Fantasy

The Absolute Book

The Absolute Book

  • Downloads：9957
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-04-28 00:16:07
  • Update Date：2025-09-23
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Elizabeth Knox
  • ISBN：0241473926
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

'An instant classic， a work to rank alongside other modern masterpieces of fantasy such as Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series or Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell。 Everything fantasy should be: original， magical， well read， compelling' Guardian

'MIND-BLOWING' LAINI TAYLOR
'ASTOUNDING' FRANCIS SPUFFORD
'GORGEOUSLY WRITTEN' DEBORAH HARKNESS
_______

Taryn Cornick barely remembers the family library。 Since her sister was murdered， she's forgotten so much。

Now it's all coming back。 The fire。 The thief。 The scroll box。 People are asking questions about the library。 Questions that might relate to her sister's murder。

And something called The Absolute Book。

A book in which secrets are written - and which everyone believes only she can find。 They insist Taryn be the hunter。 But she knows the truth。

She is the hunted 。 。 。

The Absolute Book is a tale of sisters， ancient blood， a forgotten library， murder， revenge and a book that might just have the answer to everything。
_______

'Astonishing。 Gripping。 Hugely ambitious。 An extraordinary conclusion。 Admire the sheer scope and grandeur' DAILY MAIL

'A marvellous argument for stories。 There are Norse gods， references to Merlin， a tour through purgatory and a strange parallel world where magic is real and humans are bit players in the clash of supernatural realms。 Bewitching' THE TIMES

'Contains multitudes， spanning the geographies of Canada， Britain and New Zealand; the cosmologies of fairies， demons and angels; and the genres of thriller， domestic realism and epic fantasy 。 。 。 I'm in awe of it' NEW YORK TIMES Review of Books

'Intricately plotted and gorgeously written， THE ABSOLUTE BOOK has something for everyone 。 。 。 Here is a cinematic tale that is by turns dark and dreamlike， yet ultimately hopeful' DEBORAH HARKNESS， author of A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES

'Fantastical' THE TIMES

'Savour and absorb the world Knox conjures' SUNDAY TIMES

'Gorgeous。 The payoffs and reveals are mind-blowing' LAINI TAYLOR， author of DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE

'An angelic book， an apocalyptic book， an astounding book' FRANCIS SPUFFORD

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Reviews

Kate Whitfield ，

I don't know if it hung together as well as it should have， but it was unfailingly interesting and the writing was beautiful。 Two set-piece scenes are unforgettable。 I don't know if it hung together as well as it should have， but it was unfailingly interesting and the writing was beautiful。 Two set-piece scenes are unforgettable。 。。。more

Emma Cunningham ，

This book was like…8 different books in one。 I got halfway through and couldn’t figure out how I would describe it to someone or even really what the main plot line was supposed to be。 Did not finish。

Lisa Houlihan ，

This is a head-spinning mish-mash。 Many parts were enjoyable to read， with good writing and elements that I like such as authors， libraries， houses with legends and history， Arthurian legend， the fey， gardens。 Unfortunately， the author jumbled these into an incoherent pile。 When it veered from Golden Compass to Amber Spyglass， I lost enthusiasm （just as I did with His Dark Materials） and both author and I lost the plot。 Shift is not a crafty ape from a post-Aslan Narnia。 Beatrice is not going to This is a head-spinning mish-mash。 Many parts were enjoyable to read， with good writing and elements that I like such as authors， libraries， houses with legends and history， Arthurian legend， the fey， gardens。 Unfortunately， the author jumbled these into an incoherent pile。 When it veered from Golden Compass to Amber Spyglass， I lost enthusiasm （just as I did with His Dark Materials） and both author and I lost the plot。 Shift is not a crafty ape from a post-Aslan Narnia。 Beatrice is not going to inspire anyone through the Underworld。 Moomins are all in a minor key。 Addy Bundren is painting Yellow Wallpaper。 。。。more

David ，

The Absolute Book is a wonderfully dense book of lore， where attention to detail is paid off。 At times things can get a little two opaque， but Knox is always good at catching us up when we miss something。 The worldbuilding reminder me of Tim Powers at times， which is praise。 This is a book that is worth the effort of careful reading。

