The Archive of the Forgotten
Ratings15
Average rating3.6
15
Ratings15
Average rating3.6
In the second installment of this richly imagined fantasy adventure series, a new threat from within the Library could destroy those who depend upon it the most. The Library of the Unwritten in Hell was saved from total devastation, but hundreds of potential books were destroyed. Former librarian Claire and Brevity the muse feel the loss of those stories, and are trying to adjust to their new roles within the Arcane Wing and Library, respectively. But when the remains of those books begin to leak a strange ink, Claire realizes that the Library has kept secrets from Hell--and from its own librarians. Claire and Brevity are immediately at odds in their approach to the ink, and the potential power that it represents has not gone unnoticed. When a representative from the Muses Corps arrives at the Library to advise Brevity, the angel Rami and the erstwhile Hero hunt for answers in other realms. The true nature of the ink could fundamentally alter the afterlife for good or ill, but it entirely depends on who is left to hold the pen.
Reviews with the most likes.
Probably more of a 3.5 but I'm rounding up.
I put off this sequel for a long while despite quite enjoying the first book and this books about books subgenre being a favorite of mine. I guess it didn't remain memorable once I finished it and I wasn't that eager to pick up the second. But recently, I've been wanting to pick up some series which I abandoned and I decided to start with this one.
This book took a while for me to get into, maybe because it started off slow. The characters are also not handling the things that happened at the end of the first book very well, being prickly towards each other and just not communicating much. And while the whole plot is about finding out what the mystery ink from the destroyed unwritten books during the fight wants and what the ink can do, it's ultimately about this group of people understanding what they mean to each other and come together. In between all this, we get to explore some very new and interesting places - the Dust Wing especially broke my heart due to the reason for its existence and as well as how it fares due to being essentially abandoned. We also get to read lots of sarcastic banter courtesy Hero who just loves giving out flippant remarks for everything instead of showing his insecure and vulnerable side; and ofcourse there's quite a bit of contemplation about what a story means, what's the line where ideas become stories and what it takes for that transformation, what's the relationship between what's written and it's writer, and just general musings on life and souls.
Overall, it was enjoyable because anything to do with books just touches my heart. And a found family finding their way towards each other is another theme that's a favorite. So it was a good read. But I guess the slow pace and too much of contemplation and not enough communication made me lose interest at times, and it took me a while to complete. However, it's still a very unique series and I'll try to get to the finale soon.
I read a review that said that this book was slow but damn! It was really slow. I was at least halfway through the book and still... nothing seemed to be happening.
Such a disappointment since I really liked the first book.
