Name: Stephanie Vischer's review of The Library of the Dead by T. L. Huchu
Item: The Library of the Dead
Rating: 4
Author: Stephanie Vischer

T. L. Huchu

'A fast-moving and entertaining tale, beautifully written' - Ben Aaronovitch When ghosts talk, she will listen . . . Ropa dropped out of school to become a ghost talker - and she now speaks to Edinburgh's dead, carrying messages to the living. A girl's gotta earn a living, and it seems harmless enough. Until, that is, the dead whisper that someone's bewitching children - leaving them husks, empty of joy and life. It's on Ropa's patch, so she feels honour-bound to investigate. But what she learns will change her world. She'll dice with death (not part of her life plan . . .) as she calls on Zimbabwean magic and Scottish pragmatism to hunt down clues. For Edinburgh hides a wealth of secrets. And in the process, she discovers an occult library and some unexpected allies. Yet as shadows lengthen, will the hunter become the hunted? Opening up a world of magic and adventure, The Library of the Dead by T. L. Huchu is the first book in the Edinburgh Nights series.

The Library of the Dead

Sixth Sense meets Stranger Things in T. L. Huchu's The Library of the Dead, a sharp contemporary fantasy following a precocious and cynical teen as she explores the shadowy magical underside of modern Edinburgh. WHEN GHOSTS TALK SHE WILL LISTEN Ropa dropped out of school to become a ghostalker – and they sure do love to talk. Now she speaks to Edinburgh’s dead, carrying messages to those they left behind. A girl’s gotta earn a living, and it seems harmless enough. Until, that is, the dead whisper that someone’s bewitching children – leaving them husks, empty of joy and strength. It’s on Ropa’s patch, so she feels honor-bound to investigate. But what she learns will rock her world. Ropa will dice with death as she calls on Zimbabwean magic and Scottish pragmatism to hunt down clues. And although underground Edinburgh hides a wealth of dark secrets, she also discovers an occult library, a magical mentor and some unexpected allies. Yet as shadows lengthen, will the hunter become the hunted?

When she listens to you like that, it's like the whole universe goes quiet just for her. Your voice is the only thing worth listening to, and only you matter.

Stephanie Vischer

I really wanted to like this book. I really can't say that I did. I'm sure for the right person this will be a great book, but it just didn't appeal to my tastes. I hope my copy of the book finds a new owner who loves it.

The story follows a young girl who can speak to ghosts. She lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, although you never really get a good sense of the city from the way things are described. The world is apocalyptic in some ways, though you never get much information on what happened there. They hint at both the apocalypse and the city, but the few features they do describe seem to have been dramatically altered or only viewed from a distance. Ultimately, I think this book had big goals, but could have used more world building to make the setting really pop.

The characters were solid, but a little flat. The character you get at the beginning is the same character you'll have at the end. They really don't grow from start to finish, unfortunately. They just return to a state of equilibrium.

I don't think the plot was bad. Actually, it was a pretty solid one, though some of the final elements came out of nowhere. I think a little more foreshadowing would have been good. I also think it's a pity that the issue was only partially solved, though perhaps that's corrected in a later book.

I also would like to say that for a debut novel, this is still a solid read. I loved the diversity and the inclusion of a disabled person as a main character. I think the critique of class inequality is very legit, although definitely different due to the post-disaster setting. I think this author will grow well in later books, but this one just wasn't my particular cup of tea.

Kirsten Simkiss

I really wanted to like this book. I really can't say that I did. I'm sure for the right person this will be a great book, but it just didn't appeal to my tastes. I hope my copy of the book finds a new owner who loves it.

The story follows a young girl who can speak to ghosts. She lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, although you never really get a good sense of the city from the way things are described. The world is apocalyptic in some ways, though you never get much information on what happened there. They hint at both the apocalypse and the city, but the few features they do describe seem to have been dramatically altered or only viewed from a distance. Ultimately, I think this book had big goals, but could have used more world building to make the setting really pop.

