The Book That Wouldn’t Burn (The Library Trilogy #1) by Mark Lawrence - Starting May 15th 2023

[Dannii]

A boy has lived his whole life trapped within a vast library, older than empires and larger than cities.

A 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.

[Maddie]

Thanks!

[Dannii]

Starting this now as apparently I think I have the mental capacity to focus on three adult fantasy books at the same time...

[Dannii]

First quarter - (view spoiler)[I loved Livira the moment we were introduced to her. She was so scrappy, just like the weed she was named after and could straightaway tell she was going to be a great protagonist.

I also loved this silly line:

'There are no useless skills, girl. Only talents that have yet to find an application.’
‘Well … Acmar can fart a tune.’

Events moved quickly with the quietness of the dusty village being broken by the arrival of a stranger at the end of chapter one, and the children being taken by the sabbers and shot at with arrows at the end of chapter two. In chapter three they were saved by soldiers and transported to the city.

Evar's perspective was introduced in chapter four and I liked learning new things about this world from this new perspective. It seemed no less deadly, although it didn't contain any sand-bears but a library prison! Im bonding with him a little less than Livira right now as the library, as well as the entities and siblings inside of it, are baffling my brain a little and my focus is on puzzling all that out.

This first quarter has closed with both protagonists inside the library and I wonder when they will meet. (hide spoiler)]

[Maddie]

Lol I'm on the wait list for this audio but it's a while away and the book is so long

[Dannii]

Maddie wrote: "Lol I'm on the wait list for this audio but it's a while away and the book is so long"

No worries at all. I'll check back in and catch up with your thoughts whenever you get around to reading it :)

[Maddie]

Thanks!

[Dannii]

Second quarter - (view spoiler)[I'm loving how beautiful the writing is, in this book. There's some really lovely lines about books and reading, such as:

He waved an arm at the aisle stretching away from them. ‘This is power. This is where the histories are. This is where the great philosophers are. This is where the secrets that arm our soldiers with arrow-sticks are written. This is where the next secrets will be found. You think our people would have even a fraction of what they have now without the library? It wasn’t many generations ago we were fighting each other with bones and rocks, and we thought fire was a great magic …’

I'm starting to wonder if Livira and Evar's perspectives are in two different timelines. I'm not sure though. Is her image the one he is searching for? Why did their Soldier suddenly become animated at the sight of her and lose composure? I'm loving both perspectives now but his gives me a brain ache for how much I still don't understand about it.

I'm writing my notes as I'm reading the book and was swiftly proven wrong, after the two met at the pool. I'm even more maddened by the endless possibilities to this library and how much I don't know, now! Maybe the woman he was searching for could be the adult Livera though as time shifts for them both differently. (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

Third quarter - (view spoiler)[Usually I hate time jumps in books as it makes me feel disconnected from the characters, but that wasn't the case here. After Evar and Livira were separated for the second time a span of three years passed by. Much in the city but not their lives had changed. I'm so glad we got to see Yute again! Another time jump of three years saw Livira elevated to librarian assistant status.

I'm loving the appearance of the library companions and am eager to learn more about them. Of course the raven's name is Edgarallen! The talk of history repeating itself and that the dust in this world is the ancient ruins of a world that stood before it makes me think this might be a very distant future version of our own? Perhaps?

I was so excited to see the two protagonists return to the earlier days of the library. It was spoken of when Livira first arrived there, in her own time, and I'm sure the pair are going to learn secrets about those currently holding its knowledge and power, as well as the workings of it, if they continue to venture together. (hide spoiler)]

Fourth quarter - (view spoiler)[Sabbers call their enemies sabbers, just as Livira's people do. So Livira and Evar are sabbers to each other? This final quarter had only just begun and already my mind was whirring!

That Yate was married to the head librarian was the next surprise that I didn't see coming! (hide spoiler)]

[Maddie]

Wow a 5 star!

[Dannii]

It's pretty dense but so well-paced and unique. I hope you love it too :)

[Maddie]

I'll definitely give it a good try, the Locked Library edition is beautiful

[Dannii]

I had a Netgalley arc but have added it to my to own list for the future as I definitely need a physical copy for my shelves.

[Maddie]

Yeah I've got a galley as well but I never read them

[Maddie]

Damn missed the timing for this one lol still waiting on my library audio