LittleSophie ，

I had high hopes for this initially， the beginning is creepy and atmospheric， the introduction of the supernatural well done and intriguing。 Then， however， if fell prey to that absolute trap of fantasy literature: logistics， logistics and bloody logistics。 How does what work and for whom and how do we manipulate this spell and what does that mean for xy and on and on。 This turned the book into an unexpected slog。 I also often felt baffled by upflaring emotions and implied revelations that weren' I had high hopes for this initially， the beginning is creepy and atmospheric， the introduction of the supernatural well done and intriguing。 Then， however， if fell prey to that absolute trap of fantasy literature: logistics， logistics and bloody logistics。 How does what work and for whom and how do we manipulate this spell and what does that mean for xy and on and on。 This turned the book into an unexpected slog。 I also often felt baffled by upflaring emotions and implied revelations that weren't at all obvious to me。 Maybe I'm just a bit stupid when it comes to fantasy literature。。。Additionally， I felt either of the Fairyland， Norse Gods， Arthurian legends， Heaven & Hell settings might have done the trick。 It's quite ambitious the way it is now but also feels less high stakes when you don't quite understand which God fathered whom and how does that affect the treaty again？ Don't ask me。。。It slightly turned the corner in the end， when the big salvation story was all about saving Earth's environment （with logistics I obviously cannot repeat to you） which felt very high stakes indeed all of a sudden and also like the only utopia one wants in 2021。 。。。more

Christie ，

I couldn’t even get through this。 The first page introduced characters in rapid succession， which I find to be a poor writing strategy， and the absurdities didn’t let up from then on。 The other world depicted in this book， the fictional beings， the whole thing was dull and nonsensical。

Jennifer Hill ，

Taryn of the Northovers， we soon learn， lost her sister many years before when she was murdered。 Fuelled by grief， Taryn is now determined to find out who killed her。 Determined to now seek revenge on her sister’s killer， she meets the detective， Jacob Berger when she finds herself on the wrong side of the law。But Taryn is not like others， she’s a demon， one unlike any other demons。 The demons are either body or spirit but Taryn is both。When someone is after Taryn and Jacob， they soon find thems Taryn of the Northovers， we soon learn， lost her sister many years before when she was murdered。 Fuelled by grief， Taryn is now determined to find out who killed her。 Determined to now seek revenge on her sister’s killer， she meets the detective， Jacob Berger when she finds herself on the wrong side of the law。But Taryn is not like others， she’s a demon， one unlike any other demons。 The demons are either body or spirit but Taryn is both。When someone is after Taryn and Jacob， they soon find themselves in danger。Taryn also meets the last child of the blood and grandson of a gate maker of the Sidhe who is also a shapeshifter but who is he and what is his motive？‘The Absolute Book’ is beautifully described。 Full of fairies and other fantastical beings， the author has done a wonderful job of some world-building here。It’s one of those ones that I believe definitely deserves a reread to fully understand what is happening。 It’s a fantastical book of epic proportions。 。。。more

Paperbacks ，

DNF at 50%Unlikable characters， too much exposition and a story that had no grounding

Jaki ，

DNF at 360 pages。 Just couldn’t read any more - there are way more interesting books out there for me to waste time on an absolute mess of a plot。 Had no idea what was going on， and that does not make stupid。。。it just simply didn’t make sense。

Alicja ，

My rating: 3。5/5 Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my e-copy。 Elizabeth Knox’s ‘The Absolute Book’ was interesting but at moments odd narrative。 It’s one of those books which I ended up having a little mixed feeling about。 There have been moments I loved so much， and others， I haven’t enjoyed as much。 I have listened to the book in the audio format narrated skilfully by Anne-Marie Duff。 I really enjoyed the setting and the atmosphere of the book， intensified by the audiobook format， My rating: 3。5/5 Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my e-copy。 Elizabeth Knox’s ‘The Absolute Book’ was interesting but at moments odd narrative。 It’s one of those books which I ended up having a little mixed feeling about。 There have been moments I loved so much， and others， I haven’t enjoyed as much。 I have listened to the book in the audio format narrated skilfully by Anne-Marie Duff。 I really enjoyed the setting and the atmosphere of the book， intensified by the audiobook format， which allowed me to freely imagine the described places。 But at moments， I found myself drifting away， and it took a while to get back into the story， especially as ‘The Absolute Book’ is one of those books that requires your complete attention。 It’s full of little details and multiple intervening stories， and this something I really enjoyed about ‘The Absolute Book’， however， I found the descriptions sometimes too lengthily， and stories getting sidetrack at moments。 Ultimately， ‘The Absolute Book’ was a complex and fascinating story， and the narration was great and fitting all the characters。 The main character， Taryn， was interesting and likeable， and yet very flawed， which made the narrative more fascinating。 It’s a rather lengthy narrative， where many relations and plots come together only at the very end， and while I haven’t enjoyed all parts of the book equally， it’s not a book I will quickly forget。 。。。more

