The Library of the Unwritten Plot Summary
Claire is head librarian of the Unwritten Wing, a space in Hell where all of the unfinished stories live. Her job is not just to take care of the books there—making repairs and organising them—but also to make sure that none of them escape. When a hero materialises from his story and goes looking for his author, Claire goes to re-capture him, her assistant Brevity and the nervous demon Leto in tow. Only they find themselves wrapped up in rather more than they intended when they’re attacked by the angel Ramiel, who’s convinced they are in possession of the Devil’s Bible. What follows is a race to find this artifact, before it can fall into the wrong hands.
My Thoughts
The Library of the Unwritten is by A. J. Hackwith, a fast-moving adventure through a number of afterlife realms, with a few trips to Earth sprinkled in. I had an absolute blast reading it.
There’s an interesting range of characters, all with back-stories that are hinted at throughout the story. This was handled well, with little snippets of information dropped frequently enough that you don’t feel strung along, rather than constant references to mysteries that didn’t go anywhere. There were different angles on it as well—where Claire is obviously keeping her cards deliberately close to her chest, Leto is piecing his past together along with the reader. The supporting characters are fleshed out beautifully, and each plays a unique and interesting role in the plot.
Sometimes the rationale for the plot got a little difficult to follow. The conversation, for example, between Claire and Andras about how to deal with the codex—the Devil’s Bible—and whether they were going to go looking for it or not. I really tried to keep up with their arguments, but a lot of what they were saying was either too vague or referencing events from their history which were unknown to me, so I found myself skimming it in the end. It didn’t seem to matter much.
There was a tendency as well for moments of high-drama to get a bit muddled, I think because so much of the plot and so many of the character interactions were working on a few levels at once, which obviously became harder to follow when there was a lot going on. This definitely diminished the emotional impact of a couple of key decisions, but the overall coherency of the plot remained unaffected, and I appreciated the layers of complexity the author was working with most of the time.
The angels were great fun. I love antagonists that are as interesting as the protagonists, and those in The Library of the Unwritten definitely fit the bill, both individually and in terms of the way they relate to each other. Ramiel’s desired outcome is clear, his personal allegiance perhaps a little fuzzier, whereas Uriel is the other way around, creating an engaging dynamic and a fascinating tension in their chapters.
Wrap-Up
Let’s face it, a book that makes unwritten stories characters in their own rights is always going to be a strong pitch for a writer—that, and the interesting take on the afterlife (your soul goes where it feels it deserves to be) makes for a setting absolutely brimming with imagination. The story that plays out is well-paced and gripping, easy to get invested in, and if some of the plot points feel like they come out of nowhere or lack complete clarity I’m well willing to forgive that. I’d highly recommend The Library of the Unwritten, particularly to fellow writers!
Like What You See?
Join my mailing list to receive monthly writing advice and book recommendations! You should receive a confirmation email shortly after signing up.