Optimus Yarnspinner is on a quest. His authorial uncle, Dancelot Wordwright, provides a manuscript in his final hours containing the best writing ever created. Charged to find the author, Optimus sets off to Bookholm, the city of dreaming books. As he wanders the streets of antiquarian bookstores, he's reminded of the city's dark underbelly: a multi-level labyrinthine catacombs, expanded over centuries, that contains billions of old books. Some are immensely valuable, and all are free for the taking- if you can get them and find your way back to safety while avoiding the dangerous denizens, other bookhunters, and deadly traps. That's not for Optimus- he just wants to find the author whose incomplete work moved him so powerfully- but he soon encounters more than he expects in a city with a dark secret. Yes, Yarnspinner is set on a quest . . . and he's about to find out just how deadly books can be.
This book enchanted and amazed me. It's a fantasy, yes, and the adventures within are full of wonder, suspense, and humor. But it's also a tale about reading- the agony of writing, the power of a book to bring joy, sadness, or even death, and our tendency to resemble the books we consume. I highly recommend this one.
Rating: A
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