Fantasy

The Absolute Book

The Absolute Book

  • Downloads：2203
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-06-07 08:51:43
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Elizabeth Knox
  • ISBN：0241473926
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

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

Download

Reviews

Alice ，

I go back and forth between 4 and 5 stars。 An odd book that leads the reader on a romp through genres and different mythologies that are all intertwined。 Irish fairies and Norse gods with a touch of Paradise Lost - I think。 Somehow it all works - almost。 Sometimes hard to follow。 It’s a book that makes you think as connections aren’t always clear and take time to unfold。

BJ Atwater ，

Did not follow the story line at all， but gave it 3/4 of the way through， and the she introduced new characters and situations that didn’t connect！

Demelda Penkitty ，

Taryn Cornick believes that the past is behind her – her sister’s death by violence， and her own ill-concieved revenge。 She has chosen to live a life more professional than personal。 She has written a book about the things that threaten libraries – insects， damp， light， fire， carelessness and uncaring。 The book is a success， but not all of the attention it brings her is good。 There are questions about a fire in the library at Princes Gate， her grandparents’ house， and about an ancient scroll box Taryn Cornick believes that the past is behind her – her sister’s death by violence， and her own ill-concieved revenge。 She has chosen to live a life more professional than personal。 She has written a book about the things that threaten libraries – insects， damp， light， fire， carelessness and uncaring。 The book is a success， but not all of the attention it brings her is good。 There are questions about a fire in the library at Princes Gate， her grandparents’ house， and about an ancient scroll box known as the Firestarter。 A policeman， Jacob Berger， has questions about a cold case。 There are threatening phone calls。 And a shadowy young man named Shift appears， bringing his shadows with him。 Taryn， Jacob， Shift – three people are driven towards a reckoning felt in more than one world。 The Absolute Book is an epic fantasy， intimate in tone。 A book where hidden treasures are recovered; where wicked things people think they’ve shaken from their trails find their scent again。 A book about beautiful societies founded on theft and treachery， and one in which dead sisters are a living force。 It is a book of journeys and returns， set in London， Norfolk， and the Wye Valley; in Auckland， New Zealand; in the Island of Apples and Summer Road of the Sidhe; at Hell’s Gate; in the Tacit with its tombs; and in the hospitals and train stations of Purgatory。This is an extraordinary novel that almost defies description。 The premise was interesting; the search for an ancient， indestructible book， involving characters from several parallel worlds。 However， Phillip Pullman it wasn't。 It starts off well with intriguing chapter headings， a murdered woman， forbidden books， ancient texts， a mysterious assassin。 However， after a strange incident in France it changes into something else entirely。 I think this book will be a bit of a marmite read and most will love or hate it。 It was certainly a very imaginative and literary novel， mixing religion， ancient prophesy， demons， and magic as well as other worldly beings。 I'm not entirely sure which camp I fall into but it did have something that kept me reading for 626 pages。 。。。more

Amy Bailey ，

I should probably start this review with a bit of a disclaimer。 I find myself at a loss of words as to how to adequately approach a review for The Absolute Book。 I'm still mulling over most of my reactions to it， all the way down to figuring out if I liked it or not。 Apologies if this review becomes a big meandering mess of regurgitated thoughts。 Continue Reading at www。libgirlbook。com I should probably start this review with a bit of a disclaimer。 I find myself at a loss of words as to how to adequately approach a review for The Absolute Book。 I'm still mulling over most of my reactions to it， all the way down to figuring out if I liked it or not。 Apologies if this review becomes a big meandering mess of regurgitated thoughts。 Continue Reading at www。libgirlbook。com 。。。more

Colin Bischoff ，

I have mixed feelings about this book。 On one hand， it felt very original and surprising。 Parts were beautiful。 But I came away bothered by what feels to me like an anti-human perspective -- a vision of utopia that consists of books and nature but none of the messy day-to-day travails that make up real life。 It felt kind of fascist to be honest。

