The Book That Broke the World

By: Mark Lawrence

Narrated by: Jessica Whittaker

Two people living in a world connected by an immense and mysterious library must fight for those they love in the second book in a new trilogy from the international bestselling author of The Book That Wouldn’t Burn.

The Library spans worlds and times. It touches and joins distant places. It is memory and future. And amid its vastness Evar Eventari both found, and lost, Livira Page.

Evar has been forced to flee the library, driven before an implacable foe. Livira, trapped in a ghost world, has to recover the book she wrote—one which is the only true threat to the library’s existence—if she's to return to her life.

While Evar's journey leads him outside into a world he's never seen, Livira's path will taker her deep inside her own writing, where she must wrestle with her stories in order to reclaim the volume in which they were written.

The secret war that defines the library has chosen its champions and set them on the board. The time has come when they must fight for what they believe, or lose everything.

Critic reviews

"Lawrence makes the intertwining stories fascinating and propulsive, with enough scattered clues and shocking twists to keep the pages flying. This will keep readers up long past their bedtime." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"This is a wonderfully immersive fantasy whose meta message, about the power of books to change the world, is not to be missed." - Library Journal

"Mark Lawrence strikes the perfect balance between intellect and heart in this second volume of his Library Trilogy." - Grimdark Magazine

"This is Lawrence at this best....absolutely brilliant book, go, read." - SFF Reviews

Praise for The Book That Wouldn't Burn:

“The most tightly plotted novel I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading…it’s truly magnificent.” – BookRiot

“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 (starred review)

"Gripping, earnest, and impeccably plotted." – Kirkus (starred review)

"A fantastic setting, a feisty heroine, and hints of a deeper mystery that calls to mind the depths of Frank Herbert's Dune and its intertwined cultural and religious issues." – Library Journal

"Reading Mark Lawrence's latest novel, The Book that Wouldn't Burn, feels like having your mind blown in slow motion." - Grimdark Magazine

Good but not as good as the first

I enjoyed the story greatly but again like the first it dragged a bit toward the end and the finish was satisfying except for a major mistake no found by the editors

Mid

Pretty mid nothing really wowed me. Last half of the book dragged and was confusing.

Brilliant

I was so excited for this book. I could live in this world and get lost in the story. There’s so much to explore. I look forward to what comes next.

A Great Listen

I'll start with the bad: this wasn't as good as the first book. This felt like a middle book to me; some necessary expansion of the world and characters leading into the final book. But it didn't get its hooks as deep into me as the first, and was just "good" until bringing it together in the end. Of course, I still really enjoyed it, needed to know what happened, and can't wait for the next step. It's a testament to how much I liked the first book that this book fell short and was still a 5-star book. So if the author could just use the exchange to influence the first book and make it worse, this one might look better? In all seriousness, definitely my favorite world and concept from Mr. Lawrence so far.

Love Mark Lawrence

It’s a great seres. Narrator in general is great, but her continuos mispronunciation of “automaton” drove me crazy.