Last year I read and reviewedGareth Brown’s debut novel The Book of Doors and it was one of my favourite reads of 2024. I was really excited to be invited to read Gareth Brown’s new book The Society of Unknowable Objects. The main setting of this book is a wonderful second hand bookshop in London, an unassuming place that holds a chest of magical items. The Society is there to protect these objects from people who would use them for nefarious purposes.

I absolutely loved the premise for this book, who wouldn’t want magical items that could make you fly, slow down time, see people’s souls, and even bring back a loved one.for-example; but magic always comes at a price. Gareth Brown takes us on a journey both metaphorical and literally in this book, from London to Hong Kong and America as members of the society learn more about the society, its beginnings, the secrets kept and themselves. It is Magda who goes on the biggest journey, stepping out of her comfort zone from her relatively normal life to taking on a thief who wants the magical objects for himself. What I enjoyed about her story was seeing her character develop, seeing how she gained confidence through the book and came out of her shell and being more assertive. It was also nice to see her with a love interest.

This may seem like a nice cosy story about magic and a secret society but it takes a very sinister turn half way through. The darkness of magic in the wrong hands, and creating magical objects for the wrong reasons. This got really creepy and sinister in parts, it had a feeling of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein at one point.

Gareth Brown is a fabulous storyteller, his plot building drew me into this fabulous story and the fast pace kept me hooked. His descriptions of both the people and the settings were vivid and real, giving a grounding for the magical aspect. The characters became people I cared about, and even the villain had redeeming qualities that made me feel sorry for him.

The Society of Unknowable Objects is a wonderful read full of magic, danger, adventure and a touch of romance. This book had a lot to live up to after reading The Book of Doors and it was just as good in both plot and characters and as addictive. This is an enthralling read that will take you on a journey you won’t forget; simply stunning.

Plot heavy book in which in our world there are unknowable items which are imbued with magic, origin unknown. We open up with a secret society in london tasked with keeping these items out of harms way and locked, safely away. Lots of secrets, lies and darker twists than expected.

However very minimal character development or depth. Conversations at time felt lacking and the descriptive writing style, is personally not for me. My main issue definitely came from the writing of the female main character and 15% in had to check in fact this was written by a man and unfortunately that made total sense. The characters all acted appropriately I guess for the situations they were in but there was just something lacking. The time jumps of the characters with other characters didn’t help either.

Thank you netgalley and the publishers for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review

The Society of Unknowable Objects is the latest fantastical novel by Gareth Brown. I read Brown’s debut The Book of Doors last year and instantly fell in love with his writing style. In this book, he blended the cozy warmth of bookstores with magical realism and fantastical, almost mythical, tales about books (that may have created the world). So, I was so excited to read his new book about magical objects and the secret society that hunts them down!

In this novel, we follow Magda Sparks, an author who searches for ‘unknowable objects’ for a secret society. This society seemed quite sweet- they meet in the basement of a London bookshop and look after these mystical artefacts like librarians or mysterious museum curators. But there is a lot more danger involved in artefact hunting than you may expect. Magda encounters a trained killer and has to flee her mission at the start of the book, and things only get more action-packed from this point on.

I thought Brown blended action, adventure and fantasy masterfully in this book. Whilst I fell in love with the characters from his previous book a little more, I did love seeing Magda journey accross the world trying to find the killer. It was a thrilling chase full of exploration and secrets. I also loved that there was so much character development in this stand-alone novel.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves adventure stories full of travel and action, with the perfect dash of magic added to the mix.

A fantastic second novel by Brown featuring a tangential storyline to his previous brilliant offering The Book of Doors.

Hard to put down, this emotional fantasy thriller shows all of the same clever storyline plotting whilst introducing another strong cast of characters. It is beautifully written and has cemented my view that Brown is a talented must-read new writer.

My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own unbiased opinion.

I loved Gareth Brown’s The Book of Doors when I read it last year, so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on his new novel, The Society of Unknowable Objects. Huge thanks to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, and NetGalley for sending me a digital copy to review.

This isn’t a sequel, but it is set in the same universe and has a few subtle nods to The Book of Doors, which I really enjoyed spotting. That said, it absolutely stands on its own. Once again, Brown delivers a story that’s surreal, mysterious, and deeply human all at once. Every chapter holds something unexpected from strange objects, haunting ideas, and quiet, beautiful moments, all brought to life with his sharp, elegant prose.

