The Book That Wouldn't Burn

“The histories were dry, the fiction as if someone had pulled a still-beating heart from its cage of ribs and left it pulsing crimson on the page. Somehow the stories that never happened, ones that merely sprang from the dreaming of some long-dead author, were more true than the histories that might be found on the opposite shelf.”
I admit I've moved away from reading epic fantasy, my once favourite genre, over the last few years. Too many worlds similar to the ones I read before, rarely giving my imagination the excitement it craves and characters I don't connect with. I missed being swept up in a completely new world, discovering it along with the characters and being fascinated by its alienness and wonder, completely new. I was rarely finding that anymore...until this book! What a wonderful, wild ride I went on reading this! I'll admit I'm already biased because I love stories that celebrate storytelling and libraries and the written word, and this one does that so beautifully. Aside from that, I was swept away on a completely unique and fascinating journey with characters I loved and cared for right from the start - Livira may be a new favourite. The library is a character itself that is extraordinary, dangerous, strange and otherworldly. The world is full of mystery, danger, magic and technology that is never quite as it seems and the deeper you go the more bizarre it becomes. You are carried along on an ever winding story that you think you've figured out, only to have the rug pulled out from under you in unexpected ways. I wanted to ignore life to read this book, a true sign it had captured me. I think the less you know about it before going in, the better, so I'm being purposely vague. All I can say is that it rekindled my love for what fantasy can do when an experienced author lets their imagination run wild and crafts something exceptional, something that will stick with you long after you finish. Only it isn't finished! It's going to be a LONG wait for the next volume...
It may only be the first book, but it's already shot to one of my absolute favourites and I can't wait to see where it goes next!