Review – The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith

The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith
Series: Hell’s Library #1
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group Ace
Publication Date: October 1, 2019
Date Read: April 13, 2020
Length: 375 pages
Source: Publisher
★★★★☆

In the first book in a brilliant new fantasy series, books that aren’t finished by their authors reside in the Library of the Unwritten in Hell, and it is up to the Librarian to track down any restless characters who emerge from those unfinished stories.

Many years ago, Claire was named Head Librarian of the Unwritten Wing– a neutral space in Hell where all the stories unfinished by their authors reside. Her job consists mainly of repairing and organizing books, but also of keeping an eye on restless stories that risk materializing as characters and escaping the library. When a Hero escapes from his book and goes in search of his author, Claire must track and capture him with the help of former muse and current assistant Brevity and nervous demon courier Leto.

But what should have been a simple retrieval goes horrifyingly wrong when the terrifyingly angelic Ramiel attacks them, convinced that they hold the Devil’s Bible. The text of the Devil’s Bible is a powerful weapon in the power struggle between Heaven and Hell, so it falls to the librarians to find a book with the power to reshape the boundaries between Heaven, Hell….and Earth.

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This was a great novel!  I tend to enjoy books about books and libraries so when I saw this book, I knew that I had to read it.  I have read a lot of books that involve libraries but never a library located in Hell.  Once I started reading, I was hooked.  This was a rather exciting story filled with fantastic characters and I had a fabulous time reading it.

Claire is the Head Librarian in the Unwritten Wing in Hell’s Library.  Her job is to take care of all of the unwritten works that have yet to be completed.  She not only must repair books but sometimes has to track down any characters who may have escaped their stories.  Claire, along with her assistant, Brevity, and demon courier, Leto, must retrieve one such character who has not only escaped but has gone off to meet their author.  They are able to catch up with the character, Hero, but things quickly get more complicated when they encounter the angel, Ramiel, who believes that they have the Devil’s Bible.

This was a book that I liked more and more as I read.  The characters are interesting from the beginning but as I really got to know them over the course of the story, I grew to care about them.  I think that all of the key characters in this book showed a lot of growth.  The story itself was really exciting.  There was no limit as to what could happen and I found the entire premise to be incredibly imaginative.  The story had a lot of layers and I loved how a character’s backstory or a small piece of information could suddenly change everything. 

I would recommend this story to others.  I thought that this was a very well done and unique fantasy.  I fell in love with this group of characters and found the book to be very exciting.  I thought it told a very complete story and I was quite satisfied by how everything worked out.  This is the first book in the Hell’s Library series and I look forward to reading more of the adventures of this group of characters as they protect the books in Hell’s Library.

I received a review copy of this book from Berkley Publishing Group – Ace.

About the Author

A. J. Hackwith is (almost) certainly not an ink witch in a hoodie. She’s a queer writer of fantasy and science fiction living in Seattle, and writes sci-fi romance as Ada Harper. She is a graduate of the Viable Paradise writer’s workshop and her work appears in Uncanny Magazine and assorted anthologies. Summon A.J. at your own peril with an arcane circle of fountain pens and classic RPGs, or you can find her on Twitter and other dark corners of the Internet.

Author Links: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

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