Alcatraz Versus The Evil Librarians

Written by Brandon Sanderson

Narrated by Ramón de Ocampo

Alcatraz Smedry, practically the world champion of breaking things, never thought his most boring birthday present - a bag of sand - would get him into this much trouble. Yet now he's fleeing from evil Librarians, releasing dinosaurs to create a diversion in the Fiction section, and learning that clumsiness can be a powerful talent!

• Language: English
• Publisher: W. F. Howes Ltd
• Release date: Aug 10, 2017
• ISBN: 9781471288081

Brandon Sanderson

Brandon Sanderson grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska. He lives in Utah with his wife and children and teaches creative writing at Brigham Young University. His bestsellers have sold 32 million copies worldwide and include the Mistborn saga; the Stormlight Archive novels; and other novels, including The Rithmatist, Steelheart, and Skyward. He won a Hugo Award for The Emperor's Soul, a novella set in the world of his acclaimed first novel, Elantris. Additionally, he completed Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time®. Visit his website for behind-the-scenes information on all his books.

Reviews for Alcatraz Versus The Evil Librarians

[bangerlm · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book and so does my 3rd grade daughter. There was a ton of humor for both of us. Can't wait to read the next.

[kslade-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyable fantasy with tongue-in-cheek. A coworker talked me into reading it and I really liked it.

[yonitdm · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm kind of torn on this review. I love the world building and the characters, as classic Brandon Sanderson. I didn't care for the narrative style here. The main character breaks the fourth wall and directly talks to the audience and various points in the narrative and I understand that there's some self-deprecation as the autobiographical story of a kid who thinks that he's not a good guy. But I found it kind of annoying,

[sleahey_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

With zany humor, the fight between good and evil is set in a magical library peopled with evil librarians. Alcatraz, who has been in foster care his whole life, receives a bag of sand on his 13th birthday, and the adventure begins. Many of the characters are named after prisons, many have talents such as always being late, breaking things, and being unintelligible, and Alcatraz finds himself way over his head while enjoying the adventure with a possible grandfather. This will appeal to readers who like slapstick comedy and sarcasm presented in a conversational style. Lazo's illustrations are welcome additions.

[tjsjohanna_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The tongue-in-cheek style of story telling Sanderson uses makes this novel more than just your typical fantasy tale. Alcatraz has the magical talent of breaking things and other family members have equally amusing talents (ability to trip, to arrive late to their own death, etc). At heart there is the story of a boy who feels abandoned and who discovers his worth and his place.

[quinton.baran · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I read this book to my kids. My 12 year old enjoyed it, but my 10 year old wasn't interested, and fairly annoyed when I was reading it, which is too bad, as it has lots of funny, silly humor. I found that it took awhile to get into, but once we did, I was looking forward to reading each chapter at night.

There is also a funny inside joke at the last part with reference to Harry Potter. I don't think my kids really picked up on it, but I thought it was hilarious.

[kinwolf · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Not everyone can do what Terry Pratchett does, and for all the love I carry toward Brandon Sanderson stories and books, this one I would have burned if I hadn't read the ebook version.It's rare that a story annoy me, but this one did! The constant "Now, you need to understand something about me.." It's good a few times, but not 5 times per chapters! Also, I didn't find anything really funny in it.Again, this book proves to me that books labeled YA are simply lazy books that would never have been published 10 years ago.

[cindywho-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Cute and snarky, though the librarian joke did get old....

[kellswitch_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

On his thirteenth birthday, foster child Alcatraz Smedry gets a bag of sand in the mail-his only inheritance from his father and mother. And thus begins Alcatraz’s adventures against the cult of evil Librarians. Overall I enjoyed this book but was not wowed by this book, actually I’m mostly kind of meh about this book. It is very obvious that this is a middle grade book and I usually find I have a challenging time reviewing these kinds of books because I am not the target audience and some things just can’t be judged by an adult perspective. Pros: I absolutely loved the concept and the world created here was a lot of fun to visit.Cons: I HATED the narration, didn’t particularly care about Alcatraz and wanted to spend more time exploring the world with other characters. As I said above, I am not the target audience for this book at all, overall it felt well written and paced and the things I didn’t like about it, the narration for example, might appeal more to younger and less experienced readers. I would introduce this to readers of its intended age, but I doubt I’ll be reading any further books in the series.

[lwobbe_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fun for librarians to read that's for sure. Felt like Mike could have written it!

[librisissimo · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Cute. In-jokes for adults. 

[csdaley-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It was a quick read. Had some funny parts and I mostly enjoyed it. Not as good as I was hoping though.

[forevermasterless · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I don’t place very much stock in originality when it comes to the books I read. After all, it’s pretty rare to find something truly original, and a story that’s similar to others you’ve read, or that shares similar elements, can still be a great read. It’s all in the execution.