The characters were solid, but a little flat. The character you get at the beginning is the same character you'll have at the end. They really don't grow from start to finish, unfortunately. They just return to a state of equilibrium.

I don't think the plot was bad. Actually, it was a pretty solid one, though some of the final elements came out of nowhere. I think a little more foreshadowing would have been good. I also think it's a pity that the issue was only partially solved, though perhaps that's corrected in a later book.

I also would like to say that for a debut novel, this is still a solid read. I loved the diversity and the inclusion of a disabled person as a main character. I think the critique of class inequality is very legit, although definitely different due to the post-disaster setting. I think this author will grow well in later books, but this one just wasn't my particular cup of tea.

A wonderful book with an amazing narration style. I accidentally picked it up from the library thinking it was another book and am so glad that I kept it! It seems it's a series and I already have the next ones on hold. Highly recommend this fun fantasy! 

I wanted to like the book. The main character is interesting, and the world it is set in is beautiful, but I found the plot incredibly dull once we reached it. It took too long to get to the story's plot, and once I did, I wasn't impressed. This book was a highly anticipated one for me.

elizabeth

Colleen

3 Stars
 
*An intriguing urban fantasy story with many great elements that didn’t quite meld together*


The cover and description of The Library of the Dead caught my eye, and I heard good things about it as well. I liked the idea of a punky Zimbabwean/Scottish girl communing with the dead, hanging out in a magical library, and trying to solve the mystery of why some many street kids are going missing.

Based on the reviews I read, I was expecting this book to be more mature than it was. Almost as many people labeled it as Adult and Young Adult. And despite having some profanity and a bleaker atmosphere than most YA, this still felt solidly like a teen story. 

The Library of the Dead was told in first person, present tense, and no, that will never stop bothering me. I hate novels in present tense. But moving on, the narrator was fourteen-year-old Ropa who dropped out of school to help support her grandmother and little sister by working as a ghosttalker.

The setting was a near (or not so near) future Edinburgh in an odd alternate world that blended dystopian and a sort of low-tech cyberpunk with paranormal aspects and magic. It was an odd combination, but it did have some interesting ideas. I was never quite certain about how far in the future this was supposed to be. Although I will fully admit that my confusion *may* have been affected by a wandering interest when it came to parts of the world-building. There were some references to political things that had happened and a tyrannical king, but if the history was fully explained then I missed that part.

The world was pretty bleak. And Ropa’s life as an impoverished kid was certainly not glossed over. It was a slow starting story, although the atmosphere at the beginning was spooky and the story had enough potential to draw me in. 

Ropa, of course, had many of the stereotypical leading role kid qualities. Despite her diverse background and tough street kid act, she was still the quirky kid with special powers, a lack of adult supervision, an unusual pet, a side kick friend with no personality or agency, and many other chosen one troupes. There was enough good stuff there to keep things interesting though. And at least there wasn’t an angsty love triangle.

I mentioned that dystopian with magic was odd combination. Sometimes that made the story seem fresh and creative. But at other times, it gave the story an overstuffed feeling of trying to cram every idea into one short book. That feeling was compounded by the story stretching to create the whole world as often happens in first books of series. 

Another confounding thing was the ridiculous amount of late twentieth/ early twenty-first pop culture references. Not quite as many as Ready Player One but getting close. And there seemed absolutely NO valid reason for the references! Ostensibly, it was because Roja liked old, pirated media, but really it seemed to be included only for the gratification of the modern reader. Instead of feeling like fun Easter Eggs or nostalgia points like Ready Player One, they felt absolutely discordant. It ruined my immersion every single time, because it was illogical on a mindboggling level, and lot of them were references to pop culture things that I have zero interest in. I also have never, ever been interested in hearing what podcasts a character likes to listen to. *yawns*

The mystery aspect of the story fell short, and the plot wrapped up too quickly and cleanly after such a slow build. The creepy atmosphere also slipped in the latter part of the story as more and more stuff got crammed into the story.

