This book was really well written and I loved the characters! I will definitely be reading more from this author!

I didn't love this book. It's great, but I didn't love it (a lot of other people did tho!)

The concepts are awesome, the execution is great, but the characters just didn't pull me in and the jumping between the two plot lines took too long to be explained.

I think I'll give this one another go sometime in the future, because maybe I just wasn't in the mood for this kind of book.

Be sure to give it a go, if the description appeals to you! It might be your new favourite read of the year.

A story that centers around books and tells of two strangers who find themselves connected by a mysterious never-ending library that is full of secrets and nightmarish monsters is my kind of book!
Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to like it, I was really torn. For me, it LAGGED at certain parts, which with my attention span, I couldn’t get with it. I often felt like the writing was overly descriptive, repetitive, and difficult to understand/follow.

However, don’t get me wrong, the concept and mystery behind the story is really intriguing! Mark can also really paint a picture with his beautiful and atmospheric writing.

In this story, we have two POVs: Livira and Evar; but honestly, I only wanted to read about Livira.
She was easier to connect to and way more likable than our boy Evar.
While Livira is curious, driven, and fierce, he is just… there.
Every time I read his chapters, I felt like I was entering into a conversation that was midway through, with absolutely no knowledge of whatever the heck they are talking about.

Now, I know A LOT of people loved and will love this book, unlike me (jealous!). It’s really a love/hate relationship I have going on with it, and after finishing my ENDLESS, tbr might consider picking it back up again.

(side note: how about that cover, eh?! Gorg!)

~ Thank you, NetGalley and HarperVoyager, for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review

The two main characters are Livira Page who comes from the Dust, a place of poverty and relentless need to survive. The second is Evar Evenatari who has spent his entire life trapped in an enormous library with his four adopted siblings and raised by a library assistant.
"The Book That Wouldn't Burn" is a collection of books that holds the knowledge of mankind., the battle centers around the library, and is ignorant versus knowledge that drives this on

An excellent read and it took some time for me to get into the fantasy story a bit but when I did I found it awesome and also thought-provoking. Mark Lawrence writes with such a professional and artistic way that the writing alone kept me enthralled

I've got five stars for this book with a recommendation to read it

DNF @50%.

Books about books, or stories, or libraries are my favourite kind of books. It’s no surprise that I was very excited for this one, then, but sadly it didn’t work for me.

I DNF‘ed The Book That Wouldn’t Burn after reading half of it, and not having learned much of how the world worked, what the political system was supposed to be like, or even getting to know the characters well.

In the course of 300 pages, I felt like every chapter was more or less the same: the reader is told over and over in very many words either what the many chambers of the library are like (without adding any new information, mind you) or how traumatic Evar‘s past and that of his siblings has been (also without adding much new information each time around), just to then culminate in a cliffhanger that makes you read the next chapter, which is more of the same.

Livira certainly is the character I know most about, but that too is limited to knowing the colour of her hair, that she is good at maths, learning and memorising things, and that she questions everything. Even though every other chapter is told from Evar‘s point of view, I still haven’t got a good feeling of what his character is like, other than that he’s rather cautious. I also was surprised to learn that he‘s around 20, his narrating voice somehow sounds much older.

I do think that the story had great potential and the writing style was good if one looks past the endless repetitions of things that have already been said, but the execution just didn’t work for me. The world certainly is very intriguing and I wish the reader would learn more about it. I also haven’t quite understood how these sci-fi and fantasy elements tie together in a world that seems rather medieval in all other regards, but after forcing my way through half of the book and not being rewarded with much information, I will not continue reading.

no rating (DNF)

This is the first instalment in The Library Trilogy, is Lawrence's best-written novel, with the author's love of language, libraries, books and literature apparent. Some of his phrases about fiction and knowledge are like warm hugs to a book lover.

Lawrence has taken the real and the fictional, the book and the library, the reader and the academic and created a love letter to this universe that is literature. There are lovely little gems as an ode to some of the greatest writers of our time, like Hemingway and Poe, and others.

It is a hefty book, and while it is slow paced the story is always moving. Lawrence does at times pose some heavy philosophical questions, however, I felt that he did a good job of not lingering too much on them. The way he poses them through dialogue between a mentor and a student means that they’re broken down through the narrator’s thoughts enough to be digestible.

