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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
!!!!!
The Writing and the Worldbuilding
So I'm low-key freaking out a little because my current WIP has some parallels to this (afterlife, dead younger brother the female Mc wants to bring back to life somehow, and mystical access to memories through touch) and I know I can never top the Schwab, so wish me luck 🤞
The first few chapters of this really didn't do it for me, I must admit. They were slow and, frankly, a little boring, and I really didn't like the narration style very much at first. BUT! Once it grew on me, I ADORED EVERYTHING!!
It really kinda gave me Cruel Beauty vibes with a specific ghostly character and also some The Mortal Instruments vibes as well. I could almost taste the shapes of what would become her later books, like A Darker Shade of Magic and This Savage Song. The framework is all there and it's kinda amazing to see the earlier incarnations of what is kinda becoming Schwab's main theme.
The world is AWESOME! I love afterlife stories with a passion (like my doomed WIP). The characters and themes are so multidimensional! The mystery was masterful.
Me at the end:
I still have some holds barred on why those exposition-in-the-past sections were addressed to her grandfather, but maybe the sequel will shed some light. I liked them but didn't see the narrative significance.
The Characters
Mac: She's tough and sad and basically pretty great. Sometimes her constant evasion got on my nerves, but it was well characterized so it didn't bother me on a literary level. I really loved her arc.
Guyliner: He's the 2013 punk dream boat and honestly, I love him. He's so funny and his banter with Mackenzie really did it for me.
Owen: HANDS DOWN MY FAV LIKE OH MY GOSH SPENCER REID DID NOT SEE IT COMING
The other characters were all equally well developed and realistic. The Librarians were definitely the least developed for all the time we see them in the story, but I expect to go deeper in the next book.
Conclusion
I want a TV show pronto.
I suppose it doesn't matter how they get out. All that matters is they do. And when they do, they must be found. They must go back.
The Writing and the Worldbuilding
So I'm low-key freaking out a little because my current WIP has some parallels to this (afterlife, dead younger brother the female Mc wants to bring back to life somehow, and mystical access to memories through touch) and I know I can never top the Schwab, so wish me luck 🤞
The first few chapters of this really didn't do it for me, I must admit. They were slow and, frankly, a little boring, and I really didn't like the narration style very much at first. BUT! Once it grew on me, I ADORED EVERYTHING!!
It really kinda gave me Cruel Beauty vibes with a specific ghostly character and also some The Mortal Instruments vibes as well. I could almost taste the shapes of what would become her later books, like A Darker Shade of Magic and This Savage Song. The framework is all there and it's kinda amazing to see the earlier incarnations of what is kinda becoming Schwab's main theme.
The world is AWESOME! I love afterlife stories with a passion (like my doomed WIP). The characters and themes are so multidimensional! The mystery was masterful.
Me at the end:
I still have some holds barred on why those exposition-in-the-past sections were addressed to her grandfather, but maybe the sequel will shed some light. I liked them but didn't see the narrative significance.
Truths are messy and lies are messy, and I don’t care what Da said, it’s impossible to cut a person into pielike pieces, neat and tidy.
The Characters
Mac: She's tough and sad and basically pretty great. Sometimes her constant evasion got on my nerves, but it was well characterized so it didn't bother me on a literary level. I really loved her arc.
Guyliner: He's the 2013 punk dream boat and honestly, I love him. He's so funny and his banter with Mackenzie really did it for me.
Owen: HANDS DOWN MY FAV LIKE OH MY GOSH SPENCER REID DID NOT SEE IT COMING
The other characters were all equally well developed and realistic. The Librarians were definitely the least developed for all the time we see them in the story, but I expect to go deeper in the next book.
I want the things most people don’t notice. The ring and the key and the way you have of wearing everything on the inside.
Conclusion
I want a TV show pronto.
A little bit slow, but it got better toward the end. I still really enjoyed it and the concept was fascinating.
