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Bookburners #1.4
The Market Arcanum
Good intentions in Glasgow lead to disastrous results.
Sal and Asanti leave the rest of the Team in the lurch when they jet off to Scotland to attend the funeral of the archivists’ mentor. Something is amiss in the Dear Green Place, however, as the pair land to discover the entire city has become obsessed with a restaurant (which just happens to be owned by the deceased mentor’s only living relative). They beat the crowds to get a table, only to find the fight has just begun and they left their muscle at home.
This episode is brought to you by team-writer Mur Lafferty and explores how magic, like food, is rarely cut and dried.
"Bookburners is sheer enormous fun! Energetic, intense, vivid prose. More soon please."
--Naomi Novik, author of Uprooted and the New York Times bestselling Temeraire series
"Bookburners is the breathless, hallucinogenic love child of Torchwood, the Librarians, and the Laundry Files. More soon, please."
--Ian Tregillis, author of The Mechanical and Bitter Seeds
"Bookburners is an exciting new take on urban fantasy. Love the premise, love the characters, love the unique (and sometimes wonderfully disturbing) spin on the dangers of magic!"
--Cassandra Rose Clarke, author of The Assassins Curse
"Bookburners has everything I want from episodic storytelling - strong writing, a rich premise, and memorable characters that will keep me coming back week after week."
--Mike Underwood, author of the Ree Reyes Geekomancy series
"Bookburners satisfies my craving for pulpy, demonic chaos with sharp writing, deliciously sinister magic, stellar black humor, and a kick-ass cast. The serialized story perfectly suits a sorcerer’s codex of baddies while the plucky Sal digs for deeper truths in her work with the Black Archives squad."
--Lindsay Smith, author of the Sekret Series
Sal and Asanti leave the rest of the Team in the lurch when they jet off to Scotland to attend the funeral of the archivists’ mentor. Something is amiss in the Dear Green Place, however, as the pair land to discover the entire city has become obsessed with a restaurant (which just happens to be owned by the deceased mentor’s only living relative). They beat the crowds to get a table, only to find the fight has just begun and they left their muscle at home.
This episode is brought to you by team-writer Mur Lafferty and explores how magic, like food, is rarely cut and dried.
"Bookburners is sheer enormous fun! Energetic, intense, vivid prose. More soon please."
--Naomi Novik, author of Uprooted and the New York Times bestselling Temeraire series
"Bookburners is the breathless, hallucinogenic love child of Torchwood, the Librarians, and the Laundry Files. More soon, please."
--Ian Tregillis, author of The Mechanical and Bitter Seeds
"Bookburners is an exciting new take on urban fantasy. Love the premise, love the characters, love the unique (and sometimes wonderfully disturbing) spin on the dangers of magic!"
--Cassandra Rose Clarke, author of The Assassins Curse
"Bookburners has everything I want from episodic storytelling - strong writing, a rich premise, and memorable characters that will keep me coming back week after week."
--Mike Underwood, author of the Ree Reyes Geekomancy series
"Bookburners satisfies my craving for pulpy, demonic chaos with sharp writing, deliciously sinister magic, stellar black humor, and a kick-ass cast. The serialized story perfectly suits a sorcerer’s codex of baddies while the plucky Sal digs for deeper truths in her work with the Black Archives squad."
--Lindsay Smith, author of the Sekret Series
41 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2015
1 person is currently reading
130 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Dunlap
54 books32 followersHi! My name is Margaret and I write for the small and smaller screens.
I live in Southern California, where I torment the other members of the Bookburners writing team with weather reports and brace myself for the earthquake that will turn Burbank into oceanfront property.
In addition to the books in my profile you can also find my work on The Middleman (ABC Family), Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (Netflix 2019), and The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.
I live in Southern California, where I torment the other members of the Bookburners writing team with weather reports and brace myself for the earthquake that will turn Burbank into oceanfront property.
In addition to the books in my profile you can also find my work on The Middleman (ABC Family), Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (Netflix 2019), and The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 10, 2016
Bookburners Season One: Episode 5 - 4.5 stars...
It's that time of year for The Market Arcanum. The Market is a 3 day event held at Beltane where practitioners of magic can gather together on neutral ground. "It's part auction, part high-level diplomatic conference for every power player who uses magic to rig the game." This year Menchú, a priest and leader of their team, has invited Sal to attend with him so that she can learn what the Market's all about. Not everyone there is playing by the rules though. The billionaire owner of the yacht, Fair Weather, is out to seek revenge on the Bookburners and he wants his book back.
