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The Scrivener's Bones
(Alcatraz Versus The Evil Librarians #2)
by
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Kindle Edition, 337 pages
Published
February 16th 2016
by Starscape
(first published November 1st 2008)
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Start your review of The Scrivener's Bones (Alcatraz, #2)

Second book in Sanderson's YA series.
I'm listening to these on Audio, and really enjoying them despite the fact that they're only about 6-7 hours long each. Or it might be more fair to say I'm enjoying them *because* they're short and sweet. Bite sized. It's nice to start and audiobook and know I'm not going to be tied to it for a solid month.
This continues in the good tradition of the first book. Exploring the world. More adventure. Good mystery. Forward motion on the main plot. Playful and l ...more
I'm listening to these on Audio, and really enjoying them despite the fact that they're only about 6-7 hours long each. Or it might be more fair to say I'm enjoying them *because* they're short and sweet. Bite sized. It's nice to start and audiobook and know I'm not going to be tied to it for a solid month.
This continues in the good tradition of the first book. Exploring the world. More adventure. Good mystery. Forward motion on the main plot. Playful and l ...more

People that read the first book of the series know that our world is in the clutches of the Evil Librarians. They control the flow of information and he who controls the spice information controls the universe. Exactly like the news outlets do. If this is not the proof that the Evil Librarians are real I do not know what is.
Last time the main hero Alcatraz had to infiltrate their stronghold: a downtown library. This time stakes are much higher than that. Can you think of a biggest baddest plac ...more
Last time the main hero Alcatraz had to infiltrate their stronghold: a downtown library. This time stakes are much higher than that. Can you think of a biggest baddest plac ...more

*** 4.25 ***
A buddy read with the young at heart at BBB!
...The biggest problem is, the adults have one of the most effective recruitment strategies in the world.
Give them enough time, and they'll turn any kid into one of them....
What can I say? How does one review a book full of hilarity and speaks to the most childlike parts of your heart? I am way too aware of my personal limits to know, that I could do this book no favors with attempts at a review. All i am going to say is, Brandon Sanderso ...more
A buddy read with the young at heart at BBB!
...The biggest problem is, the adults have one of the most effective recruitment strategies in the world.
Give them enough time, and they'll turn any kid into one of them....
What can I say? How does one review a book full of hilarity and speaks to the most childlike parts of your heart? I am way too aware of my personal limits to know, that I could do this book no favors with attempts at a review. All i am going to say is, Brandon Sanderso ...more

You could be a young boy, wanting to read an adventure story. You could be a young girl, investigating the truth of the Librarian Conspiracy. You could be a serial killer who specializes in reading books, then seeking out the authors and murdering them in horrible ways....more
(If you happen to fall into that last category, you should know that my name isn't really Alcatraz Smedry, nor is it Brandon Sanderson. My name is really Garth Nix, and you can find me in Australia. Oh, and I insulted your moth

Aug 16, 2016
Eon ♒Windrunner♒
rated it
it was amazing
Recommends it for:
readers in need of awesomeness.
Once upon a time, there was this guy called Barney Stinson and he read a Brandon Sanderson book and when he was done he was so awestruck that he invented a new word and that word was LEGENDARY.
True story.
PS: If you don't believe how awesome this book is, please see the following fact as stated verbatim in this book:
A lot of nature’s laws, however, are hard-set.
There are many more of these than you might expect. In fact, there are even natural laws relating to this book, my favorite of which is ...more
True story.
PS: If you don't believe how awesome this book is, please see the following fact as stated verbatim in this book:
A lot of nature’s laws, however, are hard-set.
There are many more of these than you might expect. In fact, there are even natural laws relating to this book, my favorite of which is ...more

