The Book of Doors

 

The Book of Doors is a standalone contemporary fantasy by Gareth Brown. Released 13th Feb 2024 by HarperCollins on their William Morrow imprint, it's 416 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback format out in 2nd quarter 2025 from the same publisher. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.

This debut fantasy has a wonderful premise with loads of potential. There are books here which are actually magical. Protagonist Cassie is gifted one such book, with the power to turn a door, any door, into any other door throughout time and space.

Naturally, there are people looking for the books for their own purposes, both benign and malign. Bookhunters are picking off collectors and taking their books. There are inevitable comparisons to The Midnight Library and The Ten Thousand Doors of January. It's definitely reminiscent, if not directly derivative. Readers who enjoyed either of those books will likely find a lot to enjoy here.  

The prose and characterizations are oddly rough in places for a top shelf publisher and a book which must have had a thorough editing process (thus it seems intentional artistically). There is a great deal of telling instead of showing, and readers will struggle to maintain engagement with the protagonist. 

Three and a half stars. It would make a good choice for public library acquisition, and for readers who really enjoyed the Midnight Library or The Ten Thousand Doors of January. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.