Em （bibliophile_daydream） ，

Sweet baby Jesus， this took me forever！ I thought for sure this book will be right up my alley: books about books， some magic， some mystery， a little dark， a little weird。 It sounded delicious！Unfortunately， I really didn't vibe with the writing style。 I found it way too meandering， with too many info dumps。 I'm usually not that mad about info dumps， if they serve a purpose and provide crucial context。 I didn't feel like that was the case with The Absolute Book。Now， there were some admittedly go Sweet baby Jesus， this took me forever！ I thought for sure this book will be right up my alley: books about books， some magic， some mystery， a little dark， a little weird。 It sounded delicious！Unfortunately， I really didn't vibe with the writing style。 I found it way too meandering， with too many info dumps。 I'm usually not that mad about info dumps， if they serve a purpose and provide crucial context。 I didn't feel like that was the case with The Absolute Book。Now， there were some admittedly good parts。 I really enjoyed the beginning， Tarryn's grief and the narrative surrounding her sister's death was gripping and the tension high。 Her weird relationship with the Muleskinner fascinated me。 However， the insertion of the supernatural， I found it a touch clunky， for lack of a better world， at times。 That whole part where they spent time in that alternate dimension bored me to tears and then it went downhill into straight up wtfery when we got to Purgatory and Hell。 It just felt like the whole story ran away from there and not in a good way。 The whole experience was an ebb and flow for me， some parts were fascinating， while others I found extremely dull， so it's hard to give a definitive verdict。 Overall， I mostly felt frustration which was decidedly not what I was looking for when I picked this book up。 I would say， if you can get on with the style and you're not bothered with the insane mixing of cultures， mythologies， and religions， you might enjoy this one because as I said， there were some excellent scenes sprinkled through。 However， for me the in-between parts spoiled the overall experience。 。。。more

Rhoda ，

OH GOD I FINISHED IT！ Finally， good grief， this book is looooooooooong。 After seven weeks， it was a point of pride， so I refused to give it back to the library or put it down。 That's going to put a dent in my yearly goals though。Which is not necessarily a point against it， but I am no longer the kind of reader that handle a chonky book like this。 Unfortunately。 I can't even tell you whether I liked it or not。 I think I liked the concepts in it okay？ Combining different mythologies to save the wo OH GOD I FINISHED IT！ Finally， good grief， this book is looooooooooong。 After seven weeks， it was a point of pride， so I refused to give it back to the library or put it down。 That's going to put a dent in my yearly goals though。Which is not necessarily a point against it， but I am no longer the kind of reader that handle a chonky book like this。 Unfortunately。 I can't even tell you whether I liked it or not。 I think I liked the concepts in it okay？ Combining different mythologies to save the world and emphasize the importance of libraries？ But about 300 pages in I realized I could not remember who 'Carol' was， what her relationship was to Taryn， and why that was important。Yeah， I can't read a book this long。 At least， not yet。 I need some more distance from the Plague Times to reset my brain， I think。 。。。more

Lynsey Dalladay ，

I am quite pleased I managed to get to the end of this book。 The characterisation is brilliant and I really wanted to know the story arcs for them but what a beast！ At 600+ pages this book rambles， what it needed was a really good edit。 I'm usually quite happy with long books， especially well-written ones like this but the stories were so disparate and hard to follow， that I have no idea if things were left unfinished or unsaid as there were simply too many threads to keep hold of。 Characters an I am quite pleased I managed to get to the end of this book。 The characterisation is brilliant and I really wanted to know the story arcs for them but what a beast！ At 600+ pages this book rambles， what it needed was a really good edit。 I'm usually quite happy with long books， especially well-written ones like this but the stories were so disparate and hard to follow， that I have no idea if things were left unfinished or unsaid as there were simply too many threads to keep hold of。 Characters and story 'moments' were never referred to again which made me think they were surplus to requirements。 The book has a lot to say about nature and our place in the world but it's like a road block， clunky and grating to the story， it could have been so much smoother whilst not losing it's important point。 But as I've said I got to the end caring about the characters， I wanted to know how it finished so I stuck with it but was ultimately left disappointed。 。。。more

Daren Kearl ，

I enjoyed the character arcs and the important message about libraries！ I did get a bit lost with the exposition and the motivation behind some of the action。 There were a lot of questions in my mind but I just kept reading rough shod over the bumps。。 and will look at other reviews to see if I can find enlightenment。

