fire lizards and dragons of Pern, you will adore Smudge the Spider.

I mean, can you resist this?
“Showing up on an acquaintance’s doorstep and asking him to become your lover . . . your mate . . . isn’t normal. Not for humans.”

“Normal?” she repeated. “Yesterday you fed me cake from Wonderland so we could ride your spider into a magical basement and fight a vampire.” ( )

So, the premise of this book is probably the dream of every reader: To be able to reach in a book and take out whatever, I mean the possibilities are endless, but when I first started reading I couldn't concentrate and ended up dropping. So, I was looking for something to read this week and pick it up again and this time I liked, not the best book in the world, a lot of clichés, but you know 3 stars, solid C, pass with reservations, a chance to improve in the future.

Therefore I'll recommend this to anyone who's a fan of urban fantasy and doesn't have anything better to read, flip through, see what's what. ( )

Nothing better for book lovers than a magic system based on books -- particularly genre classics of science fiction, fantasy, mystery, and thriller fiction, although literary classics are not shortchanged. As an avowed SFF enthusiast for over half-a-century, and an English major, I found this great fun. While the main protagonist's demeanor, and awkwardness with women, draw the inevitable comparison with foundational urban fantasy heroes like Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden, "Libriomancer" Isaac Vaino and the power of libriomancy make for a compelling, oft-times funny enjoyable read. ( )

This is a really intriguing world, and I love the way the magic system is built. I wasn't as fond of the characters as I might have been, but that may also be just an issue of it being the first in the series. I look forward to reading more and see if the characters develop more with time. ( )

I enjoyed it (more than the 3 stars might describe), it really engaged with my geekiness, and bibliophilia. However, "reading is magic," whilst very fun, only goes so far. I think I would have rated this as 3 1/2 stars if I hadn't already been intellectually engaged in what reading and writing is theoretically capable of.

As it stands, the book is very fun and I'll eagerly get the next book, but I feel it missed some greater opportunities. ( )