What would happen if you put Jasper Fforde, Douglas Adams, and Nicholas Basbanes in a room and told them to write a book together? Something that resembled Walter Moers' The City of Dreaming Books (Overlook, 2007), perhaps. Moers' book is a mildly creepy, utterly bizarre trek through an alternate universe where books are a way of life (or, for at least one race of the strange beings, the source of life itself).

Our narrator, Optimus Yarnspinner (a dinosaur and aspiring author) travels to Bookholm (the city of books) to seek out the author of a manuscript in his possession. The descriptions of this city are enough to make any good bibliophile drool a little, but dark things lurk beneath the narrow and dangerous streets of Bookholm (and above them, too, as he finds out when mind-control music sends him and hundreds of others into the mad scrum known as "book rage") . Optimus soon finds himself the victim of the nefarious megalomaniac Pfistomel Smyke, who lures him into the endless catacombs beneath the city and maroons him there.

The remainder of the book is given over to Yarnspinner's long stay in the tunnels, where he encounters various dangerous critters, the one-eyed memorization machines known as Booklings (for whom reading is the only source of nourishment), his greatest hero, and a great many fascinating books (including a few sentient ones, some that kill, and a great many of immense value).

Filled with literary allusions, puns, footnotes, and all the devices that fans of books about books will love (plus some exquisite illustrations, also by Moers), it's also something of a biting satire toward all things literary: authors, publishers, booksellers, reviewers and others of their ilk all come in for a little bit of good-natured poking here and there.

While I thought there were a few plot holes, and a few of the characters didn't really do much for me, I enjoyed jumping this romp through Moers' universe. It's awfully nice to suspend belief for a while and descend into the catacombs of a good book.

http://philobiblos.blogspot.com/2009/... ( )

In the tradition of Jansson's Moomintrolls and Juster's Phantom Tollbooth, here we have a story told by Optimus Yarnspinner, a dinosaurish creature whose entire life revolves around books. As our tale opens, Yarnspinner's authorial godfather, Dancelot Wordwright, is on his deathbed. He gives Yarnspinner a short story that is so good that it caused him to stop writing. Yarnspinner then journeys to Bookholm, a city entirely devoted to writing and bookselling, to track down this amazing writer. This book is a real treat for bibliophiles. The illustrations are darling and the literary references are fun to spot. Not a book I probably would have picked up on my own; I'm glad I gave it a try. ( )

As a lover of books, I felt I was going to enjoy this book and I did. At first I was thrown because I didn't know the characters were going to be non-human (I just read the back cover which didn't really say), but once I realized what I was in for, I really got into the story. Optimus' journey through Bookholm and the catacombs, with its book laden tunnels and fascinating array of creatures, kept me wanting to read more. Perhaps it was the Orm. :) ( )

At Lindworm Castle in the country of Zamoria, every young dinosaur has an authorial godfather who is responsible for his literary education and training. When young Optimus Yarnspinner's godfather, Dancelot Wordwright, dies, he leaves his charge a manuscript of such surpassing genius, a piece of writing so perfectly right, that Optimus decides that he must find the author and learn from him.

And so he leaves home and heads for the city of Bookholm, a town that "reeks of old books", where the inhabitants walk with "stacks of books under their arms - indeed, many tow whole handcarts laden with reading matter". But as he begins his search for the mysterious author amid the city's five thousand antiquarian bookstores, it becomes apparent that all is not as it seems. Hidden beneath the city are labyrinthine tunnels where Bookhunters seek rare and precious tomes, and where danger lurks. Optimus finds himself trapped in this nether world, and must find his way back to the light. It is his adventures there that form the core of this delightfully exciting book, as he fends off living books (animatomes), spends time among the Booklings (each of whom has memorized the entire output of such literary geniuses as Aleisha Wimpersleake and Wamilli Swordthrow), and learns the secret of the Shadow King.

An utterly charming and amusing book, filled with literary puns. Many booklovers will appreciate the scene where, hypnotized by an odd form of music, the populace madly invades the bookstores, "sweeping books off the shelves regardless of title or author, price or condition . . . I had been smitten with an insatiable hunger for books and only one thing could cure it: buy, buy, buy!" Sounds like me at the Newberry Library Book Fair.

Fantastic book. Beautiful language. Original. Not only is it a work of astounding imagination and sparkling whimsy, but it's also a scathing satire on all things literary. Full of the darkest sort of humor, no one is spared -- not writers, critics, editors, agents, booksellers, or readers. As a writer myself, I found it hilarious, poignant, uplifting and humbling, all at once. It's also a rollicking good tale! ( )