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Books that aren't finished by their authors reside in the Library of the Unwritten in Hell, but when restless characters who emerge from those unfinished stories escape, it is up to the Librarian to track them down... and keep the collection complete. Many years ago, Claire was named head librarian of the Unwritten Wing--a neutral space in Hell where all the stories unfinished by their authors reside. Her job consists mainly of repairing and organizing books, but also of keeping an eye on restless stories that risk materializing as characters and escaping the Library. When a hero escapes from his book and goes in search of its author, Claire must track and capture him with the help of former muse and current assistant Brevity and the nervous and sweet demon Leto. But what should have been a simple retrieval goes horrifyingly wrong when the terrifying angel Ramiel attacks them, convinced that they hold the Devil's Bible. The text of the Devil's Bible is a weapon in the power struggle between Heaven and Hell, so it falls to the librarians to find a book with the ability to reshape the boundaries between Heaven, Hell...and Earth.… (more)
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This book
In general I liked this book, it did take me quite a while to read though. I think my biggest issue was that I never really felt all that engaged with the characters. I enjoyed the characters and their snarkiness, however neither the characters nor the broader storyline made me desperate to read this book. The writing style, while easy to read, made me feel distanced from the characters and their story.
This book will remind readers of many other books out there that take a humorous look at clashes between Heaven and Hell. It falls under those books that are a bit humorous and are about heaven and hell and the machinations that happen behind the scenes to affect humanity as a whole (think Good Omens, Dogma, etc). I did enjoy the twist of how much influence this Unwritten Library has over leaders in Hell.
Overall this is a creative read. I am on the fence about whether or not I will continue this series. I just felt like I had to actively force myself to finish this one even though I enjoyed a lot parts of the story. I also am not a huge fan of these type of near apocalyptic humourous heaven vs hell types of stories.
This is the first book in a new fantasy series featuring a Librarian who is in
I won an ARC through a Goodreads giveaway and am providing an unbiased review.
Aligned against these characters include Uriel, an archangel also known as the Face of God, especially now since God has distanced himself from humanity and the heavenly host; and Ramiel, a fallen angel known as the Thunder of God punished for his insurrection by being assigned to purgatory located outside of the gates of heaven.
Both the agents from heaven and hell are in a struggle to recover a missing artifact, a codex created by Satan and embued with his paranormal essence. Several of the characters have individual motives for discovery.
A colorful cast of characters and a hazardous adventure makes this inaugural book in a new series a good read. I look forward to reading this series' sequel.
Clever writing with a fun premise and a lot to say about the power of stories and imagination? Sign me up! This book pretty perfectly puts my interests in fantasy and books and libraries all together in one fun ride. Sure, the pacing may not be perfect, but it kept me guessing 'til the end, and I'll definitely read more by the author.
Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss
Such an unique story. A library wing in Hell where authors unfinished books and the restless characters within them reside. The librarian, Claire, maintains the books and
Weirdly, it nearly lost me halfway even though it was doing all the right things - but I’m so glad I stuck with it, because the payoff in the final act is brilliant.
Full review
I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I received this book from the publisher and Netgalley. Thank you.
Claire is the Head Librarian in the Unwritten Wing in Hell's Library. Her job is to take care of all of the unwritten works that have yet to be completed. She not only must repair books but sometimes has to track down any characters who may have escaped their stories. Claire, along with her assistant, Brevity, and demon courier, Leto, must retrieve one such character who has not only escaped but has gone off to meet their author. They are able to catch up with the character, Hero, but things quickly get more complicated when they encounter the angel, Ramiel, who believes that they have the Devil's Bible.
This was a book that I liked more and more as I read. The characters are interesting from the beginning but as I really got to know them over the course of the story, I grew to care about them. I think that all of the key characters in this book showed a lot of growth. The story itself was really exciting. There was no limit as to what could happen and I found the entire premise to be incredibly imaginative. The story had a lot of layers and I loved how a character's backstory or a small piece of information could suddenly change everything.