That said, when I do find something that feels truly original, it can be a magical experience. Such is the case with Alcatraz Versus The Evil Librarians. After listening to the writing podcast that Brandon Sanderson is a part of every week for god knows how long, I finally decided to buy pretty much all of his books at once. Alcatraz is the first one I’ve gotten around to reading.

Now, if you were to ask almost anyone what Sanderson’s defining features are as an author they would probably say something like, “Oh that guy? He writes incredibly long epic fantasies with really unique magic systems.”

Alcatraz is not an epic fantasy. It is a young adult book told in first person from the protagonist’s very sarcastic perspective. I’m sure any fan of Sanderson was very confused when they heard about this book.

I, being an unabashed fan of both young adult novels and first-person novels, naturally wound up reading this series before Mistborn, or Elantris, or any of the things that Sanderson is actually “known for.” I have to say that, for a guy who built his career on writing books that are 180 degrees in the opposite direction from this, he’s managed to create one of the best young adult fantasy novels I have ever read.

Okay, okay. I know what you’re thinking. “Stop flapping your gums and tell me why it’s so good!”
Okay, here’s why.

How many young adult fantasy novels have you read where, for all the other merits it might have, the magic/power/skills that the protagonist and other characters have is either generic, cliché, or boring? I know that, for me at least, that’s most of them.

The magic in this book is truly unique. Alcatraz is part of a family line, the members of which each possess a unique gift that at first glance seems like a curse. Take Alcatraz himself, for example. He’s really good at breaking things, and consequently he’s also very good at getting shuffled from foster home to foster home. But when you’re facing down a cult of Evil Librarians breaking things can be very handy indeed. Breaking open doors that are locked; breaking down walls to make your own doorway; even breaking the animated paper golems that the librarians create.

Or take Alcatraz’s grandfather for example. One of the most powerful men in the world. What talent could he possibly have that makes him so powerful? He arrives late to things. Again, at first glance it just seems like an annoyance, but then you realize that it extends to things you wouldn’t think it would. He arrives late to his own death, so bullets miss him. He arrives late to pain, so torture is ineffective. He’s all-around just very, very hard to kill.

The other type of magic in the book is based on glass, and isn’t as unique, but it’s still pretty different and cool. Different types of glass can be used to do different things. Expander’s glass can be used to create a Doctor Who type situation where a space is bigger on the inside than on the outside, for instance. Mainly, though, it’s about oculator lenses. You see, in addition to having their unique talents, Alcatraz and his grandfather are also oculators—powerful people who can use glasses with special lenses to do different things. Some examples of these lenses are: The basic oculator’s lenses which let you see through veils and focus on objects of powerful oculation; the tracker’s lenses which show footprints; The firebringer lenses which shoot a laser-like beam of fire; The torturer’s lens which inflicts unbearable pain but doesn’t physically harm; etc.

Okay, so enough about the magic. We all know Sanderson is great at that. But what about the first-person narrator? Is he funny? Is he annoying? Well, I can definitely see how some people might find him annoying. I personally think he’s hilarious. He’s sarcastic and self-deprecating, which is a surefire recipe to make me like anyone. Perhaps the funniest parts come from sections that, under other circumstances and in other books, would pull you right out of the story. Alcatraz routinely stops to have a little aside (usually at the beginning of a chapter, but sometimes in the middle too), making it repeatedly apparent that he’s writing this book long after his adventures are over. In these asides he makes jokes about writers being horrible people that like to torture with cliffhangers and unsatisfying endings. He takes subtle stabs at classic literature. He’s absolutely fantastic, and if you don’t think so then you simply have no soul, no sense of humor, and no taste, and that’s all there is to it.

The other characters are equally as interesting. Bastille is a knight of Crystalia sworn to protect grandpa Smedry, but all her life she’s wanted to be an Oculator, which is a genetic gift that can’t be learned. Consequently she’s studied everything Oculator-related and drops a lot of knowledge on Alcatraz about all this magic power stuff he’s doing and having done to him all the while frustrated and jealous that he has what she never can and knows absolutely nothing about it.

Alcatraz also brings along two cousins on his adventure. They both have talents, but nothing quite as awesome as breaking stuff or arriving late to things. One is able to say nonsense, and one trips when there’s danger. Neither are oculators. Both are hilarious.

And that’s pretty much all there is to say. I could tell you about the seven-foot tall dinosaurs that talk in British accents and are overly polite. I could tell you about the clever stab at Harry Potter that’s made on the very last page. I could go on and on about this book, but that’s the point isn’t it? You don’t know me, and you don’t know how well my taste matches up to yours. What you do know is that somebody loves this book so much that they’re willing to go on and on about it, and maybe-- just maybe--you could love it too.

