#hell's library

[npdclaraoswald]

Noticed some similarities in books I like

And before you tell me gomens is also canonically queer, I'm talking about the book, not the show

[ofliterarynature]

JANUARY 2025 WRAP UP

[ loved liked okay nope dnf (reread) book club* ]

And the Mighty Will Fall • The Fifth Season • Rook • The Obelisk Gate • Soulless • The Scourge Between Stars* • The Stone Sky • Penric's Demon • Starter Villain • (The Library of the Unwritten) • The Appeal

trying a new picture format this month via Storygraph!

* * * * *

And the Mighty Will Fall - I had fun! Which is really all I can say, tbh. When I finished the third book back in 2023 I said I didn't know if the author planned to write more books in the NeoG series, but I would be happy if that was where she ended... and that still stands true. I enjoyed this book, but it didn't really feel necessary or like it added to the story. It went really hard on the Die Hard plot, yall XD At least with the big time jump from the previous book it had a good reason to explain a lot of things to me that I'd forgotten.

The Fifth Season - finally read this! A solidly good series that really held my attention and has given me a lot to think about, even if it's not going to be a favorite (which seems to be a common thread with Jemisin for me)

Rook - unofficially Jackaby #5, which I had never read! And wasn't super worth it, tbh. Reading this really cemented the fact that I didn't have a bad time rereading the original series because they were rereads. Not to repeat myself from my comments on Jackaby in December, but if we could have taken some plot points from this (and book 4) and turned them into book 3.5 it would have been great and made a lot more sense. As it is, watching Abigail having to struggle to find her feet yet again was not an interesting read.

Soulless - I was forewarned that these weren't particularly serious books, but I admit I found this a bit sillier than expected! Not fully to my taste but close enough to be amusing, so I will probably pick up the next book at some point (spoiler: I did).

The Scourge Between Stars - It was fine? It was fine. I certainly had a ok enough time reading this, but if you think about it at all there's not a lot of substance, just a little Alien-ish thrill. Not one I'd go out of my way to recommend, there's more interesting generation ship and space thrillers out there.

Penric's Demon - so fun! Honestly, mildly-antagonistic-evil-voice-in-my-head is one of my favorite things and it's hard to do wrong XD And of course I already loved the author's World of the Five Gods novels, I can't wait to continue the series. Would recommend, but ideally after you read the novels.

Starter Villain - there was lots of debate over which Scalzi novel should be my first, and I think this was the correct choice! I was indeed very delighted by the cats and the dolphins and the silliness of the villainy, but there was a... tone? to the writing and character voice that I didn't love and was exacerbated by the audiobook narrator. If more of his books were accessible via audiobook from the library I might still give them a shot, but at this point I don't think acquiring them elsewhere is worth my effort or money.

The Library of the Unwritten - honestly, probably a little to soon to reread this (I originally read it Oct 2024), but we're doing the second book for book club as well and I wanted to try it out on audiobook instead of print. It took me two tries but I did get through it! It was fine, but not interesting as a reread, and I could probably have skipped it so soon.

The Appeal - I had such a good time with The Twyford Code a few years ago, I figured it was time to give another Hallett book a try and boy did I love it! I already love a good mystery and unique story formats, but I also admit I can be a sucker for gossip and the interpersonal drama of random strangers (for example, Ask a Manager is my kryptonite - send help). Reading through all of the texts and emails trying to figure out what, exactly, was making the whole thing smell fishy was a such a delight and gave the whole book a slow subtle tension that I loved, even as the book felt like it would never end. Not to mention who dies!!! Would very much recommend.

[th3-ang3l-of-d3ath]

Now Reading: The Archive of the Forgotten by A. J. Hackwith

Finally, I have the chance to continue my favorite series!

[violet-prism-creatively]

I finally read the 3rd book in the Hell's Library series by AJ Hackwith and immediately went to scroll through the tumblr tag. It's tragic that this trilogy's fandom is like 3 people because it should be so popular! Heaven and Hell and other afterlife realms! Almost all the main characters are queer POC! Is it found family or a polycule? There's angst! humor! softness! trauma! It's literally about the importance of stories!!

Anyway go read The Library of the Unwritten (1st book) and scream with me.

[thereadingchallengechallenge]

JOMP BPC - September 17th - Can't Wait to Start

I can't wait to start the Hell's Library trilogy by AJ Hackwith. isn't it always the way with series that you can borrow books 1 and 3 but book 2's gonna be on hold for a while 😅

[haveyoureadthisfantasybook2]

have you read The Library of the Unwritten, by A.J. Hackwith (2019)?

yes

no

Voting ended onDec 5, 2024

vote yes if you have finished the entire book. vote no if you have not finished the entire book.

(faq · submit a book)

[boophisburnhamae]

While I do moreso see how it would be cool with Michael than I did with Claire, I am glad Michael didn't devote her life to the Progenitors. Because I recently finished the Hell's Library series by AJ Hackwith (spoilers) and that ended with the main character giving up her personhood to become a god to save her friends. And that was framed as a happy ending, but it made me extraordinarily sad. Claire had struggled the whole series with allowing herself to be loved and to love herself instead of devoting her entire (after)life to her job, and she had finally gotten to a point where she was doing that. She was finding balance with her job and the people she loved and forming a little polycule and was so close to being happy, and she had to give that all up to not even really be a conscious being anymore and literally carry the weight of the world on her shoulders.

And, while I do otherwise like Hackwith's writing, I couldn't help but think that the fact that Hackwith is white and Claire was written as a black woman played a role in why they thought it was a happy ending for her to end her life to support other people.

And obviously Michael's situation would have been different, if for no other reason than that I don't think it would've been a permanent thing like Claire- and Sisko- ascending. But given how disappointed I was with that ending for Hell's Library, and given the fact that Sisko had a very similar ending, I'm so happy Michael got to live out a normal, happy life with the people she loves

[todaysanother]

“ Stories want to change, and it is a librarian’s job to preserve them; that’s the natural order of things. The Unwritten Wing of the Library, for all its infinite magic and mystery, is in some ways a futile project. No story, written or unwritten, is static. Left abandoned too long and given the right stimulation, a book goes wrong in the head. It is a story’s natural ambition to wake up and start telling itself to the world. ”