Kylie ，

In all honesty， the overwhelming mix of fantasy elements including something from almost all European folk lore was just too much。 It made sticking to the story incredibly difficult， as every time a new fantasy person/creature turned up you would be distracted by hang on， now we have Norse folklore？ Also the sidhe Sidhe thing confused the heck out of me。I also found this one of the books where every little thing was described to the miniscule detail， and honestly， that gets really dull as you mo In all honesty， the overwhelming mix of fantasy elements including something from almost all European folk lore was just too much。 It made sticking to the story incredibly difficult， as every time a new fantasy person/creature turned up you would be distracted by hang on， now we have Norse folklore？ Also the sidhe Sidhe thing confused the heck out of me。I also found this one of the books where every little thing was described to the miniscule detail， and honestly， that gets really dull as you move from place to place。 。。。more

April Andruszko ，

Such an interesting book， so packed with ideas that at times it threatened to overwhelm。 I think it is one that will linger in the mind。

Emma ，

Anything that can be described as "literary fantasy" is immediately appealing to me， and I was not let down by The Absolute Book。 Incredibly absorbing & enthralling & enchanting， as Knox's books often are。 Anything that can be described as "literary fantasy" is immediately appealing to me， and I was not let down by The Absolute Book。 Incredibly absorbing & enthralling & enchanting， as Knox's books often are。 。。。more

Nelson Minar ，

The Absolute Snore。 Sorry， I tried really hard to like this book。 I soldiered through the first 60 pages where absolutely nothing out of the ordinary happens。 I got through the next 150 pages where it starts to get interesting and fantastical。 And was still bored and confused and lost after being a nearly third done。 I've learned the hard way that if I don't like a book by the first third I'm unlikely to like it。 A friend who did finish the book confirmed my fears。 So I stopped。 The Absolute Snore。 Sorry， I tried really hard to like this book。 I soldiered through the first 60 pages where absolutely nothing out of the ordinary happens。 I got through the next 150 pages where it starts to get interesting and fantastical。 And was still bored and confused and lost after being a nearly third done。 I've learned the hard way that if I don't like a book by the first third I'm unlikely to like it。 A friend who did finish the book confirmed my fears。 So I stopped。 。。。more

Danny ，

A book about books is always a good start， but add in trips to other worlds and you've got me。Think of it in the realm of "Jonathan Strange & Mr。 Norrell，" but you learn more about the faeries， or maybe a little bit "Discovery of Witches，" but with zero vampires。This one didn't resonate as much as Norrell， but I liked it better than Witches。 And the world building of the Sidh was very interesting。It's an enjoyable， meandering tale。 A book about books is always a good start， but add in trips to other worlds and you've got me。Think of it in the realm of "Jonathan Strange & Mr。 Norrell，" but you learn more about the faeries， or maybe a little bit "Discovery of Witches，" but with zero vampires。This one didn't resonate as much as Norrell， but I liked it better than Witches。 And the world building of the Sidh was very interesting。It's an enjoyable， meandering tale。 。。。more

Ry Herman ，

This book starts off bursting with promise， and then somewhere a little after the halfway point it just bogs down。 Huge sections are spent with the characters wandering around， and many of the elements that seemed like they were going to be important fizzle out and don't really go anywhere。 Some parts also felt tacked on， such as a Bond-villain style deathtrap which ultimately has little relevance to the narrative， and an ending that suddenly， almost offhandedly， solves pollution， climate change This book starts off bursting with promise， and then somewhere a little after the halfway point it just bogs down。 Huge sections are spent with the characters wandering around， and many of the elements that seemed like they were going to be important fizzle out and don't really go anywhere。 Some parts also felt tacked on， such as a Bond-villain style deathtrap which ultimately has little relevance to the narrative， and an ending that suddenly， almost offhandedly， solves pollution， climate change， and most other ills besetting the world， none of which had been particularly addressed by the story before that point。 I think there's pieces of a very good book in there， but at some point it went off the rails。 。。。more

Peg Albrets ，

This was one of the wildest books I’ve ever read。 Fascinating and strange， and I’m not sure that i totally get the ending。 Writhing was lovely。