This episode was written by Margaret Dunlap. I really liked the Market concept of convening all of the major players that deal in magic together but I would have liked to learn more about the other players and their specialties. We did get a glimpse of what the Techno-Cultists do but that was about it. Hopefully though, one of the future episodes we'll expand on the Market and the other players.
*I received Bookburners: The Complete Season One from NetGalley & Serial Box Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
It's that time of year for The Market Arcanum. The Market is a 3 day event held at Beltane where practitioners of magic can gather together on neutral ground. "It's part auction, part high-level diplomatic conference for every power player who uses magic to rig the game." This year Menchú, a priest and leader of their team, has invited Sal to attend with him so that she can learn what the Market's all about. Not everyone there is playing by the rules though. The billionaire owner of the yacht, Fair Weather, is out to seek revenge on the Bookburners and he wants his book back.
This episode was written by Margaret Dunlap. I really liked the Market concept of convening all of the major players that deal in magic together but I would have liked to learn more about the other players and their specialties. We did get a glimpse of what the Techno-Cultists do but that was about it. Hopefully though, one of the future episodes we'll expand on the Market and the other players.
*I received Bookburners: The Complete Season One from NetGalley & Serial Box Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
August 9, 2016
Bookburners Season One: Episode 4...
In Episode 4, Asanti manipulates Sal into flying to Glasgow as her backup on a mission involving her mentor Seamus. She wants to keep it secret from the rest of the team because it has the potential to get her fired and Seamus posthumously excommunicated. They find that a restaurant and most of the locals have fallen under the power of a demon and it's going to take more then just the two of them to get it under control.
This was a fun episode written by Mur Lafferty. Moral of the story- don't try to take down a demented Chef and restaurant full of possessed customers on your own! : )
*I received Bookburners: The Complete Season One from NetGalley & Serial Box Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thank You!
In Episode 4, Asanti manipulates Sal into flying to Glasgow as her backup on a mission involving her mentor Seamus. She wants to keep it secret from the rest of the team because it has the potential to get her fired and Seamus posthumously excommunicated. They find that a restaurant and most of the locals have fallen under the power of a demon and it's going to take more then just the two of them to get it under control.
This was a fun episode written by Mur Lafferty. Moral of the story- don't try to take down a demented Chef and restaurant full of possessed customers on your own! : )
*I received Bookburners: The Complete Season One from NetGalley & Serial Box Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thank You!
October 3, 2015
This one was really gross, but the series remains GREAT. (Note to self: it's actually not a good idea to burn through the episodes as soon as they come out -- the waiting blows. In the future, keep one in reserve at all times.)
April 18, 2023
I sorta want to add horror shelf.. but its only the last little bit that is horror..
This was a neat little story. This time is was nearly all a Sal-Asanti relationship deep dive. I like how each episode/story is building up the world as we go. This was a "personal" issue for Asanti that she was keeping on the down-low, and Sal went along for the ride...
I loved the alternate vision we got - magic isn't evil, just a tool - I loved the description of magic being a scalpel: in the hands of a doctor it can save lives, in the hands of a toddler it causes tragedy. And we're all a bunch of toddlers when it comes to magic.
I especially loved the final scenes in the restaurant :)
I'm really getting sold on this whole audiobook thing - it really has a lot to do with the headphones. I hated audiobooks when i had to sit on the couch to listen via my desktop computer... but now with a phone & bluetooth earpods it becomes a nice addition to a jog... I forsee many more audiobooks!
and the next episode of bookburners
This was a neat little story. This time is was nearly all a Sal-Asanti relationship deep dive. I like how each episode/story is building up the world as we go. This was a "personal" issue for Asanti that she was keeping on the down-low, and Sal went along for the ride...
I loved the alternate vision we got - magic isn't evil, just a tool - I loved the description of magic being a scalpel: in the hands of a doctor it can save lives, in the hands of a toddler it causes tragedy. And we're all a bunch of toddlers when it comes to magic.
I especially loved the final scenes in the restaurant :)
I'm really getting sold on this whole audiobook thing - it really has a lot to do with the headphones. I hated audiobooks when i had to sit on the couch to listen via my desktop computer... but now with a phone & bluetooth earpods it becomes a nice addition to a jog... I forsee many more audiobooks!
and the next episode of bookburners
December 31, 2016
An interesting look at Asanti, who has been a minor character so far. It also has one of the grossest images I've 'seen' in years
January 25, 2020
Ew. Yay! Oh, ew. Ew. Ew ew ew ew ew.