What I love most is the way Brown balances wild imagination with real depth. The world feels both uncanny and meaningful, sometimes unsettling but always rewarding. It’s the kind of book that leaves you thinking long after you’ve finished.

Inventive, thought-provoking, and beautifully written, The Society of Unknowable Objects is a gem of a book that I’ll be recommending to everyone I know.

Absolutely loved this. Loved it! What a brilliant book! From the moment I took it in my hands to when I finished, I was there, glued to it, part of this world. Such a vivid, action packed book and so well plotted. Loved the connection to the Book of Doors!

Thank you to Netgalley and the UK publishers for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I bid for this book having heard such good things about the authors first novel, The Book of Doors. My experience reading this book has led me to decide that I will definitely be reading his debut novel ASAP.

I liked how unique the magic system was in this one, and how well explained it was. You don't find out everything right away, but you always have enough knowledge at the right times to be able to follow and enjoy the story.

I loved Magda and the gang and was cheering them on in their quest. I was however slightly disappointed by Owen as a villain. He felt a bit one dimensional and I never felt like I truly got to understand on a deep enough level why he was the way he was.

The ending was slightly predictable but made sense and, ultimately, was satisfying. I liked the end of the epilogue too.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publishers for access to this ARC 📚.

🔥Quick Fire Review🔥

Genre/Themes: 🪄🛫📖✍🏻♟️🥀🗺️🕵🏼‍♀️🦹🏻‍♂️
Tropes: Enchanted Objects, Magic in the Mundane World, Secret Society, Dark Family Histories, Found Family, Government Agent, Serial Killer, Shooting, Raising the Dead
Positives: easy-going read, fun premise and plot
Room for Improvement 🔎 : weaker characterisation
Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌗

✍🏻 Full Review - RISK OF SPOILERS 🛑

This was a fun, easy read. Even with so many dark elements I still found it a cosy, enchanting read somehow. But this is very much a book for fans of the plot-driven, definitely not character-driven or you would ultimately face disappointment.

🧍‍♀️Characterisation:🧍‍♂️
Unfortunately I found myself feeling completely neutral about most of the characters in this book, which meant I didn’t really care an awful lot about what happened to them. Magda was a perfectly fine protagonist, but I just didn’t feel she had much nuance to her. She got tearful when anybody would typically get tearful or angry when she would have reasonably been angry. I felt like I knew so little about her other than the fact she was an author, which it turned out didn’t have much relevance to the story anyway. I just didn’t feel any real connection to her. If anything, I was sad Imelda wasn’t the protagonist because she came across as more interesting in the space of two small scenes.
James felt the most underdeveloped character to me. If I’m being honest it felt like he was written as a typical white male and then recast to a Hong Kong native last minute. For a start, he was meant to be born and raised there, but had a very British vernacular and demeanour. He just didn’t feel authentic to me at all, and his insta love with Magda felt very much an afterthought. At least he had a backstory, although the story of his dad was more interesting than he was.
Henry was probably my favourite. She had her own version of vigilante justice and thought with her head and not just her heart. She was a lone wolf who sang her own tune, but would come through when she was needed. I looked forward to Henry’s scenes because her appearance always seemed to facilitate the plot moving forward.
Will was my second favourite, but I wish we’d had more of him. His job actually lent itself to the plot, unlike Magda’s, and his inner monologues were interesting with commentary on the dangers of magic due to his fear and disdain of it. His confrontation with Frank was a great scene.
Frank wasn’t especially likeable, but made for an interesting character because of his flaws. He lied by omission on the regular which was so frustrating, but also very realistic. He carried generational guilt and heavy moral responsibility, but his attempt to protect others often put them in more danger. I just didn’t really feel the bond with Magda that the book kept telling me about, but I think that was down to her lack of rich backstory and development.
Owen was refreshing in the sense that he was evil because he was evil. The author didn’t try to humanise him, or give him a redemption arc. The guy was just a bloodthirsty killer and got his comeuppance. It was very satisfying. The scene where his victims reanimate was fantastic, and his scenes of genuine unbridled rage were enough to make my chest tight.
Lukas might not have been my favourite, but I’d argue he was the best written character. The eery uncomfortableness of him, the small quirks that cemented his uncanny valley existence, was so well done. I couldn’t help but feel some of it bordered on ableism though, because the characters very vocally judged his short sentences, inability to read, lack of personal hygiene and child-like mannerisms such as sitting cross legged on the floor all the time or taking comments too literally. In fact if I remember rightly a character called him ‘simple’. I get what the author was trying to go for, but it came across more like the characters getting frustrated and frightened by a person with learning difficulties than a humanoid artefact! However, his desperate need for companionship was really sad and to be honest I thought the characters villainised him too much for a character that didn’t ask to be created or truly understand his existence.