One of the biggest disappointments, though, was that the titular library is barely in the book. And sorry, but you just can’t tease me with a magical library and then expect me not to sulk when it’s there and gone faster than an ice cream cone on a hot day.

It’s a reasonable guess that the library – and the other underdeveloped aspects from book one – will be expanded upon in the future instalments. But I still wanted a more solid foundation to start with. There were a lot of good elements to The Library of the Dead, and I feel like it would probably grow on me the more I read it. But I also have a strong feeling that this will be a series I shelve with the intention of continuing on with only for it to languish unread for countless years to come. 


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars
Level of Captivation: 2 Stars
Originality: 4 Stars

Janice Hopper

I should have enjoyed this book more than I did. The protagonist, Ropa, is smart and engaging. She's got a talent that lets her talk to ghosts. And apparently there's money to be made by taking messages from the dead to the living, if the living are willing to pay for it.

But it fell a little flat for me. The whole "there's a special secret place where people learn about magic" trope is one I'm just tired of. 

I think I personally might have liked it better if the story had stayed with Ropa and her world of family, gangs, and homeless encampments, as grim as all that can be. The part with house that captured people was suitably creepy, as was the Milkman and the poor children affected by him.

Not sure I liked it well enough to read more in the series, but maybe I will later.

Savannah Winchell

First of all, comma, the library is barely in this book and it is straight up not important lmao

Danny Engström

So many reasons already to visit Edinburgh (Rankin et al) and now the Library of the Dead too.

‘A fast-moving and entertaining tale, beautifully written’ – Ben Aaronovitch, bestselling author of Rivers of London When ghosts talk, she will listen . . . Ropa dropped out of school to become a ghostalker – and she now speaks to Edinburgh’s dead, carrying messages to the living. A girl’s gotta earn a living, and it seems harmless enough. Until, that is, the dead whisper that someone’s bewitching children – leaving them husks, empty of joy and life. It’s on Ropa’s patch, so she feels honour bound to investigate. But what she learns will change her world. She’ll dice with death (not part of her life plan . . .) as she calls on Zimbabwean magic and Scottish pragmatism to hunt down clues. For Edinburgh hides a wealth of secrets. And in the process, she discovers an occult library and some unexpected allies. Yet as shadows lengthen, will the hunter become the hunted? Opening up a world of magic and adventure, The Library of the Dead by T. L. Huchu is the first book in the Edinburgh Nights series.

Alice Hyman

“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.”
🦇
This book really has it all for me. There’s amazing diverse characters, cool realistic magic systems, underground libraries, friendship, mystery. Just everything.
Also it’s super cool that it takes place in Edinburgh which I know quite well.
🦇
We follow Ropa as she trudges through this apocalyptic Edinburgh trying to make ends meet delivering messages from beyond the grave, alls pretty okay until one ghost has a story that Ropa cannot ignore.
I am so looking forwards to the sequel to this. It’s a book that will bring all your dark academic, found family, urban fantasy dreams come true.

Lauren Sullivan

Content warnings: (view spoiler)[violence and death (via motor accident, magic, and good old-fashioned stabbing, including magical violence against children), kidnapping (of children), grief, police violence and extortion, medication and housing instability, alcohol use (including an alcoholic side character), hunting of animals for food (hide spoiler)]

Look, all you really need to know about this book is it’s about a Black teen who talks to ghosts and ends up investigating the disappearance of a child in a post-catastrophe Scotland, and it’s AMAZING. It’s creepy and delightfully atmospheric and most likely going to be on my top ten books of the year.

‘Seriously, who brings a catapult to a duel? I like your style[.]’

Fourteen-year-old Ropa dropped out of school to support her Gran and her younger sister. She’s a ghost talker, a go-between who delivers messages from the dead who haven’t yet crossed over back to their loved ones, for a fee, of course. She’s good at it, but it’s not particularly lucrative. They live in a broken down caravan in a former farm field – in this post-catastrophe Edinburgh, it’s much more profitable to farm people (for rent) rather than food – so the last thing she needs to do is take on a charity case for a recently deceased woman who’s worried about her missing son.

