Reviews with content warning for Body horror - The Library of the Dead

Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Library of the Dead by T.L. Huchu

34 reviews

aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

3.5

I didn't love it, but I like it enough to want to read the sequel.
I think Ropa, Priya, and Ropa's family are good characters but some of the story I sort of glanced through without actually reading. I felt there was a lot of the book that was just written to fill space. I know for some people, they need all the imagery or details, but for me it can slow the story down.

Content Warnings

atlantiareads's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

The Library of the Dead was not my typical read, but was a nice change of pace. Theres a good mystery and great cast of characters. I found this book to quite creept at times. Even though the main character is 14, this book i feel like is definitely better suited to an older age range.
Overall i felt the first 130 pages were too slow and were difficult to get through. Truthfully consideted dnf'ing.

I feel like learning more about the greatly detailed magic system and spending more time in the hidden library would have brought me more enjoyment with this book.

Unsure if I will continue on to book 2.

Content Warnings

lefthandlou's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Content Warnings

bzliz's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

This was really hard for me to get into. The premise is intriguing- a girl who delivers messages for the dead gets caught up in solving a series of kidnappings- but I was severely hindered by the multitude of slang words and phrases dripping off every page. I can’t even decipher which ones are part of this post-catastrophe world or which ones are just Scottish.

The magic system used is a lot more analytical and mathematical than I tend to prefer. The characters are pretty frustrating since no one ever explains anything and they all just exist in a perpetual state of trying to seem cool.

I don’t think I’ll be continuing this series for my own sanity.

Content Warnings

oldladysadie's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I absolutely love Ropa, her Gran and her Zimbabwean magic using the mbira. I wish we got more of that, or at least saw more of the Scottish magic system in use throughout the book.

At times, it felt like this book was trying to be two different stories at once. There was the supernatural mystery with Nicola and the search for Ollie, and there was the titular Library of the Dead (which didn’t factor into the main narrative nearly as much as I expected going in, given it’s the title of the novel).

I still feel like Ropa, Priya and their respective magics are a breath of fresh air, and will most likely read further in the series. I hope future installments spend more time exploring the magic systems that have been set up, though, and that we get more time with the side characters to really get to know them.

Content Warnings

pvbobrien's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

Content Warnings

nytephoenyx's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

The Library Of the Dead was a tricky book because there are a lot of interesting things, but I struggled with the execution. The book is written in first person with a lot of slang, which is fine, but the protagonist rambles. It has a very “inner monologue” feel and it slowed down the narrative. Add to that: the library mentioned in the title only appears in a couple chapters, and the plot didn’t really get going until halfway through the book, and this was a struggle for me.

The magical concepts were interesting, but the system was infodumped and the protagonist’s explanation came off a bit impatient with the whole thing. I still haven’t nailed down the time period (futuristic but with loads of contemporary pop culture references?). The descriptions of magic were good and the plot was interesting, but delivery was simplified and overly lucky.

In general, the book was interesting to read, but a bit too messy to hold my interest for a re-read or continuation.

Content Warnings