The Book That Wouldn't Burn
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4.4 • 121 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Two strangers find themselves connected by a vast and mysterious library containing many wonders and still more secrets, in this powerfully moving first book in a new series from the international bestselling author of Red Sister and Prince of Thorns.
The boy has lived his whole life trapped within a book-choked chamber older than empires and larger than cities.
The girl has been plucked from the outskirts of civilization to be trained as a librarian, studying the mysteries of the great library at the heart of her kingdom.
They were never supposed to meet. But in the library, they did.
Their stories spiral around each other, across worlds and time. This is a tale of truth and lies and hearts, and the blurring of one into another. A journey on which knowledge erodes certainty and on which, though the pen may be mightier than the sword, blood will be spilled and cities burned.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Lawrence (the Broken Empire trilogy) draws readers into a vast subterranean library in this thrilling romantic fantasy and Library Trilogy series launch. After monstrous sabbers attack Livira Page's village in the backwater known as the Dust, she finds refuge in the big city, where she adjusts quickly despite prejudice against "dusters." Meanwhile, Evar Eventari and his four siblings live in the mysterious library that stretches beneath the city. It's the only home they've ever known and they share it with a mysterious Mechanism that transforms books into "something to be physically experienced, walked through, partaken in, interrogated, shared." The quintet spent decades trapped inside the Mechanism before being spit back out again, though they did not age a day in all that time. Each of the siblings gained skills and knowledge from the books they brought into the Mechanism except for Evar, who emerged only with the vague knowledge that he is missing something—or someone—and now he needs to find her. Told over the course of years for Livira and mere days for Evar, this tale of knowledge and its cost flies by thanks to the gripping mystery and beautiful worldbuilding, ending on a devastating cliffhanger. Readers will be desperate for more.
Customer Reviews
Loved it
Big fan of Mark Lawrence. This was well done, characters had depth but you didn’t drown in it, surprises and intrigue and magic throughout. I also think the author is trying to say something deeper than just the story itself, and the idea of a library as the setting for a fantasy novel probably hints about human knowledge and how seldom it leads to wisdom. We find more efficient ways to: harm, make money, convince, etc without often considering if those are NOBLE things to do. Perhaps there’s something here for us all to ponder at the very least, whether we like fantasy or not.
A work of art and an amazing read!
Full disclosure: I love Mark Lawrence’s work and I’ve read almost everything he’s published.
Although I am an experienced reader of over 50 years, mainly of science fiction and fantasy, I rarely write reviews. But this story has deeply moved me! Well worth 5 stars, well worth your time.
As always, Mr. Lawrence engages in unique (yet grounded in literature, mythology, and history), detailed, and expansive world building that still allows space for nuanced and deep characters that are ever growing and evolving. Relationships between characters are also nuanced and deeply felt - you care about these characters and they care about each other. The narrative structure and plot grows out of the character’s requirements for growth, never feeling forced or superficial.
I also very much enjoy how he delicately intertwines intertextual references throughout this narrative, everything from Tolkien to his own work and other pop culture texts in between in a meaningful way. Made me laugh out loud more than a few times. Makes the story feel connected to all stories and absolutely fits with The Library motif.
This story has big themes about what it means to be a thinking sentient being, about community, family, the nature of war and who our enemies are, as well as the meaning of knowledge and the nature of good and evil - all timely and relevant issues in our world today.
Yet at its core, and woven throughout the larger issues, this is an intimate love story.
Mark Lawrence’s The Broken Empire trilogy, The Red Queen’s War trilogy, the Book of the Ancestor trilogy, and The Book of the Ice trilogy are all fantastic, great reads, and if you haven’t read them yet, you should, maybe even before starting this book. This story is a little deeper and more philosophical, a little more grown up. This is his best work so far - by far!
Well done Mr. Lawrence, well done. Thank you. I look forward to more!
The Book that Wouldn’t Burn is confusing
Just another book trying to be everything everywhere all of the time.