Evar is a young gentleman who resides within a section of the behemothic library that is the setting of a huge proportion of The Book That Wouldn't Burn. He lives alongside his peculiar family: a soldier, an assistant, and his brothers and sister. Each of his adopted siblings has a particular area of expertise, be it philosophy, history, warfare, or assassination. Although, like the reader, the family is not aware of how these skill sets can be used to their fullest potential when they cannot leave their dwelling. Evar, unfortunately, has no special area or abilities that he has mastered (that he can remember) and has to resort to being the second best in all of the proficiencies mentioned above.

Livira, whose name means weed, is a stubborn and inquisitive young child when the book commences. She lives in a settlement within the Dust, outside the city of Crath's walls. These desert villages are a dangerous place to occupy, with harsh environments that include dust-bears, dust-storms, and there is the threat of sabbers: the dog-like race that are imposing, agile, and despise humans.

The Book That Wouldn't Burn is the 11th Mark Lawrence book that I have read and, unless I am mistaken, is the first novel he has written where we follow two point-of-view perspectives; those indicated above. Both viewpoints are intriguing to follow as the mysteries of Crath, the dust, the grand library, and the wider world are unravelled to the reader. Evar and Livira are immensely likeable too and deliver frequent well-crafted moments of humour and wit. Furthermore, through their thoughts, we are presented views on a sizeable and varied dramatis personae. Honourable mentions for supporting characters go to the librarian Yute, the soldier Malar, vengeance-driven Clovis, and Wentworth the humungous cat.

The Book That Wouldn't Burn has a tendency to be thrilling and slickly paced, sprinkled with unforeseeable twists and some romantic undercurrents. In addition, it presents a clever almost science-based magic system that has clear rules and consistency. Elements such as ghosts, time travel, world-hopping, library beings that may transcend time, and a book that will not burn will give an idea of some of the concepts featured here. That is before we take into consideration a gargantuan legendary mysterious library: labyrinthine, complex, possibly moving, and otherworldly in nature with impassable passages.

This, the first entry in The Library Trilogy, is Lawrence's best-written novel, with the author's love of language, libraries, books and literature apparent. Some of his phrases about fiction and knowledge are like warm hugs to a book lover.

After collecting my thoughts for a couple of days, I am content to judge that The Book That Wouldn't Burn is the author's most ambitious, polished, and rewarding-to-read work to this date. It ends neatly and in fascinating fashion answering questions I did not even know I had, demanding to be re-read almost straight away.

I received a review copy from Harper Voyager in exchange for an honest review.

this book was not the book i should have read after fourth wing.

the plot was really good but i was not just in to it

This is another astounding series by Mark Lawrence.

Lawrence never fails to amaze me with his skilfully and scientific writing. Though Lawrence creates fantasy stories, he manages to put logic and wisdom into his stories. Try his Book of the Ancestors! You will have a headache analyzing the world and the magic itself. HAHAHA

Like with his other notable series, The Book That Wouldn't Burn has outstanding world-building and magic except that this series is more vivid and colorful with its setting than his previous books.

I always looked forward the Lawrence's books and will never stop reading his works,

This is the first instalment in The Library Trilogy.

"He waved an arm at the aisle stretching away from them. ‘This is power. This is where the histories are. This is where the great philosophers are. This is where the secrets that arm our soldiers with arrow-sticks are written. This is where the next secrets will be found. You think our people would have even a fraction of what they have now without the library? It wasn’t many generations ago we were fighting each other with bones and rocks, and we thought fire was a great magic …’"

Any book lover could not fail to find great joy inside these pages. The library at the centre of the story is a prison to some, a magical portal to others. It is both an escape and a home, or a means to creating both. It allows the central characters to find both themselves and each other inside of it.

Time shifts or creeps and the lines of reality are often blurred, meaning everything is to be questioned in this world. Lawrence has crafted something mind-blowingly brilliant and, because of that, it can take the reader a little time to assimilate themselves within this vast and magical world. It is definitely worth it though - for the library that both replicates the magic to be found within all libraries as well as the magic that is uniquely all its own; for the courageous, loveable, and big-hearted protagonists, Livira and Evar, who centre in this story; for the incredible storytelling and poetic writing that speaks to the soul of any reader; and for the rich world that has been created, complete with corruption, revenge plots, political intrigue, and monsters, both human and otherwise.

