The Society of Unknowable Objects by Gareth Brown: A Fantasy Mystery Review

Read time: 5 minutes

🎧 Listened in audio 📢 Narrated by Olivia Vinall ⏱ Duration: 11 hours
Genre: Fantasy, Mystery 🏷️ Publisher name: Bantam and William Morrow, imprint of Harper Collins

Book Blurb:

For decades, the world of unknowable objects, magical items whose powers stay hidden from most people, has been quiet. But three members of a secret society still meet twice a year in the basement of a London bookshop, guarding an archive of dangerous artefacts. When the Society’s longest-standing member hears of a new object surfacing in Hong Kong, he sends its newest recruit, author Magda Sparks, to investigate. Magda is soon facing a killer hunting an object stolen from him a decade earlier, forcing her to use an artefact even the Society doesn’t know she has. Back in London, she uncovers secrets within the Society itself, ones tied to her own family’s legacy.

Let’s talk about the book:

I absolutely loved Gareth Brown’s The Book of Doors so much that I posted a favourite quotes blog, along with my review blog, and the book also featured on my favourite book of the month, and also best books of the year. That is how much I adored the book, that it was everywhere for me, and I recommended it to all the readers I knew, both at work and in personal life. And so, when I got to know Mr. Brown is coming with a new novel, I was over the moon.

The book starts with talks about magical artifacts that have powers. It was a nostalgic topic for me because a lot of Indian mythology based mysteries go with these concepts. People who like this concept have to try Indian authors like Ashwin Sanghi and Amish. I cannot recommend them enough for their brilliant writing and gripping mysteries. So, the start of the book really got me to invest all in, and I couldn’t stop reading, wanting to know where the story was going. I loved the journey that Magda was on, and the found family she had around her when her mother passes on.

However, where the story lost me was when the artifacts just got too much convenient. At certain points, I felt like the artifacts were being introduced purely to make the story flow better. I kept waiting for the magic from The Book of Doors to appear, but sadly it did not.

The story was satisfying, no doubt, but not as magical as The Book of Doors. It was just a plain old fantasy mystery with a concept that felt loosely derived from Indian mythology. I will definitely keep coming back for Gareth Brown books, but this one will not feature on my favourites list.

Would I recommend it?

If you go in without expecting the same spark that made The Book of Doors a favourite, you’ll have a genuinely fun time with Magda’s journey and the found family she builds along the way. But if, like me, you’re chasing that specific magic again, it won’t quite land the same way this time. Gareth Brown remains an auto-read author for me, no question there. This particular book, though, is a solid decent read, not a favourite.

⭐⭐⭐

5 BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

1. The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown
Go straight to the source: this is the book that set the bar Society is chasing, and it clears it every time.

Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | Booktrovert | OpenLibrary | Litsy

2. The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
If the secret society angle was your favourite part of Society, this one leans all the way into magical rivals bound together by an exclusive, dangerous order.

Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | Booktrovert | OpenLibrary | Litsy

3. The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman
For more of that hidden-organization-guarding-powerful-objects energy, this series follows a secret library protecting reality-bending books across parallel worlds.

Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | Booktrovert | OpenLibrary | Litsy

4. The Immortals of Meluha by Amish Tripathi
Since the Indian mythology undertone is exactly what hooked me into Society at the start, this is where to go for the fully-realized version of that world.

Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | Booktrovert | OpenLibrary | Litsy

5. The Rozabal Line by Ashwin Sanghi
Another author I mentioned loving for this exact blend, this one weaves ancient secrets and mythology into a gripping present-day mystery.

Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | Booktrovert | OpenLibrary | Litsy

Team Book of Doors or Team Society?

Have you read The Book of Doors or The Society of Unknowable Objects? Did the magic hit the same for you across both, or did you feel the shift too? Drop your thoughts below, I’d love to know which Gareth Brown world won you over.

Book Links:

Want to purchase this or any of your favorite books while supporting a local bookstore? Consider purchasing using the sites below. These sites work with independent local bookstore owners to fulfill your book orders. #SupportLocal

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