Status
Available
Call number
Series
Collection
Publication
Titan Books (UK) (2021), 496 pages
Description
Fantasy. Fiction. Humor (Fiction.) HTML:In the second installment of this richly imagined fantasy adventure series, a new threat from within the Library could destroy those who depend upon it the most. The Library of the Unwritten in Hell was saved from total devastation, but hundreds of potential books were destroyed. Former librarian Claire and Brevity the muse feel the loss of those stories, and are trying to adjust to their new roles within the Arcane Wing and Library, respectively. But when the remains of those books begin to leak a strange ink, Claire realizes that the Library has kept secrets from Hell�??and from its own librarians. Claire and Brevity are immediately at odds in their approach to the ink, and the potential power that it represents has not gone unnoticed. When a representative from the Muses Corps arrives at the Library to advise Brevity, the angel Rami and the erstwhile Hero hunt for answers in other realms. The true nature of the ink could fundamentally alter the afterlife for good or ill, but it entirely depends on who is left to hold the p… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member jmchshannon
The Archive of the Forgotten by A. J. Hackwith is the second installment of the Hell’s Library series. As one would expect of a sequel, there are a few answers, more questions, and a new crisis our heroes must resolve. This time around, we not only learn more about the Library, but we also get
As The Archive of the Forgotten starts out a few months after the end of The Library of the Unwritten, there is always a danger that an author will either not recap the previous story or will spend too much time doing so, to the detriment of the current one. Thankfully, Ms. Hackwith does an excellent job balancing the refresher with building the mystery for this new adventure.
In fact, one of the main plot points of The Archive of the Forgotten is the aftermath of that first story. For Hero, Brevity, and Claire, there is no such thing as moving on with their lives (or afterlives). The emotional and psychological traumas of the battle among all of the characters play a significant role in the sequel, as it should. It shows that Ms. Hackwith intends for each story within the series to build upon the other one, which is always something you want in any series.
Within The Archive of the Forgotten, we get to see yet another afterlife dimension even though Heaven does not make an appearance this time. We do learn more about the Library, especially its importance within the universe. However, Ms. Hackwith is careful to leave certain questions about the Library without answers to give us something to anticipate in future novels.
The Archive of the Forgotten is the second novel in an enjoyable series that focuses less on the comical and more on the poignant. Ms. Hackwith seeks to redefine what a story is in a way that will strike an avid reader as profound. In addition, she makes you ruminate on the relationship between an author and his or her story. With many a sentence that hits you with all the emotions, I am most definitely a fan and cannot wait to see what happens next!
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some time with Brevity and Hero as well as Claire.As The Archive of the Forgotten starts out a few months after the end of The Library of the Unwritten, there is always a danger that an author will either not recap the previous story or will spend too much time doing so, to the detriment of the current one. Thankfully, Ms. Hackwith does an excellent job balancing the refresher with building the mystery for this new adventure.
In fact, one of the main plot points of The Archive of the Forgotten is the aftermath of that first story. For Hero, Brevity, and Claire, there is no such thing as moving on with their lives (or afterlives). The emotional and psychological traumas of the battle among all of the characters play a significant role in the sequel, as it should. It shows that Ms. Hackwith intends for each story within the series to build upon the other one, which is always something you want in any series.
Within The Archive of the Forgotten, we get to see yet another afterlife dimension even though Heaven does not make an appearance this time. We do learn more about the Library, especially its importance within the universe. However, Ms. Hackwith is careful to leave certain questions about the Library without answers to give us something to anticipate in future novels.
The Archive of the Forgotten is the second novel in an enjoyable series that focuses less on the comical and more on the poignant. Ms. Hackwith seeks to redefine what a story is in a way that will strike an avid reader as profound. In addition, she makes you ruminate on the relationship between an author and his or her story. With many a sentence that hits you with all the emotions, I am most definitely a fan and cannot wait to see what happens next!
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LibraryThing member quondame
Fast moving but not furious, this follows the denizens of the Library of the Unwritten and the Archive as they continue to make mistakes and learn dangerous things.