On sale Sept 7 2016 on Amazon for $2.99
Reading with all my other Sandersontitus friends at Buddies Books & Baubles
Yes this series is Middle Grade and sort of ridiculous but it is awesome. It is like Sanderson’s way to blow off steam, try things that he can’t put into one of his Adult Fantasy’s and stretch that uber creative mind of his.
For Instance:
• All the Smedry’s are named before/after prisons. Hence names like Alcatraz, Lebanon, Attica, Sing and Australia (think about it).
• Every superpower ...more
Reading with all my other Sandersontitus friends at Buddies Books & Baubles
Yes this series is Middle Grade and sort of ridiculous but it is awesome. It is like Sanderson’s way to blow off steam, try things that he can’t put into one of his Adult Fantasy’s and stretch that uber creative mind of his.
For Instance:
• All the Smedry’s are named before/after prisons. Hence names like Alcatraz, Lebanon, Attica, Sing and Australia (think about it).
• Every superpower ...more

June 2022: Reread for the release of Bastille vs The Evil Librarians.
-----------------------------------------------
Aug 2016: Reread with BB&B for the release of The Dark Talent
I think I don't have to keep saying how high my regard is for Brandon Sanderson is anymore. These middle grade books are quite game-changing. The fourth-wall breaking alone was not the reason - it was the approach and how Sanderson made tongue-in-cheek jabs at the writing profession in Alcatraz's voice as the narrator of ...more
-----------------------------------------------
Aug 2016: Reread with BB&B for the release of The Dark Talent
I think I don't have to keep saying how high my regard is for Brandon Sanderson is anymore. These middle grade books are quite game-changing. The fourth-wall breaking alone was not the reason - it was the approach and how Sanderson made tongue-in-cheek jabs at the writing profession in Alcatraz's voice as the narrator of ...more

I can't even say that I've read a book for teenagers, it is so cleverly crafted that you love it from start to finish.
...more

Silly fun.
There really isn't a lot to say about this book. The story is entertaining. The characters are fun but don't really have any depth. Not really sure they are meant to. I think I would have given it four stars if not for how distracting the author's narration became after a while. I know it's meant to be funny but it really distracts from the pacing of the story after a while. I don't know maybe I'm trying to take the book too seriously or something.
I still enjoyed it enough tha

4 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum http://bibliosanctum.com/2016/02/22/s...
No sooner had I finished Alcatraz vs. The Evil Librarians than I was already picking up the sequel. I might as well admit it: I’m completely addicted.
In book two The Scrivener’s Bones, Alcatraz and the gang are yet again infiltrating a library. But this time, it will be nothing like gaining entry into the downtown local branch. Here, our characters will be heading into arguably the most famous and well-known library in the ...more
No sooner had I finished Alcatraz vs. The Evil Librarians than I was already picking up the sequel. I might as well admit it: I’m completely addicted.
In book two The Scrivener’s Bones, Alcatraz and the gang are yet again infiltrating a library. But this time, it will be nothing like gaining entry into the downtown local branch. Here, our characters will be heading into arguably the most famous and well-known library in the ...more

No suprise on my rating here..It's Brandon Sanderson Duh!!!
This was even better than the first so I'm briskly moving unto Alcatraz versus the Knights of Crystallia
Okay I've started reading it already ( like about an hour ago) but was so caught up in it's awesomeness that I forgot to update my GR page.
Read this series people, it's down right hilarious, wonderful and entertaining. ...more
This was even better than the first so I'm briskly moving unto Alcatraz versus the Knights of Crystallia
Okay I've started reading it already ( like about an hour ago) but was so caught up in it's awesomeness that I forgot to update my GR page.
Read this series people, it's down right hilarious, wonderful and entertaining. ...more

The Epic Adventure continues with flare!

