This is the first novel by Mark Lawrence I decided to read. I usually gravitate towards books concerning books, libraries and the magic of stories, and according to the premise this title was supposed to tick all the boxes for me. Unfortunately, this was not the case. I did not enjoy the writing style nor the pacing, which felt repetitive and sluggish at parts. I also felt that the world-building fell slightly flat, as were the main characters, with whom I felt no connection. While this book ended up not being for me and I will not be continuing to the rest of the series, I am sure others may think differently. Thank you to the publisher and #Netgalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I have to admit, there was a point in this book where I thought I wasn’t going to enjoy it. As good as it ended up being, it begins very slowly and there were certain points in the first third of the book when I wasn’t really connecting with the story.

Then it all changed and all of a sudden I didn’t want to put it down. It went from rather dull to utterly compelling in the space of a few chapters.

The story focuses on Livira and Evar and a library. That’s what drew me to this book in the first place. I will read any book set in a library and some of them even manage to be good. Thankfully, The Book That Wouldn’t Burn ended up being a good one.

I loved the idea that people in the library could travel to other worlds. I also love the way that Livira and Evar interact at first. It was very reminiscent of ‘The Girl in the Fireplace’ from Doctor Who which has the same fantastical feeling to it. There are quite a few twists and turns throughout the course of the book which helped elevate it to an excellent book.

The real star of the novel, though, is definitely the library and Lawrence saves all his best descriptions for it. It’s a place that you would love to go to despite the danger and it feels like a safe haven in a dystopian world.

To end, another thing I loved was the bits at the beginning of every chapter, ‘quotes’ from books and authors. There’s a lot of funny little references. Jorg of Ancrath makes an appearance, as does Sister Apple and I’m fairly certain R. I. Perrin is a Reggie Perrin reference. It’s fun to read these little references.

As a final note “I’ll be too old for biscuits when I’m dead” is a line that I feel on a very personal level.

This was a love/hate book for me. The first third of the book I absolutely adored and couldn't stop reading it, I loved the setting, the way our characters were introduced and all the mystery concerning The library.
Unfortunately the second third was a struggle to get through. It was way too convoluted for me and I started feeling lost and as a result my enjoyment levels declined. The final part was ok and everything fell into place, but I feel like it was already too late and the final act didn't have the impact that could have had..
Still Mark Lawrence's writing is great and for people who like a really slow pacing, I can see this being a favourite.
Also I would expect some more humorous elements since those would have made the slower parts flow easier.

This is definitely a mark Lawrence book, adult fantasy that that sometimes reads like YA, not that this is a bad thing as this book is breeze to read
Reading fantasy books that are about books and libraries always gives off that wholesome feeling, even if the story is not always that wholesome.
I think this book should have been shorter. It takes a while for the story to get going which when entering a new series, the execution of the introduction to the world and the characters plays such an important role in setting up the story and I think this is a downfall in this book
I did enjoy following the two main characters overall, Livira and Evar, especially in how they had a common goal even though they have different lives, the desire to see beyond their current living situations. The mechanism of the library was also really cool to read about.
I think if you are Mark Lawrence fan then you are bound to find this book enjoyable!

What I liked:
- The title, a book about books? Yes, please.
- The cover, is stunning!

What I didn't like:
- The pace, it dragged too much for me.

Unfortunately, I couldn't read past chapter 5 and I DNF this one.

The Book That Wouldn't Burn by Mark Lawrence is a novel that explores themes of power, control, and the dangers of censorship. The story is set in a world where books are forbidden, and those who possess them risk severe punishment, including death. The main character, Jorg, is a book smuggler who discovers a book that cannot be burned and becomes embroiled in a power struggle to control it.

The book is well-written and engaging, with a fast-paced plot that keeps the reader interested. The characters are complex and multi-dimensional, with their own motivations and agendas. The themes of censorship and the dangers of unchecked power are timely and thought-provoking, and the book provides a compelling commentary on the importance of free speech and the value of ideas.
The Book That Wouldn't Burn is recommended for mature readers who enjoy dystopian fiction and political thrillers. Although the book portrays violent scenes and mature themes, its thought-provoking commentary on free speech and the power of ideas make it an enjoyable and worthwhile read.

*Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction, HarperVoyager for providing me with the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review*

I really loved this book. I need book Two ASAP. I loved Evar and Liviria although sometimes I felt really annoyed. It was fast paste with beautiful writing style and I HIGHLY suggest you read it.

Thank you to Harper Collins for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

If you know me, you know I am a huge fan of Mark Lawrence. His books always pick me up from a reading slump: fast-paced, funny, and filled with exciting and utterly unique characters. As soon as I started reading this book, I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed.
It read slightly younger than other books I have read by him, but this didn’t make it any less gritty and tense.

Livira immediately grabbed my attention: headstrong, funny, unapologetic, clever, stubborn and never able to stay silent. My kinda girl.

’There are no useless skills, girl. Only talents that have yet to find an application.'
'Well... Acmar can fart a tune.'

My mind was continually blown away by the imagination invoked through the storylines. It felt like Laini Taylor’s Strange the Dreamer mixed with Inkheart and Narnia, combined with the awesomeness of Lawrence himself.
It invokes the dangers of information, and knowledge, and truth and how we can differentiate between them. Who tells our history? Who dictates what we know, hear, and consume?

And, oh my word, the twists and emotional damage. I’m normally good at spotting revelations before they occur - I get annoyed at the expectancy and troupes regularly used. But Mark Lawrence - you are a genius.

The ending was a whirlwind of confusion, events, and characters being drawn together. Admittedly, I would complain it ended too abruptly, but maybe that’s partly my desire to know the end and have this as a long standalone rather than having to wait for a sequel!

This is an ode to book lovers everywhere.

There must be diamonds out there, the best book in a thousand, the best book in a million, and surely he didn't want to waste his time reading one that was merely adequate when he could be reading one of those diamonds?

A new favourite!

Although this book started somewhat slow, and Livira annoyed the living hell out of me, the 5 stars have come for this book because it is increadibly clever. And because I like ravens ;)
But all jokes aside, it is THE story that convinced me time travel can be done well and made it believable! :o Extra points for the quotes at the beginning of each chapter and for Evar and Starval who made the story truly glow. I hope to see more if them in future books.
The twists make this book absolutely worth the buildup and it is one of those better read slowly, savoured over a longer time to truly bring out its shine because my goodness, everything is connected! You dont even realise, yet it makes sense in the end and you find yourself cursing yourself for not noticing the clues sooner.
Highly recommended for fans of books, ravens, fantasy and just reading in general. (Slight shade: if people want a book about enigmatic libraries The Book That Wouldn't Burn IS the ONE, dont be fooled by the booktok glam of the atlas six)

Let me just start with a very necessary disclaimer that Mark Lawrence absolutely won my heart with his Broken Empire, kept it throughout Red Queen’s War, and deepened my loyalty with the Book of the Ancestor - and then almost lost it with The Girl and the Stars, so picking up The Book That Wouldn’t Burn was a decision I made hoping that whatever didn’t work for me with the last trilogy, this would be a fresh start. What added to my hesitation was the mysterious fact that, while I’m a book lover myself, I don’t actually tend to enjoy books about libraries; beats me why, they just never seem to be as magical I hope and too pretentious for my likes.

Well, never fear! For those who care to know whether or not my love for Mark Lawrence survived this round, you can breathe out now - The Book That Wouldn’t Burn is a solid read and you can definitely count me in for the next one. It is, however, very clearly a first book in a series, which means it spends a lot of time on worldbuilding and setting the wheels in motion. It picks up pace rather abruptly when there is about 1/4 left, and though some of the plot twists I predicted fairly early on, there were several revelations that caught me by surprise there.

As I want to keep this review spoiler-free, let me just handpick some things I feel are worth mentioning about it. Our main heroine, Livira, at times reminded me of Nona (especially when she commented early on how pretty another girl was): she’s driven, not overly concerned about rules, and has vaguely emotionally distant parental figures that are not her immediate blood relatives. Evar, our second POV character, is a bit of an oddball in a family of oddballs, and his dedication to said family is as endearing as it gets. And while the library is a key concept here, there are bigger things at stake, and figuring all that out will involve liminal spaces, time warp shenanigans, and a whole lot of deep-rooted animosity between different species inhabiting this world, counterbalanced by found family and, frankly, common sense.