“Funny thing is, the more I learn, the more I feel that I know even less than all there is to know. It’s like, you reach the horizon, only to see the damn thing keeps on stretching further out. A bit messed up if you’re just trying to find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.”

I loved Ropa. She’s brash, no-nonsense and street smart. That isn’t to say she isn’t book smart as well, as she listens to podcasts and pirate audio books while delivering her messages across the city – in particular she’s a big fan of who she calls “Uncle Tzu.” She comes off as a bit stand-offish at first, but it only takes a few chapters to realized that she pretends to be a lot tougher than she is, cynical but still bighearted. Ropa’s someone who’ll say she only dropped out of school for the freedom and the money, and then turn around and spend a week trying to find a lost kid. She does read a bit older than her age, but I attributed that to her responsibilities.

‘I’m just getting to like you; don’t die stupidly on me now.’

The story’s told from Ropa’s first person present-tense POV. It took me a few chapters to get into the book due to the POV choice and the amount of world building, but once the mystery was introduced – a ghost keeps bugging Ropa about finding her young son who’s missing – I was hooked. Besides the initial few chapters, the pacing is tight – and delightfully creepy, and there’s some tantalizing hints dropped as to where the story may go next. The plot is a bit predictable, but honestly, with characters like Ropa, her Gran, Jomo and Priya, I was having too much fun to care. Her Gran’s seemingly a sweet older woman who taught Ropa everything she knows about talking to and casting out spirits. While she’s not able to do much – or even leave the caravan – she’s the heart of Ropa’s family. Jomo is her best friend since childhood, though his family is much more well-off than hers, while Priya is a wheelchair-using medical student with perhaps too much of a taste for adventure.

“I guess the world always looks more beautiful through a telescope. But if you use a microscope, you see things how they really are – up close and personal – and what you get is much scarier.”

The world-building is fascinating, from the titular Library of the Dead (the underHume joke still has me giggling) to the everyThere, where the dead wait to pass on, to a ghost-directed baking lesson in a posh couple’s kitchen. There’s at least two magical systems, the one taught to Ropa by her Gran that seems rooted in their Zimbabwean culture and the Scottish system. Ropa plays mbira music to help bring the dead into focus so she can understand them, but she’s had less success with the more metaphysical lessons. The Scottish version is more old-white-dude Greek-myth-influenced science-over-superstition magic that she learns from reading books from the Library.

Overall, an easy 4.5 stars, and I will definitely be picking up the next book in this series next March (yes, I set a calendar reminder for it). Overall, an excellent dystopian Scottish fantasy that both young adults and adults who like brash but bighearted heroines and creepy plots would enjoy.

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Moray Lyle McIntosh

I really enjoyed this funny and imaginative fantasy by Huchu. It leans towards other works of urban fantasy, the classics such as Neverwhere but with a sharp contemporary edge largely created by Ropa the 15 year old Scottish Zimbabwean narrator who is chock-full of opinions and wit. 

Ropa is a ghost-talker trying to keep her gran and younger sister warm and fed and sheltered in a threatening Edinburgh where the city-centre is a no-go area and the city is rife with slums, energy-shortages and gangs. Not to mention missing children, dark magic and secret societies. Ropa is brassy, bold and brilliant and her Edinburgh is both alien and recognisable in a post-catastrophe where an unwelcome? tyrannous? king is on the British throne. The question-marks are indicative of the drip-feed nature of Huchu's world-building. Exposition is minimal leaving the reader to try to piece together chance details to understand the background. It could easily be infuriating but it really just made me keen to discover more in the coming books. It's in large part due to the action-packed plot and bold characters that the mystery around the "catastrophe" remains tantalising rather than frustrating. 

Ropa is ably supported by a cast of supporting characters (almost) as vivdly-drawn as she is from childhood friends, to aloof mentors and ruthless enemies. I'm looking forward to more.

