Author: Rachel Caine
Publisher: New American Library
Date of Publication: July 2015
Should knowledge be shared or controlled? Can powerful institutions change? Rachel Caine is both writer and director in this blockbuster book that is at once fast paced and philosophical.
Tota est scientia. Knowledge is all. The Great Library of Alexandria is a globally dominant force, governing the flow of knowledge to the masses. Alchemy makes possible the instantaneous delivery of literature, but personal ownership of books is forbidden. Jess Brightwell, born into a family of black-market book dealers, grows up bound to, and watched by, the Library. His belief in the institution’s value withstands his own persecution—until he is sent to the Great Library to become his family’s spy. While training and competing to enter the Library’s service, Jess and his peers are tested for loyalty to an institution they increasingly question. Controlling knowledge requires an unyielding and sometimes brutal authority over the people who seek it.
Within three pages, Jess is running. Ink and Bone begins with a chase scene, and the action movie tempo continues from there. The story is heavily plot driven, and creates intrigue from danger and secrecy. Caine’s careening exhilaration is highly compelling, but has benefits and drawbacks as a writing device. The world of the story is incrementally revealed, steadily feeding the plot’s momentum as the pace accelerates and subthemes develop. What this need for momentum limits is the development of the characters. The characters feel right in number to enable plot twists and give some depth to the fictional world without becoming a legion of extras. However, there are also enough that the time and detail required for them to deepen and evolve would overburden the plot. The characters’ inclination to action movie stereotypes actually underlies the thrill of the book. Among the roster is an innocent good guy, a bully and his cronies, a mysterious woman, and the protagonist just trying to survive. They are guided by their backstories in their patterns of decision making, their interactions with their peers, and even in the paths laid out for them by people with greater power. Their sojourns and trials are excitingly fraught, but somewhat predictable.
Despite these limitations, Ink and Bone is purposeful as well as exciting. Jess is the most quickly and fully detailed character, allowing him to be the lens through which the world of the story can be satisfactorily revealed. The quick plot provides light content for younger readers, who can also engage with the clearcut emotions of the characters. Even for older readers, the pace and story are riveting and there is also substance to contemplate in the structure and secrets of the Library. Jess’ familial ties to the black market shape what he values and criticizes in the Library, prompting consideration of how the power of knowledge and the written word can change based on their management. For audiences drawn to more fast-paced content, this is a wonderfully fun adventure through a world with ruthless pursuit, robed villains, and where independent thought is at once demanded and dangerous. For those steeped in more solemnly topical literature, this book feels painfully relevant to a time when the power of words and writers seems at once essential and imperiled.