First Sentence: So, there I was, slumped in my chair, waiting in a drab airport terminal, munching absently on a bag of stale potato chips.
In all honesty I enjoyed Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians more than this one. I'm not saying this one was bad, but it keeps to the trend set in the first book. With the first book it was new and enchanting - with the second book it became a bit expectant, and that takes some of the magic out of it.
The magic system i ...more

First Sentence: So, there I was, slumped in my chair, waiting in a drab airport terminal, munching absently on a bag of stale potato chips.
In all honesty I enjoyed Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians more than this one. I'm not saying this one was bad, but it keeps to the trend set in the first book. With the first book it was new and enchanting - with the second book it became a bit expectant, and that takes some of the magic out of it.
The magic system i ...more

Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths.
My rating is a solid 3.5 stars.
After thoroughly enjoying our first adventure with Alcatraz, my youngest son and I quickly began the sequel; both of us having become fans of this quirky, fun series.
In The Scrivener’s Bones, our hero and friends find themselves with a new mission: infiltrating another library. (Well, if one is fighting evil librarians, they are usual found in libraries, right?) But this time they are heading to the most famous one (arguably) in t ...more
My rating is a solid 3.5 stars.
After thoroughly enjoying our first adventure with Alcatraz, my youngest son and I quickly began the sequel; both of us having become fans of this quirky, fun series.
In The Scrivener’s Bones, our hero and friends find themselves with a new mission: infiltrating another library. (Well, if one is fighting evil librarians, they are usual found in libraries, right?) But this time they are heading to the most famous one (arguably) in t ...more

3.5: En algunas partes me aburrió, pero en general es una muy buena secuela. Muy entretenida.
The trouble with being different is that people start defining you by what you are instead of by who you are.
The trouble with being different is that people start defining you by what you are instead of by who you are.

Sep 16, 2018
Laura
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read-in-2018,
great-ya
I just love this series!!!
Oh, you didn't want to hear that? I'm sorry. You'll just have to forget that I wrote it. There are several convenient ways to do that. I hear hitting yourself on the head with a blunt object can be very effective. You should try using one of Brandon Sanderson's fantasy novels. They're big enough and goodness knows, that's really the only useful thing to do with them.
LOL - DON'T SHOOT ME!! I didn't say that! Brandon did! Or more exactly Alcatraz Smedry
This is nothing ...more
Oh, you didn't want to hear that? I'm sorry. You'll just have to forget that I wrote it. There are several convenient ways to do that. I hear hitting yourself on the head with a blunt object can be very effective. You should try using one of Brandon Sanderson's fantasy novels. They're big enough and goodness knows, that's really the only useful thing to do with them.
LOL - DON'T SHOOT ME!! I didn't say that! Brandon did! Or more exactly Alcatraz Smedry
This is nothing ...more

I am sorry. It is a bad habit to laugh at someone's autobiography. Alcatraz put his soul into writing his memoir. He did it at the expense of his life and he even hired Brandon Sanderson to publish this book. He has done the most vile thing ever - reaching out to a fantasy author whose books adorn the place of dumbbells in many gyms - just for his homeland, the Freeland. For the safety of the Freelanders. ( Note to Alcatraz - Majority of the people cannot use Sanderson's book as a blunt object t
...more

Hitting the 'quirky' button a little too hard.
Wavering too much between a book that's actually aimed at the Middle Grade level and trying to be a bit too "self-aware", as it were. It was hard to lose myself in the story because he was trying to do too much.
Hopefully, we'll eventually hit a sweetspot.
There were also, again, a few too many digs at romance novels for comfort. I wouldn't want to have been a young girl reading this and being told that romance books are something to laugh at and poke ...more
Wavering too much between a book that's actually aimed at the Middle Grade level and trying to be a bit too "self-aware", as it were. It was hard to lose myself in the story because he was trying to do too much.
Hopefully, we'll eventually hit a sweetspot.
There were also, again, a few too many digs at romance novels for comfort. I wouldn't want to have been a young girl reading this and being told that romance books are something to laugh at and poke ...more

Slightly more annoying than the first book in that "I am an experienced adult who has read a billion books" way, but I still overall enjoyed the ride.
Owned physical book 2/2 for the month
Overall owned book 3/5 for the month ...more
Owned physical book 2/2 for the month
Overall owned book 3/5 for the month ...more