Alli King

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC! 
This book was incredible. For being based in Edinburgh, the amount of world building is amazing. 
Ropa is a ghost talker living in post-calamity-of-epic-proportions Scotland. She makes her money delivering messages from the dead to their living relatives. After one ghost asks for Ropa to check on her missing son, though, she finds herself caught up in a more dangerous part of the paranormal world. 

Ropa is an incredibly smart protagonist, who often wavers on being pragmatic vs empathetic- but always in a relatable way. Her voice was the only part that seemed reminiscent of another book- when Dani is the narrator in the Fever Series- but the plot is unlike anything I’ve ever read. There were constant twists and turns, and I never knew where the book was headed (when I thought I had it figured out, it headed in a completely different direction!). Great read, but definitely not something I could keep on a middle school shelf.

Cheryl Hedlund

The main character, Ropa, is telling the whole story and she has a very strong voice with a particular sense of humor. If you do not enjoy that character voice or the humor, this will not be an enjoyable read. Fortunately, I got along with it and also enjoyed the creepy atmosphere of Edinburgh in a post-catastrophe future. It is not specified what happened, but there was a collapse and a king now rules Scotland. The required standard greeting litany is, "God save the King." answered by, "Long may he reign." Things are not orderly, though. The police beat and rob people instead of protecting. Ropa lives in a caravan with her grandmother and little sister. Ropa's grandmother practices Zimbabwean magic and knows all about the spiritual world. Ropa also sees ghosts and scrapes money together for parking rent for her family by delivering messages for the dead, helping them sort out their unfinished business and move on to the next plane. A desperate ghost, whose family cannot pay for Ropa's services, asks for help to find out what happened to her missing son. He disappeared shortly before she died. Reluctantly, Ropa gets pulled into joining a secret society of magicians with an underground library. She also finds out there are more children going missing. A few have returned after a time, but are strangely unwell. She determines to stop whoever or whatever is behind it all. This is the first book in a series. Ropa is strong, smart, ultra-pragmatic. She also fiercely loves her family and they are why she works so hard. In the library she meets Priya who quickly becomes a friend and an important partner in this investigation and adventure. Priya is a doctor and magician who is physically disabled and uses a wheelchair.

What an interesting book!
I don’t think I’ve read something quite like this before, but I enjoyed it very much!

Let’s start the praise where the book starts: with the first sentence.
«I’m really not supposed to be doing this, but a girl’s gotta get paid. So, here we go.»

Such a great first sentence! Don’t think I’ve read many of those (or I just didn’t notice). 
Anyway, it really set the tone for the style of writing and the dry Scottish humour I love so much - made me feel right at home!

Though the style of writing was new to me, I found that it complemented the reading experience. I thought the decision to write all text how the MC talks to be very clever, and refreshing to read, as Ropa’s got quite the accent. I realise that I tend to enjoy books written in 3rd person a bit more, as so many of the 1st person narratives are too much in the MC’s head. But since that’s not really the case here I liked the choice of the 1st person point of view.

Also, the Scottish words, phrases and places 😍
Edinburgh, North Berwick, Haddington are all mentioned at least once. All areas that hold a very special place in my heart! Made me a bit homesick tbh 😭
Still, I couldn’t stop laughing at some of the phrases and used words - it’s home!

Next thing to point out would be the creativity. HOW does one come up with a story like that? A character that is able to talk to ghosts ends up solving a mystery about vanishing children with the help of a friend met at a secret underground library … HOW?! 

I would so love to write more but I don’t want to spoil anything. Just take my word for it that you might enjoy it just as much as I do if you like wacky stuff.
I’m sooooo intrigued to find out what happens in book no. 2.

