The Absolute Book
-
-
3.5 • 8 Ratings
-
-
- $12.99
-
- $12.99
Publisher Description
An epic fantasy about ancient treacheries that span worlds, a mysterious scroll box that has survived centuries of fire, and the undying power of stories.
Taryn Cornick believes she has put her sister's violent death and her own complicity in an act of retribution behind her. But her successful book about the perils that threaten libraries mentions an ancient scroll box--called the Firestarter--that has inexplicably survived numerous fires, including one at her own grandparents' estate, and now powers in both this world and beyond are looking for her.
DI Jacob Berger has questions about Taryn's past and his dogged interest means they both suddenly find themselves in a mysterious land of peace and plenty, carried there by a shadowy young man named Shift. The land, home to a beautiful people who long ago bargained a terrible price for their idyllic existence, is now threatened from the precincts of Hell itself, and Taryn is of great interest to the rebels. But Shift is key to both the unimaginably precious scroll inside the Firestarter and to the outcome of the threatened war, and he has an ambitious plan of his own.
The Absolute Book is a sweeping novel of journeys and returns, from contemporary England to realms beyond ours, from New Zealand to Purgatory itself, intimately weaving together the stories of vivid characters who face a reckoning that could change the future of all of these worlds.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Strange, thrilling, and beautiful, The Absolute Book is impossible to categorize…aside from lumping it in with Books We Couldn’t Put Down. Elizabeth Knox’s genre-bending fantasy follows rising young author Taryn, who’s struggling to put the death of her beloved sister Beatrice behind her. But although the driver responsible for the tragedy is in prison, Taryn can’t tamp down her burning rage. When a detective questions her about some suspicious events, the two of them embark on a breathtaking, mind-bending adventure that spans countries, worlds, and even time itself. Knox’s epic tale is a lot, combining myth, mystery, psychological thrills, and supernatural suspense—and she manages to make every element of her sprawling new world feel utterly real. Prepare to read deep into the night.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This sprawling and engrossing epic from Knox (Mortal Fire) opens with intimate tragedy and expands until the fates of several worlds hang in the balance. When Taryn Cornick's sister, Beatrice, is killed, Taryn wants revenge, and over the 14 years that follow, she progresses from detached teen, then listless wife, to celebrated author. Her debut work of "musing nonfiction" discusses dangers to libraries, and its international acclaim wins Taryn both allies and enemies. As questions emerge about a fire in her grandparents' library which housed an ancient, mystical scroll and Taryn's involvement in a murder case, Taryn is drawn into a centuries-old conflict between demons and the sidhe. The story expands like inverse nesting dolls, beginning as a slow-burn thriller and gradually revealing itself as epic fantasy, even as it retains its core of real-world suspense. Bookish and withdrawn, Taryn is an unexpected chosen one and resists many of the standard heroic tropes. Knox bites off a bit more than she can chew, though, and several questions are left unanswered, but readers will still be impressed by the work's sweeping scope. This ambitious fantasy is a master class in blending genres.
