I picked this up solely for the tagline that read, "What if being a librarian was the most dangerous job in the world?" As a librarian myself, I couldn't resist, though I fully expected to be laughing throughout (and not because it was supposed to be funny). However, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I actually liked this. There was some slightly trite writing, but overall this wasn't bad. ( )

Egalley thanks to Prime Books
Unfortunately me and Worldsoul got separated due to irreconcilable differences twenty or so chapters in the story.

You see, I like to have the lay of the land as soon as the story begins, a little bit of world-building, a bit of history for the main characters, some sort of inkling as to what direction the story would take.

I had absolutely no idea what was happening in Worldsoul through most of the book. There are few major characters driving completely separate plot lines and POVs - Mercy Fane, Shadow, The Duke and Deed.

We see what's happening in their own individual lives with their own string of secondary characters, but it doesn't explain why they are introduced to us, which is why I lost interest in the plot so early.

No clarity as to what is the world like, how it works, how it connects to all these numerous dimensions, what was the original goal of The Library, The Court and so on and so forth... There are pieces of a puzzle, but they do not make sense together, and I just couldn't accept it.

If there was a potential in the story, blame me for not being able to see it. Severely disappointed.

( )

not particularly masterful in the follow-through - but the concept is very nice (the cover hook is "what if being a librarian was the most dangerous job in the world?", and the jumble of cultures and tropes is exotic and well-grounded) , it has many pleasures (far future, time travel, various types of magic, constructed storyways as paths that can be followed, a delirious mix of fairy tale archetypes) and was altogether colourful and entertaining. and it's full of writer metaphors in which writing, and finding the roots of story, are powerful and worldchanging endeavours. good characters, and a combination of sf and fantasy sf, which you don't see every day. ending a bit anticlimatic - one of those in media res things - but the next volume may be in train. ( )

Ok after reading about 15% of book I am officially giving up.

Trying to understand what is going on in this book is either giving me a headache or makes me fall asleep (if I am tired). The chapters iterate between three characters. I still can not make any connection between them or understand more than half of the things that are going on or that they are talking about.

Based on description the main character Mercy should be some kick-ass librarian heroine. And since being librarian has been my dream job since I was a kid (book nerd I know), I was looking forward to reading this. But why should I torture myself with a book I do not enjoy reading when there are so many other books waiting for me? ( )

Here's what I love best about Liz Williams: she is always more subtle and complicated than you think she's going to be. When I start one of her books, I think 'oh, this is what kind of book this is'. But I'm almost always wrong. Her world-building is complicated and revealed slowly, so if you're the kind of reader who is put off by a dreamlike ambiguity, then Williams will probably frustrate you. If you're willing to trust that her puzzle will fit together in the end, then relax and enjoy. She's one of the smartest, wittiest, and most diverse writers working in the field, and this, though not her most challenging work, is well worth your time. ( )