4 stars
The Scrivener's Bones by Brandon Sanderson is a hilariously fun book, perfect for middle grade.
It is hilarious, smart and just brilliant! ...more
The Scrivener's Bones by Brandon Sanderson is a hilariously fun book, perfect for middle grade.
It is hilarious, smart and just brilliant! ...more

Another enjoyable installment in the "fictional" tales of Alcatraz Smedry. Here, Alcatraz must stomach a flight in a glass aircraft, attempt to rescue members of his family, and take on the Scrivener's Bones. Quite a lot, no? Additionally, Alcatraz must grow as a person, must decide if he wants to assume the leadership role that's been thrust upon him.
I thoroughly enjoyed the second Alcatraz book! The plot was interesting and fast paced, and the new characters were fun and unique. I even found m ...more
I thoroughly enjoyed the second Alcatraz book! The plot was interesting and fast paced, and the new characters were fun and unique. I even found m ...more

Nov 02, 2008
Kathryn
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy-sci-fi,
tyler-and-kate-bookclub
I loved the first "Alcatraz" novel--it was so funny, off-beat, original, such a great "voice" and intriguing philosophical ideas. I'm not sure why I wasn't more into this one--perhaps it was just a case of being "mismatched" with wrong book at the wrong time since Tyler still really enjoyed this second book and I see many others did, as well. I still thought it was amusing but it just didn't seem to move fast enough for me--or, perhaps, to go far enough--and I found myself being a little bored r
...more

Feb 04, 2021
Lavender Bleu
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
recommended-fantasy
Another great page-turner. I highly recommend this book, and it's undoubtedly unreliable narrator. The sheer amount of randomness alone will make it interesting and worth your while.
...more

Sanderson, B. (2008). Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener’s Bones. New York: Scholastic
Press.
0439925533
So I know I reviewed the first Alcatraz book a few weeks ago, but what can I say, I enjoyed it. So here’s the second book. This time around, Alcatraz must search for his father and grandfather in the great Library of Alexandria (turns out it wasn’t destroyed, just moved. It’s a conspiracy).
While I will admit to loving this fantasy/science fiction series, I have a very small bone to pick with the ...more
Press.
0439925533
So I know I reviewed the first Alcatraz book a few weeks ago, but what can I say, I enjoyed it. So here’s the second book. This time around, Alcatraz must search for his father and grandfather in the great Library of Alexandria (turns out it wasn’t destroyed, just moved. It’s a conspiracy).
While I will admit to loving this fantasy/science fiction series, I have a very small bone to pick with the ...more

Aug 20, 2016
Chelsea
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
audible-collection,
series-collection
I highly enjoyed this second book. I missed Grandpa Smedry since it was missing for majorly of the book. Which is why Alcatraz along with some new family members, along with Bastille with her mother. Along with that we have more Smedry talents which just seem more and more ridicules. But I love meeting these Oculator's and seeing what there talent really is.
Am also glad to learn that Alcatraz is not as dumb as he seemed at first. He does have his momens were he says stupid things where Bastille ...more
Am also glad to learn that Alcatraz is not as dumb as he seemed at first. He does have his momens were he says stupid things where Bastille ...more

Read this one to the twins (8 years old) and they loved it just as much as they loved the first one. It involves Alcatraz and his friends going into the Library of Alexandria in search of his father and grandfather. They’re running from a dangerous hunter who is half-man, half-machine, and part evil magic, and they’re at risk from the curators of the library, who can steal their souls if they check out a book. It’s clever and fast-paced, sometimes silly, and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny.

[5 Stars] This is my favorite book out of the series so far! It was just so good! I adore how clever all the characters are. I adore the way Brandon Sanderson has this entire metafiction aspect to these books. I also really loved the setting of this one. All in all, if you like weird whimsical middle grade fantasy you really need to read this book series.

