Review: ‘Bookburners’

At the start, 'Bookburners” by Max Gladstone shines. Episode 1 contains known elements (a cop seeking to help her wayward brother) and unknown elements (a secret Vatican agency). Each installment or episode is another adventure and contains an active case the agency in investigating with a bit of back story creating a cohesive story. Some of the episodes are stronger than others as each episode is written by a different author using his or her own unique approach to the active case and the main characters.

In the end, 'Bookburners” (January 2017, Saga Press) is too long. Around episode 10, the mood and focus of the book suddenly changes and 'Bookburners” becomes a novel with a single overarching storyline. The episodic dark humor experienced in the first three-quarters of the book is gone and a trudge to the end begins.

The attempt to create a novel out of a serialization by authors Gladstone, Margaret Dunlap, Mur Lafferty and Brian Francis Slattery failed with 'Bookburners.” The episodic nature of the first part of the novel makes for a binge worthy read. However, readers may be disappointed when the authors change course and go down a darker path that slows the story down to a bit of a slog.