Book Review - The Book That Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence
“All books, no matter their binding, will fall to dust. The stories they carry may last longer. They might outlive the paper, the library, even the language in which they were first written. The greatest story can reach the stars.”
This is our current read for The Imaginarium’s SFF book club. It may come as a surpirse given that I’m co-owner of a Bookshop, but I’ve not been much of a reader the last 20 years. I used to love reading as a child, but my interest wained in my teens and I never had the motivation to rekindle it (pun intended). Our bookclub has been just that motivation, and I’m pleased to say I am now reading more than I ever have. If you are interested in joining one of our book clubs, head on over the the bookclubs page here for all the information.
Anyway, onto my review…..
The Book That Wouldn’t Burn is a grimdark fantasy book that follows two main characters; Libira and Evar
Livira had nothing. She was born out in the dust, outside of a great walled city housing an even greater library, giving them wealth, knowldedge and plenty.
Evar, along with his siblings has spent his life trapped inside that library.
In The Book That Wouldn’t Burn their stories intertwine in unexpected ways as the city is on the brink of war against its enemies, the Sabbers.
Lawrence’s writing is poetic, witty and engaging. He paints a vivid and compelling picture of the world, taking time to embelish where other authors might not and drawing you in to the story further.
After the first 100 pages or so the story really gets going (seems to be par for the course with epic fantasy series) and shifts up another gear entireley in the last 150 pages or so with some, for me at least, totally unexpected and emotional plot twists. I was utterly drawn in to Lawrence’s magical love-letter to books and the libraries which house them. It has echoes of fairy-tales woven throughout which evoke childhood memories of stories and the worlds within them. That said, the book tackles some large themes throughout; having the reader challenge their preconceptions and stop to ruminate on issues of confimation bias, historical perspective, xenbophobia and even time itself.
I would heartily recommend this to anyone who’s looking for a fantastically written, dark, witty, poignant fantasy epic set in a magical library, all wrapped up in a warm hug.
I can’t wait to read the next installment in the series and I would definitely be keen to explore other works from Lawrence in the future.
If you would like to read The Book That Wouldn’t Burn, you can grab a copy below:
5/5