Published: July 3, 2018
Publisher: Berkley
Series: The Great Library #4
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 430 (Hardcover)
My Rating: 4.0/5.0
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis:
To save the Great Library, the unforgettable characters from Ink and Bone, Paper and Fire, and Ash and Quill put themselves in danger in the next thrilling adventure in the New York Times bestselling series.
The opening moves of a deadly game have begun. Jess Brightwell has put himself in direct peril, with only his wits and skill to aid him in a game of cat and mouse with the Archivist Magister of the Great Library. With the world catching fire, and words printed on paper the spark that lights rebellion, it falls to smugglers, thieves, and scholars to save a library thousands of years in the making…if they can stay alive long enough to outwit their enemies.
I’m going to keep this short and to the point since I don’t have much to say about Smoke and Iron that I didn’t already say about the first three book.
As per my expectations, this was a very entertaining story and in my opinion trumped the previous book as far as plot goes. Jess is pretending to be his twin brother Brendan to infiltrate the library and Morgan has willingly gone back to the Iron Tower to bring it down from the inside and poor Scholar Wolfe was offered up as a lamb to the slaughter to make this harebrained scheme seem legit. It’s quite the situation actually. The others were all captured by the Brightwells at the end of the last book and are now on a ship bound for Alexandria, where they’ll be handed over to the Library. The pace of the story was well done, seeming to never be too dull or action packed for too long a stretch. I really enjoy all the characters and am emotionally invested in the story and their fates, so I just can’t stop now!
Overall, this was a great installment and much better than I anticipated it to be when it was announced the series would be extended to five books. I’m genuinely looking forward to seeing how the story wraps up in the next book and I do think the extension was a good choice. It allows for further expansion without making things seem too rushed or forced. If you’re into books about books then I would recommend you check out the first book in the series, Ink and Bone.
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