E: Would recommend. Super intriguing premise, and well executed. I was satisfied with the ending - hopeful without betraying the characters or the mood. Not as weird as I was expecting, but potentially a better story as a result. ( )

I don't normally read books from the fantasy genre, but I always lean towards novels containing bookshop or library in the title, so I decided to give this one a try. I must say there were some really graphic violent scenes to get past, but there were also lots of laughs thrown in as well. And even a bit of a love story to boot. Overall, a very enjoyable read.

( )

I will tell you right now I don't have the words to describe how and why I liked this. I'd just like to thank the person who left it a little off-kilter in its row, or whatever it is that caught my attention and caused me to grab it off the shelf without thinking. ( )

I don't read much fantasy, and it was kind of an accident that I picked this up. It crossed my desk, and it had "library" in the title, and it looked interesting so I figured What the hey. I also thought it was YA, but I'm pretty sure now that it's not. Anyway. I did read a bunch of Clive Barker when I was younger, which is also way outside my comfort zone, but which I found very diverting. Like Barker's work, this kind of slips over the boundary into horror at times, with a lot of violence and bloodshed. This book is the story of Carolyn, a Librarian like none I've ever known. Kidnapped as a child along with a bunch of others, she has spent her life (which in human years is about 30, but "time moves differently in the Library") learning her Catalogue, one of 12 that seem to encompass the entirety of knowledge and experience, human and otherwise. The narrative starts at the beginning of the end of her story (or maybe the end of the beginning), which is sort of confusing because it's a fantasy, which means that jumping in partway through takes a lot of mental reach. There's a lot that is unfamiliar. But, as with Barker's books, there is a lot that is familiar too. This is a fantasy novel that takes elements of the supernatural and plunks them squarely in the middle of mundane human existence, which is really why this works. I think we are endlessly fascinated with the idea of parallel worlds, universes that exist under our noses but which we cannot detect. I spent the first third or so of this novel a bit lost, trying to figure out what was going on, but as soon as the direction became clear, I got it, and it was interesting to see where it would eventually lead. Science fiction and fantasy often contain allegories of that aforementioned mundane (or maybe not so mundane) human existence, and this is no different, commenting on the nature of humanity, particularly the relationships between parents and children, siblings, and friends, and the role of love in our humanity. It takes on Death as a concept, almost attempting to demystify it, to make it something desirable rather than something fearsome. It even touches on the frailty of global humanity and the planet we live on, hinting at the effects of catastrophe and dystopia, but not delving into it wholesale. I find myself wishing I had time to go back and re-read the first third of this book, which left me mostly at sea, because I know there are clues there that would have made the ending even more satisfying, but alas, I do not. Perhaps I'll pick this one up again sometime. ( )

Feels like American Gods written by Stephen King on a sadistic streak. Really enjoyed the first 75% (the rest feels like an unnecessary epilogue). ( )