The Absolute Book

The Absolute Book

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  • Create Date：2021-02-10 04:20:27
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Elizabeth Knox
  • ISBN：9780593296738
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Summary

A bewitching epic fantasy about a revenge killing， a mysterious scroll box that has survived centuries of fires， and the book that changed everything

"Intricately plotted and gorgeously written， The Absolute Book is a cinematic tale that is by turns dark and dreamlike， yet ultimately hopeful。" —Deborah Harkness， New York Times bestselling author of A Discovery of Witches

Taryn Cornick believes that the past—her sister's violent death， and her own ill-conceived revenge—is behind her， and she can get on with her life。 She has written a successful book about the things that threaten libraries: insects， damp， light， fire， carelessness and uncaring 。 。 。 but not all of the attention it brings her is good。

A policeman， Jacob Berger， questions her about a cold case。 Then there are questions about a fire in the library at her grandparents' house and an ancient scroll box known as the Firestarter， as well as threatening phone calls and a mysterious illness。 Finally a shadowy young man named Shift appears， forcing Taryn and Jacob toward a reckoning felt in more than one world。

The Absolute Book is epic， action-packed fantasy in which hidden treasures are recovered， wicked things resurface， birds can talk， and dead sisters are a living force。 It is a book of journeys and returns， from contemporary England to Auckland， New Zealand; from a magical fairyland to Purgatory。 Above all， it is a declaration of love for stories and the ways in which they shape our worlds and create gods out of mortals。

Editor Reviews

11/02/2020

This sprawling and engrossing epic from Knox （Mortal Fire） opens with intimate tragedy and expands until the fates of several worlds hang in the balance。 When Taryn Cornick’s sister， Beatrice， is killed， Taryn wants revenge， and over the 14 years that follow， she progresses from detached teen， then listless wife， to celebrated author。 Her debut work of “musing nonfiction” discusses dangers to libraries， and its international acclaim wins Taryn both allies and enemies。 As questions emerge about a fire in her grandparents’ library—which housed an ancient， mystical scroll—and Taryn’s involvement in a murder case， Taryn is drawn into a centuries-old conflict between demons and the sidhe。 The story expands like inverse nesting dolls， beginning as a slow-burn thriller and gradually revealing itself as epic fantasy， even as it retains its core of real-world suspense。 Bookish and withdrawn， Taryn is an unexpected chosen one and resists many of the standard heroic tropes。 Knox bites off a bit more than she can chew， though， and several questions are left unanswered， but readers will still be impressed by the work’s sweeping scope。 This ambitious fantasy is a master class in blending genres。 Agent: Scott Miller， Trident Media。 （Feb。）

Publishers Weekly

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Reviews

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Denise Talen ，

A great book for fantasy fans！ This a great sliding door style fantasy with a fantastic other world。 The world building is complex and the connection of the real world is multi-layered。 It feels like a mash-up of The Ten Thousand Doors of January and The City We Became with a dash of Every Heart a Doorway。

George Fenwick ，

was literally just too dumb to understand this， i had no idea what was going on about 40% of the time

Amy Burt ，

I’ve seen so much hype for The Absolute Book that I couldn’t wait to read it， bumping it up my TBR， but I actually found it really hard to read。 This book is like 650 pages and you feel every page， possibly because I couldn’t get into it。 This book really is too long and I think could have easily lost hundreds of pages， you learn things you don’t need to know， events are incredibly detailed that don’t push the plot along， and on that matter， I could not tell you what really happened， I was re-re I’ve seen so much hype for The Absolute Book that I couldn’t wait to read it， bumping it up my TBR， but I actually found it really hard to read。 This book is like 650 pages and you feel every page， possibly because I couldn’t get into it。 This book really is too long and I think could have easily lost hundreds of pages， you learn things you don’t need to know， events are incredibly detailed that don’t push the plot along， and on that matter， I could not tell you what really happened， I was re-reading parts trying to make sense of things， feeling like I missed something。。 I have to say that this book is brilliantly written， Knox is truly talented， but it felt overwritten and while books can talk to you， this felt like it was talking at me and it made me feel incredibly stupid （it’s possible I am though）。 I also found the characters hard to relate to so overall I didn’t enjoy this experience unfortunately。 I could feel the book was trying to say something and get somewhere， I just couldn’t make out what and where that was。Thank you NetGalley for the early copy to read and review。 。。。more

