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A Novel
by Emma Torzs
Book Reviewed by:In this spellbinding debut novel, two estranged half-sisters tasked with guarding their family's library of magical books must work together to unravel a deadly secret at the heart of their collection - a tale of familial loyalty and betrayal, and the pursuit of magic and power.
For generations, the Kalotay family has guarded a collection of ancient and rare books. Books that let a person walk through walls or manipulate the elements—books of magic that half-sisters Joanna and Esther have been raised to revere and protect.
All magic comes with a price, though, and for years the sisters have been separated. Esther has fled to a remote base in Antarctica to escape the fate that killed her own mother, and Joanna's isolated herself in their family home in Vermont, devoting her life to the study of these cherished volumes. But after their father dies suddenly while reading a book Joanna has never seen before, the sisters must reunite to preserve their family legacy. In the process, they'll uncover a world of magic far bigger and more dangerous than they ever imagined, and all the secrets their parents kept hidden; secrets that span centuries, continents, and even other libraries...
In the great tradition of Ninth House, The Magicians, and Practical Magic, this is a suspenseful and richly atmospheric novel that draws readers into a vast world filled with mystery and magic, romance, and intrigue—and marks the debut of an extraordinary new voice in speculative fiction.
In Ink Blood Sister Scribe, magic flows through some families like blood, and the worldbuilding perfectly exemplifies that concept by making blood necessary for ritual spellwork. Descriptions of the ink-making process, from selecting the herbal components to drawing large quantities of blood to infusing the ink with magic, range from heart-wrenchingly intimate to chillingly clinical. Although some things stay behind the magician's curtain, the system of magic is well developed and explained overall. I particularly appreciated the alchemical, somatic roots of supernatural abilities paired with a self-referential, books-about-books emphasis on the importance of the written word...continued
Full Review
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(Reviewed by Maria Katsulos).
In Emma Törzs's Ink Blood Sister Scribe, the first word of the title plays an important role: By mixing blood with herbs, people can make ink with magical properties. In the real world, writing has been done with a variety of materials throughout history — including, from time to time, blood.
Evidence points to ink first being used in Egypt circa 3200 BCE, and in China around the same time. These inks were often carbon-based, created by mixing soot with binding agents like acacia gum. Iron gall ink, which was common in medieval and early modern Europe, is a mixture that incorporates gall nuts (a protective growth on oak trees that results from wasp nests) and ferrous sulfate. A reaction between these ingredients makes the...
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A fierce story of secrets, enchantment, and family both born and built, Ink Blood Sister Scribe left me more spellbound with each turning page. These characters will steal your heart—and perhaps, your blood. Törzs has conjured true magic.
