The Lord of the Libraries

by Mel Odom

Book Overview

In "The Destruction of the Books," the Vault of All Known Knowledge was destroyed and its learned caretaker abducted, leaving the forces against darkness without resource and leadership. The world as... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765307243
• ISBN13: 9780765307248
• Release Date: July 2005
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Past, Present, and Future Collide

The Lord of the Libraries follows The Rover and The Destruction of the Books in Mel Odom's fantasy series. Again, following the tale of librarian and adventurer Juhg, the endearing dweller must set off on the most difficult journey of his life. The Library of All Known Knowledge has been destroyed, Grandmagister Wick has been kidnapped, and Juhg has been sent off to find the legendary Book of Time. While Juhg would rather try to rescue the grandmagister, his cohorts (comprised of a ragtag lot of humans, dwarves, elves, and a wizard) convince him that he must go after the book instead. More lives are at stake than just the grandmagister's. The Book of Time is a dangerous book with considerable power. The book was broken in to four parts and hidden away separately. Juhg must decipher clues and track down the pieces of the Book of Time before other groups with more nefarious plans can get their hands on it. The Lord of the Libraries is even more exciting than the previous installments. Odom has written another wonderful story, full of adventure, humor and fantasy. Continued in the recently release Quest for the Trilogy, I hope he continues writing tales set in this fantasy world for quite a while.

A great read

Lord of the Libraries finishes the story begun in the Rover and Destruction of the Books. It fills you in on the real story behind the destruction of the old world and the libriaries. It finishes the story in grand fashion. Juhg defies the typical dweller stereotype and becomes a true hero, finding the four pieces to the Book of Time and rescuing Wick. He fulfills his destiny to bring reading, writing and books back to the world, allowing the races to break out of the stagnant rut they had been in for thousands of years. Be prepared for some suprising plot twists. This is a much more mature book than the Rover. It has a darker feel to it, but it is also much more insteresting and compelling. I had a hard time putting it down. Yet agian, Mel's characters and world are rich and vibrant and his story telling superb. A must read for fantasy lovers.

Great!

This sequel to The Destruction of the Books picks up right after that book, returning us to Mel Odom's world of elves, dwarves, wizards and (hobbit-like) dwellers. Librarian Juhg is hot on the trail of the kidnapped Grandmagister Edgewick Lamplighter. But, it soon becomes apparent that to rescue Wick, he must first track down a magical artifact of great power, The Book of Time. However, along this quest he begins to learn things about those who accompany him, and about the world he lives in. He will face great challenges, and greater dangers...even from those he thought he could trust! Overall, I found this to be a great book! It starts out good, but when the quest for The Book of Time gets underway, it really turns absolutely gripping. I found myself glued to my chair, unable to put the book down. If you like a good book of elves, dwarves and wizards, then you will love this book. I loved the many settings that the character journey through, and I loved whole premise of the series. This is a great book, one that I give my highest recommendations to!

An outstanding novel

Dwellers are librarians. They don't fight; they protect books. They are quick on their feet and their intelligent minds tell them to hide at the first sign of danger. Jug is a dweller. He is also a First-level Librarian at the Vault-of-all-Known-Knowledge. When the grandmagister is kidnapped while rescuing Jug after a trap is set off in the Vault-of-all-Known-Knowledge, Jug is heart-broken. He goes in pursuit on the ship One-eyed Peggie. However, when the goblinkin ship holding the grandmagister hostage continues past Imarish, the city of the docks, where the grandmagister told Jug to go to find something that was hidden there, Jug has no choice but to stay in Imarish and let One-Eyed Peggie pursue the goblinkin ship without him. Jug sets out on an adventure that is filled with danger, an adventure that no normal dweller would even consider undertaking. But Jug is determined to save the grandmagister, and this quest is the only way. Can Jug conquer his fears of the adventure, his distrust of Craugh, the wizard who revealed his horrible past to Jug, and above all, rescue the grandmagister? Mel Odom's Lord of the Libraries is a great read. You are never sure whom you can trust, which leaves readers in suspense throughout the entire book. There are twists and turns from beginning to end, and even when you're sure you finally know the outcome of one thing or another, something happens that you never expected. Readers who love fantasy and adventure will enjoy this book immensely, as this sequel to Destruction of the Books is an outstanding novel. Reviewed by a student reviewer for Flamingnet Book Reviews www.flamingnet.com Preteen, teen, and young adult book reviews and recommendations

First Level Librarian Jugh must save Wick and "The Book of Time"

The second part of a trilogy usually ends at the narrative's nadir, and that was certainly the case with "The Destruction of the Books." The assault on the Vault of All Known Knowledge by Lord Kharrion's collection of Dark Riders, Grymmlings, and Boneblights not only results in the titular disaster, but sees the abduction of Grandmagister Edgewick Lamplighter. As far as First Level Librian Jugh is concerned, the preservation of what remains of the library is secondary to rescuing Wick. But it turns out the Grandmagister wanted to be taken as part of a grand design Wick and the wizard Craugh have been planning to find the pieces of "The Book of Time." Now it is up to Jugh to accomplish this task, joined by a fellowship of allies who will try to keep him alive every time he gets into another sticky situation. By this point in the trilogy that began with "The Rover," Mel Odom will have been abandoned by those who want to reduce these books to the level of a mere Tolkien pastiche, which leaves those of us who like the fast-paced action and focus more on their uniqueness. Yes, the main characters are a halfling and a wizard, but one of the things I liked about "Lord of the Libraries" (nudge, nudge, wink, wink, J.R.R.) is that Jugh does not trust Craugh, especially once he finds out about the wizard's past involving "The Book of Time" and his role in bringing about the Cataclysm of Lord Kharrion. Every single time Craugh says or does anything in this novel, Jugh has these "yes, but" thoughts that I find even more amusing than thinly veiled jokes about Budweiser commercials and the like. I also liked the prologue to "Lord of the Libraries," in which the importance of the Vault of All Known Knowledge is underscored by the activities of Novice Librarian Dockett Butterblender in the wake of the attack. For that matter, my favorite scene in the book is when Jugh, weakened by wounds and shaking from a fever, reveals a book to someone who has never seen one before. Jugh cannot stop talking about the books in the library, the acts of the Grandmagister, and all the things that he has read about. This is key because in his heart Jugh does not want to be just a librarian, simply preserving books and the knowledge they contain. He wants to be a teacher. For Jugh, copying books so that they can be preserved is not as important as copying books so they can be shared. These stories are told in the Dark Ages of this world, but Jugh represents the hope of a true Renaissance. A lot happens in this book. When I was within 100 pages of the end I was wondering how Odom was going to be able to play out his entire end game in so few pages, but the answer is simply that things start moving in "Lord of the Libraries" in the first chapter and they never really stop until the last one. More importantly, Odom is coming up with interesting things in virtually every chapter, so the pace is quick but the story does not remain simple. Since this is the 21st century