The Society of Unknowable Objects

Having enjoyed my only other Gareth Brown book so much (I think I might have said it was of my favourite books of all time) it was always going to be a tough ask for The Society of Unknowable Objects to meet that high bar of expectation. I guess it’s best to consider each book on its own merits rather than pitting them against each other, and on that score, I enjoyed this book a great deal. There were some chapters and concepts that were a little less polished that I would expect from a 5 star book, but it was a fun ride nonetheless.

The book tells the story of a secret society whose job it is to find and store magic objects that have been scattered far and wide around the world. The four members of the society inherited their roles from their fathers and they are sworn to keep these unknowable objects out of the hands of those who would use them for nefarious purposes.

Needless to say, things don’t quite go according to plan and the magic artefacts are being hunted and collected by the type of wrong ‘uns the society is trying to keep away. Not only are there baddies on the loose, but the society itself has some issues of its own, caused by deceit and half truths that threaten to unravel and but the members and those they love in danger.

Where the Book of Doors seemed like a vast story, covering huge spans of time and incredibly mind-bending magic, The Society of Unknowable Objects is far more limited and cosy in its scope. The number of characters is small, yet they are all described beautifully, with their own priorities and perspective on events.

I particularly liked the merging of worlds between Browns books, this was a really nice touch and made me smile when I twigged what was going on.

I recommend this book, it was a fun read and I will definitely be reading more Gareth Brown in the future.