Shelf Indulgence

Tommy Taylor has come a long way since volume one of The Unwritten. He started off as the son of a famous writer, and the inspiration for a popular character from a series his father wrote (which is a thinly-veiled clone of Harry Potter), who was making money by cashing in on his reputation. Now, he’s a man on a mission to learn the secrets of his life, uncover a shadow group who controls the world through fiction, and maybe even save the collective narrative of all literature. It's pretty impressive stuff.

The Unwritten started off as a clever premise, but has slowly developed into a series with some important things to say. It continues to talk about the importance of fiction and literature in our lives, and it continues to do so in a way that isn't repetitive. Each collective story reinforces that idea, but it's never the same point each time you read it. The series came to the end of some major plot points in volume six, and volume seven presents some more to keep us interested in the story.

The series is still going strong, and I encourage anyone with a serious interest in fiction and literature to check it out. Just remember: Read the first two volumes before making a decision on the entire series. Volume one by itself is just a clever idea; by the second volume, all that important stuff starts to emerge.