The Knights of Crystallia: Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians

Below is an excerpt of my full review of the first four books in the Alcatraz series:This review goes in line with that of the Alcatraz series, more specifically the attitude of a Smedry. You see, they are trouble makers, and are prone to getting themselves into life threatening situations. They have an uncharacteristic attitude when dealing with any situation. The more danger, the more excited they are. Through thick and thin, Smedry's are rarely to be found with a sour mood. They are bubbly, charismatic, bold, audacious, and have a knack for getting themselves into trouble. Wait, I said that did I not? Gack! You see, I imitating a number of characters found in this book. Granpa Smedry, Alcatraz, talking dinosaurs. Yes, you read correctly, talking dinosaurs with a British accent, and as we know, those Brits are refined, calm, and well-mannered; dinosaurs are no exception! They really know how to cause trouble for Librarians, like eating the entire C section of the Science Fiction shelf and moving six books out of their proper places. Okay, so maybe they are useless as Bastille said... The only thing worse than talking dinosaurs are talking rocks, but I tell you, the dinosaurs are a treat! To round off this paragraph, I leave you this quote from Grandpa Smedry if you think I am making any of this up:I am a Smedry, and we do ridiculous, unexpected, eccentric things like this all the time.The Alcatraz series is a tremendously fun read. My friend that recommended Mistorn and Elantris did not bother giving these books a shot because of their young adult emphasis, despite being a lover of Sanderson's work. Aspiring Asimovs, what a horrible reason! Lots of fun, many laugh out loud moments, tons of humor and wit, with a great story to boot! The books are written from the first person perspective of Alcatraz Smedry, written as a biography of how he became the hero of the Free Kingdom and to dispel the many myths about how it happened. The books are much shorter than all of Sanderson's other works, easily read in two or three days, and are extremely enjoyable. I cannot recommend these books enough!Unfortunately Scholastic decided to not sign Sanderson for the fifth and final book. According to his assistant via Twitter, Sanderson will finish the series, but it's still a few years out, which is a shame. When I found out about this, I shook my fist at Scholastic and demanded they be burned alive with the Firebringer's Lens. You'll have to read the books to know what that's about ;)

SPOILERS AHEAD>SPOILERS AHEAD>SPOILERS AHEAD>Ok, you've read past the warnings, so prepared to be shown some of the brilliance that comes from the mind of Brandon Sanderson.******************************************************************************************************************************"I glanced to the side, then jumped as I saw an enormous reptile crawling along the sides of the buildings towards us. Like a spider crawling across the front of a fence."Dragon!" I yelled, pointing."Brilliant observation, Smedley," Bastille noted besides me.I was too alarmed to make an amazing comeback. Fortunately, I'm the author of this book, so I can rewrite history as I feel necessary. Let's try that again.Ahem.I glanced to the side, whereupon I noticed a dangerous scaly lizard slithering its way along the sides of the buildings, obviously bent on devouring us all."Behold!" I bellowed. " 'Tis a foul beast of the netherhells. Stand behind me and I shall slay it!""Oh, Alcatraz," Bastille breathed. "Thou art awesomeish and manlyish""Lo, let it be such," I said."******************************************************************************************************************************This is the typical wit and banter on page after page of this wonderfully light hearted and imaginative Alcatraz series of books. It's full of ideas you wouldn't have dreamed of, such as having talents like tripping, being late, being obnoxious and breaking things! I was hooked from the very first book, and to me, it seems like Mr Sanderson gets better and better with each book! He even makes fun of himself a few times, calling his own fantasy books "boring" and that Brandon Sanderson is actually a pseudonym for Alcatraz Smedley, the hero of the book. How cool is that?This time, Alcatraz finally makes it back to the homeland he's never set foot on before- the Free Kingdom of Nalhalla. But even here the evil schemes of the wicked Librarians are afoot. But never fear, for Alcatraz and his friends and family are on the scene!This is a fab and fun book for all ages. If you havent read the first book- Alcatraz and the Evil Librarians, read it now!If you've read the first two books already, what are you waiting for? Grab this one ASAP!Did I like this book?I loved it!

