Scott Hawkins

The Library at Mount Char

After she and a dozen other children found them being raised by "Father," a cruel man with mysterious powers, Carolyn and her "siblings" begin to think he might be God. When Father disappears, they square off against each other to determine who will inherit his library, which may hold the power to all Creation. As Carolyn gathers the tools she needs for the battle to come she has a play. The only trouble is that in the war to make a new God, she's forgotten to protect the things that make her human ...

Phenomenal. Unbelievable. The border between fantasy and reality is blurred, but the narrative structure, characters, and setting make for an unprecedented reading experience. I would recommend this book to anyone

Jack Lucie

fris🐝

Annika Arguemore

Mind-blowingly epic. It was like Neil Gaiman + Heroes + The Messengers + Transformers or something like that. The only thing I didn't like about this book was the portrayal of dogs as villains. Other than that, though, the whole thing was remarkable.

Aine Meehan

Very creative and unusual. Really liked it. Really hope the author has more up his sleeve.

Annabelle Gauthier

After she and a dozen other children found them being raised by "Father," a cruel man with mysterious powers, Carolyn and her "siblings" begin to think he might be God; so when he dies, they square off against each other to determine who will inherit his library, which they believe holds the power to all Creation.

Colleen

5 Stars
 
*A brilliant and bizarre SciFi ride that kept me entertained from cover to cover*
 

  



If I had to sum up The Library at Mount Char in one word, it would be Bizarre.
 
But there are different types of bizarre. There is the uncomfortable type that makes you cringe and back away slowly. Then there is the type that triggers some primal urge to curiously rubberneck at atrocities like a brutal car crash on the highway.
 
Only in the case of The Library at Mount Char, that car crash has been spectacularly predestined and orchestrated by a mad genius and may also involve human sacrifice, SWAT teams, nuclear warheads, bad fashion choices, oh… and some lions.
 

  “Step into the darkness with me, child... I will make of you a God.”

So yeah, Bizarre is definitely an apt description. I knew this story would be weird, but I had no idea what I was in for. And it’s really better that way! If you plan on reading this book, the less you know the better!
 
I won’t say much about the plot, because I don’t want to spoil anything. But this story kept me guessing the whole way! When so many books are just regurgitations of the same ideas/characters/plots, The Library at Mount Char absolutely stands out as one of the most unique books I’ve ever read. I’m not quite sure if it will go on my all-time favorites list, but it will stick out in my memories as brilliantly unique. And bizarre. Soooo bizarre.
 
From the start of the story, the reader is left floundering a bit. You aren’t told who people are or what is going on. It’s clear that something tricky is lurking in the plot, but it’s skulking just out of sight. Usually it drives me insane when an author deliberately withholds information and plays coy with the details. But Hawkins did it so well! All that peculiar randomness totally mesmerized me until I didn’t really care if it made sense or if I was missing the point – I was enjoying one hell of ride, and I was totally ready to pop some popcorn, put on a tutu, and blissfully watch the world burn.
 
I have questions about the kind of mind that wrote a story like this… Where did all of these crazy ideas come from?? Channel surfing on acid perhaps? And when will we get more? You have this normal-sounding guy whose only publications were technical manuals and then BAM! The Library at Mount Char appears and starts blowing minds.


  “I must send you into exile, that you may be the coal of her heart. No real thing can be so perfect as memory, and she will need a perfect thing if she is to survive. She will warm herself on the memory of you when there is nothing else, and be sustained.”

Side Note: I would call this SciFi not Fantasy. There is a mystical library and people that have mastered skills beyond Earth’s current knowledge, but the story repeatedly says that this is not magic; it’s just science we don’t understand yet. So it definitely isn’t Fantasy.
 
I also want to mention that this isn’t a book for everyone. There is a lot of brutality in this story including physical and psychological torture, abuse, rape, murder, and a ton of gory violence. And most of it presented in a blasé, offhanded way. There were so many “Wait… whaaaaat?” moments in this book. But despite the large amount of violence, it never felt gratuitous; it somehow fit the story.
 