Laurel Gardiner ，

I really didn’t like this book even though I did finish it。 My biggest issue is that I really couldn’t connect with any of the characters。 There was simply nothing engaging about them and I found by about 3/4 through the book that I really didn’t care what happened to them。 I also found the story hard to follow。 At points it would just start up with a couple of characters in some setting but completely unrelated to where the last chapter ended。 Just my 2 cents。。。。。

Meghan ，

This book felt like a few different genres stitched together in one story。 I felt like I could sense inspiration from many different authors！ Which certainly made this a unique read。 Plot was interesting and characters were unique， but somehow I still struggled to develop a connection to any of the characters or keep a constant interest in the plot。 I can see this book being quite enjoyable for many readers， but for me it was like a cup of tea， which I enjoy， just not MY cup of tea :）

Grace ，

Fascinating fantasy， longer than my usual - it felt somewhat like multiple books in one， but I appreciate that it is a standalone。 The Slate review checks out。

Jane E。 Uskglass ，

I don't really know what's happened with this one。 It was interesting enough to keep me reading but it felt dishevelled。 I think the plot is messy and the characters unlovable。 Maybe I'll review this opinion later。 I don't know。 I don't really know what's happened with this one。 It was interesting enough to keep me reading but it felt dishevelled。 I think the plot is messy and the characters unlovable。 Maybe I'll review this opinion later。 I don't know。 。。。more

Ally ，

I was cajoled into reading The Absolute Book by about nine different targeted articles that kept persistently popping up in my various news feeds， and seeing as the algorithm has never let me down before， I gave in。 The first thing I noticed was Knox's ability to paint Taryn， the book's protagonist， in quick strokes so that I felt like I understood her and her motivations by the second chapter - and also kind of loved her from the get go。 The next was the writing itself - its one of those books I was cajoled into reading The Absolute Book by about nine different targeted articles that kept persistently popping up in my various news feeds， and seeing as the algorithm has never let me down before， I gave in。 The first thing I noticed was Knox's ability to paint Taryn， the book's protagonist， in quick strokes so that I felt like I understood her and her motivations by the second chapter - and also kind of loved her from the get go。 The next was the writing itself - its one of those books where the prose pleasantly startles you into realising you've been reading pure trash for the past couple of months （years）。 Needless to say， I was hooked， and read it whole across a feverish week。But having finished it， here's the thing: this book made me feel dumb。 Like， really dumb。 I've seen a few reviews calling this book 'genius'， and I think that might be the problem。 I brushed against this genius while I was reading - a sense of some higher， omniscient intellect - but it was always aloof， dispassionate and out of reach。 Normally I love books where the author treats the reader like an intelligent adult that can make connections on their own， but there were many points where I had *absolutely no idea what was going on*， which cumulated as the story progressed。 It happened most often when there was exposition through dialogue between characters - together they would often reach conclusions that completely bamboozled me。 The impression I got was maybe that the draft was only ever read by people who knew the causal links in the narrative and therefore weren't tripped up by the bizarre connections and wayward plot points。What also left a bad taste in my mouth post-reading was the epilogue， which read like a heavy-handed op-ed by the author， smashing the fourth wall and all of the previous world-building， which was a shame。 This all being said - I gobbled this book up because the writing was suberb and the characters fascinating， Taryn in particular。 Knox has an ability to perfectly capture what a character is feeling in almost no words at all。 I loved the ravens and the descriptions of the Sidhe and the details of their every day life - the boats， their food， their clothes。 Ultimately， The Absolute Book was a strange delight and I'm happy the algorithm slyly pushed me towards reading it， despite it making me feel like I have the reading comprehension of a third grader。 。。。more

Kathy ，

Very enjoyable。

Jane ，

Woah。

Ximena Mcintosh ，

I could not finish this book。 Made it to chapter six and I could not put myself through hundreds more。。。