All in all, I’d say it was a good start and I’m looking forward to seeing where the story takes us and what kind of resolution Lawrence envisaged for the main conflict, which as of now seems simply gigantic in scope and complexity.

Thanks to #Netgalley for the ARC of the book.

I love ML - especially the Red Sister stuff - he really moved to less convoluted ideas and more story. I made it about halfway through this one - it just felt like watching people play chess but never taking any pieces. Didn't grab me but i'm sure it will work for many others.

Thank you HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction, HarperVoyager, and NetGalley for the arc of The Book That Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

“All books, no matter their binding, will fall to Dust. The stories they carry may last longer. They might outlive the paper, the library, or even the language in which they were first written.”

I’ll be honest, I have not yet read a book or short story by Mark Lawrence that hasn’t transported me to another world, impacted me emotionally or simply captured me with his ability to capture the most brutal of stories in such fluid and strong prose. Now you know this, you can imagine how high my expectations were for The Book That Wouldn’t Burn.

The Book That Wouldn’t Burn is set in a library that extends to what feels like eternity, ever shifting, transitioning to hold universes of knowledge. It focuses on two key protagonists, who have totally distinct backgrounds, experiences, cultures and lives; Evar has spent his whole life trapped within the confines of a small part of this immense and ancient library, whilst Livira grew up in a small, isolated settlement in the midst of the vast outback of the Dust.

Livera is a fiery, intense, passionate firework, hungry for knowledge and adventure. She dares to tread where others fear to even look. Whilst Evar is calm, thinking before he acts (mostly,) and comes across as naive, but aware of the limitations his cloistered life has had on his experience and his belief that he’s inferior to those in his family that he’s grown up with. Despite this, he’s more similar to Ali it’s than even he realises, both have a dream that they are determined to pursue, even if that does mean risking what they have for something more.

Lawrence doesn’t limit his skill in delivering characters that come to life to these two main characters. The supporting cast are beautifully written, delivering the full raft of humanity in its raw, pulsing form with depth, warmth, wit and at times unflinching brutality, meaning that no character is simply two dimensional, each and every one is truly original, unique and a composite and essential part of this world.

The world building in The Book That Wouldn't combines the best elements of fantasy; that if you’ve read Mr Lawrence before, you will expect, as he combines epic and high fantasy with science fiction time travelling, historical fiction and an atmosphere that burns with elements of grim dark, gothic-ness. One element of this you won’t miss are the Mechanisms. The Mechanism is a machine used by students for the absorption of knowledge but, remember, this is Mark Lawrence, nothing is ever that simple.

The book itself doesn’t rush you, the pace is steady, flowing like a stream, steadily flowing through the rapids, onwards to the waterfall climax. There is nothing stilted or jarring about the pace of this book, the story is a compelling read that you don’t want to tear yourself away and when you do reach the end, you will be devastated that you’re finished, I was, and still am.

Mark Lawrence has created an emotional rollercoaster of a novel that's intelligent, intriguing and, at times, esoteric. It can be or at least seemed overly complex in its delivery, but that made it incredibly fascinating and totally out-of-box different. Definitely an unprecedented experience and one that I thoroughly enjoyed. Highly Recommended.

Mark Lawrence has delivered a challenging fantasy novel that explores themes of knowledge, classism, power, responsibility, love, and war. A complex, nuanced, exciting, and intriguing story that delivers more unexpected twists and turns than a rollercoaster and takes you on an unprecedented adventure that will have you thinking long after you’ve finished reading.

A five star start to a new series that I totally recommend you pick up!

For a book largely contained within a library, there's a hell of a lot going on in The Book That Wouldn't Burn.