Kerry Bridges ，

Taryn Cornick has lost her sister and arranges for something terrible to happen。 Years later， a strange man appears to rescue her， can he help Taryn and those around her before it's too late？Honestly， the more I think about this book， the less stars I can give it。I finished reading it last night and I am still totally confused as to where half the characters came from， what the point of them was and what part they play in the story。 Taryn's family story is interesting and I absolutely love Shift Taryn Cornick has lost her sister and arranges for something terrible to happen。 Years later， a strange man appears to rescue her， can he help Taryn and those around her before it's too late？Honestly， the more I think about this book， the less stars I can give it。I finished reading it last night and I am still totally confused as to where half the characters came from， what the point of them was and what part they play in the story。 Taryn's family story is interesting and I absolutely love Shift， Adham and Neve but the rambling nature in the plot makes if full of holes and impossible to follow。There is a really good book in here somewhere， but at the moment it's struggling to get out alive！ 。。。more

Steven Feldman ，

A few chapters into The Absolute Book by Elizabeth Knox I was ready to give up。 It didn’t seem to be going anywhere and there was a lot of book ahead of me。 One more chapter I thought， and kapow！ suddenly the book really lifts off， you start to get an insight into the clever plot threads and then it is a delight。I don’t know how to describe The Absolute Book without spoiling those first revelations so I will just say， if you enjoyed Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell and American Gods then there is a A few chapters into The Absolute Book by Elizabeth Knox I was ready to give up。 It didn’t seem to be going anywhere and there was a lot of book ahead of me。 One more chapter I thought， and kapow！ suddenly the book really lifts off， you start to get an insight into the clever plot threads and then it is a delight。I don’t know how to describe The Absolute Book without spoiling those first revelations so I will just say， if you enjoyed Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell and American Gods then there is a good chance that you will love this。 。。。more

Penelope ，

There was an awful lot I loved about this book， much I quite liked and some stuff that I struggled with。 It's a truly eclectic mix of fantasy， folklore， crime， and literary fiction and Elizabeth Knox is an mesmerising storyteller but I did feel at times the plot was rather incomprehensible。 That being said I did very much enjoy reading this book。 It drew me in， kept me engaged for all 640 pages， tickled my imagination and brought me immense pleasure but on finishing it I was a little disappointe There was an awful lot I loved about this book， much I quite liked and some stuff that I struggled with。 It's a truly eclectic mix of fantasy， folklore， crime， and literary fiction and Elizabeth Knox is an mesmerising storyteller but I did feel at times the plot was rather incomprehensible。 That being said I did very much enjoy reading this book。 It drew me in， kept me engaged for all 640 pages， tickled my imagination and brought me immense pleasure but on finishing it I was a little disappointed that it hadn't all come together a way I really understood。 It weaves threads of Arthurian tales， Nordic mythology， climate change， grief， belonging， love and much， much more。 It's not a book for everyone but if the synopsis appeals then perhaps give it a go and if you can work out what it's all about then please drop me a line。 :） 。。。more

Thais • tata。lifepages • ，

Rating 3。5 Stars。First thing I noticed about this book is how large it is， it's sheer size is captivating as well as intimidating。 It reads in a rather informative and descriptive manner， which can be seen as good thing， considering that Elizabeth Knox writes in such an eloquent way， however it had me also losing focus at times。 You can tell that the author put in a lot of work， time and planning into this novel （it is also full of cultural and mythical references which add a lot of great detail Rating 3。5 Stars。First thing I noticed about this book is how large it is， it's sheer size is captivating as well as intimidating。 It reads in a rather informative and descriptive manner， which can be seen as good thing， considering that Elizabeth Knox writes in such an eloquent way， however it had me also losing focus at times。 You can tell that the author put in a lot of work， time and planning into this novel （it is also full of cultural and mythical references which add a lot of great details to the story）。 The story is complex and odd in its own charming way。 You can tell that the author put a lot of work and time into the novel！I think I am just the right type of reader for this kind of novel， it reminded me of the sensation I had while reading Lord of The Clouds; confusion。 This is my first time reading a book by this author， however it made me feel like I was missing something， that I didn't understand entirely what the author meant。 The writing is indeed beautiful and alluring， I feel like I would need to re-read to comprehend it entirely and very likely would notice things that I missed。Thank you MJ books and Penguin Random House for the free copy in exchange for my honest review！ 。。。more