Tammie Harvey

Read- October 2021
- I am so disappointed. I heard about this book at the end of last year and immediatly put it onto my TBR list because I thought it just sounded so amazing but the synopsis was so misleading. Much like A Deadly Education I felt like I had jumped into a second book in a series instead of reading the first book but unlike A Deadly Education, this book didn't get any better by the end. I felt like nothing about this was explained in any kind of detail, the magic system was absolutly ridiculous and I found the writing style to be so cringy 90% of the time. The ending was so rushed that you didn't even have time to get into the action scene before it was over. The only real thing this book had going for it was Priya as a character and the fact that it was a very fast read.


Anastaciya

Story - 4, audio - 1.5, just for the effort 🤦🏻‍♀️
"Rivers of London" got younger and moved up North. You can definitely see why Ben Aaronovitch blurbed it.
It's a cool story. Feels a tiny bit "undercooked", but there's a great potential. I'm not setting myself a publication date reminder for the next one, but I'll pick it up.

Kelsey Holtaway

I started off really liking this. And while I was a bit bummed to see that the title is a bit misleading, I did think the concept and direction seemed cool. But then the plot kept changing directions, so I never really fully understood what we were doing or even getting a good feel for the worldbuilding. 

This is definitely adventurous, I adored the main character and how she took on various challenges, and I'm looking forward to the continuation of this series. I just think it needed a little something extra, but I would say it's still worth the read.

"An absolute delight . . . kept me totally hooked." – Genevieve Cogman, bestselling author of The Invisible Library Sixth Sense meets Stranger Things in T. L. Huchu's The Library of the Dead, a sharp contemporary fantasy following a precocious and cynical teen as she explores the shadowy magical underside of modern Edinburgh. WHEN GHOSTS TALK SHE WILL LISTEN Ropa dropped out of school to become a ghostalker – and they sure do love to talk. Now she speaks to Edinburgh’s dead, carrying messages to those they left behind. A girl’s gotta earn a living, and it seems harmless enough. Until, that is, the dead whisper that someone’s bewitching children – leaving them husks, empty of joy and strength. It’s on Ropa’s patch, so she feels honor-bound to investigate. But what she learns will rock her world. Ropa will dice with death as she calls on Zimbabwean magic and Scottish pragmatism to hunt down clues. And although underground Edinburgh hides a wealth of dark secrets, she also discovers an occult library, a magical mentor and some unexpected allies. Yet as shadows lengthen, will the hunter become the hunted? "A fast-moving and entertaining tale, beautifully written." – Ben Aaronovitch, bestselling author of Rivers of London At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Halsted Mencotti Bernard

Such a fun fantasy story! Can’t wait for the whole series. Do not miss this if you love occult libraries, Edinburgh, and smart, sarcastic protagonists who talk to ghosts.

"An absolute delight . . . kept me totally hooked." – Genevieve Cogman, bestselling author of The Invisible Library Sixth Sense meets Stranger Things in T. L. Huchu's The Library of the Dead, a sharp contemporary fantasy following a precocious and cynical teen as she explores the shadowy magical underside of modern Edinburgh. WHEN GHOSTS TALK SHE WILL LISTEN Ropa dropped out of school to become a ghostalker – and they sure do love to talk. Now she speaks to Edinburgh’s dead, carrying messages to those they left behind. A girl’s gotta earn a living, and it seems harmless enough. Until, that is, the dead whisper that someone’s bewitching children – leaving them husks, empty of joy and strength. It’s on Ropa’s patch, so she feels honor-bound to investigate. But what she learns will rock her world. Ropa will dice with death as she calls on Zimbabwean magic and Scottish pragmatism to hunt down clues. And although underground Edinburgh hides a wealth of dark secrets, she also discovers an occult library, a magical mentor and some unexpected allies. Yet as shadows lengthen, will the hunter become the hunted? "A fast-moving and entertaining tale, beautifully written." – Ben Aaronovitch, bestselling author of Rivers of London

Stephanie Vischer &
The Library of the Dead by T. L. Huchu

Reviews

Highlights

Join the club

Stephanie Vischer &The Library of the Dead by T. L. Huchu

Reviews

Highlights

Join the club

Stephanie Vischer &
The Library of the Dead by T. L. Huchu