The Library of the Dead

The Library of the Dead is the first book of an urban fantasy series by TL Huchu. I thought it was a good, not great read. The book is well written. The characters and plot are interesting but, for me, it missed the mark on a few levels. I felt that more time could have been spent on world building. We are told that a catastrophe has occurred but we are not given any details as to what happened. While I'm sure that it will be explored in future novels I would have liked a more details on why we are in a dystopian future. As well, the books title promises a library of the dead which is barely touched upon. This is probably a great title for the series overall but not the first book. See Ben Aaronovitch's first book in the Rivers of London series, Midnight Riot. A book who's title changes depending on what country you are in.

2.5 rounded up to a 3. It’s messy. Lol. It’s fun though! I’m not sure I would have been as intrigued by this book without the title and cover. Unfortunately, the story doesn’t quite meet the expectation there. There is a library, and there are dead people, but those things don’t seem to be connected. In fact, a lot of stuff doesn’t feel connected. Still, Ropa is a great MC with a unique, fun voice, and there’s some interesting world building. If you like plot, we’ll there’s a lot of it here, it’s just a bit disjointed. I’m left with several questions so I might check out the sequel, but that means this is a book you probably don’t want to read if you’re not wanting to have to read multiple books to feel satisfied. I might recommend this in the future if someone is looking for a lighter read. It would work well as a chaser for Tansyn Muir’s Locked Tomb books, for example.

Tinashe Warikandwa was the perfect audiobook narrator. I just loved this trip into a supernatural Edinburgh and Ropa is a fantastic character. I look forward to more in this series!

Full review:
Ropa talks to ghosts. She acts as a messenger between the living and the dead, delivering mostly mundane messages, and occasionally recipes for the perfect Battenberg. Sometimes the dead are really annoying, but lately something seems amiss. Children are going missing, and some are returned shrivelled husks of their former selves. Ropa needs to make the rent, but can she ignore the plight of Edinburgh’s lost children?

I loved The Library of the Dead so much. It’s set in a near-future Edinburgh where there are no cars and electricity is scarce. What happened to make it this way isn’t clear, but it sounds like the end of fossil fuels has occurred. Ghosts are a fact, and Ropa’s ghost talking work is highly regulated, meaning she has to reel off the terms and conditions and recipients of messages are obliged to pay her for them. Even if they’re a bit crap.

She uses music to help hone into the ghost’s voice. They start off sounding booga-wooga-wooga, which made me laugh, and her mbira brings them further into her realm. Many of them just need to say one thing to their relatives to move on, some of them just won’t let go. Ah, unrequited love goes beyond the grave.

Ropa lives in a caravan with her sister and gran, on farmland where the farmer realised charging people to be on his land was easier than actual farming. She makes sure her little sister goes to school and does her best to earn money to keep them safe and fed. I liked that this story wasn’t just set in the historic parts of Edinburgh, but covered the newer and poorer areas too. I loved revisiting the city in its changed state.

The story revolves around the mystery of the missing children and isn’t really about the library of the title. I get the feeling it will play a bigger part in future books, and I can’t wait to read them!