Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians is a series written by Brandon Sanderson. Started in 2007, it tells of the adventures of the titular character
Major characters[]
- Alcatraz Smedry
- Ms. Fletcher
- Sing Sing Smedry
- Quentin Smedry
- Bastille
- Radrian Blackburn
Books within[]
Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians[]
Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians is the first adventure in a fantasy series for young readers by the #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson. The fast-paced and funny series is now available in deluxe hardcover editions illustrated by Hayley Lazo.
On his thirteenth birthday, foster child Alcatraz Smedry gets a bag of sand in the mail-his only inheritance from his father and mother. He soon learns that this is no ordinary bag of sand. It is quickly stolen by the cult of evil Librarians who are taking over the world by spreading misinformation and suppressing truth. Alcatraz must stop them, using the only weapon he has: an incredible talent for breaking things.
Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener's Bones[]
In this second Alcatraz adventure, Alcatraz finds himself on a mission to meet Grandpa Smedry when he gets swept up by a flying glass dragon filled with his unusual and mouthy Smedry cohorts.
Their mission? A dangerous, library-filled one, of course!
They are on their way to the ancient and mysterious Library of Alexandria (which some silly people think was long ago destroyed!) where they must find Grandpa Smedry, look for clues leading to Alcatraz's potentially undead dead father, and battle the creepy, dangerous soul-sucking curators who await them.
Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Lens[]
Alcatraz Smedry, the boy with the incredible Talent for breaking things, has a lot to prove and little time in which to do it. In this final adventure, Alcatraz faces an army of librarians--and their giant robots--as they battle to win the kingdom of Mokia. If the librarians win the war, everything that Alcatraz has fought so hard for could end in disaster. Alcatraz must face the robots, the evil librarians, and even his own manipulative mother! But will he be able to save the kingdom of Mokia and the Free Kingdoms from the wrath of the librarians before everything comes crashing down?
The Dark Talent[]
I, Alcatraz Smedry, proudly announce the last book of my autobiography, and was the hardest one for me to write. Because, in it—I’m not a hero. In fact, I’m the one who screwed everything up for everyone else.
First off, my Talent for breaking things got a little out of hand, and I ended up destroying everyone else’s Talents. As in “anyone who was born with a Talent no longer has a Talent and might never get their Talent back”—and all because of a Talent of mine which I no longer have. Got it?
Even worse, my best friend Bastille (she’s a girl, and a friend, but not really my girlfriend…I think?) was put in a coma by those Librarian slugs. So I owed them one for that.
And worse than worse, I needed to enter the heart of Librarian power—the dreaded Highbrary—if I was ever going to bring Bastille back to life and stop my know-it-all hotshot renegade father from unleashing chaos all over the world just because he thinks it’s the right thing to do.
Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians[]
From #1 New York Times bestselling authors Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson comes Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians, the thrilling conclusion to the Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians saga.
As a Knight of Crystallia, I, Bastille, swore to protect the Smedry clan from the Evil Librarians. (And believe me, screwups like them constantly need protecting.) But when Alcatraz Smedry got strapped to an altar of outdated encyclopedias to be sacrificed to the dark gods, I arrived too late―and instead his father took his place.
Now Alcatraz is a blubbering mess, so it’s up to me lead the charge against his father’s killer: Biblioden, founder of the Evil Librarians―I was sure he died centuries ago!―who’s back to complete his goal of world domination. Now he’s going to use the dark powers he gained from that sacrifice against everyone not under Evil Librarian control. Being burned up from the inside is not how I plan to die, so I’d better figure out some way to stop him or we’re toast!
I know Alcatraz is wrong when he swears he’s no hero. But when a hero falls short, that’s the time for everyone else to step up and do what needs to be done.
Plot[]
Alcatraz Smedry is an orphan boy with a propensity for breaking things. On this thirteenth birthday, he receives a package, purportedly from his parents, containing his inheritance: a bag of sand. He also burns down his foster parents' prized kitchen.
His case worker, Ms. Fletcher, arrives and informs Alcatraz that he will be placed in yet another home the next day. Unbeknownst to Alcatraz, she is actually a Librarian and has stolen the sand.
The next day, a loony old (but spry) man claiming to be his grandfather shows up and asks about the sand. When he learns that a Librarian has stolen it, they hurry away to try to recover it. The sands are rare and can be forged into powerful Lenses. Alcatraz doesn't believe the man is his grandpa, but he decides to go along with him after somebody shows up and tries to shoot him.
Alcatraz meets two cousins, Sing Sing Smedry and Quentin Smedry, who have the Talents of tripping and talking gibberish, respectively. Alcatraz learns that his penchant for breaking things is actually a powerful Talent that he can learn to control. They all decide to infiltrate the evil Librarian fortress (the local library) to recover the sand. Bastille, a Crystin Knight about Alcatraz's age assigned to protect the Smedrys, is furious at such a reckless plan, but she has no choice but to follow along.
Sing creates a distraction by tripping and falling in the library, and the team heads into the employee entrance. They split up and search for the sands, but they are all eventually captured by the Dark Oculator Radrian Blackburn and Ms. Fletcher. While Grandpa is tortured for information, Alcatraz and the rest of his crew escape from their prison and go to help. Fortunately, Grandpa is using his Talent of arriving late to postpone the pain and Quentin is just talking gibberish, so nothing has been revealed so far.
Alcatraz creates a distraction and rescues Grandpa, but Blackburn comes back, revealing that the Sands of Rashid have already been forged into Lenses. He and Grandpa have an Oculator's duel, which Blackburn wins, but Alcatraz tricks Blackburn into using the Firebringer's Lenses on himself, allowing them to grab the Lenses of Rashid and escape.
Sources[]
(PLACEHOLDER)