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aritrigupta's review against another edition
4.0
That was a sweet first book in the series.
[a:V.E. Schwab|7168230|V.E. Schwab|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1511218938p2/7168230.jpg] comes up with absolutely delicious premises for her books. Dead people preserved on shelves in libraries. Hello, yes!
I'll be honest, like the other books by her that I've read, this took me some time to get in its groove, but once I was on, I sped through it with unabashed pace.
I liked Wesley Ayers a lot - confident, kind and smart male leads do so much for a book. Mac needs more before I like her, and I suppose that trajectory is one of the things that worked for this very popular series. The lore built around The Archive is so fascinating that I cannot wait to read more about it.
I have started on book 2 as I write this review. So, that sums up how much I enjoyed [b:The Archived|10929432|The Archived (The Archived, #1)|Victoria Schwab|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1338729878l/10929432._SX50_.jpg|15846509].
[a:V.E. Schwab|7168230|V.E. Schwab|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1511218938p2/7168230.jpg] comes up with absolutely delicious premises for her books. Dead people preserved on shelves in libraries. Hello, yes!
I'll be honest, like the other books by her that I've read, this took me some time to get in its groove, but once I was on, I sped through it with unabashed pace.
I liked Wesley Ayers a lot - confident, kind and smart male leads do so much for a book. Mac needs more before I like her, and I suppose that trajectory is one of the things that worked for this very popular series. The lore built around The Archive is so fascinating that I cannot wait to read more about it.
I have started on book 2 as I write this review. So, that sums up how much I enjoyed [b:The Archived|10929432|The Archived (The Archived, #1)|Victoria Schwab|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1338729878l/10929432._SX50_.jpg|15846509].
mellyqueen's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ihateprozac's review against another edition
5.0
If you enjoyed the TV series The Lost Room or Philip K Dick story and film adaptation The Adjustment Bureau, you will ADORE this.
The Archived centres around a teenage girl named Mackenzie who lives a double life where she returns the dead. When you die, a copy of your body and its history is sent to an Archive to rest, and these copies are called Histories. Except sometimes these Histories don’t stay down. Mackenzie is tasked with finding Histories who’ve woken up and gone AWOL, returning them to the Archive where they can be filed away and put to sleep once again. Unfortunately for Mackenzie, something is going catastrophically wrong with the Histories in her territory and the Archive is about to come crashing down.
Much like Schwab’s Monsters of Verity series, this is a concept that shouldn’t work and yet totally does. The Archived has such a bizarre mythology; reminiscent of The Lost Room, The Adjustment Bureau and Hades’ halls of the dead in Greek mythology, and yet it reads as totally unique. It gave me fantastical doorways to the unknown, a mysterious library full of secrets, a parallel world alongside our own, and a gripping storyline of an unknown force threatening to destroy it all. AKA ALL MY FAVOURITE THINGS.
Victoria Schwab has such an incredible, immersive, atmospheric quality to her writing. Everytime Mackenzie ventured in and out of The Narrows I could practically see the lighting change, shifting from the dusty bright Coronado Hotel to the dim, blue veil of The Narrows. I could feel the quiet of the Narrows and how it differed from the quiet of the Coronado, peppered with the odd creaky floorboard or noise of cars outside on the street. I could feel the physical jumps and starts Mackenzie had when exposed to someone’s touch, unable to drown out the noise inside her head. It’s so rare for me to completely lose myself in a book this way, I’d almost forgot it was possible.
The conflict was perfectly paced and you can feel the tension ramping up to eleven, almost as if a Tarantino score is playing in the background with violin strings winding tighter and tighter until they threaten to snap. I had guessed a couple of the big reveals,but the way in which it all unfolded was unexpected and had me stressed and physically gripping my book, desperately thumbing through the pages to find out how it all ends.
Put simply: Victoria Schwab fucking NAILED this.
I only have one minor criticism of this story, and that's the way Schwab uses technology and family/friends. In a lot of these stories where characters life a double life and have one foot in the paranormal world, they have absent family and friends and often aren't good with phones or computers. This enables them to pursue their paranormal missions without having family and friends actively worrying about them, and the author doesn't have to deal with someone's Facebook notifications pinging in the middle of a fight. I always feel as if the no-tech protag with no friends/parents is a cheap literary device and almost makes the characters less relatable for me. Sure, Mackenzie did have instances where she had to lie to her parents about her whereabouts, but I just want something more realistic from teenage protagonists in modern books.
Overall: Schwab’s worldbuilding and mythology is incredible, she creates concepts and universes that shouldn’t work and yet absolutely suck you in. She has such an immersive, atmospheric quality to her writing that made me feel as if I were physically travelling The Narrows with our protagonist, and once the mystery started to ramp up it was unputdownable. I am so glad I picked this up, and yet so emo to learn that the series may never be completed!
