THE ARCHIVIST

Teens with an unusual link confront a potentially sinister force in a dark urban fantasy.

In this book’s fictional world, the Aether snatches people’s “essences” after death. But the Archivist, a mysterious teenager whose face no one can remember, preserves essences in the physical world. Families can speak to a late loved one, whose face momentarily takes over the Archivist’s, for as long as they keep paying his hefty fee. He can take only an essence from a dying person but can have a special connection to the living, as he does with 17-year-old half Korean Sun-young Kang. He helps Sun and her little sister Laure escape a sexually abusive man. This, however, is the start of a series of unexplained events; a “spate of suicides” ensues, and someone, it seems, is stealing essences from the Archivist before his body can take them in. While the Archivist believes his kind have been dying out, he now realizes someone like him may be brewing something nefarious. He and Sun hunt for answers, only to find themselves, and Laure, in danger. There’s a lot to unpack in Nelson’s (The Keeper of Portals, 2019) supernatural tale. Archivists, for one, have been around long enough for some in this story to suspect the titular young man is a fraud. Though he’s initially cold—treating a grieving family as a business transaction—he slowly develops compassion for the sisters, and whip-smart Sun may feel the same for him. This dark fantasy melds into a mystery, as an unknown villain seemingly targets the Archivist, Sun, and Laure. Nelson keeps the rather sizable cast in check, and the story is never convoluted, despite red herrings and dead characters popping up on the Archivist’s face. Though the location of all the action is unspecified, the author paints memorable visuals and supplies and a worthy open ending.

A dense but absorbing tale of death’s endless perils and complications.