The Librarians & the Mother Goose Chase by Greg Cox

Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy/TV

Publisher: Tor (April 25, 2017)

Series: The Librarians #2

Author Information: Website

Length: 288 pages

My Rating:  3 stars

Quirky, fun, and fast-paced, this second installment of The Librarians series is another action-packed story, which captures the feel of the TNT series  while adding its own unique touches.  Definitely, a must read for fans of show and an entertaining read for anyone.

Stories have power.

In 1719, Elizabeth Goose published a collection of rhyming spells as a children’s book, creating a spellbook of terrifying power. The Librarian of that age managed to dispose of all copies of the book except one, which remained in the possession of Elizabeth Goose and her family, temporarily averting any potential disaster.

Now, strange things are happening around the world . . . Baird and her team of Librarians suspect that the magic of Mother Goose is again loose in the world, and with Flynn AWOL—again—it is up to Cassandra, Ezekiel, and Stone to track down the missing spellbook before the true power of the rhymes can be unleashed.

As a media tie-in, the obvious attraction of this book is for fans of the television show to get another fix of their Librarians.  And so, above all, Greg Cox main job is to spin a narrative which captures the overall tone of the show, mixing in the right humor, quirky adventures, and group dynamics to appeal to fans everywhere.  And for the most part, this novel accomplishes all those things.

The concept of the Mother Goose Rhymes as powerful spells falling into the wrong hands is an exciting one, one which allows the author to separate our four characters, sending Eve, Ezekiel, Cassandra and Jake Stone out to complete their own separate parts of the adventure.  These four different points of view allowing each character to strut their stuff, get their own time in the spotlight, and showcase their own unique personalities and strengths.  We are even given some one-on-one time with Jenkins, as well as getting a better understanding of the Library, which quickly becomes a character in itself; the antics going on therein with some of its lively exhibits producing many of the funniest moments of the entire book.

The only weakness of the narrative is probably the fact that it does separate our favorite librarians so much.  Like most stories about groups, one of the magical qualities of the tv series is the group dynamics; how these people play off one another, bumbling and stumbling their way together through each hairy raising adventure.  And here they were not together a large majority of the time.  Chapter after chapter were the wonderful camaraderie and group humor was mostly missing.  Certainly, this aspect of the show wasn’t completely absent, but I would have enjoyed a bit more of the Librarians together taking on the world.

Well- written, fun, and capturing the feel of the Librarians television series, The Mother Goose Chase is a great way for fans of the show to get another fix of their favorite action adventure series, or for newcomers to experience the quirky escapades of the world’s coolest librarians.

I received an advanced reading copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. I’d like to thank them for allowing me to receive this review copy and inform everyone that the review you have read is my opinion alone.

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