Morgan ，

This book sounded totally up my alley。 But the plot was all over the place in a way that made it feel slow， made it difficult to put things together， and made it impossible for me to care about the two main characters。 The only reason I finished it （well。。。I skipped/skimmed about 100 pages near the end） was the chapter Two Graves had me on the edge of my seat right after I'd started thinking that I would DNF it。 This book sounded totally up my alley。 But the plot was all over the place in a way that made it feel slow， made it difficult to put things together， and made it impossible for me to care about the two main characters。 The only reason I finished it （well。。。I skipped/skimmed about 100 pages near the end） was the chapter Two Graves had me on the edge of my seat right after I'd started thinking that I would DNF it。 。。。more

Kara ，

I kept reading hoping this would mesh into something worth my time but it never did。 It’s fine for a book to be incoherent if the author has an eloquent or interesting style but the writing was on the level of a beach read。

Megan Pattie ，

3。5。 I so wanted to give this 4 because the writing is beautiful， the characters utterly unique and enchanting， and once it gets going the story is great， but it takes about 300 pages to start to take shape！

Charlotte ，

don’t ask me to explain this book！ But I loved it and had a very good time！

Pamela Kasenetz ，

DNF。 The book started strong but I slowly found myself not certain if I was having difficulty understanding some passages or if the passages were written in a confusing way。 After reading reviews， I think I was experiencing the latter。 I’m not a huge lover of fantasy， and the book felt like it was veering into the realm of heavy description and pointlessness。 Lost my interest at 25%。 But I do commend the author on taking on such an immense and daring process

Megan McBeath Hay ，

This book has pieces of a really good story， but there's no cohesion to it。 There's nothing to latch onto， everything seems to come out of the blue。 I mean maybe that's the point giving Switch's "curse" but in a book this long when you're a pretty meticulous reader it just feels tiring。 This book has pieces of a really good story， but there's no cohesion to it。 There's nothing to latch onto， everything seems to come out of the blue。 I mean maybe that's the point giving Switch's "curse" but in a book this long when you're a pretty meticulous reader it just feels tiring。 。。。more

Andrea Ptak ，

From the description， I thought I'd love this book as it had all the elements I adore: portals to other realms， libraries， books， mythology。 And though the prose was for the most part quite beautiful with well-defined descriptions of the people and places， the plot was overly complicated by too many side stories to catch both the reader and various characters any given time up to speed。 Though necessary for the story as a whole to make sense， the result was a bit of a slog that I， at least， was From the description， I thought I'd love this book as it had all the elements I adore: portals to other realms， libraries， books， mythology。 And though the prose was for the most part quite beautiful with well-defined descriptions of the people and places， the plot was overly complicated by too many side stories to catch both the reader and various characters any given time up to speed。 Though necessary for the story as a whole to make sense， the result was a bit of a slog that I， at least， was tempted to increase the speed on the audiobook in sections just to power through。 By the time I got to the end， I honestly didn't care what happened to any of the characters and was just glad to finally be finished。 。。。more

Ali ，

What an odd and wonderful book！ For the first 50 pages I thought I was running a fever because I was so confused！ Then， I decided to embrace it and let myself be carried by the author to this whole new world。 And boy did it work！The story is all at once: a murder-mystery novella， an epic fantasy tome， a treatise in quantum physics， a theology essay， a folklore compendium， a contemporary novel， an ode to books， an ecological pamphlet。。。It is。。。The Absolute Book。That's gonna be tricky to shelve！I What an odd and wonderful book！ For the first 50 pages I thought I was running a fever because I was so confused！ Then， I decided to embrace it and let myself be carried by the author to this whole new world。 And boy did it work！The story is all at once: a murder-mystery novella， an epic fantasy tome， a treatise in quantum physics， a theology essay， a folklore compendium， a contemporary novel， an ode to books， an ecological pamphlet。。。It is。。。The Absolute Book。That's gonna be tricky to shelve！I loved the contemplative and slow-paced narration， focusing on the characters。 The way things were shown and not told was at times challenging but very rewarding。 The blend of Norse mythology and Gaelic folklore， sprinkled with so many other things， was a fantastic canvas for this story！One random thing I appreciated was that while all those adventures are happening， the MC still fulfills her responsibilities from "before" like。。。 going on a book tour。This book won't be for everyone， but it gave me strong Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell vibes so if you liked one you might like the other。 。。。more