Brett Beach ，

I wanted so to like this--but there's some odd plotting （we move through time and across events without much sense of purpose） and very strange dialogue （is it meant to sound so clunk？ so expositional？ so unrealistic？）。 Some reviews point out that the book is meant to be confusing and then revelations are made， later; I wonder。 I did not have the patience， unfortunately。 I wanted so to like this--but there's some odd plotting （we move through time and across events without much sense of purpose） and very strange dialogue （is it meant to sound so clunk？ so expositional？ so unrealistic？）。 Some reviews point out that the book is meant to be confusing and then revelations are made， later; I wonder。 I did not have the patience， unfortunately。 。。。more

b aaron talbot ，

i really liked the first 380 pages or so but then from about 380-500， i thought about giving the book away。 it was a real slog for me and i tried to approach the story in different ways， but i was just not interested and did not care what was happening。 then at about page 500， it picked back up for me and i was able to finish。 i enjoyed the ending and overall i did like it， but those 120 pages were an absolute challenge for my interest。

Sonia Jackett ，

Hmmmm。。。。。there was so much I really did like and enjoy about this book。 I can see why people really love it， but on the other hand - I can see why people just really didn't get on with it。 I enjoyed the story immensely up until maybe just over half way point， then it started to drag a little， not make sense and go off on tangents。 The ending was good， bought things back a bit。。。。but even then， I'm still not sure。 I basically felt the whole way through that this book was severely unedited and so Hmmmm。。。。。there was so much I really did like and enjoy about this book。 I can see why people really love it， but on the other hand - I can see why people just really didn't get on with it。 I enjoyed the story immensely up until maybe just over half way point， then it started to drag a little， not make sense and go off on tangents。 The ending was good， bought things back a bit。。。。but even then， I'm still not sure。 I basically felt the whole way through that this book was severely unedited and sort of read like something that has been gone over and over by people who are too far ingrained in it and have accidentally cut out stuff that is really important for the rest of us。 As a result it jumps about abruptly and often there are pages where I felt like I'd missed something and generally had no idea what was going on or why。 The whole bit about New Zealand didn't make any sense。。。。and Purgatory just dragged on way too long。 Such a shame in many ways because really I couldn't put the first half of the book down。 。。。more

Ita ，

DNFed at 25%。 It didn't engage me。 DNFed at 25%。 It didn't engage me。 。。。more

Holly ，

Adored it。 Devastated to be finished reading it。

Dominika ，

Fox has done something very interesting and innovative here。 She took all the familiar fantasy elements （European myths & legends， Judeo-Christian traditions， a mystery object， traumatic past， a journey etc。） and turned them into a both a pastiche and a great adventure。 It’s also modern in its political commentary， creating a very accurate portrayal of what entitlement can lead to。 It’s funny but also dark and disturbing。 Count me in as fan！

Ian ，

It’s no “Jonathan Strange。。”

Dima ，

I'm amazed anyone can read this book through to the end。 I felt I had to give it a chance， but after reading a third I was amazed that:- it had only been a third！ It felt ten times longer- nothing really happened to warrant the number of words written- the plot was so erratic that I just could get myself to care one way or the other about what was happening。 Why care about a world where the rules change and evolve to fit the plot with every turn？- the prose is meh。。。 Nothing special。 Middling at I'm amazed anyone can read this book through to the end。 I felt I had to give it a chance， but after reading a third I was amazed that:- it had only been a third！ It felt ten times longer- nothing really happened to warrant the number of words written- the plot was so erratic that I just could get myself to care one way or the other about what was happening。 Why care about a world where the rules change and evolve to fit the plot with every turn？- the prose is meh。。。 Nothing special。 Middling at best。 。。。more

Nadine Jones ，

Recommended by Laini Taylor https://www。tor。com/2021/04/14/five-b。。。 Recommended by Laini Taylor https://www。tor。com/2021/04/14/five-b。。。 。。。more

Cladis Brocardo ，

I gave it 2 stars because I’ve been trying to read this book since my boyfriend gave it to me and it’s simply BORING。 I'm feeling disappointed， stressed and confused。 Wtf is happening here？ And to justify my boringness I'll use the fact that every time I opened this book I read a few pages and give up after some minutes。 So I did what I do when I'm getting tedious about a book: I read the last two chapters and that was all。 No end good enough。 So that's it， for those who loved this huge mass of I gave it 2 stars because I’ve been trying to read this book since my boyfriend gave it to me and it’s simply BORING。 I'm feeling disappointed， stressed and confused。 Wtf is happening here？ And to justify my boringness I'll use the fact that every time I opened this book I read a few pages and give up after some minutes。 So I did what I do when I'm getting tedious about a book: I read the last two chapters and that was all。 No end good enough。 So that's it， for those who loved this huge mass of paper: you rock， I'd love to have your patience。 。。。more

