The Society of Unknowable Objects by Gareth Brown Review

The world of unknowable objects - magical items that most people have no idea possess powers - has been quiet for decades . . .
 

But three current members of a secret society have remained watchful, meeting every six months in the basement of a bookshop in London. They are pledged to protect their archive of magical items hidden away, safe from the outside world - and keep the world safe from them. But when Frank Simpson, the longest-standing member of the Society of Unknowable Objects, hears of a new artefact coming to light in Hong Kong, he sends the Society's newest member, author Magda Sparks, to investigate.
 

Within hours of arriving in Hong Kong, Magda is facing death and danger, confronted by a professional killer who seems to know all about unknowable objects, specifically one that was stolen from him a decade before. Magda is forced to flee, using an artefact that not even the rest of the Society knows about.
 

Returning to London, Magda learns hers is not the only secret being kept from the other two members. And that the most pernicious secret is about the nature of the Society’s mission. Her discoveries will lead her on a perilous journey, across the Atlantic to the deep south of the United States - not in pursuit of an unknowable object, but an unknowable person: the killer she first faced in Hong Kong. In doing so, Magda begins to understand that there are even more in the world who are chasing these magical items, and that her own family’s legacy is tied up in keeping all these secrets under wraps.
 

Magic has always been too powerful to reveal to the world. But Magda will learn there might be something even more powerful: the truth.

Magical everyday objects scattered across the world, a secret society that meets in the basement of a bookstore, and dangerous individuals more than willing to kill for them, the Society of Unknowable Objects is an urban fantasy story full of great elements and ideas. Similar to Gareth Brown’s debut novel the Book of Doors, this novel has a premise that feels like a throwback to classic children’s fantasy books appropriately aged up for adult readers looking for a fun and straightforward magic adventure.

Brown’s second book, from the get-go the Society of Unknowable Objects has a familiar feel that recaptures the fun of many popular YA fantasy books of the early 2000s. Revolving around a group of four adults who collectively make up the Society of Unknowable Objects, these individuals possess knowledge of special everyday items that grant their holder a variety of magical powers. But with strong magical powers comes the unwanted attention of those looking to use them for their own benefit, hence why the Society was formed to keep these objects out of less desirable hands. An interesting mix of cross-country hidden treasure hunting, mysterious intrigue, and fantasy action, the novel has strong mass appeal thanks to its popular and cool story elements. An aging bookstore owner Frank reluctantly holding on to his secrets, the main character Magda thrilled by magic yet haunted by the unusual death of her mother, a watch repairman Will who is impartial to all things magic, and finally the long-lost member Henrietta who disappeared years ago, the Society is made up of interesting and diverse characters. Then you have a Hong Kong resident James who has his own secret related to the magical objects, an experienced killer hunting for powerful objects, and a mysterious non-descript young man linked to Magda’s mother’s disappearance. Like his previous novel, this book is presented like an ensemble cast movie with constant perspective shifts as the reader is taken on Brown’s magical journey, seeing how the different plot threads and story elements are connected to each other.

Although it sounds like there’s a lot going on, this novel’s story is really quite simple and straightforward. Society member Magda is tasked with finding a new magical object that is discovered in Hong Kong by a museum and art curator James Wei, only to come face to face with an experienced assassin. The bulk of the story is essentially a game of “find ‘em and hold on to ‘em” between several different parties seeking to use or protect the magic. Compared to Brown’s previous novel, this one is more focused, featuring far fewer character perspectives (a point of criticism I had with his first book) and taking place within a pretty compact timeline of events. While the Book of Doors featured some abstract material or powers that crossed over into the speculative fiction genre, the magical objects featured here are more basic powers that are purposeful by narrative design.

Like the Book of Doors, one of the best aspects of the Society of Unknowable Objects is Brown’s storytelling that has a classic fantasy style and tone to it. Although on-page magic is featured less often than one might expect given the book’s premise, when it is featured however, the visuals are great. Despite being an urban fantasy story taking place primarily in London, Hong Kong, and Alabama, there are brief scenes that have an otherworldly feel to them which is where Brown’s writing shines the most, along with an apparent trend of age gap adult friendships. Brown’s prose is also a healthy balance of being accessible while still magical and lyrical. The world-building and feel of the book’s locations also have an immersive and imaginative feeling to them, even though they’re all based on actual urban locations.

