I absolutely loved “The Book of Doors” and was hoping for a sequel — this book is, in a way, an extension of that universe and the fantasy realms of Gareth Brown’s talents. “The Society of Unknowable Objects” gives us another class of magical items (just as the “Books” would be) to be amazed by.

The “Society” was supposedly a secret created by Frank Simpson’s grandfather, and three of his friends in the 1940s, a secret that had passed down through the same four families ever since, with Frank (bookstore owner), Will Palin (watchmaker), Henrietta “Henry” Wiseman (legitimate occupation unknown), and Magda Sparks (author) as the current members.The organization has existed with a sole purpose: to collect and protect and keep secret the magical items of the world, away from owners with disreputable uses of the items which are kept in the hidden Clockwork Cabinet in Bell Street Books.

Meeting in the basement of the Marylebone bookshop, Frank, Will and Magda are told that the first new artifact in 40 years has possibly been located (although, from the prologue, we know that Imelda, Magda’s mum, had found more items just as she died using the “Atlas of the Lost Things” ten years ago). The son of an acquaintance of Will’s late father, James Wei, has found something among objects that were willed to his Chinese bank and employer. Magda volunteers to travel to Hong Kong and is charmed by James. Unfortunately, just as he reveals the object to her, one of two terrifically contemptible mystery men who know about the magical objects, shoots James and takes the item. Magda returns to London and the group, minus a diffident Will, vow to find the assassin and retake his unknowable object. Which they do with an assist of other unknowable objects…

As the Society members (who all have secrets of their own) travel to the United States, the two despicable villains are also clashing with each other. The ugly interactions between these two, although occurring in some of the most imaginative scenery, complicates a straightforward story of a justified quest. When the Society members find these two, there already has been a lot of reflection about the evil that magic can do and why that power should be harnessed. That’s a theme that was present in the “Book of Doors” — unregulated ownership of magic corrupts (which was why the Fox Library of the previous book existed).

The action builds and the epilogue is perfect. It’s immensely enjoyable to enjoy another strong female central character created by author Brown — Magda and Cassie from “Book of Doors” would make a magnificent team. 5 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO Only blue ones. Will’s blue ones and the gaunt man.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): The nightmare garden is everything that shouldn’t be natural.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

Gareth Brown clearly knows how to write books that I love. I love love loved his previous book so I was so excited to find out that he had a new one coming out. Magical books were awesome, magical objects turned out to be completely awesome, too. And I loved the references back to the first book in a way that was not disruptive to those who never read the first book but felt like an insider's gift to those who did!

Like his first book, this story is full of imagination, joy, a true joy for your senses, especially visually. Of course all the good must be balanced by evil, so evil is there too. Some very interesting choices for evil in this book. All the characters are unique and jump off the page.

It is clear to me I will forever read anything Brown writes, I just hope he writes fast so I can keep reading more and more of his wonderful stories.

with gratitude to netgalley and William Morrow for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I could not get over everything I read once I was done and could not do anything but just feel from all of it. It was just so good and so many things happened. Where do I go from here? I loved it.

Gareth Brown's Book of Doors was one of my top reads for 2024. I jumped on this title when I saw it listed in NetGalley.

The Society of Unknowable Objects has a similar feel to Book of Doors, except we immediately know we're dealing with magical objects. What those objects do... are not always apparent. Magda joins the Society after the death of her mother. The Society has been quietly meeting for years in a mostly uneventful manner. But when a potentially new object is available, Magda discovers that the Society are not the only ones seeking the magic objects.

I enjoyed the Society of Unknowable Objects and would definitely recommend it to those who read the Book of Doors and enjoy a little magic in their life. To me, it felt like there was a lot of 'explanations' during the first half of the book, but when adventures and magic happened, it was perfection. Lots of twists and excitement to stay engaged.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this book!! It was fun and quirky, it had magic and it was so fun and engaging. It kept me entertained the whole read through! I liked the way this story built up and flowed. It was a good story and I liked it!!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!