Sword and Pen

By Rachel Caine

With the future of the Great Library in doubt, the unforgettable characters from Ink and Bone must decide if it's worth saving in this thrilling adventure in the New York Times bestselling series.

The corrupt leadership of the Great Library has fallen. But with the Archivist plotting his return to power, and the Library under siege from outside empires and kingdoms, its future is uncertain. Jess Brightwell and his friends must come together as never before, to forge a new future for the Great Library...or see everything it stood for crumble.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Release date: Sep 3, 2019
• ISBN: 9780451489258

Rachel Caine

RACHEL CAINE is the internationally bestselling author of thirty novels, including the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Morganville Vampires young adult series, and the bestselling Weather Warden series. She contributed to My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding from St. Martin's Press and Chicks Kick Butt from Tor.

Reviews for Sword and Pen

[evelynnygren · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wonderful ending to this amazing series! Rachel Caine has done a marvelous job with this story and I am pleasantly surprised at its ending. I am sad for those who were lost but happy for the new and different beginnings of these students' lives. I can only imagine where they could go from here and that their future is bright and prosperous. Again, praise to Rachel Caine for her lovely story!

[passion4reading_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This final instalment of the Great Library series picks up moments after the final events in Smoke and Iron and, just like in the previous volume, we follow the group of reluctant rebels separately, with each chapter dedicated to a person's POV. There is no scarcity of action or fantastic set pieces, but I somehow found it difficult to engage with the characters this time. Maybe this is because there are some plot developments that I found rather hard to believe (rather more suspension of disbelief than has been required for the series and its premise so far, that is). Though there is some loss at the end, the finale sees everything tied up far too neatly and brightly.

[krau0098 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the fifth and final book in The Great Library series. I got this through netgalley to review. I loved this conclusion to The Great Library series but am very sad to see this series end.The old Archivist has fled and is plotting a return to power while Jess and crew work to stabilize the city of Alexandria and forge a new and improved Great Library.There's a lot of action and intrigue in this book and it does an excellent job of tying up the events that have happened throughout the series. It ended up being a quick read for me and I enjoyed it a lot. This is one of those series and books that I love so much...I am just not sure what else to say about it. I loved the characters, the world, the action, the intrigue, the steampunk elements and will sorely miss these characters and this world.Overall this was an amazing conclusion to an amazing series. I absolutely loved this and would love to see more books set in this world and/or about these characters. I highly recommend this series I think it is one a broad audience will enjoy!

[dono421846 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I've given the final volume of the Great Library series the full five stars, for its own quality, but also for the achievement of the entire run.The books benefit from solid and original plotting, and consistent character development. The relationship between Wolfe and Santi rang particularly true, and was the one romantic dyad that anchored the entire story. Similarly impressive was Caine's ability to convincingly convey a cosmopolitan world without recourse to cliche or shallow gestures. I had no difficulty in believing the world of her story was as diverse and colorful as she intended, and this was no small achievement. Excepting only the "old man," the author did a good job of portraying the various sides and factions as motivated by something other than simple "evil." Even when resulting in bad outcomes, many thought they were genuinely doing the right thing, or at least pursuing worthwhile goals (and if it resulted in some personal benefit, what's the harm?). That moral ambivalence made the story more complex than something like the Lord of the Rings, where everyone is either clearly evil or virtuous.

[infjsarah · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Thoroughly enjoyed this conclusion to "The Great Library" series. I have really enjoyed this series and the conclusion didn't disappoint. It is going to be in my top 5 for the year. In fact, someone should make a TV series of this - it would work really well IMHO. I greatly recommend this series.