The human protagonist, Taryn, is a successful author dealing with the fallout of her sister’s murder years earlier. It really defies summation but what we’re dealing with here is an ode to stories, language, and libraries that takes the form of a quest/portal fantasy and incorporates a kitchen sink’s worth of myths and legends from Celtic, Judeo-Christian, Norse, ancient Greek traditions and more. The Absolute Book is an esoteric, often maddening, epic fantasy that is ultimately rooted in contemporary concerns. Above all, it is a declaration of love for stories and the ways in which they shape our worlds and create gods out of morals. It is a book of journeys and returns, from contemporary England to Auckland, New Zealand from a magical fairyland to Purgatory. The Absolute Book is epic, action-packed fantasy in which hidden treasures are recovered, wicked things resurface, birds can talk, and dead sisters are a living force. Finally a shadowy young man named Shift appears, forcing Taryn and Jacob toward a reckoning felt in more than one world. Then there are questions about a fire in the library at her grandparents' house and an ancient scroll box known as the Firestarter, as well as threatening phone calls and a mysterious illness. but not all of the attention it brings her is good.Ī policeman, Jacob Berger, questions her about a cold case.

She has written a successful book about the things that threaten libraries: insects, damp, light, fire, carelessness and uncaring. Taryn Cornick believes that the past-her sister's violent death, and her own ill-conceived revenge-is behind her, and she can get on with her life.

The Absolute Book by Elizabeth Knox