The Archived centres around a teenage girl named Mackenzie who lives a double life where she returns the dead. When you die, a copy of your body and its history is sent to an Archive to rest, and these copies are called Histories. Except sometimes these Histories don’t stay down. Mackenzie is tasked with finding Histories who’ve woken up and gone AWOL, returning them to the Archive where they can be filed away and put to sleep once again. Unfortunately for Mackenzie, something is going catastrophically wrong with the Histories in her territory and the Archive is about to come crashing down.
Much like Schwab’s Monsters of Verity series, this is a concept that shouldn’t work and yet totally does. The Archived has such a bizarre mythology; reminiscent of The Lost Room, The Adjustment Bureau and Hades’ halls of the dead in Greek mythology, and yet it reads as totally unique. It gave me fantastical doorways to the unknown, a mysterious library full of secrets, a parallel world alongside our own, and a gripping storyline of an unknown force threatening to destroy it all. AKA ALL MY FAVOURITE THINGS.
Victoria Schwab has such an incredible, immersive, atmospheric quality to her writing. Everytime Mackenzie ventured in and out of The Narrows I could practically see the lighting change, shifting from the dusty bright Coronado Hotel to the dim, blue veil of The Narrows. I could feel the quiet of the Narrows and how it differed from the quiet of the Coronado, peppered with the odd creaky floorboard or noise of cars outside on the street. I could feel the physical jumps and starts Mackenzie had when exposed to someone’s touch, unable to drown out the noise inside her head. It’s so rare for me to completely lose myself in a book this way, I’d almost forgot it was possible.
The conflict was perfectly paced and you can feel the tension ramping up to eleven, almost as if a Tarantino score is playing in the background with violin strings winding tighter and tighter until they threaten to snap. I had guessed a couple of the big reveals,but the way in which it all unfolded was unexpected and had me stressed and physically gripping my book, desperately thumbing through the pages to find out how it all ends.
Put simply: Victoria Schwab fucking NAILED this.
I only have one minor criticism of this story, and that's the way Schwab uses technology and family/friends. In a lot of these stories where characters life a double life and have one foot in the paranormal world, they have absent family and friends and often aren't good with phones or computers. This enables them to pursue their paranormal missions without having family and friends actively worrying about them, and the author doesn't have to deal with someone's Facebook notifications pinging in the middle of a fight. I always feel as if the no-tech protag with no friends/parents is a cheap literary device and almost makes the characters less relatable for me. Sure, Mackenzie did have instances where she had to lie to her parents about her whereabouts, but I just want something more realistic from teenage protagonists in modern books.
Overall: Schwab’s worldbuilding and mythology is incredible, she creates concepts and universes that shouldn’t work and yet absolutely suck you in. She has such an immersive, atmospheric quality to her writing that made me feel as if I were physically travelling The Narrows with our protagonist, and once the mystery started to ramp up it was unputdownable. I am so glad I picked this up, and yet so emo to learn that the series may never be completed!
ray0104's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
camilaferreira's review against another edition
2.0
Sim, aparentemente eu sou uma das poucas almas que não conseguiu gostar desse livro. Ele começou MUITO bem, a história estava absurdamente interessante, estava adorando o clima sombrio. Até que começou a ficar tão maçante, a protagonista tão idiota, foi uma queda livre e admito ter pulado páginas em vários momentos. Realmente não foi pra mim.
catherinewyatt's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
betka_s's review against another edition
3.0
Těžké rozhodování, nakonec cca 3,5/5. Fakt příjemné překvapení!
http://bit.ly/Archiv_recenze
http://bit.ly/Archiv_recenze
sharonsm_28's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. The concept is so unique and different. It did get a bit confusing with all the roles and places within this new world, but soon it got interesting again. I really liked Mackenzie Bishop. She was trying to find out a way to see her brother, Ben. Also, I really loved Da. I loved the way he treated Mackenzie.
He truly believed in her. Also, I really loved Wesley. I really liked Roland. I did like Owen, but the ending made me dislike him. I am really surprised by the book. I wasn't expecting to like it so much, but it totally worth the read. Overall, a great read.
He truly believed in her. Also, I really loved Wesley. I really liked Roland. I did like Owen, but the ending made me dislike him. I am really surprised by the book. I wasn't expecting to like it so much, but it totally worth the read. Overall, a great read.
natiesreads99's review against another edition
4.0
I went into this book not really sure what to expect cause I haven't heard that much about it but I was pleasantly surprised.
The Characters
Mackenzie
This is one of the few female character's I did not ever get frustrated with and I just loved being inside her head. I loved how she described everything, her feelings and family and what she was going trough. She was very relatable for me, because she's a teenager and she has all these teenager feelings and her emotions were very strong.
