The Library of the Unwritten cover art

The Library of the Unwritten

A Novel from Hell's Library, Book 1

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The Library of the Unwritten

By: A. J. Hackwith
Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
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About this listen

In the first book in a brilliant new fantasy series, books that aren't finished by their authors reside in the Library of the Unwritten in Hell, and it is up to the Librarian to track down any restless characters who emerge from those unfinished stories.

Many years ago, Claire was named Head Librarian of the Unwritten Wing - a neutral space in Hell where all the stories unfinished by their authors reside. Her job consists mainly of repairing and organizing books, but also of keeping an eye on restless stories that risk materializing as characters and escaping the library. When a Hero escapes from his book and goes in search of his author, Claire must track and capture him with the help of former muse and current assistant Brevity and nervous demon courier Leto.

But what should have been a simple retrieval goes horrifyingly wrong when the terrifyingly angelic Ramiel attacks them, convinced that they hold the Devil's Bible. The text of the Devil's Bible is a powerful weapon in the power struggle between Heaven and Hell, so it falls to the librarians to find a book with the power to reshape the boundaries between Heaven, Hell...and Earth.

©2019 A. J. Hackwith (P)2019 Penguin Audio Action & Adventure Classics Fantasy Fiction Humorous City Comedy

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Critic reviews

"It's like The Good Place meets Law & Order: Bibliophile Crime Unit. Highly recommended. This book is so much fun, and you should be reading it. Trust me. Stories about story are some of my favorite kinds. This book definitely makes the list. I am so glad I read this." (Seanan McGuire, author of In an Absent Dream)

“Clever, charming, full of intricate worldbuilding and delightful characters, The Library of the Unwritten is the first book in your new favorite series.” (Christina Henry, author of The Girl in Red)

“The Library of the Unwritten is a tiered dark chocolate cake of a book. The read is rich and robust, the prose has layers upon layers, and the characters melt like ganache upon the tongue.” (Meg Elison, Philip K. Dick Award Winner)
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The concept was fascinating, especially as it didn't stick to purely Christian theology. The characters are rich and easy to fall in love with.

for me, the "mysteries" hidden behind the lines of plot were a little clunky, but enjoyable non the less.

A fascinating concept

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fabulous, low violence, little romance fun!
it was just what I was looking for
fabulous, low violence, little romance fun!

fabulous, low violence, little romance fun!

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enjoyed the premise and idea of the ‘unwritten’ . keen to listen to next in series

interesting and unusual story

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The handling of the library idea is novel and interesting, but there are clues to what’s going to happen when the Brevity sidekick keeps dipping into exposition.

The first third is good but the ‘quest’ in the remainder of the story feels a bit routine.

Novel idea but ends up a bit ‘by the numbers’

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some of the dialogue was a bit flat and some of the parts were a bit expected but overall this book was a very nice listen very creative and most impressive was the part where it was almost completely devoid of Christian nonsense (thank goodness for that)
very nice mythology very nice world building very nice story and ending

thoroughly enjoyable book

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Wish the story was as good as the narrator. Returned this one because the story felt flatt

Good narrator

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A highly rated book which doesn't live up to the hype. Flat and annoying characters. The narration got on my nerves after 30 minutes.

Should have stayed unwritten

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Good narration, and I liked the concept behind the book. however the story was over-long and could have done with editing down.

Good narration but over-long

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