Ratings62
Average rating3.9
On his thirteenth birthday, foster child Alcatraz Smedry receives a bag of sand which is immediately stolen by the evil Librarians who are trying to take over the world, and Alcatraz is introduced to his grandfather and his own special talent, and told that he must use it to save civilization.
Featured Series
5 primary booksAlcatraz Versus The Evil Librarians is a 6-book series with 6 primary works first released in 2007 with contributions by Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson.
Reviews with the most likes.
Ok, this is pretty much Harry Potter. In an alternate history, Librarians secretly rule the world, dishing out misinformation and shaping the world. Upon reaching his 13th birthday, Alcatraz Smedry is met with an interesting gift – a bag of sand – which draws him into this world of lies, odd abilities and glasses that have special powers.
A fun, short read meant for kids, but still a lot of fun. I love the idea that the main good guys all have special powers that all seem to be awful at first glance. Alcatraz's ability is that he can accidentally cause things break things. Not good when you're burning down your foster parents house, but rather useful when you break the gun that someone is point at you. His grandfathers ability is to arrive late has similarly useful applications, but listing too many would spoil things. It's fun to see how Sanderson takes these “useless” powers and makes them useful.
It was so much fun rereading the reprint of one of my favorite books. It is incredibly creative. The magic system is different then anything I've seen before. I adore the characters and the quirky tongue in cheek narration. This book was amazing when I was a kid and fantastic now. The edition of illustrations added even more spark. Read it!
I loved this whole series. Sort of a cross between the cleverness of A Series of Unfortunate Events and a spoof on Harry Potter, with Sanderson's talent for world-building. Highly recommend.
A completely different flavor of Brandon Sanderson, and it did not disappoint!