In a near dystopian future in Scotland, Ropafadzo “Ropa” Moyo, a 15-year-old ghostalker uses her skills to bring in what little money she can to help support her grandmother and younger sister, Izwi. During her normal rounds, she meets a desperate mother named Nicola Stuart. She has no money, but she is determined to find out what happened to her son, Oliver. Shortly before Nicola passed away, Ollie and his friend Mark disappeared and only Mark returned. The deeper Ropa digs, the stranger the story gets. Soon, she finds herself in the middle of it all.

I really enjoyed this story! When I first started it, I was unaware it was the first of a series. It does read like the first of a series, where it sets up further events, but it also has a story all on its own. I absolutely love Ropa. She’s a strong, stubborn girl who loves her family more than anything. While we only meet other characters briefly, I love the secondary characters as well and can’t wait to meet more of them.

While really enjoying the story, I still wanted more! I feel like parts of the story weren’t completely fleshed out, but I definitely plan on continuing the series. I can’t wait to see more of the Library, learn more about the magic system, and get to know more about Ropa and her past.

Thank you to Net Galley, Tor Books, and TL Huchu for this advanced review copy!

I saw the blurb for this book, and I was definitely intrigued. I guess I didn’t read close enough because this book has a 14-year-old protagonist and is a post-apocalyptic story, albeit not a big one, and those are two strikes against if for me. I kept reading, and I found the writing to be very wordy, almost so much so that I stopped reading. I hate giving up on a book, so I kept reading. Even after completing quite a few chapters, I still wasn’t very invested in the book, not Ropa and not what happened. I still felt confused about some things, and I don’t really want to read further to find out. This book really wasn’t for me, but I think that some would find this a great book, so it’s me, not you (the book). LOL!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing the e-arc to me. When I first read the synopsis for this book, I was intrigued because I enjoy paranormal stories and love the city of Edinburgh. What I didn’t know is that I was getting into something much grittier than expected, but I appreciate the darkness of this story.

The Library of the Dead is set in the near future where the rich are wealthy and the poor are nearly penniless. So much so, it feels like a dystopian world. We follow the main character trying to survive in a place that is working against her at every turn, but thankfully she has a unique gift that allows her to make some cash. She can talk to ghosts and delivers their messages to the living.

I recommend this book to readers who enjoy ghost stories and haunted houses. The story does a good job balancing the character’s day-to-day life and integrating the mystery into the plot. Although the library didn’t play as big of a role as I expected. I enjoyed how the ghosts play an integral part in this story and I liked the interactions between them and the main character. This is a great book for the spooky season and I look forward to continuing the series!

Notable Highlights:
-A diverse cast of characters
-Ropa as the main character is brave, sarcastic, and determined
-The Zimbabwean magic is imaginative and well described
-Ghosts and paranormal activity is at the forefront
-Creepy vibes but in the best way

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free eArc of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

My favourite arc I've received so far! The Library of the Dead was such a fun story with a spunky, easy to root for protagonist. I loved the dark atmosphere of Edinburgh, it's always been a bucket list place for me as my family is Scottish, and reading about it was so fun! The concepts the author invented for this story were really interesting, the writing is very strong, and I thought the world-building was handled perfectly. If I had any complaints it would be that it took be a little while to get into, and I thought that the plot was a bit predictable. I think this book is going to appeal to a wide variety of readers, and I'm definitely going to looking for the next in the series.

In an alternative dystopian future, Ropa is a poor girl living in the slums of Scotland, who works as a ghosttalker. The story really kicks off when Ropa finds a secret library and gets roped into a grand magical scheme. While there was this great distinct voice for Ropa, and a super creative dystopia look at Scotland, I did find myself confused and constantly trying to figure out how things worked out in this fictional world. Because it took me so long to figure it out (about 100 pages to be honest) I did not feel attached to the story overall. Main character was well developed, and I loved Ropa’s family but at 600 pages I felt like the book was overwhelming since it was so hard to figure out some of the world building.

