The Dark Talent
core novel 2016 Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians
Record
| First published | 2016 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.12 (10,164 ratings, collected 2026-09-11) |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780765381408 |
| Internal chronology | 5 |
Synopsis
The Dark Talent follows the Smedry family to Washington, D.C. after the Librarians' assault on Tuki Tuki, where Alcatraz, his grandfather Leavenworth, his uncle Kazan, his mother Shasta, and the Crystin knight Draulin travel to infiltrate the Highbrary, a sprawling underground library complex that begins beneath the Library of Congress and extends far under the city. Their goal is to locate Alcatraz's father, Attica Smedry, who is believed to have unknowingly gained access to research so dangerous it could bring about the end of Free Kingdom civilization if it fell into the wrong hands. As the group makes their way through the vast, labyrinthine Highbrary, they must contend with threats hidden throughout the Librarians' own stronghold, uncertain what dangers actually await them as they close in on Attica and the knowledge he unwittingly carries.
Where it sits
- Universe: Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians
- Series: Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians core; position 5 of 5 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Brandon Sanderson
Notes
- From the series record (Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians): A middle-grade comic-fantasy series about a boy who can deliberately break things, opposing a secret cabal of librarians who suppress fantastical 'Silimatic' technology hidden across the real world. Books 1-5 solely authored by Brandon Sanderson (already known for the Cosmere and the Wheel of Time). No true connection to either of those universes -- a wholly separate, standalone continuity.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians: position 5 of 5: previous Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Lens (2010)
- Internal chronology, within Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians: position 5 of 6: previous Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Lens (2010) · next Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians (2022)
Sources
- Brandon Sanderson: Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians series page
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Talent
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Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.