Reviews

The Library of the Dead by T.L. Huchu

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lonored's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

ssjd411's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

chalkletters's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

As a reader, it's easy to get lured in by books about libraries, but the more I read of them, the more I question whether that's a good instinct. On the whole, I think I prefer stories about stories to stories about books. That said, though there's a library in The Library of the Dead, the main character only reads about three books from it, so maybe this isn't a good example.

The Library of the Dead is a very, very urban fantasy novel; the action takes place in Edinburgh in a post-war dystopia, with whole sections of the city under encroaching water and caravan parks and tent cities springing up on the land that's left to accommodate the population. For a reader who hasn't spent much time in Edinburgh, that aspect felt cohesive, with little nods throughout to what the city used to be like. While there was definitely more urban than fantasy, the magical elements were integral to the story, ranging from the presence of ghosts to hints of a traditionally learnable magic system.

While Ropa's first-person narrative was strong, her character could have been a little more fleshed out. Given the bleakness of the setting, money and family make sense as motivations, but don't do a whole lot to distinguish Ropa from any other character in that kind of setting. The Library of the Dead was very plot-driven, which meant the interesting secondary characters didn't get much of a chance to shine except in so far as they could contribute to the solving of the 'crime'.

One of the problems with fantasy crime novels is that it's so often impossible for the reader to attempt to solve it alongside the detective character(s). Magical crimes have magical solutions, which can't necessarily be guessed at or suspected by non-magical readers. So although Ropa was definitely solving a crime, T L Huchu didn't hit the detective novel beats of suspects and clues, which left the mystery without any real hook.

Much as I appreciate genre-mixing, I don't think this is a series I'll be continuing with.

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