Mark Lawrence | Author | LibraryThing

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Common Knowledge

Birthdate: 1966-01-28
Gender: male
Nationality: USA
UK (dual nationality)
Birthplace: Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, USA
Places of residence: Bristol, England, UK
Education: Imperial College, London (PhD) (mathematics)
Imperial College, London (BSc) (physics)
Occupations: research scientist
carer
novelist
defence scientist
Agent: Ian Drury

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Reviews

The Book That Wouldn't Burn (The Library Trilogy 1) by Mark Lawrence

Evar and Livira are both living in a prison. Evar's is a big library full of knowledge, but with all the exits closed shut. He dreams of being able to walk out one day and experience the things he could only read about. Livira feels trapped on the dusty plains that are her home, living the same day over and over, fighting to survive the harsh conditions.

"After a few turns the reassuring resistance told her that the bucket had filled. Every time she carried out the task a small part of her held its breath, thinking that one day there would be no resistance. One day the water would simply not be there. An even smaller part of her hissed its disappointment when the turn of the handle revealed that new weight. When the water was gone there would be a change. Not a good change. But a change nonetheless. And sometimes, in the dark of the night with the hollow sounds of the Dust all around and the bright stars cold in their heaven, sometimes what scared Livira more than the water running out was that the water would not run out and that this would be her life."

They both look for their way out in the library, trying to solve its mysteries and finding a way towards each other.

Let me start with the main characters. While I enjoyed following both of them, Livira definitely left a bigger impression on me. She is so well-written that I could predict what she was going to do in a certain situation. I wouldn't have thought I would fall so for a character that is neither a magic user nor a trained fighter, but I suppose she does have a soul of a warrior. She can seem a bit reckless, but she is just so focused on her goals that she doesn't care about the risks.

As for the side characters. There are definitely some well-developed ones, but I felt that some of the characters that were supposed to be important to our main characters stood a bit too much in the background and I never got a chance to get to know them that well.

The setting of this book is very far from classical, medieval fantasy. The world outside has been turned to dust. The human cities are being attacked by a different and bestial race. Their only hope of surviving being the library, which could give them strong enough weapons to fight off the threat. The knowledge is all there; the problem is finding the right books while navigating the grand, mysterious, and dangerous library. And maybe the answer is different from the one they are looking for.

"People don’t want truth. They say that they do but what they mean is that they want the truth to agree with them. Take ninetynine books that say one thing and one that says the opposite. If that opposite was what the customer was hoping to hear, they’ll put their stock in the single volume."

The story is full of mystery and discovery. The first two-thirds of the book don't reveal much and I must say I wasn't getting that impressed, but once the first big reveal drops, it just keeps on coming and it's well worth the wait. The way things fell together was very satisfying and very emotional. While most mysteries have been revealed, there is definitely more to uncover in the following installments and I can't wait to get my hands on them.

This book combines an amazing story with well-developed characters and an original setting. It ticks all the boxes.

I received an ARC for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.… (more)

1

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Levitara | 14 other reviews | Apr 5, 2024 |

The Book That Wouldn't Burn (The Library Trilogy) by Mark Lawrence

Good book. Very mysterious. All the various plot points are so disconnected that it feels like magical realism at first. Enough time travel loops to make my brain hurt. Undecided about reading the second book.

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Tip44 | 14 other reviews | Mar 12, 2024 |

Prince of Thorns (The Broken Empire, #1) by Mark Lawrence

Just......wow

The voice of this book grabs you from the first paragraph and doesn't let you go til the last sentence. It was brutal-sometimes making you want to cover your eyes, but there is also a balance filled with the pain and rage of lost innocence.

I am quickly moving on to the next despite the overpriced Kindle version.

Favorite Line:

“Father Gomst will pray for your soul,” I said. “And forgive me the sins I incur in detaching it from your body.”

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jazzbird61 | 128 other reviews | Feb 29, 2024 |

Emperor of Thorns (The Broken Empire, #3) by Mark Lawrence

REREAD 1/12/2017: Still in awe of how good this was.

8/6/2013: I don't even have words for how good this was. I am tempted to go find the author and shake another series out of him. Failing that, this trilogy will be on my to-read over and over list.

VERY nice work Mr. Lawrence.

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jazzbird61 | 38 other reviews | Feb 29, 2024 |

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