Ropa speaks to the dead of Edinburgh, charging the living for messages from the dead. It’s not the most glamorous job, but she gets by. When one of the dead starts bewitching children, stealing their essence, their joy, Ropa feels honor bound to investigate, but what she discovers might change everything. She’ll have to use her Scottish pragmatism and Zimbabwean magic to track down the culprit. While hunting clues, she discovers an occult library and finds some helpful allies in the process.

I jumped back and forth between the print and audio version of this book, and it was a decent way to spend the afternoon. I love ghost stuff, and Ropa’s adventure was a nice distracting from my boring day at work. It moves lightning quick and is written in casual, common language imitating how you’d relay a story to your best friend, which made me more comfortable with and endeared to Ropa.

I’m always up for some occult exploration and I enjoyed the concept of ghost talking. Though not the most compelling book I’ve read this year, I still recommend it for some creepy and atmospheric fun.

The Library of the Dead is the first novel in the Edinburgh Nights. This novel is set in Edinburgh (duh!) and it takes on a very dystopian, near-future, urban SFF theme. I would probably place this as more speculative fiction than dystopian, but it does talk about a catastrophe It follows the nearly 15 year old Ropa as she works as a ghosttalker to support her elderly grandmother and younger sister, Izwi. While Ropa is earning her cash to afford the lease of the ground her family's caravan is at, her grandmother's medication, and all the food and supplies they need to survive, she encounters a ghost who begs her to look into the disappearance of her son so that she can rest in peace. When Ropa finally decides to look into it, she finds a mystery that it seems only she is determined to find out; children disappearing without a trace, a new drug, her magic, and a mysterious library her friend now works at...

Ropa is quite the character. She has so much responsibility thrust on her young shoulders and she takes that responsibility very seriously. Looking out for herself and her family before anyone else. She's not the one you would ask to help you out of the goodness of her heart. She'll help you, but she expects to be paid for her trouble. She does have a secret heart of gold though. She puts her sister and grandmother ahead of herself, and as she grows, she looks beyond what she can be paid for a job. She is a strong character with lots of sarcasm and pure logical thought; that being said, she does have flaws and faults and is not one of those strong heroines that can do no wrong.

Huchu does a great job in the writing once the story gets going. It took a few chapters to immerse into the book completely. He mixes the cultures of Ropa's heritage and other character's heritage so well. I also really appreciate the science aspect of magic. Writing magic with a scientific feel could definitely feel wrong, but in this case it's woven so well that it feels right. Once the story gets going, the plot takes a more of a thriller/suspense type feel. There is a lot of mystery and tension as Ropa discovers more of what going on. I definitely enjoyed the novel and am looking forward to the next novel in the Edinburgh Nights series. This book is definitely for those fans of speculative fiction, dystopian novels, gothic vibes, or for those readers who like to read books that embrace a number of genres.

I would like to thank NetGalley and publisher, Tor Books for sending me a free copy for my fair and honest review.

The Library of the Dead by T.L Huchu is the first in the Edinburgh Nights Fantasy series.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the Publisher Macmillan/Tor-Forge, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions are my own.


Series Information:
Ropa is 14, and she dropped out of school to become a ghostalker.  She speaks to Edinburgh's dead, carrying their messages to those still living.  She lives with her grandmother and younger sister Izwi in a trailer park, as it is all they can afford.  Times are tough, but so is Ropa. Her grandmother is trying to teach her elemental magic, but Ropa is struggling.  There are many who know the ways of magic in this day and age, but there are many rules.


My Synopsis:   (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Ropa is struggling to pay the bills.  Rent, groceries, her Gran's medicine, her sister's schooling....it all adds up.   She is good at her job,  delivering messages between the living and the dead, but she has strict rules that she will only do this for those that can pay.    Meanwhile, her Grandmother is trying to teach her elemental magic, but Ropa is struggling with it.  When a friend introduces her to The Library of the Dead, she meets those who are masters at their craft.

But when a ghost starts stalking her, she is hard pressed to say no, even though neither Nicola nor her living relatives can pay.  Nicola cannot rest until she knows that her small son Ollie is safe.  She says that there are a lot of children missing, and she fears for her young sons life.

