The Book That Wouldn’t Burn (The Library Trilogy, #1) in Beyond Reality

Dec 03, 2023 Carrie marked it as to-read

Shelves: 2024-books-to-read

Seriously goodreads why do you keep deleting books off my self. I've had this on it since before it came out. ...more

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Feb 04, 2024 Natalie rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

This is the first Lawrence book that I have really connected with and enjoyed. I've read 2 others and tried Red Sister but most of his books are just too violent for me. This story, on the other hand, is well written, has compelling characters, and tells of a mysterious, giant library instead of war and killing. The drawback was that some of the magic and characters are not well explained in my opinion.
The story is told from two POVs: Livira and Evar. Livira grew up in the "Dust" on a bean farm This is the first Lawrence book that I have really connected with and enjoyed. I've read 2 others and tried Red Sister but most of his books are just too violent for me. This story, on the other hand, is well written, has compelling characters, and tells of a mysterious, giant library instead of war and killing. The drawback was that some of the magic and characters are not well explained in my opinion.
The story is told from two POVs: Livira and Evar. Livira grew up in the "Dust" on a bean farm and is abducted with other children and taken to the city of Crath. Once there, she is taken by a mysterious man, Yute, and placed to work in the giant, ancient library. Evar, on the other hand, exists in a different time period and lives trapped in the library with his siblings, Clovis, Kerrol, and Starval. They wander the library, and Evar often goes to a place where there are rows and rows of rectangular pools, trees, and a garden. He tries to go to the bottom of one of the pools but instead finds a girl in the pool, who has traveled to his time period. It's Livira and though they can only find each other periodically, they fall in love. Using magic, they are able to explore Crath as ghosts and to see a time of destruction.
Livira spends most of her time exploring the library. It has Assistants who stock and care for the library, a Soldier who stands guard, and a mysterious black space called the Exchange. Livira discovers all kinds of secrets about the library, including a healing space and a labyrinth. Despite some objection, she is made a librarian and as she does her job, she is able to explore more. When she crosses over to Evar's time, there are black creatures called Escapes that try and attack.
Then, in Livira's time period, the Sabbers (giant creatures) attack the city and gain access to the library, which they start to burn. A group of Livira's friends and people from the city take refuge in the library but have to flee the areas that are burning. There's also some confusion as to whether Livira or Evar are actually a Sabber. But their paths cross again and they work to help one another.
The characters are well fleshed out and the prose and pacing are nicely done. Livira's curiosity and Evar's bravery are wonderfully developed.
There are a few bit of the magic and the people in the library who I felt weren't explained as well as other elements. But the story is intriguing and I'd like to read more! ...more

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Jul 01, 2023 John rated it really liked it

I very much enjoyed Mark Lawrence’s new novel, which kicks off a new series in a new-ish world.

To me, the first hundred or so pages felt rather different than Lawrence‘a other books. I want to say whimsical, but that doesn’t quite capture it. Something about it felt a bit like Josiah Bancroft’s Books of Babel. Not in any direct way, just kind of a feeling. Like, I’d say that Lawrence’s other worlds feel a bit more standard fantasy, in the sense that they feel like familiar worlds with slight tw ...more

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