Recently Read: Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians and Gateway

Rutabaga!

I really liked Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson*.  It’s a YA book published by Scholastic, so it’s printed in a big font, and the cover looks like it’s aimed at kids.  And it’s fun.  The premise is that the known world is actually ruled by Evil Librarians, who deliberately control all of the information that we have access to in order to keep us docile and under their thumb.  They’re trying to take over the whole world, and have so far succeeded in taking over the seven continents that we know about.  There are actually three more.  The main character is named Alcatraz, and some of the people he meets are named Bastille, Sing Sing, Quentin, and Leavenworth.  Are they all named after famous prisons?  No!  The famous prisons are all named after them!

Beyond the premise, I really enjoyed the writing style.  It’s narrated by the main character, Alcatraz, who is 13 during this book, and is filled with meta-description, about how to write a book and leaving cliff-hangers and things.  One of my favorite meta-sections, at the beginning of chapter 11:

You probably assume you know what is going to happen next: me, tied to an altar, about to get sacrificed.  Unfortunately, you’re wrong.  The story hasn’t gotten to that part yet.

This revelation may annoy you.  It may even frustrate you.  If it does, then I’ve achieved my purpose.  However, before you throw this book against the wall, you should understand something about storytelling.

Some people assume that authors write books because we have vivid imaginations and wan to share our vision.  Other people assume that authors write because we are bursting with stories, and therefore must scribble those stories down in moments of creative propondidty.

Both groups of people are completely wrong.  Authors write books for one, and only one, reason: because we like to torture people.

All in all, a very entertaining book.

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I enjoyed Gateway, the new book by Sharon Shinn.  It’s also YA, I think, but aimed at a slightly older age group.  The main character, Daiyu, is a high school-aged Chinese girl who was adopted as a baby by white Americans, who are now living in St. Louis.  I must say, St. Louis is one of those cities that I’ve never been anywhere near, so I kinda believe that it doesn’t really exist.  So, it works really well for me for the start of a fantasy novel.    One day, walking under the St. Louis arch transports her to another world.  The other world oddly mimics hers–e.g. the city is laid out very similarly to St. Louis–and in other ways is completely different.  In this other world, the dominant population are all Han, who look just like Chinese in our world.  There are white and black people, who are poor minorities with crummy jobs.  She is immediately brought into this conspiracy, in which she is the only one who can infiltrate the upper class in order to reach a very important person.  It actually does make sense (despite my confusing description), and provides a fun story.  The book isn’t as exciting or fast-paced as I’ve gotten used to fantasy adventures being.  But it was a nice story and I wanted to know how Daiyu would manage.  I kept wondering how Shinn could possibly end the story in a satisfying way, which may have been what drove me to finish.  I wasn’t disappointed by the ending.

Shinn, a white woman living in St. Louis, is looking at race in this story.  It’s not the point of the story, but neither is it just tacked on like an after-thought.  Daiyu being Chinese is a critical aspect of the plot.  But I didn’t read any moral or Statement about race within the story.

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* My mom and I picked up Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians at the booksigning for TGS.  We figured we might as well support the local independent bookstore Bay Book Co.^ who was kindly hosting the signing by buying a couple of books.  My reaction to Sanderson’s first book, Elantris, was less than meh and I never finished it.  I thought he did TGS very well, though, so it was worth giving him another try.  crazyfaerie tells me that Mistborn is worth reading, so I’ll probably get around to it.

^ Which also sells wooden pipes and tobacco.  Random, but cool. 

music: purring kitty

tags: books