A book of wonder

Mark Lawrence's The Book that Wouldn't Burn, the first in his The Library Trilogy and narrated by the inestimable Jessica Whittaker, is a book of fabulous world building and fantastic time travelling.

The story follows Livira and Evar as they discover the library, each other and the world(s) they inhabit. Finding out their history is one of the themes which runs throughout the book, as is Livira's growing knowledge of the Library and its inhabitants.

Jessica Whittaker narrates very well, and you can imagine the places in your minds eye, due to her narration as well as Mark's fine prose.

If you're looking for a new book to listen to, look no further than this, you won't be disappointed.

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ohh my godddd!

I was absolutely captivated by this book! I found myself staying up later to listen to more of it. the story is so cleverly written. I think this may just be my new favourite book. my mind is left reeling at the concepts and ideas in the story.

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Excellent

That was the best book I’ve listened to in a long time, and I’ve listened to/read a lot of books. What book lover doesn’t want to be drawn into a magical library crossing time, dimensions and space?
The book flicks between the narrative of the two main characters who’s tales draw together over the space of the book, intersecting at times before being torn apart again. There are more twists and turns in this book than I can count, some of which turn the plot entirely on its head. It keeps you guessing at the impossible nature of the library until the last page. The performance suits the story perfectly. Can’t wait for the next one.

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New favourite of the year

Mark is an auto-buy author for myself and this book is in my top 3 all-time favourite fantasy books.

The dual POVs were so well done and the characters jump off the page to life in my head, the joys of being a visual reader.

Evar had been very young when had been trapped in the library megastructure and he had lived there his whole life, with his found family 3 brothers and a sister. Supervised by 2 of the library's many intriguing workers.

Livira was a young duster girl who lived far away from Crath City, which holds the library. Livira's small settlement was destroyed by Sabbers (meaning enemy). Sabbers are an interesting race and I will let you find out more about them from the book, so to keep the mystery.

Livira(10) journeys across the desert and finds her friends and herself in the city. She is met by a very old Librarian called Yute and put into the trainee library class.

Livira is highly intelligent with an eidetic memory and she has a thirst for knowledge and wants to know how all things work.

She has made some enemies over the years and they are always looking for ways to hinder her progress.

Livira and Evar meet when she is 11,15 and then 20 via time-traveling portals as they are searching the vast library in different time periods. The threads of the story were woven like a tapestry through Mark's amazing gift for prose. The descriptions make the story travel at a steady pace and the main characters make you want to find out more about them and the history of the library and the races of people in the land.

The races seem to be in an endless loop of fighting, winning,losing rinse and repeat. Why and can Livira and Evar break this loop?

Some of the other side characters weren’t fully fleshed out and I look forward to getting to know them as the series continues.

What is the significance of the library and its history? Can Livira and Evar break the endless loop of fighting between races? What will happen to Livira and Evar's relationship as they continue to search the library in different time periods?

There were some nods to old friends from previous trilogies, loved this and the quotes at the start of each chapter were a blink into what was to come.

Book 2 won't be out for a year but I dearly wish I could read it now.

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Quite different from ML’s other works and not for me

Having read almost all of ML’s other books and loved many (I have re-read the Prince of Thorns trilogy 4x) I was thoroughly excited for a new book.

Unfortunately, I felt this was very different from his usual style and personally not up to the level of his other works. Maybe it’s just not for me, but I found the world of the library pretty static and unexciting and the characters limited and difficult to invest in.

All in all, a far way away from the Prince of Thorns and Book of the Ancestor trilogys and I’m not sure I’ll bother with the next instalment.

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Excellent & intriguing story

excellent story, that once pulled me in with the introduction of the library, kept me more invested than his other books lately.
The story works well by itself even though being part of a trilogy. The ending is satisfying, leaving the story at a point where I'm interested to read more but don't feel I'm left hanging for every answer.

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Devastated it's finished

Mark Lawrence has outdone himself. I always feel like he truly understands exactly what I need to read to be uplifted and brought down to earth. So inspiring. I've had a long term illness for 18 years and I feel he lives in my world. He finds adventure and meaning for me. I've properly got a lump in my throat on it ending. He reframes the heartache of living in this divided world. And makes me howl with laughter too. Cannot wait for the rest of this series. Thank you so much Mark Lawrence. Love how he gets quantum theory in here too. 👏 😍 ❤️

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Fantastic, can't wait for next one.

I loved this book from the start. the quotes from the books at the start of each page and their fiction authors made me chuckle.

The story is so rich, and the twists are unexpected. It hooks you and won't let go, even at the end.

I would recommend this book to everyone!

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Top Tier Fantasy. Highly recommended

I have read quite a few series from Mark Lawrence and mostly enjoyed them and in my opinion this is the best opening book from any of them by a considerable margin.

It has a slow start, spending time getting to know the main character Livira, a young girl from a dusty wasteland dreaming about escaping to experience the wider world.

She gets her wish but at a harsh price and ends up at the series' titular Library.

I will spoil nothing but I will say that from the moment she arrives at the library a multi-layered and emotionally powerful story begins.

The amount of mystery and world-building packed in has left me wanting to immediately start the second book to see what delights Mr Lawrence has in store.

The narration was very good although some of the strange accents when reading excerpts from various books at the start of chapters seemed a little unnecessary.

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A gripping listern

New to this author, I was impressed at how the book drew me in with its intricately described characters and world. I found myself listening every chance I had to reach the carefully constructed conclusion, just superb! Narration was expansive giving unique tones to each character bringing the story alive, a very comfortable listen. I hope they team up for book 2!

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