Alcatraz Versus The Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson

Alcatraz Versus The Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson

This book is quite special. Besides being a great story, it is a book about seeing the world differently. It shows how a change in perception can break you out of ruts and rough spots. The power of the main character, Alcatraz Smedry is to break things. He can break just about anything by accident. Door handles fall off in his hands, the stove breaks, the pots break, just about everything breaks in his hands.

When Alcatraz Smedry, who is in foster care, turns thirteen, he receives a special bag of sand from his parents. This prompts the evil librarians to steal it from him. it is very unique sands from the desert of Rashid.

Grandpa Smedry rescues him from being killed by librarians. Thus begins a fantastic adventure. The librarians are secretly controlling everything by providing misinformation about how the world really works. There are really six continents, dinosaurs are alive, and the whole world is a lie.

This book is wonderfully silly. Alcatraz Smedry reminds us that he really is no hero and that it was all a mistake. We learn that stairs are more advanced than elevators because they don't break and provide exercise, swords are more advanced than guns, and magic is as real as physics.

The book is filled with metaphors. One of the magics used in the book is oculation. Different eyeglasses give different powers. There are tracking lenses, fire lenses, and torture lenses. Different ways of seeing give you different powers. The world becomes a very different place for the main character, Alcatraz Smedry. Alcatraz even has a companion, Bastille who is his protrectress. Alcatraz and Bastille of course are the names of prisons.

One of my favorite settings is the giant library hidden inside the regular library. Imagine vaulted ceilings, cantaloupe shaped lamps, and overstuffed shelves with metal plaques at the ends proclaiming their contents.

I even didn't mind the caricatures of librarians. Imagine a lady in a black skirt with a bun and horn rimmed glasses, or a heavily muscled gentleman in a pink dress shirt with pink bow tie and sweater vest. It was done with just the right amount of silliness.

Despite being written for 4th graders, this book has a timeless quality to it. It is also 303 pages long which makes me question the rating of 4th grade reading level. I think it is closer to young adult. It is like the Cricket In Times Sqare, The Phantom Tollbooth, or Alice in Wonderland. In a modern sense, I might say that I liked it as much as Un Lun Dun by China Mieville. The fantastic elements are accessible to almost anyone. The setting is at the borders of our world.

Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review. I saw the cover and title and immediately grabbed it. It is a true "gimme" cover which makes you want to just grab it. It deserves to be read. There is even a second book in the series which just came out, Alcatraz Versus The Scrivener's Bones. I put it on hold already.

Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (A Trip to the City)

Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (A Trip to the City)

I read the Ten Roads to Riches on the way into the city on the subway. Then I finally got to the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art. There was a five dollar fee to enter. I found out the comics library was still in upstate New York in storage. Still, it was really interesting looking around the exhibit of Kim Deitch's works. There was original art work from Gothic Blimp Works, an underground tabloid comic done in 1965. Later that day when I visited Roger's Time Tunnel, a comic book store, Roger told me that the last time he had seen a copy of Gothic Blimp Works was seven years ago. He showed me a few listed on ebay with a $120 starting bid.

There were also pages from Boulevard of Broken Dreams, a graphic novel which we have at our library. One of Deitch's characters that is very interesting is Waldo, a kind of psychedelic version of Felix the cat. There were also a variety of other works throughout the room, including color pages from Fontaines Fables. It was a very interesting exhibit.

This is a short video from Youtube interviewing Kim Deitch at the MOCCA opening reception. His frenetic energy also shows in his art work.

After I went to the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, I went to Housing Works Used Book Cafe and looked around for a bit. They had an interesting young adult paperback which I bought. Alcatraz Versus The Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson. It is c2007 by Scholastic for half cover price $3.50. I just couldn't hlep myself. It is a perfectly wicked title. It is worth having just for the cover.

I had a chance to walk through the village. I stopped in the Strand Bookstore and used the bathroom. It is often hard to find decent bathrooms when you are walking around New York. I was going to stop in Forbidden Planet, but when I went inside, it was so packed that I could not walk three feet without bumping into a person.

I then walked down to Roger's Time Machine. I have to give them a plug. Roger always gives me a very nice deal when I buy comics from him. Today, I bought Andromeda #6 Alan Dean Foster Special issue c1979, Star Reach #7 c1977, Myth Adventures #2, 3, 4, and 6 by Warp Graphics based on the novels by Robert Asprin and drawn by Phil Foglio for $19 total which is a very good price. The store had a lot of people coming in right before thanksgiving.
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