Mark Lawrence’s The Book That Held Her Heart, Review: Page turner

The Book That Held Her Heart is the final thrilling title in Mark Lawrence’s thought-provoking fantasy adventure trilogy, The Library. Read my full review and top book quotes.

My Review

Wow… Days later I am still recovering from turning the final page of this very impressive fantasy trilogy, The Library. Mark Lawrence weaves so much meaning into his superb writing, that I will be processing this series conclusion for some time. But, here goes my attempt at capturing the highlights of my reading experience without giving away spoilers.

Book 1, The Book That Wouldn’t Burn, topped my Best Books of 2023 list. I was utterly captivated by gutsy child heroine Livira and Lawrence’s wonderful characterisation and evocative scene depiction. As Livira grows and matures into a young woman, so does the reader’s world view, appreciation for its intricacies, diversity and challenges, and our investment in the strong dramatic threads being woven.

In Book 2, The Book That Broke the World, leads Livira and Evar share the spotlight as readers follow the plights of, and relationships amongst, characters that were once secondary along with some fascinating new ones. This broadens readers’ understanding of the machinations of the city, The Library and the ‘epic’ overarching historical timeline. This second title is very much a story for adults, with the now grown-up characters frequently finding themselves amid disturbing and distressing scenes vividly depicted.

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While injustice and inequity were tackled in Book 1, the overwhelming atmosphere was one of exploration, possibility and awe-inspiring wonder. In Book 2 the mood turns to the great responsibility that comes with wisdom, the opportunities lost by judging books/people by their covers, and the lasting and far-reaching impact of classifying someone as our enemy. There remains poignantly-timed banter to add levity where needed though. Book 2’s conclusion is just as traumatic as the first novel’s, but this time the core character set are split into three different camps both physically and ideologically.

Book 3, The Book That Held Her Heart, begins with those three story strands. Then, Lawrence quite ambitiously overlays the concept of countless variations of worlds onto the already complex multi-world timeline matrix. While there were sound thematic reasons and it proves fertile ground for demonstrating some powerful and profound life lessons, it does mean further storyline fragmentation. And, not all of these story threads have the same level of gravitas and propulsion.

Mark Lawrence’s decision to connect his epic fantasy world back to our own with one of the story threads in The Book That Held Her Heart will polarise opinion.

“Her grandfather said that evil men sought to use any difference to create fear, distrust, and hatred, all of which they would employ to advance their own position.”

Ultimately, I landed in favour of this decision, given the current societal context. For me, this was one of the most striking and powerful story threads amongst a veritable sea of emotions in this conclusion.

There was a point in The Book That Held Her Heart where I held grave concerns as to how Lawrence would manage to resolve things. The storytelling scale and stage was so big, there were so many challenges in view.

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Ending any tale was an exercise in narrowing possibility, closing off maybes, until in one moment every thread that had been seeded passed through the eye of the same needle.

From Books 1 and 2, I knew not to expect a complete ‘Disney’ happy ending, but amidst such gut-wrenching tragedy and destruction we also needed a light on the hill.

She knew now that the dust surrounding them was the stuff into which every past triumph of mankind had been pounded. Glorious civilisations pulverised by their own hubris, wrecked by the seeds of violence that they bore within them, and that technology could not erase..

And yes, storyline-wise in Book 3 Lawrence does give those who love books and respect the power of the written word a measure of resolution and comfort in those things enduring.

“Choosing a book should be a private business, conducted in the secrecy of the aisles, not on display for strangers’ judgment.”

The Library trilogy, like all memorably moving literature, challenges us to confront our biases, consider others perspectives and, one can only hope, learn from past wrongs. But this series will particularly speak to those with an affinity for the art of writing and storytelling, with little meta fiction treasures scattered throughout for keen eyed readers.

More bestselling fiction by Mark Lawrence:

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Click on book covers for full reviews of each novel.