Yep, that was some quite well executed ew, and I'm never getting that back out of my head. Lovely work.
Yep, that was some quite well executed ew, and I'm never getting that back out of my head. Lovely work.
November 2, 2015
Originally posted at: http://thebookplank.blogspot.com/2015...
A lot of things have happened over the last four episodes of Bookburners. Sal the latest addition to Team Three of the Bookburners got a lot of moneys worth. Sal went from being an NYPD cop to fighting the supernatural things that resides within books. She was dragged into this all by her brother. Who read the wrong book at the wrong time. After several successive missions Sal has gotten the hang of what it takes to be a Bookburner, several weeks have already passed and for her it is just normal.
But Sal doesn't know all the fine details yet. Father Menchu, the leader of Team Three receives an invitation for the Market Arcanum. Since Grace, Liam and Asanti have all been there before and Sal hasn't she is the designated person to accompany Menchu on this task. Now, the Market Arcanum might sound as a grand bazaar of the weird and the occult and indeed it is. It is best viewed as the Black Market of the occult. Sal makes a well placed note is saying why doesn't Team One just nuke this place? Well the answer is quite shocking, Father Menchu's reply is that they aren't sure if they can actually win... There are mightier forces than the Bookburners.
The reason that Menchu goes to the Market every year is to see how everything stands. Menchu and Sal are lucky though as there is a non-hostile code of conduct at the Market stating that you cannot attack each other. So there is some advantage in that. But well rules are there not to be broken (there would be dire consequences), but they can be circumvented, because it states that you cannot attack anyone at the Market. Do you all remember Mr. Norse? Well he is back and he means business, he wants what was taken from him and does so in a clever way. He doesn't attack Menchu and Sal right away but goes all the way to Rome. Now Sal and Menchu only have a few days to stop Mr. Norse again, but they have to use the means possible at the Market. And Rome is really at walking distance of Lichtenstein...
This episode was a blast to read. The Market Arcanum just inspired what I imagined from such a underground black market with various dangerous parties making "fan and banter" for a short time but when it is all over they continue with their dangerous games, they say a lot with a smile but on the inside it is pure business and seeing where the opposition stands. Margaret Dunlap also delves deeper into the history of Father Menchu, which for him after all this time if still difficult to talk about. Great stuff.
A lot of things have happened over the last four episodes of Bookburners. Sal the latest addition to Team Three of the Bookburners got a lot of moneys worth. Sal went from being an NYPD cop to fighting the supernatural things that resides within books. She was dragged into this all by her brother. Who read the wrong book at the wrong time. After several successive missions Sal has gotten the hang of what it takes to be a Bookburner, several weeks have already passed and for her it is just normal.
But Sal doesn't know all the fine details yet. Father Menchu, the leader of Team Three receives an invitation for the Market Arcanum. Since Grace, Liam and Asanti have all been there before and Sal hasn't she is the designated person to accompany Menchu on this task. Now, the Market Arcanum might sound as a grand bazaar of the weird and the occult and indeed it is. It is best viewed as the Black Market of the occult. Sal makes a well placed note is saying why doesn't Team One just nuke this place? Well the answer is quite shocking, Father Menchu's reply is that they aren't sure if they can actually win... There are mightier forces than the Bookburners.
The reason that Menchu goes to the Market every year is to see how everything stands. Menchu and Sal are lucky though as there is a non-hostile code of conduct at the Market stating that you cannot attack each other. So there is some advantage in that. But well rules are there not to be broken (there would be dire consequences), but they can be circumvented, because it states that you cannot attack anyone at the Market. Do you all remember Mr. Norse? Well he is back and he means business, he wants what was taken from him and does so in a clever way. He doesn't attack Menchu and Sal right away but goes all the way to Rome. Now Sal and Menchu only have a few days to stop Mr. Norse again, but they have to use the means possible at the Market. And Rome is really at walking distance of Lichtenstein...
This episode was a blast to read. The Market Arcanum just inspired what I imagined from such a underground black market with various dangerous parties making "fan and banter" for a short time but when it is all over they continue with their dangerous games, they say a lot with a smile but on the inside it is pure business and seeing where the opposition stands. Margaret Dunlap also delves deeper into the history of Father Menchu, which for him after all this time if still difficult to talk about. Great stuff.
October 26, 2015
Originally posted at: http://thebookplank.blogspot.com/2015...
After Max Gladstone, Margaret Dunlap and Brian Francis Slattery it is up to Mur Lafftery to show her first addition to the Bookburners series with A Sorcerer's Apprentice.
