From the Library of Jurgen Leitner – Review

The world of The Magnus Archives comes to life in this thrilling novel from Premee Mohamed and Jonathan Sims.

*warning: minor spoilers for From The Library of Jurgen Leitner and The Magnus Archives found below

From the Library of Jurgen Leitner is the first novel set in the terrifying world of The Magnus Archives, a podcast that details anecdotes of horror and terror that slowly come together to reveal a larger picture. Many of these stories revolve around books that originally came from the library of a mysterious individual named Jurgen Leitner, a collector of rare and books whose collection became infamous for containing some truly dangerous volumes. The library’s destruction, leading to the books being spread to the wind, was a major part of The Magnus Archives story.

In this novel, the reader gets the chance to see Leitner’s library before its destruction, as well as follow around the ordinary people who are helping Leitner compile his collection. Specifically, the story follows two narratives separated by about a year, one following the unassuming Hugh, the other the arrogant Sebastian. These two figures are polar opposites except for their attachment to books, to Mr. Leitner’s books in particular.

Hugh and Sebastian are both interesting characters in their own right. Hugh is probably the closest the book comes to an “everyman” figure. Most can find common cause with a worker who has the sudden realization that things in their workplace are far from normal while they’re just trying to get by in life. Sebastian, by contrast, is the type of character just begging to be taken down a notch. Anyone who has ever worked a job has met someone like Sebastian.

It took some time to see it, but one of the best things about From the Library of Jurgen Leitner is that it is a masterful example of the long game being played out in a horror setting. The book reminds me of how the best films from the SAW franchise play out. In those films, the plot often feels fragmented, like a puzzle out of joint. Until, that is, one vital piece locks into place and you realize an epic scheme has been unfolding from the very start.

That’s the kind of story that this book is telling. Once you get to the story’s big twist and reread the story, a number of seemingly minor details suddenly make a terrifying amount of sense. There’s a brilliant amount of foreshadowing going on, which practically guarantees subsequent rereads will feel completely different but still engaging.

On another level, this is a story that focuses on the idea of hubris, that is, the idea of overwhelming arrogance or pride. There are several characters guilty of hubris in this particular book but the most guilty of all would be Jurgen Leitner himself. Leitner is one of those people who, given a taste of forbidden knowledge, immediately assumes that he knows best and no one else can be trusted with this information. There are many glaring problems with this approach, one of the biggest being that Leitner isn’t willing to acknowledge what he doesn’t know about the books in his library.

The books themselves are the crux of the story. We never get a full explanation for what they are, but what we do learn is that the books have power, real power. The type of power that doesn’t like being locked up behind a display case. The fatal blunder Leitner and just about everyone else in this story makes is thinking for one second that any of these books can be contained or controlled. Power on that level can be occasionally bargained with, maybe even temporarily placated. But controlled? Never.

From the Library of Jurgen Leitner is a great book, and it doesn’t matter if you’ve listened to all the episodes of The Magnus Archives or none at all. The story tells you everything you need to know in the moment. If nothing else, the book serves as a proper jumping on point for anyone who may have wanted to check the podcast out but never had the opportunity before.