The writing was just not for me, I could not concentrate on what was happening half the time and the pacing was quite slow at times. If the writing had been more comprehensible for my level I would have easily rated this higher.

I wanted to like this so much. The characters, I loved, Livira was so interesting and I was so invested to follow her on her journey. Evar was also complex and I loved seeing his perspective on things, as he had such a skewed view of what he knew considering he'd basically lived the majority of his life in the library chamber. And when their world's collided I was so excited to see how they would finally get together.

Mark Lawrence has done it. He has taken everything literary and formalized it into a religion, a sect, a cult. And The Book That Wouldn’t Burn is the bible. That’s it. That’s my review. Welcome, follower of the faith, this book is the mandatory reading of the order.

The library that Lawrence has created is everything, it’s the start of times, the end of times and everything in between. All of time can be found in there, contained into segments. It’s a complicated, magical space that is bigger than the space it physically sits in.

Lawrence has taken the real and the fictional, the book and the library, the reader and the academic and created a love letter to this universe that is literature. There are lovely little gems as an ode to some of the greatest writers of our time, like Hemingway and Poe, and others.

Another big element of this story is time. Parallel time, present, past and future. The vastness of the world that, this library Lawrence has created, opens out to, is mind blowing. At times it’s almost like a fever dream yet it still follows a pattern, a synchronicity, an order. And what are books, if not papery devices of time travel? Portals to other places, times, people, events. I do not know HOW Lawrence made it make sense. I guess this is what great authors do. There are moments in the book, that make a full circle… somehow, through the maze that is this story. A moment, an element, a small little detail hits home and you go: I get it! I get it! The Easter eggs! I wish I could tell you about them all but they’re spoilers, and the joy of discovery is too great with this book.

This takes me to the point that Lawrence is a VERY quotable author. From the time I discovered this author with his Broken Empire trilogy, Lawrence has managed to make everything screech to a halt with quotes that stop you in your tracks. Same goes for The Book That Wouldn’t Burn. Quotes are bountiful! Beautiful use of language, beautiful writing. Wholesome and bountiful.

Lawrence has thought of everything. Everything that a written word can be or mean or do. There is a hint at fake news, which is a current issue we face in our times. There is a big play on the concept of ‘truth’, of how when looked from a different POV, the truth can look very different. The story explores where the meeting point of more than one truths lies and how the reaction to that very meeting point of truths decides the way forward.

So, this is the story, guaranteed to take you on a wild journey. Your mind will go into overdrive trying to imagine all that Lawrence is trying to show you. But it’s a good one. It’s also one of those books that will bring you joy, even more so, on a second read because now you’ll know to recognize all of the hints, the clues of what’s to come and that will make you really want to tip a hat towards the author. Fantastic job!

A word or few about some of the characters, too.

Livira… The girl from outside of the library, outside of the city. She comes from the harsh conditions of Dust. The way time works in this book, allows us to have a real coming of age story when it comes to Livira. She’s always curious, ambitious, and brave. She’s the fish that swims against the current just because she has a question and she wants to experiment for a different outcome. You can’t help but love her.

Evar… The boy that lives in the library with his siblings and a couple of helpers. Knows a bit about everything, but has confidence issues, because there seems to be a chunk of his memory missing. He is the one that his 3 ‘brothers’ and a ‘sister’ get along with – he’s the constant in between them. This character delivered the biggest surprise by far, but I always enjoy how humble and even shy he was.

Malar… I am a simple human, I like working man who knows what he does and swears like a sailor. Malar is a soldier, a guard and his mouth is as dirty as a steamboat’s chimney. He added that extra spark that I like to have in the books I read. The minute I met Malar, I know that scenes involving him were going to be just that extra bit spicy and exciting.

The librarians – including Yute – I put them all into same pot… They are the guardians of books, the all-knowing, the herders of society. The protectors of truth. But as always, with great power and vast knowledge comes the difficult task of balancing – what do people deserve to know? Do they need to know everything? Should some truths remain secret? How is it that they necessarily know what’s best? The age old concept of rules… We trust them blindly, we follow them, we praise them. All we can hope is that they’ll do right by us.

