[JT7]⋙ Libro Codex Born Magic Ex Libris Jim C Hines 9780756408169 Books

Codex Born Magic Ex Libris Jim C Hines 9780756408169 Books

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Codex Born Magic Ex Libris Jim C Hines 9780756408169 Books

Note that this IS the second novel, though, and i don't think it's a good place to start; read the first before this one.

I loved learning more about Lena the dryad, both from her own narrative and in the story. She's a wonderful, fascinating character, with almost superpowers in some ways but serious intrinsic weaknesses in others. Excellently done and handled!

The plot is very complexz, and- which is rare in urban fantasy- NOT restricted to 2 sides. Bothe the "bads" and the "goods" have internal conflicts of priorities and goals, and these impact the way things play out. Even more, characters are conflicted and ambiguous about their own goals, and how well their "side" is going to let them achieve these goals. And it's not a simple matter of sowing division; the reasons why people hook up with one "side" or another are diverse, and that affects their reactions to what that "side" is doing, and how or whether they wish to cooperate with such. Nicely done! and far more subtle than most UF I've read recently.

The shout-outs to various books are a lot of fun. Also, I really liked that Isaac, our main protag, is so CURIOUS! When faced with a difficult situation, if it doesn't require an immediate response, his reaction tends to be "Hmm. Let's figure this out!" I LOVE that.

I am very much looking forward to #3. Do consider reading this series if you are a F/SF fan, and like books where that is honored!


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Codex Born Magic Ex Libris Jim C Hines 9780756408169 Books Reviews

Let's start this way. I love Libriomancer. I have the number one review for it on . The love letter to fans that is the first book is simply sublime. As a fan of science fiction and fantasy the book spoke to me. So it pains me to give Codex Born anything other than 5 stars, but alas, the middle is usually never as good as the beginning or the end. Think The Two Towers or The Empire Strikes Back and you will know that Jim C Hines is in good company. And in this case that holds true for Codex Born.

I found myself reading Codex Born waiting for the charm to hit. But it never did. Not in the way it did in the first book. There was more whimsy in the first book. But in this one? Not so much. Beginning with a murder mystery we follow Libriomancer Isaac Vainio's quest to discover who murdered a wendigo. This sets us down a path that causes a bunch of battles, some really cool history about the pre-Gutenberg world, some excellent exploration of what it is to be a dryad, and then a climactic battle that changes everything for Isaac. Perhaps that's the problem with this book - too much fighting. Not enough exploring. But that's my personal bias and not a defect of the book. And where is Ponce de Leon? Not cool to leave him out!

I still liked the book enough to finish it. I still like the world. I wish I could live in it. But while I would love to reread the first book, I don't know that I want to reread this one. And that says it all, I think.
In Jim Hines' second 'Ex Libris' book, librarian and libriomancer Isaac, with his friend and lover Lena, is brought to the center of a conflict involving the Porteare-- the guild of libriomancers founded and still headed by Gutenberg himself-- and the deranged father of a now-deceased libriomancer as well as a group of Chinese magicians who had escaped into their own books centuries ago.

Lena, a dryad born of mediocre and sexist writing of a schlock fantasy author from the 1960s, and Nidhi (Lena's other friend and lover, although merely friends with Isaac-- you have to read the book to figure it all out!) join Isaac in his inventive battle against the forces arrayed against them, which include a giant metal dragon that attacks the library.

To be honest, I enjoyed the first book more, as Mr. Hines had to spend a lot more time describing how his system of libriomancy works-- it is rare to find a completely new system of magic after reading fantasy novels for fifty years! This second book is still very good, but more plot-driven. Its ending is rather dark, too, so I'm glad that the book's epilogue points to a third book to follow.

Recommended.
I was so excited when I got this book in the mail. I loved Libriomancer (Magic Ex Libris Book 1) so much that I pre-ordered this one. It's the first time I've ever felt such anticipation for a new release.

Codex Born gets right into the thick of it pretty quickly. The reader is spared long passages of recap, which is refreshing for a fantasy series. This book focuses more on the character Lena Greenwood, which I found really enjoyable. Lena is a strong, positive female character that is frankly just entertaining to read. I liked the passages written in her POV at the beginning of every chapter, even if the ultimate reason for their being there is a bit anti-climatic.

I liked that Jim C. Hines was able to bring us back into the world of libriomancy in a new, exciting way. The pacing is quite similar to the first book in the series; quick, with very little wasted time, though I think the conflict wasn't really as interesting as in the first book. There was a lot of build-up in the this book, and the last book, regarding the 'ghosts' and their personal hatred towards Isaac. I kept expecting it to be answered, and it wasn't, really.

All the same, I liked a lot of the new characters that were introduced, particularly Jeff the werewolf and Guan Feng. There were a lot of other satellite characters which I imagine will be called upon in further books, but lent to a bit of 'character soup' in the narrative--I kept forgetting names towards the end.

***POSSIBLE SPOILER BELOW***

The book has a very strong finish, which made me waver on my rating; I really wanted to give it five stars.... but ultimately the confusion over the antagonists' motives, and especially those motives with Isaac in particular (he seems to be bullied by big baddies for very little reason), left me wanting. The villain for this arc, Harrison, is unbelievably powerful for a man that only had a year to learn how to wield his magic, and create all of the monsters from the scrapyard.
Note that this IS the second novel, though, and i don't think it's a good place to start; read the first before this one.

I loved learning more about Lena the dryad, both from her own narrative and in the story. She's a wonderful, fascinating character, with almost superpowers in some ways but serious intrinsic weaknesses in others. Excellently done and handled!

The plot is very complexz, and- which is rare in urban fantasy- NOT restricted to 2 sides. Bothe the "bads" and the "goods" have internal conflicts of priorities and goals, and these impact the way things play out. Even more, characters are conflicted and ambiguous about their own goals, and how well their "side" is going to let them achieve these goals. And it's not a simple matter of sowing division; the reasons why people hook up with one "side" or another are diverse, and that affects their reactions to what that "side" is doing, and how or whether they wish to cooperate with such. Nicely done! and far more subtle than most UF I've read recently.

The shout-outs to various books are a lot of fun. Also, I really liked that Isaac, our main protag, is so CURIOUS! When faced with a difficult situation, if it doesn't require an immediate response, his reaction tends to be "Hmm. Let's figure this out!" I LOVE that.

I am very much looking forward to #3. Do consider reading this series if you are a F/SF fan, and like books where that is honored!