Book Review: "The Book That Wouldn't Burn" by Mark Lawrence

 

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 spent hers in a tiny settlement out on the Dust, where nightmares stalk and no one goes.

The world has never even noticed them. That’s about to change.

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. - from Netgalley.com

This eARC was provided by Netgalley.com and I am giving an unbiased review.

This is the first book in a new series by this author, of whom I have enjoyed the other series he has created. I have generally enjoyed the 'library' stories I have read, and this was no exception. In fact, I think this is one of the best books I have had the pleasure of reading in a very long time.

As I got a couple chapters into the story, I realized that this was going to be written in a two-person view, where a chapter or two will be one view, then they flip-flop throughout the rest of the story. Generally I do not like that type of writing, but it worked very well for this one. I was drawn in by the action that started things out, and grew intrigued about how this library existed once the story got rolling along. Needless to say, I was riveted for a few days as I read this story. As I reached the end, I though this could almost be left as a stand-alone, as the ending is not a huge cliff-hanger, but am glad to see it is listed on some sites as book one of a series.

Mark Lawrence's writing has improved much over the years. The world building in his stories always seems to revolve a dystopian future Earth (to me at least) and this one could fall easily into that category. It revolves around the constant change of cultures and environments, how wars only change the current owner of something - be it land, or a specific 'thing'. Some of the conversations between characters actually had me stop, read again, and set the book down to think about it for a moment. One particular section I did write out about three different quotes, and would share here, but it is an uncorrected proof, and don't want to misquote in case it gets changed (or removed) from the tale.

Very great read, and I definitely give it five stars!