The Book Report Episode #46
Episode #45
Overdue By Mark Lawrence
The Book
This is the first book I have reviewed where the book is not sold physically. But as an ebook on Amazon. The book was released on the 27th of June 2023. The story has 46 pages.
What Did I Think
This has been classed as book 1.5 and is a short story inserted between the first and second books of the Library Trilogy. And is a separate story from the main plot line.
The story is set between a few bookshops in different periods of time. I am guessing about thirty or so, plus years. However, it does not say at what point in the main story this happens.
They may not be the busiest of shops in the world. But the owners live their lives, selling and mixing with an assortment of people who enter their humble abode. But this is a variety of people connecting over the loss, love, regret, friendship and possible futures.
Each bookshop has a “living” visitor of the animal variety who hangs around, and nobody knows where they came from or where they run off to. The owners of the bookshelves seem to be special because they buy, look after, and sell a small collection of rare and old unwanted books. This is probably why the Library and the Exchange are connected to them.
Characters I Know
Yute enters the story by entering the shops. And is the only main character from the main story in this short. He is on a quest. He never divulges, what the quest is, but always leaves with the animals relaxing, out through to the back of the bookshop. Back to the Exchange. Yute is a person of the Exchange. The Exchange is an area of doorways leading to various points in time of a single timeline.
This also confirms to me that the trilogy is set on Earth.
We get a description of Yute that didn’t appear in the first book. Which may also be a connection to what the Assistants look like. (Spoilers) Yute was an assistant but felt the need to transform into a human.
The animals are the helpers/ guides of the library. And I have always liked the idea of the various animals being book location guides. However, don’t mess with the books or they will be pissed at you.
This helped me reconnect with the first book. It has been a while since I read the first book and I am excited to read the next short story: Renew. Before moving on to book 2: The Book That Broke The World.
Would I Recommend
I would definitely recommend it. I am sad there is no physical copy available to add to my future library. If you get a chance to. And enjoy a short story to pass the time. Give this book a go. And if you haven’t yet, give the first book: The Book That Wouldn’t Burn, a go. It is long, but a great read.
Would you like to purchase your very own copy?
