The Burning Page

In which the evil and all-powerful Alberich, renegade Librarian, is threatening to destroy everything and our heroine Irene dashes off almost alone to fight him, without a plan and without resources, making it all up as she goes along, as usual.

It's all dramatic and exciting, but the drama strikes me as overdone, and the excitement is muted because I know that Irene is going to emerge somewhat battered but intact from every apparent disaster, after finding the right commands to utter in the Language.

I find these books quite entertaining at first reading, but they leave me unsatisfied, because the events and the characters don't quite become real to me, and it's hard for me to take seriously the spectacle of a world-destroying monster being stopped in his tracks by a junior Librarian. I think the author is trying too hard to pile on the drama.

I wish fantasy novelists didn't feel the need to create these exaggerated villains: Alberich, Voldemort, Sauron, Acheron Hades, and so on. An ordinary bad guy feels more like real life and is more believable. Yes, I know this is a fantasy novel, but as a reader I prefer to be able to believe in the fantasy while I'm reading it.