Hardcover, 416 pages
Published April 11, 2023 by Ace.
A boy has lived his whole life trapped within a vast library, older than empires and larger than cities.
A girl has spent hers in a tiny settlement out on the Dust where nightmares stalk and no one goes.
The world has never even noticed them. That's about to change.
Their stories spiral around each other, across worlds and time. This is a tale of truth and lies and hearts, and the blurring of one into another. A journey on which knowledge erodes certainty, and on which, though the pen may be mightier than the sword, blood will be spilled and cities burned.
I loved this!! I really enjoyed reading this book, it kept me engaged the whole time. I thought it had excellent political/social dynamics and its twists and turns never failed to surprise me. The only part I didn’t like is that much of the book’s climax and game changing plot points happen in the last 200 pages. I will definitely read the next book in this series. I can’t stop thinking about this book!
I really enjoyed the story of Livira and Evar, and I especially loved learning more and more about the mysterious library. I found their romance to be emotional and relatable, especially for a straight couple. Unfortunately I feel like the ending didn't quite conclude as much as it just stopped, but I presume it will be picked up again in the next book, for which I await with bated breath. The fact that this book relies heavily on time travel and that I actually LIKED it should be a huge testament to it's strength.
It seems there are a lot of books out these days that involve libraries or book stores. This one has a library that is wildly different from all of them. Not as fast moving as some of the other stories from Mark Lawrence, but still compelling and I'm very interested in reading the next one when it comes out.
