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Revisionary

Revisionary is the conclusion to the wonderful Magic Ex Libris series. DO NOT START READING THE SERIES WITH THIS BOOK. Start with the first one, Libriomancer ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au ).

For one thing, nothing in Revisionary will make sense if you haven’t read the rest of the series (and it’s only four medium length books, so not a huge commitment). For another thing Libriomancer is really great and I’d hate for you to miss it. I previously reviewed all the other books in the series, if you’d like to near more: Libriomancer, Codex Born, and Unbound.

It’s difficult to sum up the plot of Revisionary without spoiling the rest of the series, so I’m not going to sum up much. Basically, in this series, some people have the talent to extract objects from books. The item must physically fit through the book, so for instance, if you have a Star Wars novel, you can reach in and pull out a lightsaber but not the Millennium Falcon. Some items are locked, and therefore unusable. Sadly, The One Ring is off limits. The series involves the efforts of various competing groups who wish to control this magic, keep it secret, or expose it, and the consequences of their actions.

Revisionary is a satisfying conclusion to a fun series that contained solid emotional content, an inclusive group of characters, romance, humor, action, and some serious imaginative chops. It’s always scary to start a new series, because you never know if everything might fall apart at the end. Luckily this is not the case with Revisionary. Revisionary fits well with the rest of the series and feels both nicely wrapped up and tantalizing full of more potential stories. Characters end up in places I never would have imagined at the start of the series, and yet their journeys feel believable and natural. I am so, so sad that this series is over, but pretty content with where it ended up.

NB: You can also learn more about the series, and its author, Jim C. Hines, in our podcast interview.

– Carrie S

The fourth installment in the popular Magic Ex Libris series.

When Isaac Vainio helped to reveal magic to the world, he dreamed of a new millennium of magical prosperity. One year later, things aren’t going quite as he’d hoped. A newly-formed magical organization wants open war with the mundane world. Isaac’s own government is incarcerating “potential supernatural enemies” in prisons and internment camps.

Surrounded by betrayal and political intrigue, Isaac and a ragtag group of allies must evade pursuit both magical and mundane, expose a conspiracy by some of the most powerful people in the world, and find a path to a better future. But the key to victory may lie with Isaac himself, as he struggles to incorporate everything he’s learned into a new, more powerful form of libriomancy.