Ruth ，

I feel like I should have loved this， fantasy with crime， guilt and a mysterious book。 It sounded completely like the sort of book I would love and not be able to put down。 Sadly this wasn't the case - whilst I wanted to know what happened， I didn't care enough to keep reading it。 If it had been a physical book instead of an eBook I'd have skipped to the end to see if it was worth carrying on。 Instead I'm afraid I gave up a third of the way through。There were great aspects to it， the concept is I feel like I should have loved this， fantasy with crime， guilt and a mysterious book。 It sounded completely like the sort of book I would love and not be able to put down。 Sadly this wasn't the case - whilst I wanted to know what happened， I didn't care enough to keep reading it。 If it had been a physical book instead of an eBook I'd have skipped to the end to see if it was worth carrying on。 Instead I'm afraid I gave up a third of the way through。There were great aspects to it， the concept is good。 It's easy to see why Taryn made some of the decisions she did and the sense of place was very well done。 The different myths worked in to the story were very cleverly done， but it just wasn't quite enough for me。 。。。more

Teraesa ，

I liked it。 It's interesting--I felt like it was hard initially to get the hook。 But I was DETERMINED to finish it。 I was also reading it at a weird time in life。 But， it's a book that continues to sit with me。 For a book I didn't love， I have to say I keep thinking about the story。 So I think it's going to be a reread。 I liked it。 It's interesting--I felt like it was hard initially to get the hook。 But I was DETERMINED to finish it。 I was also reading it at a weird time in life。 But， it's a book that continues to sit with me。 For a book I didn't love， I have to say I keep thinking about the story。 So I think it's going to be a reread。 。。。more

Emily ，

What a wild ride。 A fabulous reading experience， at once fantastical， literary， and thriller-esque。 The sometimes meandering metaphoric descriptions are beautiful but do not end up where you expect。 Not a book to read while drowsy otherwise you may end up lost。。。

Amanda ，

Decades ago， Taryn’s sister was murdered。 Now a successful author， the past continues to haunt Taryn。The Absolute Book is an absolute epic。 It journeys from this world to others， referencing the myths of many cultures。 We meet the Sidhe and talking ravens。 And we follow the mystery of an ancient scroll box known as the Firestarter。 Threaded through it all is a love of books， storytelling and language。Hugely imaginative， hard to capture。Rewards careful reading and， no doubt， re-reading。My thanks Decades ago， Taryn’s sister was murdered。 Now a successful author， the past continues to haunt Taryn。The Absolute Book is an absolute epic。 It journeys from this world to others， referencing the myths of many cultures。 We meet the Sidhe and talking ravens。 And we follow the mystery of an ancient scroll box known as the Firestarter。 Threaded through it all is a love of books， storytelling and language。Hugely imaginative， hard to capture。Rewards careful reading and， no doubt， re-reading。My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for the ARC。 。。。more

Auds ，

This made me feel that the book is like a paradox。 And yes this is a fantasy。 An out of this worldadventure。 Or should I say worlds？ Well， I don`t know I am not sure。 But one thing is for sure，this is one glorious book。I could not think of a word to exactly describe the story。 It started with Taryn the creator of thebest-selling book “The Feverish Library”。 But she does not just write stories， she also writes sinsand tragedies for her revenge as her sister was murdered。 Along came a policeman， J This made me feel that the book is like a paradox。 And yes this is a fantasy。 An out of this worldadventure。 Or should I say worlds？ Well， I don`t know I am not sure。 But one thing is for sure，this is one glorious book。I could not think of a word to exactly describe the story。 It started with Taryn the creator of thebest-selling book “The Feverish Library”。 But she does not just write stories， she also writes sinsand tragedies for her revenge as her sister was murdered。 Along came a policeman， Jacob，who questions Tyran about the cold case。 But the two stumbles upon a strange man， Shift， theyknow that something is peculiar about Shift and that is Shift is not from this world。 The threethen travel through a gate that brings them to another world。 A world where Shift was a god andneeded the help of Tyran finding the magical scroll， one of many other things they are ought tofind。 I have lost count of how many twists and turns this book has。 There are a lot of things thatare happening in this story， some are explained but most are not。 It is just like that some thingsare just meant left unsaid。 The story was a bit jumbled but in the end， everything made sense。 Itis like solving a puzzle worth a thousand pieces and solving it gave you satisfaction。What a wonderful book to read。 Reading this made me thrilled over a lot of things， magicalcreatures， god， witches， and demons among other things but mostly on the journey through themagical gates。 It was like reading two books at once， one made by Elizabeth Knox and， theother made by the fictional character， Taryn Cornick。 It felt like they were intertwined as thechapters were named Insects， Fire， Light， Damp， Carelessness， and， Uncaring。 The things thatcan destroy a library。 。。。more