Ropa's grandmother convinces her that she should occasionally do her job out of kindness, rather than for money.  But Ropa is walking into a hornet's nest.


My Opinions:   
I'm not sure if this is a YA novel or aimed at adults, but it doesn't matter.  It was really good.

It got a little wordy sometimes, but the plot was really well done, and the mystery interesting.  Scotland is a little different in this novel.   It is a time when cars are seldom used anymore, and where magic is quite common, so the fantasy aspect of the novel is good.

I am looking forward to more information about the Library in the next book, as well as some of the characters being fleshed out a little more.  Ropa is wonderful, a bright young girl with a bit of an attitude, but a heart that's big.  I love her Grandmother, and it looks like her friends Jomo and Priya are steadfast.  The author did a good job of bringing these characters to life.

I am definitely looking forward to the next book in this series.  This was a fun, light read, with interesting characters and a good plot.

In this novel The Library of the Dead, Ropa is a "ghosttalker" who can speak to the dead, and she is trying to find missing children in a dystopian Edinburgh. I love everything about this book. Ropa is a fascinating character, and Edinburgh is one of my favorite places in the world and was a perfect setting for this story. Fans of fantasy will really enjoy this. I look forward to reading more about Ropa if this continues as a series.

Thanks to Tor Books and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I do wish that the book had been readable on Kindle, but unfortunately only a DRM-protected ePub was provided.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tor Books and the author for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

I was very favorably impressed with the gritty authenticity of the book's main character, 14(?)-year-old Ropafazdo Moyo, and her irrepressible, tenacious teenage spirit. The book is set in a future - possibly post-apocalyptic? possibly dystopian? - Edinburgh in which is is clear that while the world hasn't completely gone to sh*t, it's not far from it. Ropa lives in a cara[van] slum parked on a one-time farmer's land, and has dropped out of school in favor of podcasts and audiobooks and wages. She is anything but dumb: whip-smart with the books as well as on the streets, she navigates her daily responsibilities and the management of her small family (blind Grandma and smaller sister Izwi) with the sort of adeptness that definitely belies her years. She's also a "ghostalker", a person who can communicate with ghosts with the aid of musical instruments, and carry messages back and forth (for a fee, of course). The slang can be a little difficult at times as I'm neither a teenager (sigh) nor Scottish (or even British) but not insurmountably so.

The plot was interesting too. I don't want to do any spoiling so I won't go into depth but there are some missing children in Edinburgh and one of them has a dead mother who begs Ropa to find her son. As this is not a paying job, Ropa declines, but soon finds herself sucked in anyways. That's all I really want to say about the plot as even a little might prove to be a spoiler.

I was a little disappointed to find that the titular library (which is the element that initially drew me to the book) plays a relatively minor role in the story. I'm assuming that, as this is a series, the library will feature more prominently in the future. What little time we spent there in this book was absolutely captivating, so I'd like to see how the author intends to broaden its inclusion as a setting.

I'm looking forward to "hanging out" with Ropa again soon! (And her grandma too, and Priya. And Scarf.)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

-DNF at 30%

While the concept of this book was intriguing and I thought it would be right up my alley, it just wasn’t for me.

The book is well written and the characters are fun/exciting, which is why I am still giving this 3 stars even though I personally decided not to finish it.

For the first in a series, The Library of the Dead really hooks you. I absolutely adored Ropa, and the book was a delightful fantasy that was equal parts intriguing and mind shattering.

I also adore that it takes place in Edinburgh--a city filled with history and ghosts and, well, has a huge creep factor along with being one of my favorite places. It reminded me a bit of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, but I found that I think I liked this even more--which is a feat, as Neverwhere is one of my favorite books.

The Library of the Dead is certainly a book I'd recommend to fantasy and non-fantasy readers alike.