And I love how Lawrence seems to have put the whole of society into these characters. The richness of diversity – we need them all for things to work. We need people who know everything about one thing. We need people who know a little about everything. We need people who do the hard, dirty work. We need the paper pushers and pen wielders to write it all down. The magic, as always, is striking the balance.

Did the pacing give me a niggle now and again? Sure, but that’s personal preference. Hindsight is always the best sight, they say, and in hindsight, this book is absolutely the work of masterful and epic proportions. Some things cannot be rushed.

Am I absolutely excited about where the sequel will take me? Absolutely. The crazy thing is, I cannot even imagine where Lawrence is going to steer this story next. So many big things, Earth-shattering things happened in this book. Lawrence was thoroughly generous with the twists and surprises that were already gifted to the reader. I feel like this is going to be the title and trilogy that will sum up everything that is fantasy fiction for decades to come. It is the anthem to reading, to love of books, to knowledge.

In short summary, The Book That Wouldn’t Burn is like getting lost in the library that goes on and on and on without end or edge- it’s bigger than what you think should fit in between the covers. It deserves the whole 5 stars, simple as that.

There are some books that need a detailed book review to help readers decide whether a book is their type of read. The Book That Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence is one that personally I think is better left surrounded in mystery, that the less you know about it the better your experience will be as a reader. Less is more was certainly the approach taken with the synopsis for this book which dangles a teasing idea in front of the reader, but doesn’t say very much. I didn’t understand why that was the case until I read the book.

The Book That Wouldn’t Burn tells two stories, the story of Livira and the story of Evar. Two individuals who live completely different lives that somehow manage to keep intersecting. The two of them are connected that much is for certain, but how and why is an epic journey that will blow your mind. Lawrence has written a book that will constantly keep you guessing, and making you question everything as you read it. This isn’t a book, it’s a puzzle and fans of Doctor Who will love it.

It is a hefty book, and while it is slow paced the story is always moving. Lawrence does at times pose some heavy philosophical questions, however, I felt that he did a good job of not lingering too much on them. The way he poses them through dialogue between a mentor and a student means that they’re broken down through the narrator’s thoughts enough to be digestible.

I liked the quotes from books at the top of each chapter, some of which were real authors (there were a few sneaky quotes from Mark Lawrence himself in there!) and some obviously fake ones (I had a chuckle at the nod to Enid Blyton). It was a nice way to break up the head hurty bits and dark topics and inject some author humour in there.

The Book That Wouldn’t Burn is one of my top books of 2023, and left me in such awe with its plot twists. It’s book one and there’s more to come, which quite frankly leaves me a little worried. I’m not sure if we’ll all be able to survive the end of this trilogy if this is what Lawrence is going to deliver every time.

This book took way longer than it should have to finish but wow! What a story! So pretty much the beginning of the story was 2 kids pottering about the library living their own kind of imprisoned lives, and then they go through a door and meet each other over and over again. Of course that's not all, this follows them over the course of their lives and their meetings and the horrible and terrible backdrops of their worlds. The book really picked up towards the end as reveal after reveal is well ..revealed lol. Mark Lawrence really knows how to write feisty little balls of fury because both Livira in this and Nona in Red Sister are fabulous main characters. Although Volente and Malar were a close call for favourite characters too

This fantasy book leads with two perspectives: A young man who's been trapped inside a massive library for almost his entire life, and a girl born in the Dust, who is taken away from everything she knows.

They both end up exploring a huge library, largely during different times. It's a vast and mysterious place. The author spends a long time describing it, but I have to admit to (especially in the first half of the book) struggling to bring it to life in my own head. It is almost too vast. Too mysterious. And we only get half the answers in this book.

There is quite a lot of repetition early on, but that's partly due to the structure of the book. Livira has to learn what it is to be a librarian, what the mysteries are, and how to contact Evar (the other POV). There's a lot of back and forth.

While she's busy learning about the library, there's a war waging outside its walls. Sabbers are the enemy, dog-like intelligent beings who have been killing people for decades. But eventually Livira figures out that maybe that's not the whole truth. Maybe we've been drawn into the same battles over and over for generation upon generation, wasting time and wasting lives? Maybe the library keeps going but people don't? Maybe she can be the difference, this time...