Another great aspect of this novel is that it’s a standalone novel that can be read on its own. Fully self-contained with its own world-building, lore, and backstory to its fantasy elements, zero knowledge of the Book of Doors is required to enjoy the story and characters. However, for those that have read Brown’s previous novel, there are a few light references here and there that confirm this story in the same world as well as its epilogue chapter that firmly places this story after the events of the Book of Doors. I personally found the references to provide nice framework for this book’s story, namely providing some context for the origins of these objects that compliments the Book of Doors’ lore while still being separated enough as not to alienate readers unfamiliar with its material. Those that have read the Book of Doors first are likely to even find some of the plot twists more unexpected, going in the opposite direction of what Brown’s first novel did on multiple occasions.

While I enjoyed Brown’s writing and storytelling, to be expected as the Book of Doors was one of my favorite reads last year, I unfortunately found myself a bit disappointed by the Society of Unknowable Objects. While it was still a fun fantasy read, there were several key areas of the novel that left me wanting a lot more. Compared to his previous novel, I found this novel’s character development to be far less ambitious, the book choosing to focus on the plot rather than its characters. While I found Magda an appealing protagonist and her character having some great elements (the mysterious death of her mother, her fond young adult/senior friendship with Frank, her discovery and history with magic over the course of her life), many of them felt like they were introduced without having much follow-up or development.

When I was reading the Book of Doors, I was taken aback and incredibly impressed by the novel’s ambitiously written second act that slowed down the entire story to give Cassie, her grandfather, and Mr. Weber outstanding narrative material, giving the book a strong emotional element and weight. While reading this book, I kept waiting for the story to build into a similarly strong character or narrative moment that just never came. While that on its own isn’t a deal-breaker, the lack of strong character development and emotions means that the book relies heavily on its plot to carry the read. While its fantasy plot is generally good and easily above-average for the genre, it’s also a fairly typical story and surprisingly simple compared to how complex and ambitious Brown’s previous story was. While the magic and action were good, it was also consistently a bit underwhelming for me, particularly with its villains and their motives. The Book of Doors had a similar issue with its villains but the ending and glimpses into their past mostly made up for it due to the creativity, literary presentation, and moral ambiguity. Here, I found it to be less impressive the way the villains are written felt a bit clumsy, generically bland, and caricature-like appropriate for a children’s/YA book rather than an adult one, given the book’s occasional language and violence. Zooming out and looking at the bigger picture, the plot in general felt a bit sparse, underdeveloped, and uncertain of what it wanted to be. Brown’s acknowledgement section states that he had a difficult time writing this novel which unfortunately was noticeable to me. It felt like more magical moments, powers, and thriller action on-the-run sequences were needed, or at least another hundred pages of character content to connect with its characters and the dangers they faced. A lot of great storylines such as being able to see the essence of magic, the history of the society, implications to some of the objects created, various backstories such as James’s and Will’s childhoods, Magda’s writing career, and Frank’s own leadership of the group weren’t developed or were handled like throwaway filler material despite their compelling nature. As currently presented, it feels like the story and action are mainly just characters panicking in tense situations and being scared from the perpetual danger, lacking the variety and spark I would’ve expected from Brown.

Though I personally found this book to be a bit of a letdown as one of my most anticipated new releases this year, I also acknowledge that I had high hopes for the book considering how much I loved the Book of Doors. While not a standout read for me, this is still a solid above-average fantasy story that I recommend reading as it has a ton of mass appeal and is very easy to get into for those that are turned off by sprawling narratives. There’s just a bit of an asterisk there for Book of Doors fans to temper their expectations going into it. Regardless, Brown’s storytelling is still great, and he perfectly recaptures that certain nostalgic magical feel of my favorite childhood fantasy books. Given the nature of the epilogue and the shared world of his books so far, I’m nonetheless still excited to see what he writes next!