Quick one this. (Both book and review.)
Imprinted is a novelette in Jim C. Hines' ongoing Magic ex Libris series, which is about Libriomancers. They can pull things out of books that have sufficient readers to give them believability. Bit like Tinkerbell's old "clap your hands to save her life" bit. The protagonist of the main series is Isaac Vanio, a chap who likely reminds most people who read it, of themselves.
It's a very enjoyable series, playing with a lot of genre tropes while managing to avoid sliding into that trend of "Look! Here's a thing you're nostalgic about! Please remember it fondly, instead of noticing the lack of plot" that I've seen an increasing amount of recently. It helps that often the things referenced in the books are other fictional books, so Hines is able to make sure it all flows together nicely.
Fair warning, if you've not read previous books in the series, this may not make much sense/contain minor spoilers.
Anyway, this is very much a short sidestep, into the acclimatisation of Jeneta Aboderin into the New Millennium commune. It's a very brief one, being a sneaky novelette, kicking in probably around 15,000 words. (That's about the usual. I didn't count. Managed to read it in one bath, anyway.)
Jeneta is still working on her entirely unexpected ability to use Libriomancy on digital books, and is attempting to pull an ansible, to allow interplanetary communications, through a massive screen when she finds herself accidentally summoning shadow monsters from the demon dimension. So begins a tale about trying to get them back, mostly.
Not a bad little story, though does feel a little rushed at points. That is sort of the risk with something this short, and I did find myself forgetting who one of the characters was after their very brief early scene, before they reappeared later, causing me to flick backwards to check their name. Five points to whoever guesses which it was.
Still, I enjoyed it, and it did briefly fill my need for more Magic ex Libris, but did also convince me to go back and do a re-read.
If you like the series, obviously pick it up. If you've never heard of it, go get Libriomancer instead. (Also, if you're a fan of Jim C. Hines, don't forget Terminal Alliance just came out.)
Recommended.
Tagged: Book Urban fantasy Wizard vs monsters Novelette Print