Chelsea ，

A magical fantastical journey filled with demons， gods， talking ravens， gateways to other realms， the sidh， and a shapeshifter。 It start with the murder of Taryns sister， but this is just the gateway （hah） into a much bigger story that comes full circle。 This is beautifully written book with a story so rich and well thought out that when I tried to describe it to someone they went "。。。 It sounds complicated。。。 That's a lot"。 And now I've read it， it is a lot - but when you're reading it it's so A magical fantastical journey filled with demons， gods， talking ravens， gateways to other realms， the sidh， and a shapeshifter。 It start with the murder of Taryns sister， but this is just the gateway （hah） into a much bigger story that comes full circle。 This is beautifully written book with a story so rich and well thought out that when I tried to describe it to someone they went "。。。 It sounds complicated。。。 That's a lot"。 And now I've read it， it is a lot - but when you're reading it it's so well done that it doesn't feel like it。 Sometimes it felt a few of the characters fell too easily into the new world they'd discovered - after a time of them being there I was like "wait they're not surprised by this？ Or having any signs of shock/a nervous breakdown？？"。 But then maybe they're avid readers， and used to these sorts of things happening！ And to be fair I'm not sure my reactions would be too different。 Also there was one thing that was a bit anticlimactic for me， and felt kind of like" oh that was easy and sudden"， in retrospect。 On the other hand， when I read it it was just plain satisfying！ The experience of reading it was better than I'm remembering it to be， if I'm making any sense at all。 But really， I loved this book。 The ending was beautiful and had a perfect quote about humans and the planet that I can't use here bc its a vague spoiler！So instead here's a non spolery quote I also loved about friendship:"I love meeting people I know I love - it's like the sun coming out。 Bigger and bigger skies inside me" *read a free ARC via net galley in exchange for an honest review* 。。。more

S。A。 McKenzie ，

I bought this super-chunky read to get me through the pandemic lockdown in New Zealand， and it certainly delivered。 It’s hard to categorise， both an intricate mystery， and an action-packed fantasy。 You’ve got lost memories， murder and vengeance， ancient gods， portals to other realms， and a recurring theme of knowledge lost， and preserved。

speedy Mctavish ，

Not for me this。 Found all the characters dislikeable， and too much of a hodgepodge of various myths and legends

Lora Milton ，

This book started with a lot of info dumping， then I found it hard to follow。 It seemed to skip over events and had some real continuity problems。 The glowing reviews from authors I respect kept me reading past where I might have given up otherwise。Unfortunately I just couldn't get into it。 Every time I picked it up I couldn't connect what I was reading to what I had read before。 Normally I get right back into a story， as if I had been reading continuously。 This one just didn't keep my attention This book started with a lot of info dumping， then I found it hard to follow。 It seemed to skip over events and had some real continuity problems。 The glowing reviews from authors I respect kept me reading past where I might have given up otherwise。Unfortunately I just couldn't get into it。 Every time I picked it up I couldn't connect what I was reading to what I had read before。 Normally I get right back into a story， as if I had been reading continuously。 This one just didn't keep my attention。 。。。more

Keryn Powell ，

Long。。。but immensely unusual and enjoyable。 Took me a while to get a sense of the characters。

Megan ，

This was probably 3。5。 I enjoyed it a lot at the start but then it just went on and on and on。 It could have done with some tight editing - it reminded me a bit of LOTR at times。 A lot of descriptive writing that didn’t add a lot to the story or even made the world clearer。

Sharyn Young ，

Exasperated required absolute perseverance - I think you need to be a dungeons and dragons player - too many myths and religious references for me to enjoy。

Louise ，

I'm actually going to struggle to review this one。So much to like，yet I found myself confused A LOT。thinking I'd skipped pages，or just not paid enough attention。But I hadn't。It's a long book too，so that feeling too often wasnt great。But I liked a lot of it。Taryn was a great character，I really liked her dad and what MUST be lord of the rings references。 It talks about books and libraries a good deal。If you like a bit of fantasy fiction，its definitely worth a go。 I'm actually going to struggle to review this one。So much to like，yet I found myself confused A LOT。thinking I'd skipped pages，or just not paid enough attention。But I hadn't。It's a long book too，so that feeling too often wasnt great。But I liked a lot of it。Taryn was a great character，I really liked her dad and what MUST be lord of the rings references。 It talks about books and libraries a good deal。If you like a bit of fantasy fiction，its definitely worth a go。 。。。more