🗺️World-Building:🗺️
The story was set in the modern day, in a world where magic existed in the form of ‘unknowable objects’, seemingly normal everyday items that gave the possessor power. The items were created by the Book of Wonders, where the person holding it could speak an object and its intended power into existence. The items could be something as simple as a chess piece, a necklace, or a flower, but they felt unnaturally heavy and emitted a strange feeling which distinguished them as magic. I loved how the items gave a feeling of whimsy to begin with, but slowly the backstory and the moral commentary broke this down. Especially the revealing of the true origins of the Society, and the evil greed that Frank’s predecessors abused. The artefacts were indestructible, and dangerous if used by the wrong people. Some scenes were so dark, like the chess piece freezing people in time leaving them prone to attack, or the cross resurrecting the dead over and over again leaving them in more fear and emotional agony every time. The bit I didn’t get was when Lukas tried to use the book. I still wasn’t sure whether it wasn’t working because he didn’t ask the right way, or if it was because he wasn’t human. Logically, the latter couldn’t be the case because he could use all of the other artefacts? That part could have used some clarity. Owen’s story somehow felt more unrealistic than the magical items. He was an ex-government mercenary who just went around murdering people, and seemingly faced no consequences whatsoever. That felt a little silly at times, in a world where Magda’s flying was plastered across social media and the news or Lukas’s smothering of London with magical foliage led to a government enquiry.


📝Prose/Plot:📝
I enjoyed the prose but noticed multiple typos, hopefully resolved in the published version. I also thought the dialogue needed more variation. Overall I thought it was a great plot, and I loved how it all tied together very seamlessly. I can’t say I completely predicted Lukas being an artefact which was fun, although it was hinted and foreboded that there was something different about him, and it worked really well. I didn’t predict his ending, either, thinking the group would try and make an item to destroy the others. That was a great twist when it didn’t happen. Owen’s ending was poetic. The action scenes with the items were fabulous, I thoroughly enjoyed them. The author embraced the darkness and brutality of them. And the open ending felt perfect, cementing that magic in the world will never truly be contained or controlled - the mystery of them will always continue. Overall if you like well tied together plots with magic and murderers you’ll love this one.

I loved the first book, and this one was even better!! Absolutely amazing, it was dark, and magickal. Exactly what I needed. I'll be buying a hard copy.

Thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked The Book of Doors but I liked this even more. The main protagonist is Magda Sparks, a successful author who writes under a pen name. Following her mother’s death Magda has become the fourth member of the Society of Unknowable Objects, albeit one member has not been attending the six monthly meetings. The society’s aim is to keep magical objects safely hidden, away from those who would use them in a dangerous manner, but are they telling Magda everything?

Briefly, at the latest meeting the longest standing member and chair, Frank Simpson, tells of an artefact that has surfaced in Hong Kong and asks Magda to go and collect it. But she isn’t the only one looking for it. A professional killer soon finds her and the man who had the object, and whilst Magda barely escapes with her life her new friend is shot. Returning to London she learns more about the society’s secrets and their members and travels to USA in search of missing artefacts and the man who killed her friend. However, there is someone else looking for the magical items, someone very scary!

This is a very entertaining read. An action packed adventure across three continents with a dark magical theme, at times verging on supernatural horror. Great characters. I liked Magda very much, and the other society members, although Frank was a bit irritating but oh my goodness Lukas is seriously creepy, although I couldn’t help but feel some empathy for him. However I’d rather come up against the hitman! And if you’ve read the authors earlier books you will recognise a late cameo appearance from there. I really enjoyed this book. Next please.

Be careful what you wish for when handling magical artefacts

The combination of a book shop, artefacts with special powers and characters all with their own secrets make for an interesting tale. The eternal theme of those who would protect the world from those who would do anything for their own gain plays out around magical artefacts.

There is a twist and it’s a biggie that really shows the truth of be careful what you wish for. I really enjoyed the book and it’s characters and while the book works well as a standalone novel I hope that Gareth will be able to find more stories to tell us about these characters in future.

