Ink Blood Sister Scribe: the Sunday Times bestselling edge-of-your-seat fantasy thriller

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Esther and Joanna were good characters for me and their storylines were well developed. I found them both interesting and convincing. However Nicholas was never very convincing to me - he felt more like a caricature of a posh boy. His storyline seemed rather naive and possibly contrived. In terms of the magic content I thought this was generally good. In particular the mirror magic was very good and well used. Emma Törzs's debut novel, Ink Blood Sister Scribe, is the kind of book that reminds me why I love the fantasy genre. I was especially drawn to the family at the center of the story: half-sisters Esther and Joanna, their late father Abe, and Joanna's mother (and Esther's stepmother) Cecily. While their forays into a world of magical books are fascinating and form the overall structure of the story, I was just as enthralled by their interpersonal relationships, particularly in terms of how the sisters reflect on their childhood and the ways in which the isolation that comes with magic has shaped them. Ink Blood Sister Scribe offers both the stomach-dropping roller coaster feeling of a thriller with the nostalgia of a domestic novel. It is, in short, a must-read for anyone who loves stories about magic — and for everyone who knows that stories are magic. Especially when it comes to Fantasy, I've got a preference for things that aren't set in our current world, and definitely not in our current time. But this very much a book set in the present. I think it ultimately works with the Big Bad, but ymmv. As for the plot itself, I did find some of the assumptions the characters made rather *convenient*, and there were a couple inconsistencies, but overall my reading experience was great—it was well-written, I flew through it, and if the "big bad villain" identity was predictable, I enjoyed his demise very much 👀

Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Torzs - BookBrowse Reviews of Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Torzs - BookBrowse

I was also impressed by the clever way Törzs writes each different POV in a different tone and style befitting to the character we are with. Joanna is written in an almost fairytale-esque way, Esther holds a contemporary style with breezy dialogue and Nicholas has a scholarly tone. The contrast between Nicholas’s British posh manner and his more surly Boston bodyguard, Collins, was rather amusing whenever the pair bantered with one another! Joanna and Nicholas were of course my favourites, their love for books and their introverted nature echoed mine in many ways. You also cannot help but love Sir Kiwi, a very good and loyal, if a touch pampered doggie. Magic exists, channeled through certain books. Esther’s family can sense those books: they call to them, and they’ve spent their lives collecting them and protecting them. Esther can’t hear those books, and she ran away from home years ago, chased by a warning from her now dead father. ”Wherever you are, you must leave on November 2 and keep moving for twenty-four hours, or the people who killed your mother will come for you, too." The summer season had officially begun a couple days ago: November 5. Three days after Esther, according to her father’s urgent edict, should have been long gone. Scott Shane's outstanding work Flee North tells the little-known tale of an unlikely partnership ... Many thanks to HarperCollins for a free copy of this book. Please assume all normal legal jargon here- but most importantly, these thoughts are my own.This debut novel is an absolute delight, weaving a convincing occult underground into real-world settings.' Guardian Set in the modern day, this urban fantasy novel begins with two estranged half-sisters in their twenties. The oldest, Esther, has been moving from place to place every year, and right now she’s on a research base in Antarctica. Honestly, he gave Esther no choice. After a week of this, he approached her one day in the galley and planted himself in her path so she couldn’t get to the pizza, grinning at her so widely she could see his molars. 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.

Emma Törzs About — Emma Törzs

This was when Esther had realized she might be in trouble. Because not only was it true, she was nervous, butterfly-stomached in a way she hadn’t felt for years . . . but Pearl had noticed. Had read it somehow on Esther’s well-trained face or in her well-trained body. Esther wasn’t used to people seeing what she didn’t want them to see, and the way Pearl looked at her, saw her, was unsettling. In response, she’d given Pearl her most confident, reassuring smile, then set her teeth very gently to the inside of Pearl’s bare thigh, which had been enough of a distraction that the conversation ended there. But even then, at the very start, she had suspected how difficult Pearl might be to leave. Emma Törzs is a writer, teacher, and occasional translator based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her fiction has been honored with an NEA fellowship in prose, a World Fantasy Award for Short Fiction, and an O. Henry Prize. Maybe the first half (roughly) isn't that pacey however by the end of that half I felt I had some idea about some parts of the story. Indeed I did spot some likely outcomes and aspects of this in advance. This is not a complaint however for me this does feel like a YA read in some ways I think. In the second half the pace increases and I certainly would not have stopped reading this book. I guess it's obvious that the story's three threads will become one at some stage. This is a poignant book about power, knowledge and how greed can capitalise on magic and something that deserves to be shared with the world.Her estranged older sister Esther moves between countries and jobs, constantly changing, never staying anywhere longer than a year, desperate to avoid the deadly magic that killed her mother. Currently working on a research base in Antarctica, she has found love and perhaps a sort of happiness. This is a tale that’s so multilayered, so richly woven together that the narrative entertainingly meanders through puzzle solving, uncovering long hidden family secrets and self discovery. Throughout Törzs deliciously blends together contemporary with classic fairytale staples such as various enchantments, magic mirrors, forest animals, a quest, absent parents and even a stepmother. Like any dark fairytale, it is also drenched in blood. There is a fascinating twist on witches and mages as instead of spells just being read aloud and cast, blood is the key to activating the magic or for creating it. There are those who can feel and even hear magic but cannot create it, and there are those who can create it but never feel or hear it. Then there are some spells that are ongoing, that are a work in progress, that hold the power to drain the user’s blood dry. I ended up inhaling this book via physical and audio. Saskia Maaleveld reminds me of a slightly younger January LaVoy. Which means her narration status is golden with me. While I like elements of it, I feel like the execution is going to bring out the ranter in me. Which is a pity, because it's so close to being something I could have loved. And for a book about books, there's very little concern with the contents inside them. It's more about the physical object and the feeling you have when you either hold one or walk into a room full of them. Which is fine and I relate, it just doesn't make me personally connect with the novel or its characters in any way. Ink, Blood, Sister, Scribe, is a magical book that reminded me of why I loved reading in the first place. I fell in love with Torzs's writing style and how she made this magical book come to life. I am eager to read what else she has in store!