[jothebookgirl · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Very very strange book. I'd like to meet Brandon Sanderson. He must be a real trip and what an imagination. It is not my favorite genre; fantasy, but I got into the book. I wrote Battle of the Books Questions for it so I really read it in an indepth manner. I wonder if my students will like this book. It has a lot of violence and they ususally like that.

[cheryl_in_cc_nv · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The conceit that this is a true memoir, wasn't well executed. The conceit that librarians are evil wore thin way before the end of the book. Sorry. BUT - would be good for reluctant readers age 9-12, esp. boys who like video games. In fact, it would make a great video game.

[bookconcierge · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

From the book jacket - Alcatraz Smedry has an incredible talent for breaking things; he’s hardly a hero. But he receives a bag of sand on his thirteenth birthday, and his life takes a bizarre turn. This is no ordinary bag of sand, and it is quickly stolen by the cult of evil Librarians who are taking over the world by spreading misinformation and suppressing truth. Alcatraz must stop them! … by infiltrating the local library, armed with nothing but eyeglasses and a talent for klutziness.

My reactions
Clearly inspired (a rip-off?) by Harry Potter, but nowhere near so well executed. Sanderson includes all sorts of asides and breaks in the story to explain “literary hooks” or “cliffhangers” or to specifically point out foreshadowing. It seems like a desperate effort to be clever to me; and it fails. Although I can see how this story would appeal to the target audience (8-12-year-olds), it just annoyed me.

[rosa.mill · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I wanted to like this book soooo much and it just didn't happen for me. I don't know why but I couldn't get into it the way I wanted to. Alcatraz is sarcastic and funny but I wasn't always amused the way I felt I should be amused. The idea of another world existing alongside our own that we know nothing about should have been amazing but it fell flat. Alcatraz breaks the fourth wall a lot with asides and humor but it just didn't work....I don't know if I'm giving the next volume a shot.

[kr_patterson · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Cute, funny.

[librarycin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

4.5 starsAlcatraz is an orphan and has grown up in various foster families. Unfortunately, he has a tendency to break things and so he is often sent away to live with a new foster family. On his 13th birthday, though, he is sent a very odd gift: a bag of sand. The next day, an older man who says he is Alcatraz's grandfather shows up to take him away to fight the evil librarians who have stolen the bag of sand and are trying to take over the world. I thought this book was sooo much fun! (It may help that I'm a librarian.) There was a lot of humour, as well as adventure in the book. The chapters usually started with Alcatraz talking to the reader. The book is written as if it's an autobiography. It's just a lot of fun and I will definitely be continuing the series!

[piersanti-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I have thoroughly enjoyed everything else this author has written. This book is for kids, so that might be why I enjoyed it less than his others.

[page.fault · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The first disappointing read I have encountered from Sanderson, I found this to be poorly written, poorly characterized, and taking place in a poorly thought-out and poorly designed world. I think I just am completely lacking in the facet of humour that would make this book enjoyable.
For me, It was hard enough to suspend disbelief and get into Alcatraz's world. To make it even more difficult, at the start of each chapter, I was jerked out of the story by the first person narrator breaking the fourth wall and trying to make wise and sarcastic comments directly to the reader. He takes pot shots at most of the other fantasy series (especially Harry Potter and C.S. Lewis) which came off to me as petulant rather than funny. I found him unsympathetic and irritating. I won't be reading again, but depending on tolerance for breaking the fourth wall and some basic logical issues with the world, this could be a fun read, especially for a younger audience.

[jellyn_7 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In the beginning, I wasn't sure I was going to like this. It was too weird and.. madcap. And the writing style seemed like a wannabe Lemony Snicket. But then it started to make sense, and the narrator said too many things I agreed with. Re: dead dogs.

So I might have to keep reading the series.

[agrudzien_5 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Alcatraz doesn't know he is an occulator, having grown up in various foster homes. It isn't until his 13th birthday (when his grandfather shows up) that he finds out he comes from a long line of occulators - those who can use magic glasses against the evil forces of librarians. Each Smedry is also born with a gift -- Alcatraz's gift is breaking things, Grandpa's gift is arriving late, and cousin Sing's gift is falling down. As the band of Smedrys tries to get back a precious bag of sand, they need all the gifts they can get, even if they don't seem helpful at first!It reminded me a lot of Harry Potter (maybe a little too much). Take out doing magic and add in wearing magical glasses, swap Dumbledore for Grandpa Smedry, and add in some evil librarians and you know the plot. I think kids who enjoyed Harry Potter would also enjoy this book, but not if they are crazy fans...then they would just be disappointed to see the same plot with less wonder.

