UnboundHugo winner Jim C. Hines's hilarious and clever Magic ex Libris series, where books come alive and libriomancer Isaac Vainio combats magical threats that spring from the page For five hundred years, the Porters have concealed the existence of magic from the world. Now, old enemies have revealed the Porters’ secrets, and an even greater threat lurks in the shadows. The would-be queen Meridiana, banished for a thousand years, has returned in the body of a girl named Jeneta Aboderin. She seeks an artifact created by Pope Sylvester II, a bronze prison that would grant her the power to command an army of the dead. Michigan librarian Isaac Vainio is powerless to stop her, having been stripped of his power and his place among the Porters by Johannes Gutenberg himself. But Isaac is determined to regain his magic and to rescue his former student Jeneta. With no magic of his own, Isaac must delve into the darker side of black-market magic, where he will confront beings better left undisturbed, including the sorcerer Juan Ponce de Leon. With his loyal fire-spider Smudge, dryad warrior Lena Greenwood, and psychiatrist Nidhi Shah, Isaac races to unravel a mystery more than a thousand years old as competing magical powers battle to shape the future of the world. He will be hunted by enemies and former allies alike, and it will take all his knowledge and resourcefulness to survive as magical war threatens to spread across the globe. Isaac’s choices will determine the fate of his friends, the Porters, the students of Bi Sheng, and the world. Only one thing is certain: even if he finds a way to restore his magic, he can’t save them all…. |
Common terms and phrases
al-Sufi answer archive armillary sphere arms asked Lena automatons Babs Bi Sheng Bi Wei blood body bokken bronze cage cane Carl Copper River couldn’t damn dead desk destroy didn’t door e-reader Euphemia everything eyes face felt fight fingers fire Fort Michilimackinac Gerbert d’Aurillac Ghost Army going grabbed Gutenberg hand happened head heard hell inside Isaac Vainio Jackson Jeff Jeneta Jeneta Aboderin Johannes Johannes Gutenberg kill knew Lena’s Leon’s libriomancer libriomancy locked looked magic Mahefa memories Meridiana metal Mmadukaaku moved Nicola Nidhi nodded poem Ponce de Leon Pope Sylvester II Porters pulled reached Regional Masters rest scepter searching Sheng shock-gun shoulder skin smiled Smudge Smudge’s someone spell stared stop story sure tell there’s thing thought touched tree tried trying turned vampire waited wasn’t watched Wei’s What’s whispered window words yeren You’re