The God of Lost Words

A Novel from Hell's Library, Book 3

By: A. J. Hackwith

Narrated by: Bahni Turpin

Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

"Hackwith's poignant, imaginative series sends readers on an amazing journey, with profound prose that will capture hearts and minds." (Library Journal, starred review)

To save the Library of the Unwritten in Hell, former librarian Claire and her allies may have to destroy it first.

Claire, rakish Hero, angel Rami, and muse-turned-librarian Brevity have accomplished the impossible by discovering the true nature of unwritten books. But now that the secret is out, in its quest for power Hell will be coming for every wing of the Library.

To protect the Unwritten Wing and stave off the insidious reach of Malphas, one of Hell’s most bloodthirsty generals, Claire and her friends will have to decide how much they’re willing to sacrifice to keep their vulnerable corner of the afterlife. Succeeding would mean rewriting the nature of the Library, but losing would mean obliteration. Their only chance at survival lies in outwitting Hell and writing a new chapter for the Library. Luckily, Claire and her friends know how the right story, told well, can start a revolution.

©2021 A. J. Hackwith (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Hackwith literally brings books to life with her layered prose, emotional scenes, slow burns, and powerful connections among found family members." (Library Journal, starred review)

“This book pulls apart what a book is, what a book could be, and gets to the soul of what it means to tell a story, all while delivering queer chemistry and intricate worldbuilding.” (Booklist, starred review)

"Powerhouse fantasy.... Writing in stirring prose, Hackwith imbues her high-concept, metafictional tale with color, action, and high-flying emotion." (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

Genius & challenging & heartwarming

AJ Hackwith is a rare find. She’s brilliant and manages to cover multitudes or multiverse-ish concepts, as well as philosophical & theological concepts without ever losing my interest or being preachy or soapboxy or talking down to her audience. Oh, and she manages to create and detail multiple character psyches along the way, creating flawed, loveable people (or beings) we can root for or against.
Lovely.
And Bahni Turpin was thankfully narrating again, so the continuity remained, as well as the fact that she is a flawless and gifted performer.

As I said. Lovely. Now where did I set my tea?

One of the best endings I have ever listened to. My new heaven

Got used to the narrator by this book, I mean it was just really lovely beginning to end

Why is no one talking about this series?

It's a book lovers dream and makes me want to write my own story

I’m sad the books are over

I really enjoyed all of the books in this series. I highly recommend reading them.

A Brilliant series to read and reread!

I’ve loved this series from start to finish. It’s brilliantly written, poetic, adventurous, heartfelt, and epic in scope and nature. Any reader, writer and/or librarian will immerse completely in these pages.

The characters are diverse with a wonderful rendition of anti-heroes and heroes alike. No contemporary topic is shied away from in a divine tale good - evil - good. I can’t recommend it enough!

A series I will read and listen to (thanks to Lisa Flanagan and Bahni Turpin) again and again. Five stars!!!

Thank goodness this is better than book2

I almost didn’t read this book after the disappointment of the whining in book2. This one has too much yammering about feelings and some leaps of logic, but it is soooo mich better than the last book. I still enjoyed book1 the best but this one ties up the series well.

The perfect ending

“Would you like to tell me your story?”
*sigh*
I truly enjoyed the first book in this series, tolerated the second. Having read the third, I see now that book two was the necessary bridge to get us to this delight of a perfect ending.
I don’t want to spoil anything, but the love, the chosen family, the adopted pain in the ass family… all of it was just so satisfying.
The pacing was good, as was the character growth. The voice actor was spot on. I have no complaints at all. 5 stars all around.

Rethinking narrator

Okay—I wasn’t happy with the narrator change in Book 2, but she grew on me in Book 3 (although not the accents). It’s odd—I looked her up and have loved her in other books. Oh well. The book itself is good—will listen again.

Great characters! Awesome setting!

Loved all 3 books! And the narrators are great especially the one in Book 2 and 3.

Love this series

Love, love it. It opens up a whole new view of the world or realm of words!