Reread review: to come
This book we got new characters and go to the Library of Alexandria to try and find Grandpa Smedry and maybe someone else…It wasn’t as…batshit crazy as the first one. Perhaps because I’m used to the weirdness or Sanderson toned to down for…y’know plot. However, I still enjoyed it!
~Spoilers~
“Dangerous, but unseen. (Kind of like those troublemakers who read fantasy novels.)”—Page 16
Yeah…Hey wait a minute!
“There was a pause. A dreadful, terrible, long annoying, frustrating, de ...more
This book we got new characters and go to the Library of Alexandria to try and find Grandpa Smedry and maybe someone else…It wasn’t as…batshit crazy as the first one. Perhaps because I’m used to the weirdness or Sanderson toned to down for…y’know plot. However, I still enjoyed it!
~Spoilers~
“Dangerous, but unseen. (Kind of like those troublemakers who read fantasy novels.)”—Page 16
Yeah…Hey wait a minute!
“There was a pause. A dreadful, terrible, long annoying, frustrating, de ...more

“Laugh when books come to a close, even if the endings aren’t happy.”
Honestly, there’s only a few better feelings than when your tears are falling down to the last pages of the book, and you don’t want it to be over but at the same time you just can’t stop reading… It hurts in such a beautiful way.
Was this particular novel the same? Well, I’m not going to spoil anything for you, so you’ll have to find it out for yourself.
I have no idea how I could love Brandon Sanderson’s novels even more at thi ...more
Honestly, there’s only a few better feelings than when your tears are falling down to the last pages of the book, and you don’t want it to be over but at the same time you just can’t stop reading… It hurts in such a beautiful way.
Was this particular novel the same? Well, I’m not going to spoil anything for you, so you’ll have to find it out for yourself.
I have no idea how I could love Brandon Sanderson’s novels even more at thi ...more

[scrolls through some reviews]
So, like, is no one going to talk about how this is just a higher-stakes version of the first book?
This observation, of course, doesn't reflect on the quality of the book because a second heist to introduce new concepts and characters is still fun to read. I just hope the third book mixes it up a little bit (and from what I hear, it mixes it up a lot). However, this means that the faults and strengths of the first book are still here, even if the execution is a bit ...more
So, like, is no one going to talk about how this is just a higher-stakes version of the first book?
This observation, of course, doesn't reflect on the quality of the book because a second heist to introduce new concepts and characters is still fun to read. I just hope the third book mixes it up a little bit (and from what I hear, it mixes it up a lot). However, this means that the faults and strengths of the first book are still here, even if the execution is a bit ...more

So Alcatraz is a really something special. This joins the first book as one of the most enjoyable, fun reading you can ever do. Brandon Sanderson really likes to have fun with Alcatraz
After the first book you figure you have a handle on what could happen. Nooooo, just like the first book surprises are just a page away. Never a dull moment. Alcatraz goes after a second library this time. The most famous library in history. The Great Library of Alexandria!
But there are no Librarians there. What ...more
After the first book you figure you have a handle on what could happen. Nooooo, just like the first book surprises are just a page away. Never a dull moment. Alcatraz goes after a second library this time. The most famous library in history. The Great Library of Alexandria!
But there are no Librarians there. What ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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Fantasy Buddy Reads: Alcatraz vs. Scrivener's Bones [Sep 10, 2018] | 50 | 33 | Sep 16, 2018 11:16PM | |
how was the librey of alexandria | 18 | 6 | Dec 16, 2015 06:15AM |
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Brandon’s major books for the second half of 2016 are The Dark Talent, the final volume in Alcatraz Smedry’s autobiographical account of his battle against the Evil Librarians who secretly rule our world, and Arcanum Unbounded, the collection of short fiction in the Cosmere universe that includes the Mistborn series and the Stormlight
Archive, among others. This collection features The Emperor’s S ...more
Archive, among others. This collection features The Emperor’s S ...more
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Alcatraz Versus The Evil Librarians
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