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I loved the book based magic system and I really appreciate how the author explored the topics of conservation, power, and control through the library and the books. I always appreciate when a magic system has very strict and clear rules. Each character in this book had their own advantages and limitations within the magic system. This helped build the “found (or reunited?) family” vibes. Not to mention the comedy gold we get in the Sunshine x Grump dynamics between Nicholas and his bodyguard Collins, or the utter adorableness of female Pomeranian Sir Kiwi (whose bond with Collins is soo sweet.) Esther: Joanna's older sister who has been on the run for 10 years, after her father commanded her to move to a new location every November. Estranged from her family, and in a constant state of motion, she has no ties. But after spending the past year in Antarctica, she's decided to stay another season. For the first time she has a reason to stay: a girlfriend she's really starting to feel something for. And besides, what could possibly go wrong? Considering it's a standalone novel, the plot was rather contained and I personally enjoyed that: I read so many Fantasy series that it made for a good change. I do think that expectations matter: if you go into it expecting a Fantasy novel with complex world-building and in-depth characterization, you might be disappointed. First, it feels more like a literary/mystery novel with magical elements than a Fantasy book. Secondly, I'm not saying that the characters are one-dimensional, because they aren't, and I did care about them, but they're still sketched in rather broad lines, and some of the relationships shifts were SO abrupt that they didn't make sense to me (*cough* what the second romance even was? Is that insta-lust or whatever? I'm too demi for that haha)(also I had another romance in mind for this specific character, ngl).Ink Blood Sister Scribe is a smashing new debut from Emma Torzs in the dark academia genre. Magic is real and spells are cast from books, spells that are written with the blood and life of Scribes. But the magic is getting rarer, books are limited and valuable and this story follows two different families who have libraries to care for. Joanna cares for a small library of books, alone and isolated, following her father's wishes, whilst her sister Esther mysteriously cannot come home, and is forced to move every 12 months or something bad will happen. In the house, surrounded by the remnants of her father's life, books buzzing beneath her feet, she sometimes felt so alone she worried she might vanish like the ink in an overused book. But here, with wildlife all around her and magic sweet in the air like good cider, she felt her lines and colors returning, her edges darkening, her core filled in. Calm down, Don Juan,” Pearl said, laughing. “I’m not questioning your technique. You just seem a little nervous.” You are either naturally attuned to magic or you bleed for it. Törzs's debut novel is a suspenseful and utterly transformative read, crossing oceans and portals into magical libraries where a centuries-old secret waits to be uncovered by two estranged half-sisters brave enough to seek the truth. I’m glad, too,” Esther said. She had practice around Pearl now and could trust her own face not to betray any of her sudden, melancholy mood, and she watched Pearl relax beneath her smile. “Come get me when you’re dressed,” she added. “We can fortify with a shot.”

Ink Blood Sister Scribe: A Good Morning America Book Club

Now historically, I have had a hard time enjoying magic in contemporary worlds, but this was a perfect mix. The modern & secluded worlds complemented each other nicely.Ron Rash is renowned for his writing about Appalachia, but his latest book, The Caretaker, begins ... Because of their different duties and different schedules, their paths hadn’t really crossed again until the end of the first month, when Esther had hung a sign in the gym looking for sparring buddies. Boxing, Muy Thai, BJJ, MMA, Krav Maga, let’s fight! :) :) :) She’d added the smiley faces to counteract the aggression of “fight,” but had immediately regretted it when another electrician—an obnoxiously tall white guy from Washington who insisted everyone call him “J-Dog”— saw it and began giving her endless shit. Her stories have been published in journals such as Ploughshares, Uncanny Magazine, Lightspeed, Strange Horizons, and American Short Fiction. She received her MFA from the University of Montana, Missoula, and is an enthusiastic member of the Clarion West class of 2017. She teaches currently at Macalester College. Joanna does wonder about how magic books got written. She has tried experimenting with herbs and blood (her own sometimes) but has never had any success. Herbs and blood seem to be the main ingredients of the ink used. Joanna is tied to the books and the family house while Esther has to move on every year - this doesn't like a great way to live for either of them. The 3rd voice in this book is Nicholas's. It seems as though he is writing magical books for the "family business" and profit in the UK. The book follows these three voices and threads as the story develops.