It’s a rich backdrop upon which to hang characters and narrative, exploring the sneaky politics of Heaven versus Hell and the realities of life for all involved. Along with weaponised words and a thought-provoking dynamic between potential authors and their creations there’s also a fallen angel desperate to find a way back into God’s good books, damsels learning to overcome their written-in boundaries, a variety of cruel and unusual afterlives, and an institution in the Library – technically neutral and sitting apart from the Heaven and Hell rivalry – which is practically built of grey areas. The inter-dimensional library idea isn’t new but it is deeply appealing to those of us who really love books, and Hackwith builds a tantalising world out of mythology and religious imagery through the ages alongside the expected clever literary allusions. This is one of those stories with a perfect combination of elements – a cleverly-constructed world of magical realism drawing upon themes and ideas that just feel right together relatable, flawed characters who jump off the page right from the start before following appropriate, satisfying arcs and a neat, pacy, action-packed plot which ties everything together. Venturing to Earth in search of a runaway hero before he can do too much damage to his author, Claire and Brevity – along with jittery demon Leto – find themselves unwitting players in a plot which threatens the library’s impartiality and risks inciting a new war between angels and demons. Every story left untold resides in the Unwritten Wing of Hell’s library (it’s a tenant, more than an actual part of Hell), protected and guarded against by the head librarian, Claire, and her assistant Brevity. Hackwith’s fantasy novel The Library of the Unwritten reveals a wonderful world of demons, angels, librarians, heroes and villains.

A book about the power of storytelling and the nature of stories both told and untold, A.J.

The library of the unwritten series