The Book That Broke the World (The Library Trilogy #2)[May 16, 2024]

[Yanique, Thread Master]

This is a Buddy Read for The Book That Broke the World by Mark Lawrence starting on May 16, 2024.


Happy Reading!

[Nirkatze]

Thank you!

We read The Book That Wouldn’t Burn last year, if anyone wants to revisit that [thread].

[Rob]

In :)

[Marie]

Can't wait for this one. Re-read book 1 and still plan on reading the short stories.

[Nirkatze]

Speaking of shorts:

1.5 Overdue
1.6 Returns

Seems like they're only available through kindle?

[Marie]

I though so but I did some searching and apparently it's available for free 😮

https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...

Just the Returns that is on Amazon contains both Returns and About Pain. Both available there separately.

[Nirkatze]

Nice find! Thanks!

[Rob]

I better get reading those shorts :)

[Marie]

My copy just came through at Libby. Going to read the shorts today so probably jumping in tm.

[Rob]

I finished Returns yesterday and started Overdue today. It is all definitely making me realize that I'm only remembering bits and pieces of the first book and need a recap before I hit book two!

Edit: Found a solid one, thankfully, so I'm good to go :)

[Marie]

The book actually has a recap ;)

[Nirkatze]

Marie wrote: "The book actually has a recap ;)"

And thank goodness for that! I started today and am doing audio this time... I actually had to pause the audio and look at my eyebook to try to internalize the recap a bit more. And I still don't remember all of it!

About 25% through, Chapter 12 (view spoiler)[More POVs this time through, but still two timelines... Or maybe two different Libraries? The mention that the slavers came from a different world--I wonder if that's a connection back to the rest of Lawrence's loosely-linked multiverse... if they are from our world post Impossible Times. Keeping an eye out for "Taproot."

I honestly don't remember anything about Livira's companions in the library, so Arpix's chapters I'm like "who?" The new chapters with Celchis and Hellet... on audio at first I thought it might be Clovis or Keller... still wondering what the connections are, besides Yute. (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Chapter 13 (view spoiler)[Ghost Livira can touch books and experience them? Sounds like the Mechanism... I don't remember this being a thing. (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Chapter 14 (view spoiler)[Okay, so it took me this long to figure out that Celchis & Hellet and the other slaves are a third species named the ganar... I thought they were canith like Evar & co... I'd wonder if the ganar were the creatures who attacked the library in Livira's time (skeer?) except that those are described as "flying bone-spiders" and the ganar have fur like the canith...

Did a little digging, the word "ganar" shows up only twice in the first book--once when the siblings are discussing their origins--I think this is Evar: “The histories say a lot of things. Some of it contradictory. They say things about different empires, and we don’t know which empire surrounds us. They say things about different worlds, and we don’t know which world we’re on. They say things about different times, and we don’t know when our kind became trapped here. They say things about different species ... and we don’t even know which species we are. We know we’re not icthid because they live beneath the waves. We know we’re not ganar or skeer because they have fur and armour-plates respectively. But what we don’t know vastly outweighs what we do know.”

Then once in a top-quote: When a ganar sets the table for a skeer it is important to understand that the more genteel aspects of afternoon tea must be abandoned. Two very different species taking refreshment together must seek to accommodate their sometimes clashing natures. The skeer’s preference for dismembering its prey live can, with a positive attitude, coexist alongside the ganar’s taste for small but exquisitely decorated cakes.

So it seems like the ganar might have a connection to the skeer? Since both references had both of them at the same time. And we haven't met any icthid yet. (hide spoiler)]

[Rob]

eep Hmmm. Spellslinger 2 or this first. I suspect the former is a quicker read :)

[Nirkatze]

Rob wrote: "eep Hmmm. Spellslinger 2 or this first. I suspect the former is a quicker read :)"

Oh yeah, it goes fast. :) Looking to hearing your thoughts on both!

[Nirkatze]

Was out and about today, listening, and went through a chunk without knowing what the chapters were, lol...

Through Chapter 33 (view spoiler)[Is it just me, or is this the first Lawrence book with this level of spiciness? I'm not really feeling the romances. Though this exchange in the Tower story had me snorting:

Evar: "I want you. I need you."
Livira POV: His voice made her toes clench in her shoes.
Me: WTF? Even Lawrence is joining the toe-curling trend?? What is it with this description!! Toe-curling is not sexy!

I do like how Livira thinks back on the Tower story, connects it to her life, and how it comes up again a few times. An example of living in a cage, and the many different kinds of cages life can provide for you... how to escape, or be rescued, or survive it...

Hellet & Celcha... damn. I knew as soon as Hellet mentioned mercury that things weren't going to work the way he thought he would... Mayland and Starvall aren't angels, dearie... That was a tough section to read.

Oh, and I just realized... the author of the book that had the ganar quote in #1... The book is called "The Insectoid Who Came For Tea" and the author is Celcha... (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Chapter 35 (view spoiler)[LOL I love that Yute has been stealing from his (read: Salamanda's) kitchen and her response to it. (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Through Chapter 40 (view spoiler)[Wow I hate the king. As if his abduction of Livira and his simple arrogance weren't enough, he's been eating her friends and now his underling killed Malar!! Sick Clovis on them. They all need to die.

Reunion of Yute and his daughter... it's been interesting having her around providing answers... (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Finished. (view spoiler)[Dammit. I guess we have to wait another book for the king to get his comeuppance. Will he be the main antagonist for the rest, then?

