Tuesday 12 March 2019

Review: Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians

Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Brandon Sanderson is an author I’ve been meaning to read for quite some time, and last year I started my journey into his work through his short stories. I had fun and was left wanting more, so this year I jumped into his science fiction. Again, I had fun, so I planned to move onto his fantasy. It seems, however, that other people in Aberdeen have had the same idea – there is currently a long waiting list on Brandon Sanderson books, and Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians was the only one available for me to borrow. Thus, whilst I await my turn with the fantasy books so many seem to love, I jumped into the first Alcatraz book.

I’m going to be completely honest and admit to mixed feelings with this one. It did not wow me, yet I was hooked. In fact, early in the book I questioned whether I would be able to finish this one. I didn’t much care for the story and the characters, but they grew on me. By the end, the book had worked up from a two-star rating to a three-star rating.

I think the thing that stopped me from loving this one was the way in which the story was told. I’m sure there will be plenty of people out there who will appreciate the style of storytelling, but for me it felt as though the aspect that entertained me so much as a child with Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events was increased in magnitude to the point where it became an annoyance. There were a couple of moments where it was entertaining, but overall it failed to suck me into the story.

I may give the second book in this series a read, but for the moment I plan to wait my turn with the other Sanderson books.

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