Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener's Bones

#496
Title: Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener's Bones
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Publisher: Scholastic
Year: 2009
336 pages

The joke in this series is that Alcatraz's talent is to break things; the meta-joke is that Alcatraz breaks the story by lying, lying about lying, intruding on the story to explain its structure, and generally gumming up the narrative works. This second volume is less self-conscious and more relaxed than the first, without sacrificing its cleverness. This adventure advances the plot and provides more of the unfolding story of the Smedry family, their talents, and the technology and history of the world beyond the Hushlands. I don't usually laugh aloud when I read, but encountering a Smedry named Australia made me snort. If you recall the Smedry naming tradition and its corruption by the Librarians, you'll know why it's funny.