3 stars

Thank you Netgalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this book well enough, but unfortunately it wasn't anything special for me. First of all, nowhere in the synopsis does it say that this is a dystopian world - I specifically wanted to read this book because it said it takes place in a "modern Edinburgh", but it's actually a post-apocalyptic Edinburgh. I'm not sure I would have picked it up if I'd known that. It should be made clear in the synopsis.
I really liked the main character, she was incredibly unique. We follow her adventures through Edinburgh talking to ghosts and taking on clients to relay messages back and forth between the living and the dead. She always does this with money in mind, but one day, a ghost asks her for pro-bono help she can't refuse.
I thought the premise was extremely interesting, and I really enjoyed the main character's family, the Zimbabwean magic element, and the Library (although this is a pretty small part of the book considering it's the title). However, the beginning was extremely slow. I felt like not much happened until about 50% into the book. I get that it's going to be a series, but it was just too slow paced for my liking.

However, I do recommend this for people who like urban/paranormal fantasies with a twist.

I was provided a free copy of this by @netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
If you couldn't tell from my stars, I struggled with this one. It is set in a future Scotland after a catastrophic event has created a harsh, anarchist society. In this rough and dangerous setting we have our main character, Ropa, trying to make a living by delivering messages from ghosts to their still living family and friends. It is through a recently deceased woman that she begins to learn about some missing children in the city and begins her quest to find them. Along the way she discovers a secret library, makes new friends, and fights for her and her friends' lives!
While some of my hangups with this one probably come from it being a first in a series (so many unanswered questions, which I'm assuming would be answered in further books), others were hard to get past. First, Ropa is 14. While the story mentions her being smart for her age, and it is a post-catastrophe world where she has had to grow up quick, she still seemed young to me. The writing style was also very hard for me. We were often in Ropa's internal thoughts where she would start one thought but then... Well... Nevermind. On to something else. And she was very fond of starting "common" sayings or idioms but not completing them. For example (not from the actual text), "You can't have your cake and all that." If the reader doesn't know the saying (which I didn't for all of them), it can be very confusing and distracting. These two things specifically seemed to happen a lot! Sometimes her thoughts felt all over, and she would only complete but about half of them!
Overall, the writing style, for me, made it very hard to read. The story kept my attention for the most part, but it felt like a chore at times to read.
It currently has 3.8 on Goodreads, so obviously others enjoyed it, but unfortunately I did not.
It is scheduled to be published next week, 1 June 2021.
#TheLibraryOfTheDead #NetGalley

I received this book as an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for a review.

The Library of the Dead follows Ropa, a ghost-talker, as she goes on an adventure to find missing children in post-apocalyptic London.

I really enjoyed this book! Linguistically, I think I might have enjoyed it more as audiobook in order to get the full dialect feel but dang was it good. I am definitely going to be looking out for the next on in the series. The characters were dynamic and featured a variety of representation. The story was interesting and fast moving. I really liked it and will be recommending it to friends for sure.

This is a paranormal and book 1 in the Edinburgh Nights series. Ropa makes her living delivering messages from ghost to those they left behind. When a ghost tells her that children are going missing Ropa starts investigating and discovers a "farm" where the children are taken and their life is being sucked out to sell to old specters. With the help of her dog and some friends she rescues the children. A fairly short read of magic. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

T.L. Huchu has created a unique and captivating story that takes place in Edinburgh, with complex world building , magic and spirits.

This is the story of Ropa, a smart, kind-hearted, and witty heroine, and how she left her seemingly normal life to communicate with ghosts to help them and their families connect.

All of Huchu's characters in this book are carefully and thoroughly thought out and you'll fall in love with them all. Priya and Ropa's friendship is absolutely delightful and fun. The world building and imagery make you image yourself as if you were going on Ropa's journey along with her.

I can't wait to see where the next books in the Edinburgh Nights take us!

A special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan/Tor-Forget for my digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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The Library of The Dead by T.L. Huchu is an interesting piece of urban fantasy which shows quite a mix of elements. It is also his first novel, and intends to start a series. The book as a standalone is an interesting artifact, opening with evocative imagery.

