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Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians

Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians

Children's BooksFantasy
Pages
320
Published
2007
Language
English

Synopsis

On his thirteenth birthday, Alcatraz Smedry receives a bag of sand — and watches it get stolen by a woman who turns out to be an Evil Librarian. This is Alcatraz's introduction to the truth: the world is run by Evil Librarians who hide the existence of the Free Kingdoms from ordinary people in the Hushlands (including the US and Europe), using their control of education and information to maintain power. Alcatraz discovers he has a Talent — the ability to break things at will — and is swept into a heist to recover his stolen sand alongside his eccentric Grandpa Smedry and the warrior-knight Bastille. Narrated by a future Alcatraz who is deliberately unreliable and frequently breaks the fourth wall, the book is a genre-savvy comedy adventure for middle-grade readers that parodies fantasy and adventure tropes throughout.

Prose complexity
2/10

Vibe

FunnyAdventurousWhimsical
Portal FantasyQuestMentor FigureFound Family

Genres

Children's Books Fantasy Middle Grade Adventure Comic Fiction Satire Urban Fantasy Humor

About the author

B
Brandon Sanderson

Born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1975, Brandon Sanderson spent his early twenties working graveyard shifts at a hotel — writing novels at the front desk between guest check-ins. By the time his debut, Elantris, was published by Tor Books in 2005, he had completed thirteen novels in the drawer. His subsequent Mistborn trilogy and the ongoing Stormlight Archive series established him as the primary architect of the Cosmere, an interconnected fictional universe in which most of his fantasy series share...

Characters

Alcatraz SmedryProtagonist

A 13-year-old orphan whose Talent for breaking things proves to be a powerful magical gift in the war against the Evil Librarians.

Grandpa Leavenworth SmedrySupporting

Alcatraz's eccentric grandfather who introduces him to the Free Kingdoms, the Smedry family legacy, and the war against the Librarians.

BastilleSupporting

A Crystin warrior-knight assigned to protect Alcatraz who is equally likely to save him and lecture him about his recklessness.

All characters in Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians

Frequently asked questions

  • Does Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians need to be read in order?

    While each book in the series has a self-contained adventure, the overarching plot and character development benefit from reading them sequentially. Starting with this first book will provide the best introduction to the world and its unique magic system.

  • How does this book compare to Brandon Sanderson's other works?

    This series is a departure from Sanderson's more epic fantasy novels, offering a lighter, more humorous tone and a younger protagonist. It still features his signature intricate magic system and clever world-building, but with a focus on middle-grade readers.

  • What age group is this for?

    Alcatraz is written for middle-grade readers aged approximately 8–12, though the books' meta-humor and genre-awareness appeal to older readers as well.

  • Is there an audiobook version of Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians?

    Yes, there is an audiobook available, narrated by the author himself, Brandon Sanderson. This provides a unique experience as the author's voice brings his own story to life.

  • What is a Smedry Talent?

    Every member of the Smedry family has a unique magical Talent — an ability that sounds useless but proves highly effective when used cleverly. Alcatraz can break things; his grandfather's Talent is arriving late to things.

  • Why does the narrator keep addressing the reader directly?

    The books are framed as Alcatraz's own memoirs, written by a future version of himself who is deliberately unreliable, self-aware about fantasy clichés, and not above misleading the reader. This meta-narrative voice is central to the series' humor.

  • Is this part of the Cosmere?

    No. The Alcatraz series has no connection to Sanderson's Cosmere universe.

  • How many books are in the series?

    Six — Sanderson wrote the first five, and the sixth (Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians) was cowritten with Janci Patterson to complete the series.

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