I would recommend this story to others. I thought that this was a very well done and unique fantasy. I fell in love with this group of characters and found the book to be very exciting. I thought it told a very complete story and I was quite satisfied by how everything worked out. This is the first book in the Hell's Library series and I look forward to reading more of the adventures of this group of characters as they protect the books in Hell's Library.
I received a review copy of this book from Berkley Publishing Group - Ace.
Lisa Flanagan was the perfect narrator for this particular
All in all, I’d say to check this novel or audiobook out at your local library as soon as you can get it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
4 stars, and recommended.
I found this to be a reasonably engaging, if somewhat predictable, adventure. Some parts of the worldbuilding were fun, but some parts didn't really make a lot of sense. As long as I didn't think too hard about any of it, I found it reasonably enjoyable. I don't have any plans to read any more in the series.
In this first entry
Claire is the librarian of the Library of the Unwritten located in hell, she is beyond Lucifer's control even though all the demons would love unfiltered access to the unwritten books to get a better insight in human
Now obviously I read this book because I am a librarian and it sounded awesome that there is a unwritten library filled with books no one else has seen and its in hell, because why not. The story got a little confusing at times because of everything that was going on especially in the beginning, but as I read on it became clear. I did feel at times there was unnecessary plot points that did not add much to the story (maybe later in the series) and I wish more of the text was given to character development or explaining the world because at times it was lacking. I'd say the book really picked up my interest around the halfway mark and redeemed the book.
Myself, I've never found the title of author appealing. My love of books is strictly that of the receiver of
Regardless, once I got into the story, which admittedly took awhile, I was invested. I thoroughly appreciated the author's take on Christian theology and judgement, but had a hard time buying into the creative license she took with heaven on several different levels. There's a serious feminist vibe running throughout the narrative, which is fine, but for the record: God is no more a 'she' than God is a 'he'; God is Omni; God is all, and while it makes no material difference which gender pronoun one uses, the overt use of "she' has always felt petty to me. It was a small blip, but whenever it happened it yanked me out of the story, even if just for a second.
The author's grasp of the mythology of the underworld felt less formed, but only if you really stop to consider; the logic of the plotting cracks a bit around the edges if you stop to consider how she's got the bureaucracy of Hell set up. Don't think about it too much though and it works well enough.
The characters are well written, though Leto's story is obviously the one that is the most fully developed. This is the character the author thought most deeply about, or had enough life experience that bled through into his creation. Which is both unfortunate and haunting, though the result is a character the reader can care about and cheer for. To use Hackworth's logic, Leto is the character most likely to leave his book.
Overall, an engaging story, an adventure. There's a second book out next month that I'll happily read, and I hope this time around we'll spend more time in the library itself.
In A. J. Hackwith's imagination, they reside in the Library of the Unwritten, a lesser known part of Hell. There, they are presided over, protected by, and under the care of the Librarian. The Librarian is in charge of keeping
Unfortunately, she and her team get caught up in a dispute over the Devil's Bible, a book believed by those in both Heaven and Hell to hold great power. In an effort to keep it out of the hands of a demon who wants to use it for his own nefarious purposes, they seek to return the book to the Library for safekeeping, but must travel through several realms, including Valhalla, on their way. Meanwhile, the Library itself is under seige, and the team must split up. Will they be able to win the fight on two fronts, and still remain strong enough to keep the Lirbary intact?
As with any work of fantasy, this book requires more than a little suspension of disbelief, and readers who characterize themselves as religious may have an ever harder time, given that the subject matter includes a somewhat jaundiced approach to Heaven and Hell, demons and angels. Other readers may appreciate Hackwith's multi-cultural mythologizing, her notion of a literary duel, and her ideas about what can happen when characters become separated from their books.
For fans of The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde, The Library of the Dead by T. L. Huchu, and The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep by H. G. Parry.
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