The Archive of the Forgotten

A Novel from Hell's Library, Book 2

By: A. J. Hackwith

Narrated by: Bahni Turpin

Length: 13 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's Summary

In the second installment of this richly imagined fantasy adventure series, a new threat from within the Library could destroy those who depend upon it the most.

The Library of the Unwritten in Hell was saved from total devastation, but hundreds of potential books were destroyed. Former librarian Claire and Brevity the muse feel the loss of those stories and are trying to adjust to their new roles within the Arcane Wing and Library, respectively. But when the remains of those books begin to leak a strange ink, Claire realizes that the Library has kept secrets from Hell - and from its own librarians. 

Claire and Brevity are immediately at odds in their approach to the ink, and the potential power that it represents has not gone unnoticed. When a representative from the Muses Corps arrives at the Library to advise Brevity, the angel Rami and the erstwhile Hero hunt for answers in other realms. The true nature of the ink could fundamentally alter the afterlife for good or ill, but it entirely depends on who is left to hold the pen.

©2020 A. J. Hackwith (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Terrible New Narrator

I don’t know why they got a new narrator but I simply cannot listen to her. Her accents are truly terrible and she is so, so slow. I was so excited for this book but now I think that I’m just going to have to read a physical copy instead of listening because the narrator is so bad I can’t get through it.

I got through it at 1.5 speed

This book is very different from the first. The narrator is different, and I had a difficult time getting used to her. Her English accent kept slipping. It wasn’t as noticeable at 1.5 speed. But the main difference is the essence of the book. It’s not the adventure book like the first one. Now it’s all about the feelings of the four characters trapped in a confined space. No one does anything without contemplating their navel first. On and on it goes, exploring each being’s feelings about themselves, about each other, about the existential nature of books. One of the characters has been labeled a Terrible Person, but it doesn’t mesh with what I remember from the first book. It’s as if I missed a book somewhere in between where far darker deeds were done. I blame the editor for not insisting that 75% of the feelings crap be removed. And why oh why didn’t someone count up the number of times that someone’s smile “grows soft” and remove at least 13 of them? I won’t be sticking around for a third book.

Pause before starting Book 2

You'll read many reviews here about the jolting differences between Book 1 and Book 2. They're not wrong. If you've just finished Book 1, then pause before starting Book 2. The different narrators and their interpretations of voices will throw you right off. So wait until you've forgotten about Book 1. Overall the writing and the story is just as beautiful as the first book.

Book great, narration awful!

I loved the story but I have no idea why they changed the narrator from the first book! This new narrator is awful. The character voices are so different from the first it is very hard to get into the book. The reading is stilted and has a very odd cadence. I truly hope they bring the narrator back from the first book for any further books. Very disappointed.

Fell a bit short for me

I wish they didn’t change the narrator. I was really looking forward to this sequel but am disappointed. The print version might be a better option, as I couldn’t get past the narration.

Hell’s Library Series

These are captivating , creative, and wonderful books. Please Oh Please let there be a third book!

Hard to get through

The story is extremely slow to start. The narrator did not help the slow plodding pace . Made it to chapter 20 only by increasing the book speed to 2x.

I love the IDEA of the story and the characters. But the story developed so slowly and the characters became so irritating.

horrible narrator!

this narrator has ruined this book for me .....returning it asap . I hope they get the book re done by Lisa Flanagan

Narrator is horribly annoying

Voice of muses are terrible. Narrator of the other book in the series was far more compelling. Ok

Not as good as book 1

I loved the first story and the wonderful imagery the author painted of hell, as well as the other realms the characters visited. I feel like they just kind of phoned this story in... Way too much time spent on details of the library and leaving all of the action to the was risky, as I almost gave up before things got good.

Despite all of this, I would read a third installment with these characters in the library of the unwritten.

A slow start followed by a slow Middle

Disappointingly dull. I gave up after a few chapters. Not a lot happening in this story