The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith (2019)
In the first book in a brilliant new fantasy series, books that aren't finished by their authors reside in the Library of the Unwritten in Hell, and it is up to the Librarian to track down any restless characters who emerge from those unfinished stories.
Many years ago, Claire is a Magic Librarian of the Unwritten Wing—a neutral space in Hell where all the stories unfinished by their authors reside. Her job consists mainly of repairing and organizing books, but also of keeping an eye on restless stories that risk materializing as characters and escaping the library. When a Hero escapes from his book and goes in search of his author, Claire must track and capture him with the help of former muse and current assistant Brevity and nervous demon courier Leto.
But what should have been a simple retrieval goes horrifyingly wrong when the terrifyingly angelic Ramiel attacks them, convinced that they hold the Devil's Bible. The text of the Devil's Bible is a powerful weapon in the power struggle between Heaven and Hell, so it falls to the librarians to find a book with the power to reshape the boundaries between Heaven, Hell ... and Earth.
Sequel: The Archive of the Forgotten(2020)
Warning for spoilers.
The Library of the Unwritten contains examples of:
- Ambiguously Brown: Claire and Leto (in mortal form) are frequently described as having brown skin and curly hair.
- And I Must Scream: Andras gets trapped in his own sword for eternity. Gregor gets "killed" by Claire.
- Inverted Trope: Sort of the premise of the whole story.
- Hero is not actually the hero (of both his unfinished book & this actual story) and the irony is actually pointed out.
- The "Damsel Suite" is actually not for the Damsel in Distress archetype, but for escaped characters of any gender and character trope/type. Most of them also volunteered to defend the library when it was under attack.
- The angels aren't exactly angelic and the people in Hell, both demons and nondemons, are not that evil.
- Magical Library: This starts in a library in hell which houses unwritten books. The Magic Librarians are damned souls that could have been great authors but never fulfilled their potential. They are charged with making sure that the unwritten stories don’t escape the collective unconsciousness and enter reality.
- Resurrective Immortality:
- Most of the cast is already dead, so they can't die again. Except when it comes to the forbidden words.
- Escaped characters also don't die — they just need to make sure their unfinished book is intact.
- Words Can Break My Bones: In the trial battle between Byord and Claire while they're in Valhalla. The duel is conducted via shouting literary quotes at each other, that physically hurt them.
- Writer's Block: If the Unwritten library shuts down, that means everyone in the real world goes through writer's block.