Having survived already three deadly encounters Sal finally has the time to do some exploring, which she preferably does in Ashanti's library. Then Sal stumbles upon a crying Ashanti who has just received news that her old mentor, Father Seamus Hunter, has passed and that the funeral is to be held soon. After a lot of talk Sal finds herself with Ashanti in an airplane en route to Glasgow for the funeral of Father Seamus. But something has to be noted. Father Seamus broke some rules when he retired from the Order. He took a book along with him to examine further because on the first appearance it didn't look deadly. This book also has to be recovered. You know the Orb I talked about? That also glowed showing coordinates where Father Seamus lived, thus some extra haste is required. As soon as they land Ashanti and Sal get a lot of references towards one particular restaurant in town. A restaurant so loves that people would kill for it. The scenes that follow are indeed perhaps not perceived dangerous but over the long course of everything: gluttony is a bad trait to have.
From all the stories, A Sorcerer's Apprentice is definitely the one that has surprised me the most. The change of scene in the Thistle and Moore was very cool to see especially when to you see the threat and how Team Three handles it. There is something mortally dangerous to it, but Mur Lafftery also adds something humorous to the mix. Great balance between action, background and fun!
After Max Gladstone, Margaret Dunlap and Brian Francis Slattery it is up to Mur Lafftery to show her first addition to the Bookburners series with A Sorcerer's Apprentice.
Having survived already three deadly encounters Sal finally has the time to do some exploring, which she preferably does in Ashanti's library. Then Sal stumbles upon a crying Ashanti who has just received news that her old mentor, Father Seamus Hunter, has passed and that the funeral is to be held soon. After a lot of talk Sal finds herself with Ashanti in an airplane en route to Glasgow for the funeral of Father Seamus. But something has to be noted. Father Seamus broke some rules when he retired from the Order. He took a book along with him to examine further because on the first appearance it didn't look deadly. This book also has to be recovered. You know the Orb I talked about? That also glowed showing coordinates where Father Seamus lived, thus some extra haste is required. As soon as they land Ashanti and Sal get a lot of references towards one particular restaurant in town. A restaurant so loves that people would kill for it. The scenes that follow are indeed perhaps not perceived dangerous but over the long course of everything: gluttony is a bad trait to have.
From all the stories, A Sorcerer's Apprentice is definitely the one that has surprised me the most. The change of scene in the Thistle and Moore was very cool to see especially when to you see the threat and how Team Three handles it. There is something mortally dangerous to it, but Mur Lafftery also adds something humorous to the mix. Great balance between action, background and fun!
April 19, 2023
OK, first near miss of this series. This good, but not great.
This was a Manchu-Sal story.. the pair get an invite to the yearly "arcane market" with its own rules and traditions: which are not generally friendly to the bookburners..
Mr Norse (from Fair Weather - also by Ms Dunlap) makes a reappearance as a potential long term antagonist, but other than that interesting relationship building it doesn't feel all that special... I would have preferred a new "artifact".. although we did learn about Fr Manchu's past a little.
I may be "bookburner-ed" out, so giving an something else a try next.
This was a Manchu-Sal story.. the pair get an invite to the yearly "arcane market" with its own rules and traditions: which are not generally friendly to the bookburners..
Mr Norse (from Fair Weather - also by Ms Dunlap) makes a reappearance as a potential long term antagonist, but other than that interesting relationship building it doesn't feel all that special... I would have preferred a new "artifact".. although we did learn about Fr Manchu's past a little.
I may be "bookburner-ed" out, so giving an something else a try next.
May 4, 2018
With this story, we are finally starting to see the hints of a season story arc, with the Father and Sal going to a magic market (as you can guess from the title), and running into the mysterious man whose yacht was home to one of the demon books captured in one of the earlier books. He targets the rest of the team back in Rome to try to force them to hand over the book.
In television terms, we've established the world and the characters, and now the story starts to pick up speed.
In television terms, we've established the world and the characters, and now the story starts to pick up speed.
October 23, 2015
I recently realized that, if Bookburners was a TV show, it would be The Librarians. (Mercifully, it's not on TV, and somehow all of this stuff is about a billion times better on the page than it would be before a camera.)
October 14, 2015
3,5 stars.
May 29, 2016
4 stars.
Best episode so far with biocomputers, an attack of the villain at the bookburners HQ and the history of father Menchu.
Best episode so far with biocomputers, an attack of the villain at the bookburners HQ and the history of father Menchu.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews