A fascinating concept skilfully executed, ‘The Archivist’ by VS Nelson hypothesises that what waits for us after death is only an insatiable Aether. That is unless you enter into a contract with an archivist, strange beings with the ability to syphon your soul and hold it within themselves, allowing families and friends to still communicate over the boundary fence of life and death. All for a price of course I loved the idea and the execution of this book. I adored the relationship that developed between the Archivist and Sun-yung, a foul-mouthed but lovable troubled teen who does everything she can to protect her younger sister from a harrowing home life. One that the Archivist is drawn into. I really want to read more about these characters and what happens next. On top of exploring such a big topic, what happens after we die, and the tale of the lost and lonely Archivist and Sun-yung finding each other, the author also manages to weave in a mystery when a spate of suicides land at the Archivist’s feet, leading him to wonder whether there’s something stranger and more dangerous lurking behind them. I think that this is a brilliant dark fantasy novel that would appeal to a wide range of readers, and it is a story I hope continues into another book and I wait for with baited breath.
There is no God waiting for you in paradise. No afterlife where friendships severed by death are reformed and families reunited. There is only the Aether, a dimension of insatiable hunger that will possess you no matter the life you led. Yet there is hope for a lucky few. Archivists, existing between the world of the living and the world of the dead, can offer salvation… for a price. Taking your essence in the final moments before death, they become your afterlife, allowing you to speak with those who remain. When the last archivist is tricked into murder by troubled teenager, Sun-young Kang, he finds himself the centre of a suicidal cult that die at his feet. But there is more to these deaths than the Archivist realises. Someone is coming for him. The Archivist may be the closest thing to a god that walks the Earth, but is that enough to keep those he cares about safe?