I loved The Book of Doors and so grabbed the chance to read this one with both hands and I wasn’t disappointed. Unknowable objects are everyday items - like a pair of cufflinks - that possess magical powers. In a bookshop in London, Frank Simpson leads the Society of Unknowable Objects with three others. The aim is to possess these objects and store them away safely so that they do not fall into the wrong hands - hands that would create havoc if they came across the power these items hold. When the society hears of an object in Hong Kong, Magda - whose mother died on an expedition to collect an unknowable object - volunteers to go. Once there she faces death and danger - a professional killer has beaten her to the prize and Magda escapes using an artefact that the society knows nothing about. Back in London, she discovers that there are secrets that the society has kept hidden for far too long and danger soon follows.
Once again the world that the author creates is vivid and his characters are ones that you feel for - apart from the villain of course, but even then you might change your mind. I was invested in the story and loved the excitement/danger in the second half of the book. As for the magic - there were so many artefacts that I would gladly have made use of. This isn’t a sequel to The Book of Doors, but it is an excellent companion. And - just wait until you read the epilogue.

I enjoyed Gareth Brown’s first novel, The Book of Doors, so I was really looking forward to his second book. The story moved along at a pace almost like a thriller with believable characters. Although set in the magical world it was quite a dark story but had a satisfying ending.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK for the ARC of this book.

Apologies but it appears this title was archived before I had downloaded to a reading device. I don't appear to be able to read this title to provide feedback at this time. I adored the author's debut and I will be purchasing this book to ensure I have a physical copy in future. Apologies again.

4.5 ⭐️
Having read The Book of Doors, by Gareth Brown, which I adored, I couldn’t wait to read The Society of Unknowable Objects and I was not disappointed.

This author sure knows how to write about magic, friendships and books!

I love the whole magic objects and secret society vibes along with brilliant characters that shine throughout. I was also pleased to see a cheeky little nod to the first book too.

A wonderful, magical adventure which I devoured.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC.

This was my first book by this author and so I wasn't expecting it to be as dark and sinister as it was. I went in expecting a cosy fantastical story. I should have done my research. The story was ok, I mostly liked the characters. It just wasn't what I was expecting.

As a huge lover of fantasy I knew I was going to enjoy this! However, I couldn’t have seen the twists and turns throughout, this book had me on the edge of my seat. Seeing how magic could be used in a world, in which it’s secret. Understanding that there can be both pros and cons. I loved the FMC and the way that she was written seeing her grow as well as struggle with her inner conflicts. This book was a fantastic read.

After being thoroughly captivated by The Book of Doors, I had high expectations for Gareth Brown’s second novel—and it didn’t disappoint. He returns with the same intoxicating blend of magic, danger, and high-stakes adventure that made his debut so memorable.

This time, we’re introduced to the Society of Unknowable Objects—a secretive group tasked with protecting powerful artifacts that, if unleashed, could wreak havoc on the world. The story follows Magda, one of four descendants sworn to safeguard these objects. When a new artifact surfaces in Hong Kong, Magda races to retrieve it, barely escaping with her life. But danger follows her home, and what unfolds is a gripping escalation that threatens not just Magda, but the entire Society.

Brown’s world-building is rich and imaginative, with magical elements that feel both wondrous and perilous. The pacing is taut, the stakes are real, and the sense of mystery lingers long after the final page. If you loved the thrill of The Book of Doors, this second novel opens up an even darker, more dangerous realm—and I loved every minute of it.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7805639516
https://maddybooksblog.blogspot.com/2025/08/the-society-of-unknowable-objects-by.html

There exists in London a secret society whose members are sworn to protect the world from magical objects and to prevent them from falling into the hands of those who would misuse them. When the society hears of a previously unknown item coming to light in Hong Kong, newest member Magda is sent to retrieve it. What follows is a dangerous adventure involving a professional killer, a mysterious man, and a plethora of secrets and lies that Magda must confront with the help of her friends.

Despite being, I think, completely unrelated in terms of plot and characters, The Society of Unknowable Objects feels remarkably similar to Gareth Brown’s previous novel, The Books of Doors. I kept expecting the book of doors itself to show up as an unknowable object, and there might be a sneaky little crossover reference towards the end, but overall the largely separate nature of the two stories makes the second one seem a little unoriginal.

However, I did enjoy the concept, the adventure, and most of the characters. Magda was a little too sweet and naïve, but I really liked Henry, Will and James. They helped to bring some much needed personality and humour to the story.

Oh my goodness, what a story! I loved the Book of Doors but this has far outstripped that, in fact it exceeded all expectations! An exciting, thrilling ride that I couldn't put down, it definitely makes the heart race!