LibraryThing member bell7
After the events in The Library of the Unwritten, the library is still recovering from the fire, now with the muse, Brevity, as librarian and Claire shoved out to the Archives instead. There's some tension between the two, but they - and Rami and Hero - will be forced to band together again when a
I had a blast returning to these characters and the world the author created in Hell's Library. The second in a planned trilogy, the book has reminders of past events without information dumping, and introduces more characters and aspects of the Library that intrigued me. I'm very much looking forward to book 3 in November.
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mysterious pool of ink turns up in Hell's Archives and they start to question the very nature of the Library and the Unwritten books themselves.I had a blast returning to these characters and the world the author created in Hell's Library. The second in a planned trilogy, the book has reminders of past events without information dumping, and introduces more characters and aspects of the Library that intrigued me. I'm very much looking forward to book 3 in November.
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LibraryThing member dono421846
I rarely give five starts, but Hackwith gets two in a row. that merit is not simply because she does amazingly well what all authors should aspire to achieve: create a coherent world, filled with characters we understand and care about and who behave consistently, and structures a plot that flows
I read almost exclusively books about books and libraries, in all genres. In this series Hackwith has offered a startling and meaningful statement about the relationship between author and work, and on the true nature of inspiration and book. Moreover, these insights are not just dicta embroidering the true meat of the story, but are the foundation of the series itself. That puts her in the company of other masters such as Rachel Caine and Genevieve Cogman.
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believably and compellingly. That would be enough to get four stars, but the last is for a truly rare accomplishment. I read almost exclusively books about books and libraries, in all genres. In this series Hackwith has offered a startling and meaningful statement about the relationship between author and work, and on the true nature of inspiration and book. Moreover, these insights are not just dicta embroidering the true meat of the story, but are the foundation of the series itself. That puts her in the company of other masters such as Rachel Caine and Genevieve Cogman.
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LibraryThing member Aronfish
I adored the Library of the Unwritten, and still enjoyed this second entry to the trilogy but found it a little harder to get into. There is some development of Claire and Brevity's back stories, and it took me some time to remember what had already been revealed in Book #1. The new balance in
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Claire and Brevity's relationship after the fire sets up some challenges to figuring out the mystery of the pool of ink that appears in the Archive, but starts the plot moving. Brevity gets a visit from a sister muse with some aversion to humans that throws a further kink into what would have been a joint concern of the new librarian and the new Archivist. Once it got started, the book adds depth to the character development of all our favorite characters while taking us on a wild ride to solve a mystery. I'll sign up for Book 3! Show Less
LibraryThing member John_Warner
In this second book of the Hell's Library trilogy, Claire, the former head librarian, has been reWheIn this second book of the Hell's Library trilogy, Claire, the former head librarian, has been reassigned to the arcane wing after the battle of the library which left many books burnt and destroyed.
When a pool of mysterious ink is discovered in the libary several characters have different approaches regarding its future use. Hero hopes that it can be used to restore his story. Recent representatives of the Muses Corps believe that the ink might be a medium for muses to be creators like humans rather than simply providing inspiration to humans.
Although I thought this book read slower than that first, I did enjoy it and its descriptions of a library located in Hell where unfinished books reside. I especially enjoyed the peppering of periodic commentaries on books, storytelling, and libraries in the previous librarian's logs and in the conversation of several characters, such as:
"Humans always come for the stories first. It’s their warm-up, before they start burning other humans. It’s their first form of control, to burn the libraries, to burn the books, to burn the archives of a culture. Humans are the stories they tell."
I look forward to reading the final book in the series: The God of Lost Words scheduled to be published in Nov 2021.
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Brevity, Claire's former assistant, has been promoted to head librarian, assisted by Hero, a character whose book was destroyed leaving him homeless.When a pool of mysterious ink is discovered in the libary several characters have different approaches regarding its future use. Hero hopes that it can be used to restore his story. Recent representatives of the Muses Corps believe that the ink might be a medium for muses to be creators like humans rather than simply providing inspiration to humans.
Although I thought this book read slower than that first, I did enjoy it and its descriptions of a library located in Hell where unfinished books reside. I especially enjoyed the peppering of periodic commentaries on books, storytelling, and libraries in the previous librarian's logs and in the conversation of several characters, such as:
"Humans always come for the stories first. It’s their warm-up, before they start burning other humans. It’s their first form of control, to burn the libraries, to burn the books, to burn the archives of a culture. Humans are the stories they tell."
