Reviewed by Jennifer Senick for Readers' Favorite

The Silent Library by Salim El Dorra is a haunting, immersive story set in the city of Aerthos, which is unraveling under a strange plague known as the Dustfall. Readers are introduced to Leo, a young archivist entrusted with a dangerous mission to protect his people: find the legendary Silent Library of Kael. This mysterious library is said to have what is needed to reverse what is happening to the world. Leo’s journey takes him through dangerous wastelands, personal trials, and encounters with enigmatic strangers, all while the ever-present threat of silence and forgetting looms. In a world where reality blurs with dreams and the line between truth and perception grows thin, readers will be taken on a journey of vast proportions to help humanity survive.

What drew me to this book was its mysterious cover. I had to know where the dark, shadowy figure was going. I also found the title, The Silent Library, to be quite intriguing because, at face value, it makes complete sense that a library would be silent, but for a book title, it had to mean more. The title has different levels of meaning. The concept of silence changes throughout from a quiet library to the silence of forgotten stories to erased histories. I also found myself drawn further into Leo’s quest because of his relationships with other characters like Elara, Kira, and Clara. They helped to anchor him by giving him hope, guidance, and an emotional connection that made the stakes more personal. Salim El Dorra’s writing style also adds to the haunting, dreamlike aura of the story, as seen at the beginning, when describing Dustfall as a slow-moving plague that didn’t just cover things; it broke them down and made stone crumble. By the end, I realized The Silent Library isn’t just about saving a city—it’s about saving the very things that make us human.