Skalett ，

DNF。 I got to 250 pages and gave up。 I did not enjoy the first 50 pages which I believe were crucial for making you engage with Taryn， another horrendously upper middle class， well travelled， well read， manor dwelling aloof female protagonist of literary fiction。 My interest was piqued slightly by the intrigue of there being other fantastic worlds and a sort of cop thriller going on in the human world， but these were so unnecessarily detailed that it was hard to sustain the energy required to fo DNF。 I got to 250 pages and gave up。 I did not enjoy the first 50 pages which I believe were crucial for making you engage with Taryn， another horrendously upper middle class， well travelled， well read， manor dwelling aloof female protagonist of literary fiction。 My interest was piqued slightly by the intrigue of there being other fantastic worlds and a sort of cop thriller going on in the human world， but these were so unnecessarily detailed that it was hard to sustain the energy required to follow all these disparate characters and plots I sort of only vaguely cared about。 A shame！ 。。。more

Nigel ，

The search for a box and the mysterious book within crosses over from our world， to Sidhe， to Purgatory， pursued by stalkers and demons and terrible spells。 Epic， but also profoundly thoughtful and subtle， with a truly gruelling and suspenseful middle， but a surprising ending that's wonderfully why-the-hell-not life-affirming and hopeful。 The search for a box and the mysterious book within crosses over from our world， to Sidhe， to Purgatory， pursued by stalkers and demons and terrible spells。 Epic， but also profoundly thoughtful and subtle， with a truly gruelling and suspenseful middle， but a surprising ending that's wonderfully why-the-hell-not life-affirming and hopeful。 。。。more

Elite Group ，

Richly imaginative literary adventure that defies categorisationSisters Beatrice and Taryn Cornick are avid readers and lovers of libraries， especially the library at Princes Gate， their grandparents’ debt-ridden manor house。 When their grandfather James Northover dies， the house and the contents of his library are sold。 Among the library’s precious items is an ancient scroll box known as ‘The Fire-starter’， known for having survived several fires in famous libraries， though no one knows for sur Richly imaginative literary adventure that defies categorisationSisters Beatrice and Taryn Cornick are avid readers and lovers of libraries， especially the library at Princes Gate， their grandparents’ debt-ridden manor house。 When their grandfather James Northover dies， the house and the contents of his library are sold。 Among the library’s precious items is an ancient scroll box known as ‘The Fire-starter’， known for having survived several fires in famous libraries， though no one knows for sure whether the box has been sold or if it was hidden during the war in a dry cave system on the estate。 When the sisters reach adulthood， tragedy strikes and 20-year-old Taryn shuts down， suppressing all her grief and rage。 Three years later， she marries a kind， wealthy man whom she does not love。 On a group trip with her husband to Canada， a meeting with their master guide – a huntsman known only as ‘the Muleskinner’ – will prove both fateful and fatal。Seven years on， Taryn is divorced and suffering from extended lapses of memory。 She is promoting her first book， The Feverish Library， which started as her PhD dissertation about the history of libraries， the threats to them， the importance of what they house， and the losses of priceless books and artefacts through library fires。 During her book’s publicity campaign， she receives ominous silent phone calls and loses control of her speech as if experiencing severe dissociative identity disorder， all the while being wracked with guilt and haunted by the past。 Coming onto the radar of both the police and MI5 – the former for the silent phone calls and the latter because two fans of her book turn out to be cyberterrorists – Taryn accepts an invitation from the collections’ manager of the Bibliothèque Méjanes in Aix-en-Provence to discuss her grandfather’s scroll box。 Little does she realise that this visit will not only change her life forever but upend her entire world…Impossible to summarise in just two paragraphs， the above text merely outlines the bare bones of the beginning of this novel and does not even come close to conveying the broad sweep of its subsequent narrative and themes。 Murder mystery， revenge thriller， quest adventure， detective story， conspiracy plot， and odyssey across supernatural worlds， The Absolute Book is a heady mix of hard-hitting modern realism and sumptuous epic fantasy。 Creating an intricately complex universe of parallel worlds encompassing Christian theology， pagan mythology， ancient legends， folk tales， and science fiction， the novel takes its reader on an exciting journey through vividly evoked multiple dimensions - the contemporary modern world， the eternal realm of the fairies， even Purgatory and Hell themselves （the modern version of Purgatory is a particular highlight）。 One of the main delights of The Absolute Book is the interweaving of literary references and allusions throughout， reflecting the novel’s own premise and motifs。 The story is wonderfully imaginative and keeps you guessing – the twists and turns are often unexpected， startling， and enjoyably bizarre。 With its roots in folklore and legend lending it depth and resonance， and as an extraordinary maelstrom of blended genres， for the most part the novel works extremely well。 Taryn is a terrific heroine， and the wealth of supporting characters both human and fae are well-drawn， sympathetic， and believable in the context of the fantastical setting。 Beautifully written， expansive， erudite， and in parts intensely gripping though it is， at times， however， The Absolute Book feels almost too rich， perhaps over-stuffed， as if there is too much going on and too many wildly diverse elements to ease into a coherent whole。 With the dizzying back and forth between worlds and the seemingly innumerable different plot strands， the flow of the story is occasionally interrupted and feels a little disjointed。 But maybe that is the point。 As the reader， we share Taryn’s frequent confusion， frustration， shock， and sometimes even fear as to what is going on， what she is witnessing， and what is happening to her。 And while the story ends on what some would see as a disturbing note， it ties in effectively with the dark and unsettling nature of the universe envisioned in the book。Jo-Anne Blanco / Arwen EvenstarElite Group received a copy of the book to review。 。。。more

