The Library of the Unwritten

I love books about books. Libraries were my favorite place to visit as a kid (I still fantasize about visiting the one in Corpus Christi, TX, that I spent so much time in). This tale is something truly special, a palate cleanser from all the fiction thats let me down this year (The Priory of the Orange Tree, Im looking at you here). I honestly kept waiting for the plot or the characters to turn formulaic or boring, but instead I drew out reading the end of the book so I could hang out with them longer. I LOVE YOU, CLAIRE! ! ! ! !
Am immediately going back to amazon to buy everything else this author has available on Kindle under both of the names the author publishes under.
This ones for the book nerds. You know who you are. And anyone else who enjoys a good story.

‘Stories want to change, and it is a librarian’s job to preserve them; that’s the natural order of things. The Unwritten Wing of the Library, for all its infinite magic and mystery, is in some ways a futile project. No story, written or unwritten, is static. Left abandoned too long and given the right stimulation, a book goes wrong in the head. It is a story’s natural ambition to wake up and start telling itself to the world.

This, of course, is a buggered pain in the arse.’

Welcome to the Library of the Unwritten, nestled inside (but not a part of) Hell. Here, the current librarian Claire Hadley keeps track of the books begun, but never finished. Demon patrons have to be kept in line, rogue characters brought back top their books, clean and tidy. Orderly. That’s the way of things here while she works off her soul debt. When Heaven comes knocking, far too interested in her charges, she and her assistant Brevity must gear up to protect the Library from Heaven and Hell. Who can she trust to help her? The anxious, overly polite demon-currier Leto, her failed-muse-turned-assistant Brevity, Hero- a character rejected by his own story? Andreas, the arcanist demon who helped her stand on her own thirty years ago? It’s not much of a team when put against agents of Heaven, but she won’t go down without a fight.

I will admit it; I am 100% obsessed with the premise of this book. A library filled with half developed stories, characters beloved but never realized, all stored together itching to be free- to be told. I could live here, in this library. 13 year old me would have died just thinking about such treasure.

I loved the characters here, each with their own regrets and issues. Leto, the amnesiac demon who’s afraid of everything and only wants to get things right. Claire, damaged from her past, closed off…. yet can’t help herself from collecting strays to take care of. Brevity, the muse discharged for the sin of wanting something for herself. Hero, who only wanted to escape his book to find his author and get her to write, left apart, unacknowledged by his own book and unable to get back. Then there’s Ramiel, one of the fallen angels- the Watchers, tossed from Heaven at the same time as Lucifer for giving God’s creations forbidden knowledge. Still too caring, too determined to do the right thing, looking in on Heaven- the only home he ever knew- and unable to go back. Each one is well developed and interesting with their own voices that you get to hear through the duel narratives- the book is broken up so that each character gets a chapter.

The mission- to find the remaining pages of the Devil’s Bible, without letting the Devil know, before Heaven can get it- is really interesting. I was enthralled by all the adventure, and the mad-cap plans. You can’t help but root for this snarky band of misfits (let’s face it; none of these guys are exactly merry, are they?). I liked that there was more than Heaven and Hell, there was Valhalla and regions so old as to be forgotten.

The writing style is really great too- it has a good flow and is easy to follow even though there are four narrators ( I had forgotten that Hero was not given his own chapter). Each chapter starts with the name of the narrator and an exert from the journal that The Library’s workers kept. Everything melded together perfectly. It started strong, catching my attention with the exert I quoted in my summary. I feel like it was a very fast paced book that will appeal to bibliophiles ages 13 to 100. For me, this is a five star book with an extra star for creativity.

On the adult content scale, there is a lot of violence. Some language, drinking and a lot of bawdy talk/ sexual innuendo. It’s not the worst I have ever seen on the YA book section…. but it’s something to think about. I would still give it to a thirteen year old. Let’s give it a four.

The book is out! I cannot recommend it enough. In fact, I had borrowed this book from the library and found myself unable to part with it. My copy will be in tomorrow- I bought a paperback so I could pass it around, but I don’t know if I can let it go long enough.

This book may make you uncomfortable because of the respective roles of Hell and Heaven. There is no doubt that the twists in those roles had a negative impact on me as a reader. Nevertheless, it is a very creative story. Claire is the librarian in Hell, in charge of the Unwritten Wing of the Library. Unwritten books are an unruly bunch. When ignored too long or when disturbed, the books want to wake up and write their own stories. The story begins with a character who has escaped his book and fled to the mortal world. Claires staff in the library consists of a muse and they are joined by a young man (who may be a minor demon or may not). From there, things get more complicated as a new quest is added to Claires responsibility. The quest leads through other afterlife worlds (from other religions) and other parts of the mortal realm. This well-written book is clever, sometimes humorous, and filled with religious and mythological references. The pacing is fairly fast, but it did not seem like a quick read because I was having to pay such close attention in order to understand what was happening. I could see by the Amazon listing that it is part of a planned trilogy, but the story reads as if it were a stand-alone novel. While this book was reasonably entertaining because it was so creative, I am not certain that I will continue with the series.

I waited a bit before reviewing this book so that it could percolate a while. Bottom line: I really enjoyed it. The story is good and the world the author created is unexpectedly vivid with characters, even those who arent human, that are just as wildly conflicted as any one of us can be. Even in a place where many systems of belief tell us that moral quandaries and the burden of a conscience are not an issue; a world free from choice and consequence, there is still a sense that the beauty and pain of being human are not so easily discarded. But that, of course, is based on nothing more than what I brought to the book; my own preconceptions. The author has created a plane of existence where right and wrong is just as elusive and difficult to define as it is here. And that is what raises this story above what is typical for other fantasy/comedy books. That, of course, doesnt mean the story is at all lacking in imaginative world building, humor, or excitement.

Im really looking forward to any sequel the author might write.

A Library in Hell for unfinished works, who wouldnt love that dramatic concept? Then add in Claire the emotionally damaged librarian, Brevity her muse assistant, Leto a human who thinks hes a demon with amnesia, and a Hero from a book on an adventure to save the library in hell! Lots of villains to dig through, realm jumping, scary parts, and enough emotional upheaval to make me fall in love! Its definitely one of my favorite books of 2019!

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