The Society of Unknowable Objects
A Novel
by Gareth Brown
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Pub Date Aug 12 2025 | Archive Date Oct 07 2025
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Description
From the author of the internationally bestselling The Book of Doors, another fantastical, stand-alone novel in which a trio of seemingly everyday people are members of a secret society tasked with finding and protecting hidden magical objects—ordinary items with extraordinary properties.
The world of unknowable objects—magical items that most people have no idea possess powers—has been quiet for decades, but the 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 the world safe from them. But when Frank Simpson, the longest-standing member of the Society of Unknowable Objects, hears of a new artifact coming to light in Hong Kong, he sends Magda Sparks—author by day and newest member—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 artifact 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, now in pursuit of not an unknowable object, but an unknowable person: the professional 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.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9780063324039 |
| PRICE | $30.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 352 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Amanda R, Reviewer
☆4.75
What would one do with magic objects designed as everyday things? Good things? Bad things? An indifference or maybe averison to these great items.
The Society of Unknowable Objects only has 3 current members. It's a secret society that collects magic objects around the world and keeps them hidden and safe. When word arrives that a stranger in Hong Kong knows about them and has a magic object, Magda is sent to retrieve it. What should have been an easy trip becomes deathly. The Society seems to be keeping more than just objects secret, and Magda must make things right.
This was such a delightful book. I loved it. I really enjoy Browns writing style. I didn't want to finish it, I wanted to stay within the story, but I needed to know what was going to happen. The characters were relatable and frustrating at the same time. The magic system was simple yet believable and effective. I would love to come back to this world.
Thank you to williammorrowbooks and netgalley for providing me a copy to read and review honestly.
Whitney S, Reviewer
This story tells us that there are magical objects - from books to chess pieces to maps - in our world. Some of the objects were left over from a time when magic was accepted as real and other objects were made fairly recently. All these objects appear benign, but if used in the wrong hands can wreak havoc on our world. The Society of Unknowable Objects was formed to collect those magical objects to protect them and us. But, as usually is the case when dealing with unknowable objects not everything is as it seems to be, including the Society.
The author let his imagination run amok as he envisioned a whole host of unknowable objects, and his readers received a huge gift because he did. Gareth Brown is a talented author who knows how to keep his readers reading into the very early hours of the morning wanting - no, needing - to finish one more chapter.
This is a book to be savored because it is well written, the world building is imaginative, and the storyline is complex with unexpected twists and turns. By the end of the book, Brown tied up potential loose ends, the romance in this romantasy was in its infant stage, his readers are left hoping there will be many more books from him.
My thanks to Morrow and NetGalley for an eARC.
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