Tim Blok ，

Shaggy， sometimes in an expansive way and sometimes in a sloppy way。 Feels like if I went back and re-read， some of the gaps might fill in。 Often beautiful， often surprising， often compelling。 Reminded me of Chris Adrian。

Ri ，

3。5 starsFinished copy provided by PRH Canada-----------------------------------When I read the synopsis of this book and saw that it was blurbed by two of my favourite authors — Deborah Harkness and Laini Taylor， I was expecting a very specific kind of book， and reading The Absolute Book kind of threw me for a loop because it wasn’t what I was expecting。 I think perhaps， I was expecting more fantasy and less literary。 But this is exactly that， I think — a literary urban fantasy。 The Absolute Bo 3。5 starsFinished copy provided by PRH Canada-----------------------------------When I read the synopsis of this book and saw that it was blurbed by two of my favourite authors — Deborah Harkness and Laini Taylor， I was expecting a very specific kind of book， and reading The Absolute Book kind of threw me for a loop because it wasn’t what I was expecting。 I think perhaps， I was expecting more fantasy and less literary。 But this is exactly that， I think — a literary urban fantasy。 The Absolute Book is about the quest to find the Firestarter， an unknowable， hidden book that has caused mayhem wherever it has gone and of course like its name， caused fires。 Taryn is entangled in this quest because her family was the last to have had this book in their possession and wrote a （very interesting sounding） book about the destruction of books and libraries and subsequently， the Firestarter。 Jacob Berger becomes entangled in this quest as he investigated the strange death of Taryn’s sister’s killer and Taryn’s own role in this death。 Shift is a supernatural being whose own story is entangled with the quest and creation of the Firestarter。 This book follows these three and the quest to find the Firestarter and all the side stories that come with that — Taryn’s personal story， some of Jacob’s story and Shift’s story as well in its entirety because the story of the Firestarter is Shift’s story。 This book deals in a mix of different mythologies with the Sidhe， Odin and also Christian ones。 And with the way that the Sidhe are dealing with past and their whole situation， there’s actually a lot of dealing with like， old testament biblical mythology。Maybe the book was just too big brain for me， especially as I had to put it down for a month to deal with real life obligations。 The Absolute Book is complex and layered and intellectual in a way that I wasn’t particularly interested in， because I don’t choose to pursue and read fantasy to try and think and interpret allegories。 There’s a limit， i think， to how much you can trust your readers to dig into allusions and allegories and how much you should really just spell out and this book really hit my personal limit lol。 It’s just a bit opaque about everything until we get to the end。 There were many instances where I felt confused。 This is one of those books that I feel need a re read because of everything that was revealed at the end that clarifies everything that happens in the beginning。 But also let’s be real， I have too many books I haven’t read to be out here re-reading books I just finished reading。A lot happens in this book and I don’t really have a lot of opinion on it？ It’s a lot like my feelings with The Goldfinch。 This book has literary merit， but it doesn’t inspire any sort of intense feeling in me。 There are some really genuinely great lines in this book， including a line I thought was really funny — “the Nespresso machine finished its throat clearing” — because it’s so true。 Also there was a line about the bubble tea texture of the air （WHAT DOES THAT MEAN？？？？？？）。 There were also some really poignant moments where the point of view is either from Jacob’s or Taryn’s and it touches on the feelings of being an ordinary person being surrounded and drawn into this supernatural and fantastical setting and circumstances。 However， I think part of my complicated feelings has to do with the fact that there is a clear quest line — finding the Firestarter — but there were many moments where I found myself asking what was happening in the book。 And like not in a good way where it had me turning the page， and more like scratching my head going “huh？” There’s a lot i want to say about the allusions that are pointed at from the many reveals at the end of the book that I’ll put behind a spoiler tag lol。 （view spoiler）[So if what I’m interpreting is right， Shift is basically the son of Lucifer and as a god in his own right he’s basically kind of starting a new religion of sorts on Earth because he saved the world from all the bad stuff humans are doing。 Taryn’s book that she’s writing， The Absolute Book， is basically the book that we just read and it’s meant to explain the events that lead up to all these sudden changes and the “ladies and gentlemen” and kind of a meta religious text？？？ DID I GET IT RIGHT？ And I guess Taryn is a prophet？ idk （hide spoiler）]In any case， I’m giving this book a 3。5 because while I don’t particularly find myself in love with this book， there are some real poignant parts of this book and it’s complex and interesting in a very specific way。 This book is for people who are into a sort of literary fantasy that involves mythologies and normal people interacting with the supernatural and a grounded sort of fantasy。 。。。more

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