I look forward to reading the final book in the series: The God of Lost Words scheduled to be published in Nov 2021.
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LibraryThing member JJbooklvr
The sequel to The Library of the Unwritten which continues the adventure of Claire, Brevity, Hero, and Ramiel. Libraries, books, librarians, supernatural creatures, with a dose of mythology. I was in at libraries! If you liked the first book you will enjoy this one just as much!
LibraryThing member MontzaleeW
The Archive of the Forgotten
(Hell's Library #2)
by A.J. Hackwith
This continues the story where the other one left off but immediately we have a new threat. But despite the immediate threat the pace of the first part of the book is so slow! I almost gave up even though it was interesting, if it
(Hell's Library #2)
by A.J. Hackwith
This continues the story where the other one left off but immediately we have a new threat. But despite the immediate threat the pace of the first part of the book is so slow! I almost gave up even though it was interesting, if it
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doesn't seem to move....well, you feel me, right? But the end picked up. I loved the characters, except the grumpy new one. Show Less
LibraryThing member murderbydeath
Not as good as the first book for me. The first book was all about the creation of the team: Claire, Brevity, Hero and eventually, Ramiel. The librarian, the muse, the character, and the angel. There was a common enemy and books had spirit and fought. It was a good time.
This book is about pitting
All in all, a lot less fun and more of a chore. A chore willingly done because all the fantastic love of books and stories is still here. The magic of books is still here; it’s just the characters that lost their magic this time around. I suppose I could say the division amongst friends in this book reminds me too much of the division amongst friends and family in real life that’s occurring everywhere, and that would be true, but really, I just don’t like to read about friends fighting.
I love the atmosphere of the book and the magic of the library and the arcane wing. I love the log entries at the start of each chapter, even if I don’t always agree with their philosophy or theology. I like the characters, and I’d like to love them and perhaps with the next book, or the one after that, I will, assuming I’ll want to read it when the time comes. But if the author is sharing a sliver of her soul with readers in this series, I can’t help but worry from hints here and there within the stories so far, that that sliver of soul has an axe to grind and I’m not looking to be a whetstone for my books, no matter how much I love their premise and their magic. So, 3.5 stars and a ‘we’ll see’.
I read this for 2021 Halloween Bingo. I originally had the Psych square, but Flipped/traded with Moonlight Reader (All the Vintage Ladies) for her Highway to Hell square, for which this is
This book is about pitting
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the team against each other and the books are silent, non-participants, except when a character or two throws some spite at Claire, who is now the Archivist of the Arcane after being ousted by Hell as Librarian of the Unwritten Wing. There’s also a tiny soupçon of insta-romance that’s completely unnecessary, extraneous to the plot entirely, and feels like it was done to make a statement rather than add anything to the story, as opposed to the small soupçon of romance that was central to the plot of the first book.All in all, a lot less fun and more of a chore. A chore willingly done because all the fantastic love of books and stories is still here. The magic of books is still here; it’s just the characters that lost their magic this time around. I suppose I could say the division amongst friends in this book reminds me too much of the division amongst friends and family in real life that’s occurring everywhere, and that would be true, but really, I just don’t like to read about friends fighting.
I love the atmosphere of the book and the magic of the library and the arcane wing. I love the log entries at the start of each chapter, even if I don’t always agree with their philosophy or theology. I like the characters, and I’d like to love them and perhaps with the next book, or the one after that, I will, assuming I’ll want to read it when the time comes. But if the author is sharing a sliver of her soul with readers in this series, I can’t help but worry from hints here and there within the stories so far, that that sliver of soul has an axe to grind and I’m not looking to be a whetstone for my books, no matter how much I love their premise and their magic. So, 3.5 stars and a ‘we’ll see’.
I read this for 2021 Halloween Bingo. I originally had the Psych square, but Flipped/traded with Moonlight Reader (All the Vintage Ladies) for her Highway to Hell square, for which this is
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Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2020-10
ISBN
1789093198 / 9781789093193
Local notes
When the remains of the library books begin to leak a strange ink, Claire realizes that the Library has kept secrets from Hell--and from its own librarians. The nature of the ink could fundamentally alter the afterlife for good or ill, but it entirely depends on who is left to hold the pen.