The Absolute Book

The Absolute Book is a fantastic book by award winning author Elizabeth Knox. It’s a huge book at 160,000 words, being much larger than a typical novel. It’s size just adds to its allure. The Absolute Book is definitely a book worth reading and it tells a truly spellbinding story.

Set in a low fantasy setting it follows the adventures of Taryn and her allies as she explores the strange magical world revealed to her by Shift, a strange feylike being. But while Taryn explores this world the demons from her past come back to haunt her. This book tells a story of saving the Sidhe world but also a story of human nature and how Taryn faces her past.

I loved all the characters in this book but my favorite was definitely Taryn. Being the main focus of this book definitely helped but she was also just a great character. This book is her story. At the start of the book she does some pretty bad things but even then you're on her side. As the plot develops you get to know her more and you come to see how complex a character she is and how broken she is by her sister's death. The way you could see what was going through their minds and the way they reacted to situations felt real to me. The way they acted like people, not making the best choice for the story but the best choice for them, made this such a great book for me. Taryn did bad things but I could see how she developed over the course of the book and became a better person. I liked this character because she was flawed, not perfect.

The world that Elizabeth Knox has created is also spectacular. She’s created this whole other dimension sitting next to ours, inhabited by strange beings and riddled with gates that connect our world to theirs. The sidhe are the inhabitants of this domain, feylike beings that govern and live in this strange dimension. Their world is connected to our world by gates but also by stories and myths that you may recognise.

The final thing I loved about this book was how in depth and complex the plot was. There’s a lot to keep track of but doing so is definitely worth it. This book is a rare length to find in fiction but it also travelled at a slower pace, letting you take in all the details about the characters and world. It opened the world to you letting you explore it in more depth than you get in some other stories. There was always something to fascinate you and draw you further in. It almost feels that The Absolute Book is multiple books in one each as good as the last. This level of depth and complexity makes it a really enjoyable read.

All in all The Absolute Book was a stunning read that just kept on giving. With a thrilling plot, in depth characters and really captivating worldbuilding.The way all of these principles combined make this such an enjoyable read. Although this is not a book for younger readers, I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who wants a diverting read.