This is the second book in the Magic Ex Libris series, and I felt it was just as good as the first one. This review makes references to some things that happened in the first book, Libriomancer, so if you haven't read that book yet I wouldn't read this post any further.
This story begins a few months after the events of Libriomancer. Isaac Vainio is no longer a field agent. Now he is a researcher for the Porters, and he's been working on the task assigned to him by Johannes Gutenberg, the man who created the Porters centuries earlier. He has been researching the mysterious force which made an appearance at the end of the previous story. While the Porters protect the world from magic, including the knowledge of it, this mysterious force is something which Gutenberg himself has been keeping from the Porters. A force which he has been aware of and feared for 500 years.
In Codex Born, Isaac is called in to investigate the death of a wendigo in werewolf territory. He quickly learns that forces which want revenge on Johannes Gutenberg (in response to events from centuries ago) are beginning to move against him. In the months between books 1 and 2, both Isaac and Nidhi have had some difficulty adjusting to their new relationship with Lena Greenwood, the dryad. This relationship appears to be a split-object triangle (definition).
Isaac has also taken on a mentoring role for a 14-year-old girl named Jeneta Aboderin. Like many of those who exhibit magical abilities, Jeneta discovered her ability quite by accident, and her talent could forever change how the Porters understand magic. I won't reveal her talent - you'll need to read the book to learn about it for yourself.
In the previous book, we learned that Lena is a dryad who was effectively pulled from a book - the title of Codex Born refers to Lena. In this story, we learn more about her origins - it is interleaved through the entire story as a blurb at the start of each chapter. As it turns out, her origins can have some nasty ramifications in this story.
One of the things I like about this series is that magic has consequences. In Dungeons & Dragons magic users and clerics and Druids all require physical components to their spells and you can only use the spells that you currently have in memory. In this series, the more magic you use the more drained you become. This can be very dangerous, as explored at the end of Libriomancer.
An especially interesting element of this story is how Lena is shaped by the desired of her companions. The person she is depends greatly on the company she keeps - and the relationship she has with her two lovers makes her a formidable ally.
As with the first book, the story comes to a satisfying end, building on the previous story, and revealing that the situation is rapidly becoming more dire as time passes. All has not yet been revealed - Isaac still doesn't quite know what they are dealing with.
This is a great follow up to Libriomancer, and the looming danger continues to grow throughout the story. I highly recommend this to anyone who has read the first book.
As always, if you have read this series, I'm interested in hearing from you. Feel free to leave a comment.
This story begins a few months after the events of Libriomancer. Isaac Vainio is no longer a field agent. Now he is a researcher for the Porters, and he's been working on the task assigned to him by Johannes Gutenberg, the man who created the Porters centuries earlier. He has been researching the mysterious force which made an appearance at the end of the previous story. While the Porters protect the world from magic, including the knowledge of it, this mysterious force is something which Gutenberg himself has been keeping from the Porters. A force which he has been aware of and feared for 500 years.
In Codex Born, Isaac is called in to investigate the death of a wendigo in werewolf territory. He quickly learns that forces which want revenge on Johannes Gutenberg (in response to events from centuries ago) are beginning to move against him. In the months between books 1 and 2, both Isaac and Nidhi have had some difficulty adjusting to their new relationship with Lena Greenwood, the dryad. This relationship appears to be a split-object triangle (definition).
Isaac has also taken on a mentoring role for a 14-year-old girl named Jeneta Aboderin. Like many of those who exhibit magical abilities, Jeneta discovered her ability quite by accident, and her talent could forever change how the Porters understand magic. I won't reveal her talent - you'll need to read the book to learn about it for yourself.
In the previous book, we learned that Lena is a dryad who was effectively pulled from a book - the title of Codex Born refers to Lena. In this story, we learn more about her origins - it is interleaved through the entire story as a blurb at the start of each chapter. As it turns out, her origins can have some nasty ramifications in this story.
One of the things I like about this series is that magic has consequences. In Dungeons & Dragons magic users and clerics and Druids all require physical components to their spells and you can only use the spells that you currently have in memory. In this series, the more magic you use the more drained you become. This can be very dangerous, as explored at the end of Libriomancer.
An especially interesting element of this story is how Lena is shaped by the desired of her companions. The person she is depends greatly on the company she keeps - and the relationship she has with her two lovers makes her a formidable ally.
As with the first book, the story comes to a satisfying end, building on the previous story, and revealing that the situation is rapidly becoming more dire as time passes. All has not yet been revealed - Isaac still doesn't quite know what they are dealing with.
This is a great follow up to Libriomancer, and the looming danger continues to grow throughout the story. I highly recommend this to anyone who has read the first book.
As always, if you have read this series, I'm interested in hearing from you. Feel free to leave a comment.