Mackenzie inherited the job of Keeper from her grandfather. It is the duty of Keepers to round up Histories (ghosts) when they grow restless and manage to escape the vaults of the Archives, where the Librarians keep their life stories from disappearing. The escape of a History is a fairly rare occurrence, but recently, more and more have been able to move to the in-between world between the Archives and our Outer, and Mackenzie has her hands full. The first third of the story moves fairly slowly as Schwab builds her world, but as Mackenzie and Librarian Roland begin to realize that something is amiss and that the increase in escaped Histories is an inside job, the pace picks up: she must decide who to trust. And trusting the wrong person could mean her death or the disappearance of her own memories. Against the backdrop of this very original world, Mackenzie and her parents are dealing with the recent death of her younger brother, and Schwab skillfully weaves in Mackenzie's moral struggle over whether she can use her position as Keeper to see Ben again. A great series opener.
Another favorite to date!
Thanks to Ms. Victoria Schwab for writing this fascinating novel - great plot, great concept, great characters, overall uniqueness and twists. This book deserves more than 5 stars! :)
The Archived brought me various emotions while reading every chapter. For instance, the flashbacks continually developed the story from the start until the end breaking one mystery after another while the present world with the protagonist showed clear descriptions of both suspense and action as I unlocked the doors to the living and the dead. The hunts, conversations between Histories and seeing their past life brought images on my mind so clear I felt I'm putting myself in the protagonist's shoes.
Characters. Characters are strong and showed their dominance throughout the events. The most dominant of course is our 15-year-old heroine, Mackenzie Bishop who became a Keeper when she's 12 after her grandfather Da passed on the talent to her before he died. Mac is undeniably strong-willed and smart since training because she showed unusual strength by being able to hunt the Histories since then. Her willingness to find justice for her little brother's death and Da's legacy as a keeper was impressive because that made her go through doors and face the strongest Histories without flinching while having to face and fight with them weaponless.
Keepers are the ones who hunt Histories (or in normal world, we call it ghosts/souls) that when people die, leave patterns and these patterns are then stored and archived thus making a copy of the dead in a place called The Archive. This serves as the dead's chamber of protection so when they slip and wake from their shelves, they have to be hunted and returned.
Roland – a Librarian, (2 notches higher than a Keeper), shows a likable character because he's strict yet he has sympathy to understand what's fair and not. He follows orders from the other higher ranks yet he has a heart to balance things from right and wrong.
Patrick – another Librarian but newer and younger than Roland, I hate him for always doubting Mac's skills and trying to report her to the higher ranks.
Wesley – fun to be with and a gentleman then turned protective when he felt an unexpected attraction with Mac. He's young yet Ms. Schwab created this character to be seen as mature enough to accompany the protagonist and be with her throughout the journeys.
Hunting Histories. I can't help but think of Anna Dressed In Blood and how Cas Lowood hunted the dead to stop them from killing the living and send them to where they should be (outside of the living world). With Mac's case, it's not about fixing the murders the dead has done but returning the Histories for their peace and protection.
Overall, it's hands-down a great book! Thanks also to Katy for recommending this over Youtube and for my Lost Souls challenge. Looking forward to Unbound!
Thanks to Ms. Victoria Schwab for writing this fascinating novel - great plot, great concept, great characters, overall uniqueness and twists. This book deserves more than 5 stars! :)
The Archived brought me various emotions while reading every chapter. For instance, the flashbacks continually developed the story from the start until the end breaking one mystery after another while the present world with the protagonist showed clear descriptions of both suspense and action as I unlocked the doors to the living and the dead. The hunts, conversations between Histories and seeing their past life brought images on my mind so clear I felt I'm putting myself in the protagonist's shoes.
Characters. Characters are strong and showed their dominance throughout the events. The most dominant of course is our 15-year-old heroine, Mackenzie Bishop who became a Keeper when she's 12 after her grandfather Da passed on the talent to her before he died. Mac is undeniably strong-willed and smart since training because she showed unusual strength by being able to hunt the Histories since then. Her willingness to find justice for her little brother's death and Da's legacy as a keeper was impressive because that made her go through doors and face the strongest Histories without flinching while having to face and fight with them weaponless.
Keepers are the ones who hunt Histories (or in normal world, we call it ghosts/souls) that when people die, leave patterns and these patterns are then stored and archived thus making a copy of the dead in a place called The Archive. This serves as the dead's chamber of protection so when they slip and wake from their shelves, they have to be hunted and returned.
Roland – a Librarian, (2 notches higher than a Keeper), shows a likable character because he's strict yet he has sympathy to understand what's fair and not. He follows orders from the other higher ranks yet he has a heart to balance things from right and wrong.