[esquiress · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I read this book at the recommendation of some fellow book lovers. It is a younger YA book, which was something a little new for me, and I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would.I found Alcatraz, the main character to be annoying rather than endearing. At least he wasn't overly angsty or anything, but still, he wasn't someone I could connect with.The story is simplistic, as you would expect, and the premise - that librarians have brainwashed all of us into thinking and believing certain things - definitely had potential. However, because it was aimed a younger audience, there wasn't a lot of depth to that.Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians was cute, but I won't continue on with Brandon Sanderson's younger books after this one, despite my adoration for Sanderson's other works.

[lauren4castan · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Good. Not sure all the narrator/author monologues work, but happy to be proved wrong. Very good twists.

[a_reader_of_fictions · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As a librarian, there was absolutely no way I could pass up this book. Evil librarians? I was so there. And boy did this book deliver the absurdities for which I was hoping. The story is told in a breaking the fourth wall kind of way, wherein the author (Sanderson claims to be Alcatraz who is pretending to be Sanderson so the librarians will not ban the book...or something like that) constantly puts the narrative on hold to talk to the reader. This tactic can seriously backfire and is not one I am generally a fan of. Sanderson pulled it off quite well here, largely because the character of Alcatraz has enough swagger, sarcasm and know-it-all-ness to make it seem appropriate and funny.

Similarly, Sanderson manages to sell the crazy elements of the plot by playing them up. He draws attention to all of the weird things and shrugs his shoulders literarily, making you do so too. (I'm not sure if that makes sense, but it does to me.) For example, I was skeptical of the Smedry Talents. Breaking things had some obvious utility, but tripping and arriving late sure did not seem at all helpful. But Sanderson made it work. So props to him.

Speaking of Sanderson, I got to see him speak at ALA 2010 and he seemed like a nice, nerdy gentleman. He talked in his spiel about how much he loves libraries and what an impact they had on him as a child. He even threw in a quote that I am fairly certain is a nod to himself as a teen. "The rebellious, trouble-making types looked through the fantasy section" (285). No wonder he believes that information is "the real power in this world," and that, since the librarians control the information, they could control the power (97). Awesome! I like the way this man thinks.

Why should you read this book?

-Sarcastic narrator = best kind of narrator
-Opening sentence: "So, there I was, tied to an altar made from outdated encyclopedias, about to get sacrificed to the dark powers by a cult of evil librarians" (1).
-The most kickass character is a 13 year old girl
-Off the wall, hilarious crazy moments
-Book-loving dinosaurs that speak with British accents
-Seriously, did you miss out on the evil librarians? Evil librarians!

[shabacus · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have never been disappointed with a book by Sanderson, but I have to admit, in the opening pages of this book, I was wondering if this would be the first. Of course, this book was intended for young audiences, but it wouldn't be the first children's or young adult fantasy that I'd enjoyed. Initially, the tone felt over-the-top, too tongue-in-cheek, full of all the sorts of jokes that would have appealed to ten-year-old me (Rutabaga), but fall flat as an adult.But then, about halfway through, there was a turn. And suddenly, all of the silliness from earlier on reveals itself as not just pertinent, but totally necessary to the plot. It's a trick I haven't seen pulled off that well before, and it propelled me to the end, and set me up to buy the sequel.I still think this book would be best received by its intended young audience, but as an adult, I also want to see how Alcatraz' journey continues.

[alwright1_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Alcatraz Smedry discovers that he's an occulator from the free lands (that is, the unknown-to-us parts of the world outside of that controlled by evil librarians) and, with his exceptional talent (breaking things), accompanies his grandfather on a mission to recover his inheritance .The ideas in this books are wonderfully fun, but it was hard for me to deal with the interrupting asides and the main character's assurances that he was not a good person. The tale kept me awake on the ride home and gave me plenty of delightfully weird details to consider.

[krumbs_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I picked this up at a multi-author book signing, and it was enjoyable I guess. A quick read (huge margins, large point size, under an hour). I got tired of the fake foreshadowing and asides in the narrative flow--the book's "written" by a kid who insists he's not very nice so it's ok for him to fake-foreshadow-as-a-distraction to make the narrative more exciting. I liked the idea of librarians being completely bas@ss, even if they were the bad guys. Not something I'd read again, and I'll only read the sequel because I already have it.

[suzemo · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This is supposed to be a funny, quirky, zany little fantasy series... I could see what Sanderson was going for, but I just didn't find it all that amusing. The little shout-outs to literary works was cute, but that's as far as my amusement went.

I think that I must be too old, or the wrong gender, or both to really appreciate the main character, because he was a teenage boy that was just really irritating. The character would go on about he "is not really nice" or is "sarcastic" or what not, but he was just irritating.

I picked up the book because I like a lot of young adult stuff, I really got hooked by the title, and I like other books by Sanderson, but I was just really disappointed.