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The Book That Wouldn’t Burn

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What to expect

All books, no matter their binding, will fall to dust. The stories they carry may last longer. They might outlive the paper, the library, even the language in which they were first written.

The greatest story can reach the stars . . .

This is the start of an incredible new journey from the internationally bestselling author of Prince of Thorns, in which, though the pen may be mightier than the sword, blood will be spilled and cities burned…

Evar has lived his whole life trapped within a vast library, older than empires and larger than cities.

Livira has spent hers in a tiny settlement out on the Dust where nightmares stalk and no one goes.

The world has never noticed them.

That’s about to change.

As their stories spiral around each other, across worlds and time, each will unlock vast secrets about the world and themselves. This is a tale of truth and lies and hearts, and the blurring of one into another.

Critics Review

nPraise for Mark Lawrencen

‘An excellent writer’
George R.R. Martin, #1 SUNDAY and NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of GAME OF THRONES

‘Dark and relentless…A two in the morning page turner. Jaw-dropping’
Robin Hobb, the NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of THE ASSASSIN’S APPRENTICE

‘Excellent – on par with George R.R. Martin’
Conn Iggulden, author of GENGHIS

‘Mark Lawrence gets better with every book. It has a drive to it, a pulse, a gearshift that kicks higher and higher.’
Fantasy Book Review

‘This tale of knowledge and its cost flies by thanks to the gripping mystery and beautiful worldbuilding…readers will be desperate for more.’
Publishers Weekly

‘Lawrence works with many threads here, but none feels misused or insufficiently explored. Rather, the author unspools them masterfully, leaving behind a tightly woven tapestry that readers will ache to see finished even if they can predict one or two of the tale’s myriad twists and turns. Gripping, earnest, and impeccably plotted.’
Kirkus

User Reviews

Book 4.7
Narration 4.8
5.0
5.0
erstwhiley 06/08/2025
4.0
4.0
Barrie 14/07/2025
5.0
5.0
Love this book so much; really well read, too.
autumnpsyche 11/03/2025
4.0
5.0
I thoroughly enjoyed the premise of this book, although I did get a little lost along the way at points. The story threads all joined together in a really satisfying way in the end though, so stick with it!
megchaplin 20/02/2025
5.0
5.0
mia_josie 13/02/2024
5.0
5.0
I loved this!
Laurie 🐱 06/09/2023

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