The Palace of Glass: The Forbidden Library: Volume 3

Written by Django Wexler

Narrated by Cassandra Morris

An action-packed middle-grade fantasy with classic writing, a resourceful heroine, a host of magical creatures, and no shortage of narrow escapes—for fans of Story Thieves, Inkheart, Coraline, and Harry Potter.

For Alice, danger threatens from inside the library as well as out. Having figured out the role her master and uncle, Geryon, played in her father's disappearance, Alice turns to Ending—the mysterious, magical giant feline and guardian of Geryon's library—for a spell to incapacitate Geryon. But, like all cats, Ending is adept at keeping secrets and Alice doesn't know the whole story. Once she traps Geryon with Ending's spell, there's no one to stop the other Readers from sending their apprentices to pillage Geryon's library. As Alice prepares to face an impending attack from the combined might of the Readers, she gathers what forces she can—the apprentices she once thought might be her friends, the magical creatures imprisoned in Geryon's library—not knowing who, if anyone, she can trust.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
• Release date: Apr 12, 2016
• ISBN: 9780147525529

Django Wexler

Django Wexler is the author of the Shadow Campaigns novels. He graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh with degrees in creative writing and computer science, and worked for the university in artificial intelligence research. He is also the author of three middle-grade fantasy novels, The Forbidden Library, The Mad Apprentice, and The Palace of Glass.

[heatherlinc · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I am thoroughly enjoying this fantasy series for younger readers. Like its predecessors, this was a fast, action-packed page-turner, especially in the second half as Alice and her friends fought the Ouroborean. I have found each book of The Forbidden Library" series to be better than the one before, and I am looking forward to seeing how the end pans out.

In "The Palace of Glass", Alice faced moral dilemmas and new dangers as her powers increased, while old friends were reintroduced and new ones proved their worth. Flicker, the fire-sprite was a terrific character and I loved the dialogue between he and Alice. He often had me chuckling at his comments.

At first I didn't like Alice as much as I had in the previous two books as she was angry and determined to seek revenge on her father's death, despite knowing how disappointed he would have been in her actions. However, throughout the book Alice's personal growth was admirable and I liked how she was constantly looking for non-violent solutions. She is a strong heroine and a good role-model for younger girls, in particular. Can't wait to see how Wexler is going to conclude this fabulous series.

[dono421846 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The series gets more engaging as it advances. Although individual episodes still often come off as straight forward and quickly resolved (e.g., the encounter with the titular Palace of Glass, despite its buildup as a locus of madness and great evils, was handled very quickly), the cumulative story line has become surprisingly gripping. Characters we like actually die, which gives the sense that something important is at stake in the adventures. I'll look forward to the fourth volume.