This will all sound very vague until you read the book. Ultimately this is the first of a series with an epic feel, that explores themes of war, violence, compromise (or lack there of), how we strive for knowledge and much more. Not all the characters are fully realised (eg Evar's siblings), but I did fall for Evar, Livira and the assistants (and Volente!).

I'm looking forward to reading the next one!

“All of us steal our lives. A little here, a little there. Some of it given, most of it taken. We wear ourselves like a coat of many patches, fraying at the edges, in constant repair. While we shore up one belief, we let go another. We are the stories we tell to ourselves. Nothing more.”

This is the first book I’ve read by @mark___lawrence and safe to say it will not be the last one. ‘The Book That Wouldn’t Burn’ is easily one of the current contenders for my book of the year, I LOVED it from start to finish. Easy 5⭐️ read for me (one of only 4 this year!)

The story itself follows our two main characters, Livira a young girl who has grown up in a small community (also known as the dust) outside the main city, here people are viewed as second class citizens and are struggling to survive.

Our other main character is Evar who has grown up trapped in an antechamber of an enormous library, surrounded by tower stacks of books with only his adopted siblings and android parental figures for company.

Both these characters are brought together in the most wonderful way, the book being the perfect blend of both fantasy and sci-fi. I wont go into too much detail in regards to the story itself, as I went in blind to this and 100% it added to my overall enjoyment, but the characters, the setting, the world building everything was absolutely top tier.

I cannot wait to see where this series will go, safe to say I am very much invested! Thanks so much to the publisher @harpercollinsuk and @netgalley for the advance copy, the second I finished the first section I went ahead and preordered myself a lovely @thebrokennbinding edition!

I didn't finish the book so perhaps nie shouldn't be leaving this review but figured I will. This was the first book of this author that I read (or attempted at least) and as much as the plot was interesting the writing didn't do it for me. I ended up getting so confused and couldn't focus at all.

I never even read the synopsis of this. Book of the Ancestor is one of my favorite series of all time, so I will read anything by Mark Lawrence.
I'm glad I went into it blind. What a surprise and a treat!
All I will say is that it's set in a library, Livira is a fantastic character, and you should read this book!

I'm very intrigued to see what happens in the next one.

This is the first in a trilogy, but I’m now gutted because I can’t just jump into the next one like I have done with previous books by mark as I found his books later when previous trilogies were complete. Which for me now is really frustrating as I really do need to to know what happens next. The characters are fabulous, Livira is bold, clever, impulsive but very brave, she’s so intriguing and so easy to like. Then we have Malar, who was definitely my favourite character , he doesn’t appear as often as I’d like but hoping there’ll be more to come, because he is just fantastic. I’m gutted I didn’t savour this more and make it last longer, Marks books are masterpieces of the best writing, world building, characters, just everything you could want, you need to read them if you haven’t yet, I wish someone had introduced me to his writing earlier

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Livira grew up in a huddle of huts out on the Dust. A place of hand-to-mouth existence, plagued by creatures living within the Dust, and Sabbers attacking from without. It's one of these attacks that leads Livira to a new future; to the city of Crath and the library there.
Evar and his family live in another library, one which they cannot leave. They've food and water, and all the books they could ever read, but Evar longs for escape.

The two meet in a place between worlds; somewhere outside the normal boundaries of time and/or space, and from which they can travel to multiple other worlds. Are Livira's and Evar's home libraries in the same world but at different times, or at the same time on different worlds? In Evar's world civilisation has fallen to the Sabbers; in Livira's it looks like it will happen soon. Is there a way to avoid the cycle of rise and destruction that plaques both worlds.

This is a book which starts out simply with Livira being forced from her home and resettling in the city, but which gradually expands to bring in themes of love crossing all boundaries, of the danger of having unlimited knowledge without checks and curbs on its use, of who should limit that knowledge, of mankind's destiny to repeat its mistakes again and again. The plot twists and turns through time so much that I was left dizzy, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. As Book 1 of a series, not everything is nicely tied off at the end, and I can't wait to read 'whats happens next'.

A great startb to a new trilogy from Mark Lawrence.