Those who resist the librarians live on one of three Free Kingdom continents. In the first few chapters, Alcatraz discovers that he has been living in the portion of the world that has come under the dictatorial control of the evil librarians, a group that controls its population with misinformation so pervasive that inhabitants are not even aware of the global struggle that is ongoing. These bright moments are unfortunately couched in tedious disingenuous self-deprecation that read like an angsty teen fishing for a compliment.

While the intensely cheeky and sarcastic tone of the protagonist may put off many readers and parents, from within these rants come bright moments of spontaneous humor and something resembling wisdom. Each chapter begins with similar direct address commentaries on previous events that contain hints of events to come. The series begins with the narrator breaking the 4th wall by explaining that he is in fact the protagonist, Alcatraz Smedry, and that he is using the pen name Brandon Sanderson to prevent evil librarians from censoring the book. The first four books of the series are largely harmless, but the fifth book in the series culminates in events that prevent me from recommending this series to anyone. The story moves away from its Harry Potteresque beginning and quickly settles into a rhythm of zany action and quirky humor.

The most significant difference between the two series is that here we are subjected to continual sidebar monologues in which the protagonist, named Alcatraz, invariably manages to manifest the exact brand of snarky, sarcastic narcissism that parents everywhere in America would love to excise from their children’s character. While these similarities are obvious from the first few pages, it is soon evident that The Evil Librarian series lacks the carefully-crafted world, interesting characters, and plot of Harry Potter. Though Sanderson makes veiled criticisms of elements of the Harry Potter series, his own work bears a striking resemblance to it in its basic elements. On his thirteenth birthday, he is suddenly introduced to a more exciting world, hidden in plain sight, in which he gradually discovers his powers and his “heroism.” Sound familiar? It should. This is the story of a tormented thirteen-year-old orphan who has lived most of his life in the care of foster parents, all the time unaware of a magical world in which he has unwittingly been playing the part of savior-yet-to-come. Having read the entire series to date, I am, despite the saying, confirmed in my judgment of the book by its cover. the Evil Librarians, the first book of the Evil Librarian series by Brandon Sanderson, I immediately suspected that it was yet another poor-quality Harry Potter knock off.

Alcatraz versus the evil librarians