To be published 11/05/2023…
Living in a barely thriving village in the middle of nowhere, Livira craves change. Somehow it almost feels like her fault when that change comes in the form of murderous Sabbers. After a series of events that will be scarred into her memory forever, Livira finally finds her refuge in the Library. And that’s where the really crazy stuff starts.
Evar has lived his whole life in the Library with his siblings. Except for the decades he spent trapped, ageless, inside the mechanism. But he doesn’t remember those. Each of his siblings came out of the mechanism with new skills and new knowledge: psychology, history, war. Evar came out with only the fuzzy memory of a woman and an unsettling urge to rescue her from some unknown evil. If only someone would rescue him from the Library first…
Usually I have a favourite character when reading dual narratives, but this time it is impossible to choose. Livira and Evar lead such unique lives, each with their own convoluted mysteries to unravel, that I was equally as eager for both of their stories to unfold. Of course the thing I was most eager for were the parts where their stories met, and these did not disappoint. Their interactions, though mostly small, were immensely powerful. Part of this, of course, can be attributed to the unique setting that they meet within.
Mark Lawrence has taken something as commonplace as a library and turned it into a truly unique setting of supernatural proportions. Similarly he has taken the concept of humans and monsters and twisted it about until it is no longer recognisable. In fact, the laws of physics simply do not exist in his world. They have been entirely replaced by mystery and misdirection. Nothing is quite as it seems and nothing seems to stay the same for very long, even your own opinions.
The most impressive thing about this book is the deluge of hints and foreshadowing scattered throughout; hints that I could plainly see, but could not decipher their meaning. Only mere pages from the end did all of the hints come crashing together into their earth-shattering conclusion. The ending was definitely a shock, but it also made so much sense. The entire book had been steadily working towards this one discovery to such an extent that, when it finally came, nothing felt more natural.
Escape to the Bookshelf 