I'm a fan of everything Sanderson writes, but I don't like his young adult series as much as his works for adults. The main character, Alcatraz, tends to go a bit over the top trying to convince people he's not a hero, and it gets to the point where you go "Ok, ok, you're trying to convince us you're not a hero - I get it" But that aside, the series is quite good. Sanderson riffs on Harry Potter, coming of age stories, family, and, well, everything else he can get ahold of in this series. It's really quite amusing, and his whacky magic system fits perfectly with the haphazard magical world he's created. The main hero ("I'm not a hero" quotes aside) is quite sarcastic - but likable, which is why I think the series ultimately works. Too many books have characters that just aren't very likable, and so readers react negatively to the book as well as the character. I can't stand the Thomas Covenant series, for example.In this book, the reader finally gets to see what the magical world is like (books 1 and 2 were set in our world), and it's as satisfying as you'd think. There's a brilliant parade of Smedry talents throughout the book, but the best minor character in the book just has to be the "good librarian" - she's an absolute riot.And, as always, I recommend reading the end of this Alcatraz book first.

The book was very good, hilarious and funny, awesome sword fights, funny jokes, and great characters. There's mystery all throughout, with an amazing plot twist at the end. Sanderson, you've done it again!!!

Pixar puts a twist into the super hero world, but "Brandon Sanderson" takes it so much further. What if your number 1 fan is yourself? That in itself is very though provoking to me. We have arrived at #3 and get to see Crystallia and everything that can go wrong, can and will go wrong. But through this I think the book teaches some important things.1) just because something seems bad, maybe what gives an advantage later.2) do not judge a book by it's cover. Well actually you can, because this book has a great cover on it and fits the story well (Isaac Stewarts great work). Maybe it should be do not judge a cub's roar by the bears.3) sometime the person you do not trust can become one of the most interesting characters in a series...well at least for this book. Australia was good for book two, and there are a lot more additions to this book, but Australia is missing.4) your parents might not be so bad. But if they are, then feeling sorry is very justifiable.5) Learning to dance might save your life.I have no idea why, but I just enjoy "Brandon Sanderson" books. I have other authors that I like, but they are just not as evil as he is.And if others and myself have no said it enough, this book is awesome. So much that you should start with this book first...that may change when I hit book four. But you might as well get the others if you have not. And to help out, you should pick up enough for Christmas Presents to give to the rest of the family. And if you are in some way related to me and get a present that looks a lot like the shape of a book, I can assure you it is not. It is a collection of drawings with words place in-between because the only way to make a book better is to add Graphic in front of it and call it a novel just to throw you off.I for one have been impressed with Hayley and if you doubt me buy the book and turn to page 277. It's that just awesome and screams this is the hero of the book. 271 was good also, but 277 says pick up book four.sounds like good advice and so on to #4 which has been sitting on the shelf all this time waiting to be read.

The Alcatraz series is hilarious, for adults as well as kids. I'm not sure exactly how to explain its genius, but I think it mainly lies in how witty, intelligent, and fun the books are while also covering serious and perilous situations. I love the characters as well, they are all very complex and well-realized. And of course, you can't forget the magic system which is completely unique and makes for a lot of fun guessing as to how anti-superpowers can be actually used. The short version is that you should start reading these books right away!

The jacket says there’s a hidden map inside the jacket of the book, but it isn’t there.

Humorous, especially for adults, and exciting. Definite underlying negative messages. I guess that's the culture of biting sarcasm these days...

This book really fleshes out Alcatraz's world & his crazy family, once again the kids snapped it up before I even saw it, this is a great series for parents and kids alike, definitely worth the purchase.

Really enjoyed this book and its entire series. Do not start here or Alcatraz will be disappointed in you! This book is quirky, hilarious and brilliantly written. The fact it can be comic, satirical, slapstick and at the same time include clever unusual world building and a strong ever developing plot is astounding. I've loved every instalment of the series and though this works great for its target audience there are plenty of moments and characters to engage the older more experienced reader. I think the new edge I loved here was the greater amount of world building as the magic system is further explored. An excellent book! Go buy it! .... but get the first two before you read it... you know otherwise you may have a few angry occulators glaring at you. Do not contribute the fruit bat cancer.

This was a very unusual story, but very interesting

I love to read the ending first! I love to read the ending first!! I love to read the ending first!!! Inside joke.

ich liebe die ganze Reihe, ist eines der besten Jugendbücher die ich je gelesen habe, Brandon Sanderson ist super, sehr empfehlenswert