Livira is a child from the Dust, her community scrapping a living in a unforgiving landscape while others live in comfort in the city. When her world is destroyed by Sabbers, she must forge a new path and prove herself to people who view her as lesser.
Evar's life is very different. He's grown up in a vast library hall with only his siblings for company and no way of escape. They are cared for by, essentially, robots. Their only hint of freedom is The Mechanism, a machine that allows them to experience any book they take in with them.

Although, it takes a while to really grasp what is happening, you can't help but become absorbed by the world created. The characters of Evra and Livira are both charming characters, working to find their place in the world.

I think if you've read any Mark Lawrence before you know that this isn't going to be a gentle, fluffy fantasy about books. This is more about knowledge, who has access to it, how the use it and the power that can give them over others. It also takes a hard look at the propagation of violence and the othering of people.

I don't want to say to much more about the plot, but this is a sprawling, twisty, timey-wimey dystopian fantasy/scifi that will sink it's claws into you and not let you go.

I lost too many hours of sleep to this book, but it is done and I have just one question.

What the f*ck is going on????? TIMEY WIMEY STUFF AND HUH???

Where's the second one? My god. I need it.

I suppose that's more than one question, but I'll allow it. Mr. Lawrence has left me in a stage of I need answers. I need them now.

Is Livira a furry?? WHO ARE THE SKEER? What in the name of god is happening?

Highly recommend. Everyone should read it. Now. Yesterday. In the future.

Also, the cover is stunning.

It was difficult to write a review for this book. On the one hand, the story was very attractive, interesting, compelling and had a lot of potential. But I noticed after about 10 chapters that my attention was starting to weaken. Much attention was paid to environmental factors and details. As a result, I occasionally lost the thread of the story.
An advantage was that Livira and Evar met again every so often. These moments were of course the most pleasant to read and the most interesting.
But the whole run-up to the denouement takes quite a long time and when push comes to shove the plot twist isn't even as clear as I expected. Eventually the whole meaning is explained and is further elaborated on, but the story did not intrigue me enough to want to read the sequel.

𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒘𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔.

𝟑.𝟓/𝟓

𝐸𝑁/𝐹𝑅

| WARNING: This digital A.R.C. was kindly sent to me by the publisher via NetGalley after I requested it in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own |

Overall It was a good read! I do love a story set inside a library and when It's an endless, ill-organised and cruel one, It's always better.

The Book That Wouldn't Burn has an interesting timeline, story and characters. I especially loved Evar and I must say when the plots started to align, everything fell swiftly into place.

The underlying moral of seeking knowledge against wisdom and vice-versa, the undeniable risk of errors, crimes and never learning from past mistakes which is proper to any race were genuinely compelling.

However, I do have some issues with aspects of this book, precisely the pacing.
The pacing was bad, I found myself bored for a bit then feeling rushed into the story, then bored, then rushed and so on.
My other negative point will be in the spoilers because :)

------ 𝐹𝑅 ——

| WARNING : Cet A.R.C digital m’a été envoyé par l'éditeur via NetGalley suite à ma demande en échange d’une honnête revue. Toutes les opinions exprimées sont miennes. |

Dans l’ensemble, c’était une bonne lecture! J’apprécie toujours quand l'histoire se déroule à l’intérieur d’une bibliothèque et quand celle-ci est sans fin, mal organisée et cruelle, c'est toujours mieux.

The Book That Wouldn't Burn a une chronologie, une histoire et des personnages intéressants.
J’ai particulièrement aimé Evar et je dois dire que lorsque les plots-twist ont commencé à s’aligner, tout a fait rapidement sens.

La morale sous-jacente de la recherche de la connaissance contre la sagesse et vice-versa, le risque indéniable d’erreurs, de crimes et de ne jamais apprendre des erreurs du passé qui est propre à n’importe quelle race étaient véritablement enrichissant.

