'In the first book in a brilliant new fantasy series, books that aren't finished by their authors reside in the Library of the Unwritten in Hell, and it is up to the Librarian to track down any restless characters who emerge from those unfinished stories.
'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 organising books, but also of keeping an eye on restless stories that risk materialising as characters and escaping the library. When a Hero escapes from his book and goes in search of his author, Claire must track and capture him with the help of former muse and current assistant Brevity and nervous demon courier Leto.
'But what should have been a simple retrieval goes horrifyingly wrong when the terrifyingly angelic Ramiel attacks them, convinced that they hold the Devil's Bible. The text of the Devil's Bible is a powerful weapon in the power struggle between Heaven and Hell, so it falls to the librarians to find a book with the power to reshape the boundaries between Heaven, Hell ... and Earth.'
I think the first thing that needs to be gotten out of the way when talking about The Library of the Unwritten is that I feel a little personally attacked, as I'm sure anyone who ever thought up an idea for a book but never got round to writing it would be after reading this. A book that tells you that your unwritten stories are going to sit away in Hell for all eternity definitely feels like a kick up the butt to anyone who's ever thought about writing, and for that I really want to thank A.J. Hackwith for making me think about going back to my own writing.
In all seriousness, this was a book where I wasn't entirely sure what to think of it for a good portion of it. I knew that I was enjoying it, that the story was interesting and the characters were good, but there was a lot thrown at readers here to try and get their heads around. Thankfully Hackwith was clearly aware that there was going to be a lot of new ideas coming into play, and provided readers with Leto, a wonderfully sweet character who could act as our eyes in this magical new universe, able to ask what the hell's going on (no pun intended), and make the other characters explain things.
The Library of the Unwritten deals with a special library in Hell, filled with books and objects that were dreamed up but never created. These include stories, poetry, beautiful rugs, and even exquisitely crafted swords. Claire is a human who has gone on to become the librarian following her death, a post that means she has to run the Unwritten Wing. Not only does she have to make sure that things stay neat and organised, but she also has to maintain an uneasy neutrality with the demons of Hell, as well as stopping the characters in the unwritten stories from waking up.
However, when one of the heroes not only waked up from their book, but escapes to Earth to find his author, Claire and her small team end up on a path that sees them hunting for a powerful lost artefact; a quest that puts them in conflict with the forces of Heaven.
When I started to read The Library of the Unwritten I honestly didn't really like the characters that I was presented with. Claire was moody and confrontational, Leto was a bumbling sack of nerves, Brevity was overly cheerful and one dimensional, and Hero was a bit of a dick. Over the course of the book I was proven wrong about each and every one of these characters. I got to see that Claire had a heart, that Leto was brave and sweet, that Brevity had depths, and that Hero may actually be the most complex person in the story.
Hackwith did something that I absolutely love, she took a group of misfits that don't really work well together, that you don't even think you like, and makes them into a family that you really care about. There's no big moments where you see this happening either, no obvious points where the characters make a sudden shift; instead you suddenly find that they've slowly morphed into completely three dimensional people who you want to see survive until the end of the story.
It's not just the characters where Hackwith excels either; at first the story felt very grounded in Christian mythology, making Heaven and Hell a central focus of the story. It reminded me of Supernatural, or Good Omens (there were a number of times during the story that it made me think of Neil Gaiman). But over the course of the narrative more religions and mythologies were introduced, and in interesting ways. It would have been easy to just stick to Heaven and Hell and not get too overly complicated, but A.J. Hackwith chose to add more layers and complexity to her world, giving us something so much grander instead.
I knew I liked the book from the beginning, but it wasn't until I reached the end that I realised it had managed to sneak its claws into me, to make more invested in the characters, to want to know what happens next, and to want to read the next book in the series right away. It drew me in in such a subtle way that I'd say it was insidious if I didn't enjoy myself so damn much. A great book for anyone who loves mythology and religion, who enjoys character driven stories, and who wants a read that will inspire you to go and write yourself. Hopefully this book will lead to a few less volumes in Hell and gets us all writing our stories.
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