Henry Purdey ，

It was a good read

Paul ，

Did not finish; no rating。When I give up on a work of fantasy， as I sometimes do， I excuse myself by saying fantasy isn't my thing。 But that's not true。 I love Philip Pullman's work。 I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer。 I've re-read Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy and am breathlessly awaiting the final book of his new Book of Dust trilogy。 I'm on my third or fourth go-around of Buffy。Knox's "The Absolute Book" carried me to the halfway point because the fantasy is such an interesting one。 So to Did not finish; no rating。When I give up on a work of fantasy， as I sometimes do， I excuse myself by saying fantasy isn't my thing。 But that's not true。 I love Philip Pullman's work。 I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer。 I've re-read Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy and am breathlessly awaiting the final book of his new Book of Dust trilogy。 I'm on my third or fourth go-around of Buffy。Knox's "The Absolute Book" carried me to the halfway point because the fantasy is such an interesting one。 So too did Taryn's interest in destroyed libraries and banished books。 During Taryn's extended convalescent stay in the land of the Sidhe， however， about the time Shift was preparing to send her back to London through Hell's Gate， I realized I didn't care about the characters， human， Taken， Sidhe， or demon。 They're flat， every one of them。 They aren't real。 I can't see any of them in my mind's eye。And maybe that's the difference between the fantasies I love and the ones I just can't get interested it， characters I believe in， fall in love with， want to be with again and again。 。。。more

Ed Morland ，

This feels almost like a book from another time， one I might have read while growing up in the 90s。 A lot of urban fantasy nowadays is rooted firmly in our world， while it might be Magic London it's still very much London with all the bureaucracy， the Starbucks and other accoutrements of real life。 Similarly the portal fantasy I've read recently has very much in the Narnia vein if a more modern spirit， a wholly separate world to visit and explore。 This， however， is a faerie story of the sort I r This feels almost like a book from another time， one I might have read while growing up in the 90s。 A lot of urban fantasy nowadays is rooted firmly in our world， while it might be Magic London it's still very much London with all the bureaucracy， the Starbucks and other accoutrements of real life。 Similarly the portal fantasy I've read recently has very much in the Narnia vein if a more modern spirit， a wholly separate world to visit and explore。 This， however， is a faerie story of the sort I remember reading growing up， back when every third book was based on the ballad of Tam Lin and every forest path or grassed over mound contained a doorway elsewhere。 It's an ambitious tale， centred on a not exactly likeable protagonist， and it definitely gets away from itself part way through but it was still a delight to read and well worth the investment。 。。。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