Patrick – another Librarian but newer and younger than Roland, I hate him for always doubting Mac's skills and trying to report her to the higher ranks.
Wesley – fun to be with and a gentleman then turned protective when he felt an unexpected attraction with Mac. He's young yet Ms. Schwab created this character to be seen as mature enough to accompany the protagonist and be with her throughout the journeys.
Hunting Histories. I can't help but think of Anna Dressed In Blood and how Cas Lowood hunted the dead to stop them from killing the living and send them to where they should be (outside of the living world). With Mac's case, it's not about fixing the murders the dead has done but returning the Histories for their peace and protection.
Overall, it's hands-down a great book! Thanks also to Katy for recommending this over Youtube and for my Lost Souls challenge. Looking forward to Unbound!
Sería un 2.5
Me encanta la idea del archivo, como funciona y esas cosas, pero hay dos inconvenientes para mi y esas son:
Mackenzie y Owen.
Owen me pareció muy meh, sin nada que resaltar realmente. Cada que salía sentía que cortaba mi interés en el libro y quería que sus escenas acabaran pronto
Y Mackenzie es la protagonista, le tenía mucha esperanza, se entreno y se preparo para este trabajo con Da, quien fue una de sus personas mas amadas y la cual le tuvo mucha fe, pero no logró entender que sea muy ingenua (¿o solo a mi me dió esa impresión?). Aunque al final hizo algo que para mi estuvo muy correcto de hacer y me hizo subir mi expectativa en ella.
Y el único que quiero realmente rasaltar aquí es Wesley. Es tan gratificante en los libros que haya personajes con cárisma y buena vibra; creo que sería bueno que hicieran protagonistas así para variar de los protas serios.
O bueno, tal vez yo sea la persona a quien se le díficulta encontrar personajes principales que caigan bien.
Espero empezar con el segundo libro (y que me guste mas) pronto, tengo una necesidad de leer mas a Victoria Schwab.
Me encanta la idea del archivo, como funciona y esas cosas, pero hay dos inconvenientes para mi y esas son:
Mackenzie y Owen.
Owen me pareció muy meh, sin nada que resaltar realmente. Cada que salía sentía que cortaba mi interés en el libro y quería que sus escenas acabaran pronto
Y Mackenzie es la protagonista, le tenía mucha esperanza, se entreno y se preparo para este trabajo con Da, quien fue una de sus personas mas amadas y la cual le tuvo mucha fe, pero no logró entender que sea muy ingenua (¿o solo a mi me dió esa impresión?). Aunque al final hizo algo que para mi estuvo muy correcto de hacer y me hizo subir mi expectativa en ella.
Y el único que quiero realmente rasaltar aquí es Wesley. Es tan gratificante en los libros que haya personajes con cárisma y buena vibra; creo que sería bueno que hicieran protagonistas así para variar de los protas serios.
O bueno, tal vez yo sea la persona a quien se le díficulta encontrar personajes principales que caigan bien.
Espero empezar con el segundo libro (y que me guste mas) pronto, tengo una necesidad de leer mas a Victoria Schwab.
It's rare that I say this, but I really feel like The Archived book series would be even better as television/streaming series.
As I was reading, I kept saying that it was definitely giving me "late '90s WB teen series" vibes, so it wasn't surprising to discover that it had been picked up a few years ago by the CW. Unfortunately, it seems like Covid and other reasons made the series never come to fruition, but I still think this would make a totally binge-worthy teen drama series.
As I was reading, I kept saying that it was definitely giving me "late '90s WB teen series" vibes
Spoiler
(I mean, c'mon...that whole end scene with Owen was VERY Buffy-kills-Angel, was it not?)
A really intriguing concept with a couple good twists throughout and entertaining banter and an easy to follow writing style, but for me it lacked investment to the story. Glad I picked it up, (especially for this time of year, I feel like it's a pretty good fall read if you're not looking for something super spoopy
it took me a little while to get into this book but one i did i was HOOKED and i loved it :’)
Wesley slayed so hard with the eyeliner
Wesley slayed so hard with the eyeliner
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Grief
Minor: Violence
I really enjoyedthe concept of this book and the pacing of the story! Can't wait to pick book two.