The fact that she had to deal with the loss of her brother and then her parents acting like nothing was going on and on top of everything dealing with a secret world she couldn't tell anyone about until Wes came along. You could see it was very tough for her and I think if she wasn't so lonely she wouldn't have believed Owen as fast as she did but in the scenes with him you could see that she was alone and so was he so she took a shot even though it didn't really end well for them.
Wes
He was such a good friend/possible love interest in this book because he's a tad bit different and you could see he's much more comfortable with himself than Mac is. Also I loved their relationship how it built up and how he taught her things and visa versa. I knew he was a Keeper because the way he was kind of drawn to her revealed it.
His personality was great and I loved his confidence, the fact that he wore eyeliner with pride and was always cracking jokes and the way he spoke to Mac or to her parents. But I also really enjoyed when he softened up and got a bit sentimental cause that really set Wes for me.
Roland
I loved Roland's "big brother" character in this book. The fact that they showed from the beginning how he was standing up for Mackenzie and looking out for her no matter what mistakes she might've made. They have a very beautiful relationship, in the sense that they have to look out for each other, otherwise both of them will crumble.
He knew what the risks were but he still stood by Mac till the end and even though not everything he did was perfect he was a great friend
Owen
I always knew there was something off about him, basically cause of the obvious fact that he is the only History who doesn't slip. I didn't know if he was the bad guy or not cause the mystery and story was so tangled up it really could've gone both ways. But I liked how the mystery unraveled. The whole little fragments of his sister's stories and the desperation of wanting to bring her back no matter what the costs was painfully beautiful. What he did obviously wasn't right but I do understand him and why he did what he did. In the beginning I truly believed that he was good but as we went along I honestly started questioning everyone.
The World
I really enjoyed the whole Archive world and the explanation about Histories and Reading people and walls, it was very interesting and it had a hint of reality to it cause everyone has their own history, except in this book its explained in a more fantasy kind of way which I really really loved.
I really liked that the mundane world took place in a hotel that was converted into apartments, it kind of reminded me of suit life of zack and cody and all the different rooms and people living there. the mysteries and the little fragments of stories from Regina being hidden was a fantastic aspect and I truly enjoyed it.
I definitely recommend this book because its not too fantasy if you don't like fantasy, it has a nice balance and the characters and the way the story unfolds is just amazing
The Characters
Mackenzie
This is one of the few female character's I did not ever get frustrated with and I just loved being inside her head. I loved how she described everything, her feelings and family and what she was going trough. She was very relatable for me, because she's a teenager and she has all these teenager feelings and her emotions were very strong.
The fact that she had to deal with the loss of her brother and then her parents acting like nothing was going on and on top of everything dealing with a secret world she couldn't tell anyone about until Wes came along. You could see it was very tough for her and I think if she wasn't so lonely she wouldn't have believed Owen as fast as she did but in the scenes with him you could see that she was alone and so was he so she took a shot even though it didn't really end well for them.
Wes
He was such a good friend/possible love interest in this book because he's a tad bit different and you could see he's much more comfortable with himself than Mac is. Also I loved their relationship how it built up and how he taught her things and visa versa. I knew he was a Keeper because the way he was kind of drawn to her revealed it.
His personality was great and I loved his confidence, the fact that he wore eyeliner with pride and was always cracking jokes and the way he spoke to Mac or to her parents. But I also really enjoyed when he softened up and got a bit sentimental cause that really set Wes for me.
Roland
I loved Roland's "big brother" character in this book. The fact that they showed from the beginning how he was standing up for Mackenzie and looking out for her no matter what mistakes she might've made. They have a very beautiful relationship, in the sense that they have to look out for each other, otherwise both of them will crumble.
He knew what the risks were but he still stood by Mac till the end and even though not everything he did was perfect he was a great friend
Owen
I always knew there was something off about him, basically cause of the obvious fact that he is the only History who doesn't slip. I didn't know if he was the bad guy or not cause the mystery and story was so tangled up it really could've gone both ways. But I liked how the mystery unraveled. The whole little fragments of his sister's stories and the desperation of wanting to bring her back no matter what the costs was painfully beautiful. What he did obviously wasn't right but I do understand him and why he did what he did. In the beginning I truly believed that he was good but as we went along I honestly started questioning everyone.
The World
I really enjoyed the whole Archive world and the explanation about Histories and Reading people and walls, it was very interesting and it had a hint of reality to it cause everyone has their own history, except in this book its explained in a more fantasy kind of way which I really really loved.
I really liked that the mundane world took place in a hotel that was converted into apartments, it kind of reminded me of suit life of zack and cody and all the different rooms and people living there. the mysteries and the little fragments of stories from Regina being hidden was a fantastic aspect and I truly enjoyed it.
I definitely recommend this book because its not too fantasy if you don't like fantasy, it has a nice balance and the characters and the way the story unfolds is just amazing