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

I can't stick with this

I loved the first book. The narration was great. I read a lot of folks here who did not like the new narrator. At first, I tried to be open-minded. She is actually a pretty good voice actor. it is just that I was very accustomed to the first and I don't think the voices she chose are really appropriate to the story. The "valley girl muse" voice is intolerable for me to listen to even when the speed is increased.

It is a real shame because the concept of this series is pretty amazing.

An Original Story

I love libraries, reading and books. This is Book 2 about the library in Hell. There are 2 sections: the Unwritten Wing, full of stories never finished and The Arcane Wing, filled with mysterious and secret artifacts. The character development is superb. Clare, Hero, Rami and Brevity continue learning more about the nature of books and the various afterlifes. It is a clever and witty story.

A frolicking tale of discovery

I've come to enjoy A.J. Hackwith's slow burn books on...well, books. I loved the metaphors on stories and life and how authors and their books are interconnected. It's thought provoking and beautifully written 5/5 would highly recommend.

Hell’s Library Series

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

Quality Sequel

They changed narrators from the first book to this one. it took a bit of getting used to but not bad by any means. The different accents were better but I didn't care for some of the Male voices.

As far as sequels go, it felt properly tied into the second one without being a rehash or retelling.

Narration needs work

Love the content of the book and the story.

Read the reviews before listening and listened at 1.35x speed. It sounds like regular talking even at a faster speed, but even with that it was still sometimes difficult to listen and stay present in the story. The narrator's voice for Probity and Ramiel were cringy and exaggerated. Very different from the first narrator who made the voices distinct, but believable.

Don’t change narrators! 🤦🏽‍♀️

The narrator for this book is horrible. I’m struggling to get through it and may just return the book.

I’m glad I’m not the only one…

I’ve been talking about this book for weeks because of the change in narrator and how I was having such a hard time adjusting. Because I was so aghast with the narrator change, trying to get through the story was difficult. Unfortunately, people will only find this review after it’s too late. Don’t binge this series or actually read it. I believe it still has merit and is a good story, but the narrator performance along with minor character changes…. Make me write this review.

Creative!

I love the characters and how the story line expands around them. While listening all I could think about was how creative AJ Hackwith is. Thanks for taking me away!

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.