A review by benjfleck
The Archived by Victoria Schwab
2.0
The Archived: Or, Death, Darkness, Depression
The premise for this book is wildly imaginative and intriguing: A library of the dead!! How cool!! I was so excited for all the possibilities that could come from something so interesting and different. However, I was extremely disappointed upon reading this book. There was no sense of fun at all. Instead, it was dark, dramatic, and depressing AF.
I understand where Schwab was coming from and this feels really personal to her. I just wasn't prepared for such a heavy novel about death and loss. Also, it was really hard for me to understand this world she built. It felt incomplete and I never really knew where I was, or what was happening. So for me, it became a confusing, sordid affair and I ended up not caring too much because I didn't know what was happening and I was having no fun. It was just bummer city and that's not what I was expecting.
The premise for this book is wildly imaginative and intriguing: A library of the dead!! How cool!! I was so excited for all the possibilities that could come from something so interesting and different. However, I was extremely disappointed upon reading this book. There was no sense of fun at all. Instead, it was dark, dramatic, and depressing AF.
I understand where Schwab was coming from and this feels really personal to her. I just wasn't prepared for such a heavy novel about death and loss. Also, it was really hard for me to understand this world she built. It felt incomplete and I never really knew where I was, or what was happening. So for me, it became a confusing, sordid affair and I ended up not caring too much because I didn't know what was happening and I was having no fun. It was just bummer city and that's not what I was expecting.