Jess ，

With over 600 pages， it seems strange that you can still read this and feel that so many important things either happened outside of the narrative， or were left out altogether。 The beginning is beguiling， and sets up Taryn's character very strongly and quickly - but then it feels like that's 'job done' and Knox can use her as a pawn in her giant， sprawling plan （and it is an amazing plan， if you can forgive the convolutions）。 There are moments of sheer beauty in the descriptive passages。 Then th With over 600 pages， it seems strange that you can still read this and feel that so many important things either happened outside of the narrative， or were left out altogether。 The beginning is beguiling， and sets up Taryn's character very strongly and quickly - but then it feels like that's 'job done' and Knox can use her as a pawn in her giant， sprawling plan （and it is an amazing plan， if you can forgive the convolutions）。 There are moments of sheer beauty in the descriptive passages。 Then there is so much description that seems to get in the way of the action， or sometimes even serves no purpose。 Dead ends。 Musing that interject and break the flow of the story - especially near the end。 I love fantasy and I also loved many of Elizabeth Knox's previous book。 I did not love this one。 And I REALLY WANTED to love it。 I think very hard before I give a bad review to a book - because so much imagination， feeling， effort and time has been put in to create this so we readers can be transported。 But it left me frustrated and sad。 。。。more

Miriam Williams ，

Got to page 443 and decided I didn’t care。 Oh well， better books await。

Aiyana ，

I really enjoyed this book。 It was hard to get - ordered from New Zealand just as the pandemic was starting， finally arrived in Europe in August。 Adventurous， fantasy but not， yah know gods just doing god things and wrapping mortals up in their shenanigans。 But mostly a human story。

Bex ，

I found this book a challenge - I read a lot of fantasy but not often do you read a fantasy novel with a properly unlikeable main character， one who isn't so much an anti hero as one who is passive， grieving， unpleasant and making constantly irritatingly poor choices。 The prose reflects the mental distance and confusion of the characters， and has flashes of brilliance surrounded by what seems like interminable boredom， torpor or confusion。。。 Islands of beauty in a sea that is muddy and painful。 I found this book a challenge - I read a lot of fantasy but not often do you read a fantasy novel with a properly unlikeable main character， one who isn't so much an anti hero as one who is passive， grieving， unpleasant and making constantly irritatingly poor choices。 The prose reflects the mental distance and confusion of the characters， and has flashes of brilliance surrounded by what seems like interminable boredom， torpor or confusion。。。 Islands of beauty in a sea that is muddy and painful。 It took me ages to read， was genuinely hard to pick up every time I put it down， and I really hated large parts of it， yet I kept coming back to it and I'll never forget lots of it。 It's the kind of book you'll remember instead of one where you forget the plot by the time the next one in the series comes out。 I'm really glad I finished it because it was a book worth finishing and also felt pretty appropriate for this year。 。。。more

Alyssa ，

If only snow giants were real。。。

Ella ，

Knox is a talented world builder。 The story glides across genres and reels you slowly， till you can't put it down。 Reading it felt like looking a key hole， and watching the hole and view expand。 One of the best reads of the year。 Knox is a talented world builder。 The story glides across genres and reels you slowly， till you can't put it down。 Reading it felt like looking a key hole， and watching the hole and view expand。 One of the best reads of the year。 。。。more

Maire ，

DNF: Pg 230。 Some lovely writing but not sure what it wanted to be。 A confused Clive Barker maybe。 Disappointing。

Kathleen Dixon ，

I've been reading too late at night for the last several nights and now as I try to write a review I find myself nodding off。 So very quickly:I invariably enjoy Elizabeth Knox's novels - her magical worlds are complex， her imagination is fabulous， there is action as well as beauty。and I must abed。 I've been reading too late at night for the last several nights and now as I try to write a review I find myself nodding off。 So very quickly:I invariably enjoy Elizabeth Knox's novels - her magical worlds are complex， her imagination is fabulous， there is action as well as beauty。and I must abed。 。。。more

LouiseB ，

Epic， fantastical。

Heidi Reid ，

Maybe 3。5。 Good writing and an interesting story， but at times felt a bit unnecessarily slow？ Worth a read。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Absolute Book

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Absolute Book&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Absolute Book&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0