Green dreadlocks are mentioned quite early on, and it is enough to make many readers shunt this particilar fantasy as something closer to a shonen anime in terms of style. This,would not,be accurate, nor a complaint. Still, that stylistic decision, and the negative reaction to it by certain traditionalist characters, will help the reader to be on their toes.

The more or less modern setting, young (14 years old) protagonist, bright colors and musical theming lend further to the comparisons to japaanese action cartoons. The actively and severely dystopian use of police, to the point of,blatant and obvious theft, tells the,reade this lends more and more towards the punk aesthetic and style.

By the end of chapter 3 the lead, Ropa, has ingored a missing child and given negative opinions of virtually everyone and thing. The parallels to early cyberpunk might hit,the reader again, as some level of unlikability was common on such leads. Even so, to open a book and have the hair and fact she likes certain types of podcasts be the only positives regarding a character is much to ask the reader. Some chapters where she is tender to her grandmother helps, but the introduction of a hairy big nosed greedy human being lends to probably unintentional antisemitic steriotypes, and using conservation as an excuse to kill small animals (having also planned to capture, fatten and kill a fox), leaves the reader still confused. Still, they paint vivid imagery, and one hardly notices that It is chapter 6 before the library is brought up in a way that suffers attention.

Still, the author wisely drops the reader directly into the action, with our lead meeting some aristocratic individuals who are having a particular set of problems dealing with the supernatural. They are judgemental and somewhat thoughtless, stepping away to say something but not enough so that it has any real impact on our lead (the subject of the conversation) hearing. The problem itself is simply handled, and that nicely helps the reader learn about the skills the narrator possesses. Further, later in the book clear examples are given for the jaded attitude towards communicating with the dead l, yet by this time the reader has developed annoyance at the lead for the previous hateful actions towards one with a missing child.

There are moments of clever worldbuilding. The Library of the title being a hidden organization is delightful, and the way to get there similarly so. The supernatural entities are clearly thought out, and a third of the way into the book the magic system is explained, as the narrator sums up a book on the subject. Quite a nice way to handle the matter, and allows the reader to see her gaining enjoyment from a book. The little details about respecting the king come up time and again, finally antimonarchist as they describe such respects as a fact of life.

At the same time, the status of the lead as broke and squatting, in spite of a number of lucrative clients and the obvious ability to get more, is not sufficiently explained. A little touch of bureaucracy references this, yet it has no real job at explaining it. The Librarians are depicted as hateful, elitist, and villainous, something strange from an otherwise left leaning volume.

One wonders how any reader would react to the line about official audiobook readers as nothing more than "plodding through" the pages "cause they never got that big break in the soaps." (page 43) would it be seen as an attitude of the narrator or the author?

Overall The Library of the Dead is an interesting look into a new and interesting world. It features a nice mystery and clever characters. The biggest weakness is the lead, a narrator the reader will likely less than enjoy to start, but such is often the way with teenagers. An enjoyable book, with potential in future volumes for greater interest.



(Tor 2021)

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge in exchange for an honest review.

In this first book in the new Edinburgh Nights series, readers are dropped into a future dystopian Scotland where we meet 14-year-old Ropa. She's a kid that's learned how to survive on the streets but she also enjoys learning through audiobooks. Oh, and she's a ghostalker. Using her Zimbabwean magic and Scottish pragmatism, she makes a living by delivering messages from the dead, to the living. Until one ghost implores her to find her missing child. This takes Ropa into the underbelly of Edinburgh where she discovers that someone is stealing children.

Ropa is feisty and can handle herself. She also has a fox named River that keeps her company. Huchu's writing style is different from what I normally read and I loved the concept of this novel. Overall it was entertaining, but I think my expectations where too high because I was expecting to like THE LIBRARY OF THE DEAD more than I did.

The premise of this is so great and I really, REALLY wanted to like it, but unfortunately it ended up being a DNF for me. The pacing was just too slow for me to get into it, which is definitely a personal preferance and not necessarily commentary on the quality of the story. I really hope that a bunch of folks who don't mind the slow beginning find and read this, because it really is a super cool premise.