Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted over at Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about but haven’t yet read. Most of the time they’re books that have yet to be released, but not always. It’s based on the Waiting on Wednesday meme, which was originally hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.
This week my Can’t-Wait-For Book is The Library of Broken Worlds by Alaya Dawn Johnson!
Genres: Fantasy
Published on: 6th June 2023
Goodreads
A girl matches wits with a war god in this kaleidoscopic, epic tale of oppression and the cost of peace, where stories hide within other stories, and narrative has the power to heal… or to burn everything in its path.
In the winding underground tunnels of the Library, the great celestial peacekeeper of the three systems, a terrible secret lies buried.
As the daughter of a Library god, Freida has spent her whole life exploring the Library's ever-changing tunnels and communing with the gods. Her unparalleled access makes her unique – and dangerous.
When Freida meets Joshua, a mortal boy desperate to save his people, and Nergüi, a Disciple from a persecuted religious minority, Freida is compelled to break ranks with the gods and help them. But in order to do so, she will have to venture deeper into the Library than she has ever known. There she will discover the atrocities of the past, the truth of her origins, and the impossibility of her future…
With the world at the brink of war, Freida embarks on a journey to fulfill her destiny, one that pits her against an ancient war god. Her mission is straightforward: Destroy the god before he can rain hellfire upon thousands of innocent lives – if he doesn't destroy her first.
I don’t think Johnson has EVER written a dud – every book of hers has knocked my socks off, even the ones whose premise didn’t initially interest me. And the premise of The Library of Broken Worlds DEFINITELY interests me!!!
Hells, who am I kidding – just the TITLE was enough to convince me that this is a book I DESPERATELY NEED. The library of broken worlds??? That sounds so fantastical and amazing that I cannot even.
A LIBRARY? Of WORLDS?
And then we get to the actual blurb and I just lose my damn mind. The daughter of a Library god! (Note the capital letter. I am sure that’s going to be VERY relevant.) (Also, note the a. That suggests Frieda’s parent is one of several Library gods. Are all the gods Library gods? Since one is described as a war god specifically, probably not?) The peacekeeper of three systems – is the Library itself the peacekeeper? What are the three systems – three galaxies, maybe? Or three probably-not-parallel dimensions? Three worlds? If the gods are real, how is there such a thing as a religious minority? Why is the war god out to rain hellfire?
So many delicious questions!
You can just feel how much worldbuilding has gone into this, just from the blurb. I am so, so excited to see the world (worlds?) Johnson has created here.
This sounds so…so rich and gorgeous and different from anything else I’ve ever heard of, and from an author whose writing I already know I adore! The Library of Broken Worlds is a book Johnson has apparently been writing for seven years, and speaking from experience…you don’t keep working on a story for that long unless you love it. And I really, really, really want to meet the story that this author I admire loves that much.
I have my copy preordered, and I cannot imagine why you might not!
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