Oh, and I think I like Clovis and Arpix as a couple more than Livira and Evar. They're kind of cute... the canith warrior who swore revenge on all humans and the human scholar who has only read about kissing in books... (hide spoiler)]

[Paula]

Did you liked this book better than the first one Nirkatze? Because I am hesitating on whether to read it now or wait until the third is out and read everything together

[Nirkatze]

Paula wrote: "Did you liked this book better than the first one Nirkatze? Because I am hesitating on whether to read it now or wait until the third is out and read everything together"

Hm... good question. It's hard to judge, since I did this on audio--partly because I found the first one more slow. I zoned out some during the listening, but refreshed with the eyebook. I think I did like it a little better... largely because while it has similar structure, I was more engaged in both timelines this time... and while there's questions, there's not as much confusion. The end does... hm. Not exactly a cliffhanger, but folks aren't in good places by the end.

[Paula]

Nirkatze wrote: "Paula wrote: "Did you liked this book better than the first one Nirkatze? Because I am hesitating on whether to read it now or wait until the third is out and read everything together"

Hm... good ..."

Thanks for the clarification but i think I will pass on this one. I have a lot of other books i am more interested in and my thesis is stressing me out. Maybe next year the reread of the first book will make me like it better and be excited for the rest

[Nirkatze]

Happy to help. Good luck with your thesis!! You can do it!!

[Paula]

Thanks Nirkatze! Only a month left :)

[Marie]

I only read one chapter so far because I am reading too many books at once...
Very dark beginning. (view spoiler)[Curious to see what race are the slavers. The slaves seems to be Canith as it's mentioned they have fur but the slavers are taller than them so they can't bu human. Unless of course it's the slaves that are a new race and smaller than humans/canith. (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Marie wrote: "I only read one chapter so far because I am reading too many books at once...
Very dark beginning. [spoilers removed]"

Took me a while to figure that out too... (view spoiler)[Though now that you brought it up... I'm not sure about the slavers, except for thinking they were like Livira's folk, human-looking...

The slave race is mentioned first in chapter 4, if you're paying attention... (hide spoiler)]

[Marie]

Reading chapter 6
(view spoiler)[So the slaves are the same race as the ones from the world with poisonous air. Interesting.

The door got opened by a thrown skeer lol. Idk if that would really classify as opening the door by your own free will... Should they have just been throwing the other races at the door all along? Wish for the door to open or crush into it hard? (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

LOL That's one way of interpreting it... "please open so I don't get crushed!"

[Marie]

I just searched skeer in book one because I was looking for the first description and was surprised to see that they were mentioned before we hear about them as the threat and mentioned together with ganar. Also the name of the author of the snippet...

[Nirkatze]

I did the same thing--if you click on my chapter 14 spoiler I have both instances of ganar in book one copied out... I don't think there's anything particularly spoilery otherwise...

[Rob]

Halfway through this and despite it being theoretically an easy read, it has been a complete trudge.

[Marie]

So I finished one eye book and this one will now be more active read.
Chapter 10
(view spoiler)[So if I am thinking right the ganar storyline is happening at the the mixed races city Evar and Livira visited, where everyone was killed and Yute and Yamala reborn... Was Hallet the one that killed them? Since he said he knows of a way of killing them all... Curious about the ghosts, They seems very sinister. From the side that wants library destroyed? It's all getting progressively more interesting. (hide spoiler)]

[Rob]

Finished a few days ago and it picked up quite nicely after I posted my previous note. I thought it set us up quite interestingly for the finale with (view spoiler)[With everyone getting separated out into perhaps conflicting standpoints whether willing or unwillingly with us here don't he outside still having no idea which of the three paths, if any, are the correct one (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Marie wrote: "So I finished one eye book and this one will now be more active read.
Chapter 10 [spoilers removed]"

I think you're right about the location... I don't remember when this gets mentioned but (view spoiler)[someone says they saw E&L dancing in the air once... (hide spoiler)]

@Rob--Glad the story picked up for you! Definitely an interesting stand off at the end...

[Marie]

So I have finished yesterday. I loved the book but not as much as the first one. I am still slightly divided if it's 4.25 (4 on GR) or 4.5 (5 on GR) for me. It did have some good twists and it all connected so satisfyingly but there were some things I wished were done a bit differently. But on the other hand, I also feel like I wasn't in the right mood to read it so I might have been more critical in my enjoyment...

(view spoiler)[My first gripe would be that the hints were so well set up that I figured out things without it being spelled out so it kind of annoyed me how it gets spelled out for us in such an obvious manner. Idk if I would have liked to keep the uncertainty longer or it just felt too convenient that there was someone that could explain it all. Same with the misunderstanding being cleared out as soon as Celcha reappears. Although I also hate prolonged misunderstandings so idk what I really wanted lol...

I definitely enjoy the three paths and the questioning of which one is right. I do hope that we will get more of a no path is the right path kind of ending because they all definitely have some points. I am with Livira and think having all the information is better than having half of it. It could still be misused but then it would be out of malice and not because of ignorance... I also think you can get some wisdom from reading books. It's just that when it's so hard to get to the information you need, who has time to read fiction and memoirs...
As for the start-from-scratch path... It has a point for sure but I would say that we are also on that path and our ignorance and partial information caused some major issues for us...We are always quick to adapt new discoveries before we know the consequences of their use or how to deal with said consequences/prevent them.

I might have enjoyed Celchas's POV the most. Her story was very sad. When Hallet started talking about how everyone was just going to be put to sleep I instantly knew something would go wrong and it was so stressful watching them realize their mistake.

Also the revelation of Yute being the one that brought humans into Clovis's people hideout... I almost forgot that there was the mystery of how they got in.

There were so many good moments and quotable parts that I think I will stick with the 5 stars despite the gripes...

I think every mystery in this book has been explained and the only thing that remains would be Carlotte and the metal ball. Certainly, a great setup for the last book.
(hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

I think Celchia's POV were also my favorites, though it's been a few months now so things are faded. Nice wrap-up analysis there, @Marie!