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kansas_girl's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
4.0
This alternative world mystery is set in Edinburgh and features thirteen-year-old Ropa, a “ghostalker,” who makes her meager living by delivering messages from ghosts to their living relatives. The ghosts begin urging her to solve the mystery of missing children, who have been abducted and then returned horribly aged and stripped of their humanity. Then Ropa stumbles into the hidden library of magic, an ancient repository of magic used by the thriving otherworldly and magical humans of Edinburgh. I really loved Ropa; she’s sassy, smart, and cynical but devoted to her little sister and blind grandmother whom she supports with her ghostly ventures. Her voice is uniquely layered with Scottish practicality and Zimbabwean traditional mysticism.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
2.0
Finished reading: December 24th 2023
“Doing something when it is hard, because it is the right thing to do, matters more than doing it when it's easy. The world needs light now more than ever.”
I know that I don't read a lot of YA anymore, but I do tend to enjoy a good urban fantasy and there was just something about the blurb of The Library Of The Dead that had me fully intrigued. I was SO excited when my TBR jar thought it was time to finally read it, and I actually expected to end up finding a new favorite... But sadly the complete opposite happened. This had nothing to do with the premise itself, and everything with the writing. I simply clashed horribly with the writing style, and the way the premise was developed was actually rather confusing and vague at times. I strongly disliked all the slang and cursing; instead of feeling natural, the tone was rather forced and I sometimes struggled to understand certain phrases. My dislike for the writing also ment I wasn't really a fan of the main character Ropa, which was where most of the slang appeared. Even my curiosity for the bookish elements, the library and the magic couldn't redeem this story for me, and I confess that I started skimreading long before the halfway mark. I guess it won't come as a surprise that I won't be continuing this series in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
fionamclary's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This was a fun time, but I was kind of surprised that the protagonist was so young based on how others had talked about this book. I'm not entirely sure what age range is the target audience. Not that a book can't be for everyone, but I like it to be clear who the main audience is. If someone had pitched this to me as a teen/YA novel I might have rated it a bit higher since my expectations would have been met. I'll probably read book 2. Ropa is a fun protagonist and I am looking forward to reading more about her friendships with Jomo and Priya and hopefully getting some more backstory on Gran.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Trafficking
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gore, Slavery, Car accident, and Classism
Minor: Drug use, Rape, Police brutality, War, and Injury/Injury detail
chalkletters's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse and Kidnapping
Minor: Body horror, Death, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury
readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Violence, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Physical abuse, Torture, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Child death, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Suicide, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Car accident, and Alcohol
Drowning, sex work.bergha1998's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Ropa might be one of the most interesting characters and POVs I’ve ever read. Just the way she looks at the world, and that mixture of so smart but so worldly. The lore is given really sporadically and sparingly, which is nice so it doesn’t get weighed down by it but I did end up wanting more. I’m excited to read the rest of the series.
Paranormal Mystery, Little but coming of age
“Doing something when it is hard, because it is the right thing to do, matters more than doing it when it’s easy.”
“Evil doesn’t happen because good men do nothing. It happens because they get sucked in, they participate. There are no neutral observers in this world, Old Albert E. showed us that already. We’re all in the game, whether we like it or not.”
Paranormal Mystery, Little but coming of age
“Doing something when it is hard, because it is the right thing to do, matters more than doing it when it’s easy.”
“Evil doesn’t happen because good men do nothing. It happens because they get sucked in, they participate. There are no neutral observers in this world, Old Albert E. showed us that already. We’re all in the game, whether we like it or not.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
awkwardimagination's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Library of the Dead is a book thats been sitting on my shelf for about 2 years now, I bought it when it first came out. I thought i would be ready about an experienced ghosttalker who finds a mystical library in a modern Edinburgh and plot ensues. What i got was a 15 yo punk ghosttalker with a slingshot, no magical experience, a begrudging fox sidekick, and a ninja scarf in a Not Quite Modern Edinburgh. It was fantastic. Super creepy imagery, but fantastic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Drug use, Slavery, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Torture
enbae's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, and Abandonment
Kidnapping of children, Maiming (a.o. of children), Povertymattyb's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Trafficking, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Excrement, Police brutality, and Alcohol
sauvageloup's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
a fun supernatural, dystopian mystery read, enjoyed it.
pros:
- the writing style was different and fun. I got a real sense of who Ropa was and liked her a lot. her character comes through through the writing, with a quirky mix of slang and complicated language and concepts. shes both smart and street smart.
- I also really loved priya and gran as side characters, they were great. priya was a lot of fun to read, and ropa's love for her gran was obvious.
- there was also some lovely descriptions in Huchu's writing, creating a great atmosphere.
- the horror was also genuinely creepy with the Brounie, the eyeless milkman, the unaging siobhan
- while the mystery was great, the tensions ropa had about still bringing money in and helping her family felt very real. she really feels she has to carry everything and doesnt tell anyone older than her, apart from Callender, who fails her.
- I likes the dystopian Edinburgh a lot, made a nice change from London, and the implied breakdown of society which was hinted at but never entirely explained, was interesting.
- priya's magical wheelchair was fab, really interesting application of magic.
- and the bits of African culture, the mbira helping ground the spirits and gran's magic, were great, enjoyed learning about them.
cons:
- I never got a real sense of Jomo, he seemed quite hapless and not particularly helpful, didnt quite get Ropa's loyalty to him.
- occasionally the slang dialogue did feel a bit forced but not often.
- the two main bits of the plot seemed very disparat . the creepy brounie house and the children having elixir made from them were only barely linked.
- I did get a bit frustrated with the refusal to give an in depth explanation of a lot of things, like the collapse of Edinburgh, why the milkman had no eyes, why only the faces of the kids got old, what happened with Ropa's mum, why Ropa's magic didnt work (tho I guess it said at the end that she just needed to be angry enough), how Priya's wheelchair magic worked (why could she go on ceilings but not up a steep hill?). I mean, it's a mystery story and a series so some of these are understandable but there did seem to be a bit too much vagueness at times.
but overall, really enjoyed this read :)
pros:
- the writing style was different and fun. I got a real sense of who Ropa was and liked her a lot. her character comes through through the writing, with a quirky mix of slang and complicated language and concepts. shes both smart and street smart.
- I also really loved priya and gran as side characters, they were great. priya was a lot of fun to read, and ropa's love for her gran was obvious.
- there was also some lovely descriptions in Huchu's writing, creating a great atmosphere.
- the horror was also genuinely creepy
- while the mystery was great, the tensions ropa had about still bringing money in and helping her family felt very real. she really feels she has to carry everything and doesnt tell anyone older than her, apart from Callender, who fails her.
- I likes the dystopian Edinburgh a lot, made a nice change from London, and the implied breakdown of society which was hinted at but never entirely explained, was interesting.
- priya's magical wheelchair was fab, really interesting application of magic.
- and the bits of African culture, the mbira helping ground the spirits and gran's magic, were great, enjoyed learning about them.
cons:
- I never got a real sense of Jomo, he seemed quite hapless and not particularly helpful, didnt quite get Ropa's loyalty to him.
- occasionally the slang dialogue did feel a bit forced but not often.
- the two main bits of the plot seemed very disparat .
- I did get a bit frustrated with the refusal to give an in depth explanation of a lot of things, like
but overall, really enjoyed this read :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Slavery, Violence, Trafficking, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Sexism
a past character's gambling addiction is discussed.