Cependant, j’ai quelques problèmes avec certains aspects de ce livre, précisément le rythme.
Le rythme était mauvais, je m’ennuyais pendant un moment, puis je me sentais précipitée dans l’histoire, puis je m’ennuyais, puis forcée et ainsi de suite.
Mon autre point négatif sera dans les spoilers car :)

<spoiler>

1. I fucking knew from the beginning that the Soldier in Evar's time was Malar but I NEVER thought the Assistant could be Livira, It's brilliant.
2. What do you mean there is a fucking sequel? Are you kidding me? Is it too much to ask for a STANDALONE FOR GOD'S SAKE?
3. Each chapter started with a quote from a book. Are they from a real book but MK referenced them to a book with a different title? DOES EACH BOOK MENTIONED IN THE STORY EXIST IN REAL LIFE UNDER A DIFFERENT TITLE?


1. Je savais depuis le début que le Soldat à l’époque d’Evar était Malar, mais je n’ai jamais pensé que l’Assistant pouvait être Livira, c’est génial.
2. Que voulez-vous dire par une putain de suite? Vous vous moquez de moi? Est-ce trop demander D'AVOIR UN STANDALONE NON DE DIEU?
3. Chaque chapitre commençait par la citation d’un livre. Proviennent-ils d’un vrai livre, mais que MK les auraient référencés comme provenant d'un livre avec un titre différent? CHAQUE LIVRE MENTIONNÉ DANS L’HISTOIRE EXISTE-IL DANS LA VIE RÉELLE SOUS UN TITRE DIFFÉRENT?

</spoiler>

The Book That Wouldn't Burn follows two characters, Liviria and Evar, as they get closer to understanding the power of a seemingly infinite library that hosts all sorts of secrets and creatures.

This book has a brilliant way of playing with time and—ooh!—just exploring the concept of perception, stories, power of knowledge, language and the book-about-books concept. I think I will say this until I die, but I thoroughly enjoy watching how authors tackle the last concept because of how differently each push the idea to its surrealist, abstracty, or existentialist limits. The way the lore and the plot melded together is absolutely to die for. The mysteries! The whimsicalness! I'm in love.

The first third is slow but with peculiar threads that makes one curious for how they will make sense (rather than figuring/finding out if they were connected), one gets pulled through the tense second act and into the exhilarating third all for things to end with a cliffhanger. That ending is criminal. Thank the heavens for a sequel because THIS STORY CANNOT END THE WAY IT DID.

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins for providing me the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Book That Wouldn't Burn is a beautifully written epic fantasy with incredible world building. I have to admit I wasn't fully convinced at the beginning, as it starts a little slow and disjointed. We follow two protagonists; Livira who has lived her whole life in a remote settlement in the Dust, and Evar who has lived his whole life trapped in a huge library. They both have one major thing in common; their desire to see beyond the tiny community they live in. However, beyond that, it's hard at the beginning to see how the storylines will relate to each other, but they do slowly interweave in such a fascinating, clever way. It is worth the wait!

The scale of this story feels so huge and made me think a lot about the power of knowledge and how its shared, and the sometimes cyclical nature of history and repeating patterns of behaviour. There were many reveals that shocked me, and suddenly brought elements of the earlier story into clarity, making so much sense. There is such depth to the main characters and plenty of surprises along the way.

Whilst it is different, this book still had the same feel as the author's Book of the Ancestor series for me. The same detailed world building, epic scale, and emotionally driven protagonists. I recommend The Book That Wouldn't Burn to fans of the author's previous works, but also for all fans of epic fantasy.

The Book That Wouldn't Burn is a long journey about 2 main characters who were entangled with each other through time. It's a little bit difficult book for me to follow at first, especially Evar's point of view. Livira's point of view can be easily understood and followed, it felt like we're learning together. As the story went, the revelations and understanding will be provided. The 2/3 part of the book might feel slower and nothing happens, but the last 180-ish pages everything really happens there which includes everyone mentioned in the very first chapters of this book. By the end of the book, readers will know why this book is titled The Book That Wouldn't Burn.

A real page turner that keeps you guessing. This book is a little out of my comfort zone, but I am glad my friend suggested to read this together. It was such a good read. The world building is very good. The plot kept surprising me in a good way. It's so well thought out. I loved Liviria and like Evran as well. Though I feel like we didn't get to know him as well as Liviria. The pacing was good. I loved all the twist and turns and was hooked. Can't wait for the next book in the series. I've really been missing out on this author and will make sure to read more of his books.