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A review by worldsunlikeourown
Smoke and Iron by Rachel Caine
5.0
The story picks up right after the cliffhanger of Ash and Quill. The group is split in two following Callum Brightwell's betrayal, as per the risky plan put together by Jess, Dario, Morgan and Brendan. Khalila, Glain, Thomas, Santi and Dario are aboard a ship with Anit, notorious book smuggler Red Ibrahim's daughter, at the helm, supposedly heading for Cadiz where Dario has powerful family connections. However, they soon realize that they have been betrayed and are instead bound for Alexandria, straight into the Archivist's hands.
On the other hand, Jess, Morgan and Wolfe are back in the Archivist's clutches, playing a dangerous game. Jess, pretending to be his twin brother Brendan, hands over the other two and negotiates on behalf of his father, with the threat of a working printing press they now hold. Morgan is taken back to the Iron Tower, and Wolfe to prison - however, Wolfe has not been informed of the plan.
Spread out and with no way to contact each other, each group plots to raise support against the Archivist and spark a rebellion against the corruption in the Great Library, all the time not knowing who they can truly trust.
One of the best things about this series is that though there are so many central characters, all of them are extremely well thought out and have excellent development arcs and depth to them. The multiple POVs in this book lent very a interesting perspective to the story.
I wasn't all that happy when I realized this was going to be a five book series instead of a trilogy, but Smoke and Iron is definitely worth the read! Rachel Caine has written another amazing, suspenseful, fast paced novel, keeping the Great Library series at the top of my current favourites.
On the other hand, Jess, Morgan and Wolfe are back in the Archivist's clutches, playing a dangerous game. Jess, pretending to be his twin brother Brendan, hands over the other two and negotiates on behalf of his father, with the threat of a working printing press they now hold. Morgan is taken back to the Iron Tower, and Wolfe to prison - however, Wolfe has not been informed of the plan.
Spread out and with no way to contact each other, each group plots to raise support against the Archivist and spark a rebellion against the corruption in the Great Library, all the time not knowing who they can truly trust.
One of the best things about this series is that though there are so many central characters, all of them are extremely well thought out and have excellent development arcs and depth to them. The multiple POVs in this book lent very a interesting perspective to the story.
I wasn't all that happy when I realized this was going to be a five book series instead of a trilogy, but Smoke and Iron is definitely worth the read! Rachel Caine has written another amazing, suspenseful, fast paced novel, keeping the Great Library series at the top of my current favourites.