There were also flashes of humor so incongruous to the violence yet perfectly timed that I couldn’t help but let out little chuffs of laughter though sometimes I felt a teensy bit guilty for it. But those moments were not too corny and just the right amount of humor at the right moments to keep the story from being overwhelmingly bleak.
 
As I mentioned, I wouldn’t recommend The Library at Mount Char to everyone. But if you are willing to throw caution to the wind, then you’ll be in for one hell of a ride!

 
RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 5 Stars
Writing Style: 5 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 5 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 4 Stars
Level of Captivation: 5 Stars
Originality: 5 Stars

Shiveen Pandita

One of the most enjoyable reads I have had this year.

Prashanth Srivatsa

Yeah, I don't know how to review this book. Except that it's weird, bizarre, and all their synonyms you can muster. It's complemented by some clever character sketches - you don't realize when you're suddenly rooting for someone - and authorly courage that's uncommon.

Midori Kobayashi

4/5 stars


WHAT THE FUCK WAS THIS?? NO, WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED? (in the nicest way possible)

this book is weird, this book is bizarre and i loved every page of it. it was difficult to make sense of it at first because in every chapter a different pov/story comes up and you don't know where it is going- but after a couple of chapters, I WAS HOOKED. 

honestly, i would try to summarize what this is but I'd fail miserably. it's a weird mix of urban fantasy, whimsical, and horror. 

Even tho I loved it, I know this book isn't for everyone. If weird books with bizarre stories are not your jam, do not waste your energy on this chunky one. 


  Book Trigger Warnings- child abuse, murder, maiming, rape, animal violence, violence against everything and everyone.

Weird, but not **super** weird. Entertaining, but not enriching. It's good genre fiction.

Ashlyn

Jeff James

Full disclosure: I received a free review copy of this book from Net Galley.

The Library at Mount Char is a fantastic book, but it’s almost impossible to summarize. Part of the problem is that a lot of the book hangs on misdirection. The main character knows a lot of things that she isn’t telling us, so we have to work with what little the author provides.

This means that to summarize the book past the first few chapters is to spoil some really great surprises. On the other hand, some of the bat-shit weirdness that occurs in later chapters is what made me truly, madly, deeply love this completely insane novel. It’s a bit of a quandary, because I want to recommend this book to everyone I know.

It doesn’t help that the book’s cover looks like the sort of thing you might find on a remaindered thriller in the bargain bin. The design doesn’t really grab you by the face and insist that you start reading the book RIGHT THIS INSTANT.

The basic summary is as follows: Carolyn and her adopted brothers and sisters are apprentice librarians in a massive, strange Library full of books that include all the knowledge in the world. When they were young, all of their parents died suddenly and a mysterious man they call “Father” adopted them. Father is viciously cruel, incredibly dangerous and infinitely powerful… but he’s gone missing and now none of them can get back into the Library. When they discover what actually happened to Father, it may change the fate of the entire universe as we know it.

I started reading Mount Char back in September on my Kindle, but – even though I was definitely enjoying the book – I just didn’t make much progress. It’s gotten to the point that I just don’t finish books quickly unless they’re an audiobook because I can listen to them during my commute. I don’t really set aside time to sit down with a book in front of my face. So, despite the fact that I really enjoyed what I’d read of Mount Char, it ended up languishing on my Kindle to the point that I began forgetting what was going on in the story.

Luckily, my local library has a great selection of books in Overdrive, so I was able to download the MP3 version without waiting for too long. The audiobook has a fantastic narrator who really captures Carolyn’s odd combination of valley girl mannerisms and menacing behavior, so it ended up being the best possible way to read the book.

So, the question is: how do I explain to you what this book is and why you should read it? Well, first off, I think one of the simplest things I can say is that if you enjoy the work of Neil Gaiman, it’ll probably be in your wheelhouse even though it’s simultaneously very different from the sorts of things he writes.

The Library at Mount Char is a dark fantasy with occasional gruesome parts. It’s also absurdly funny. You may go for long stretches of the novel not entirely sure who to root for. You oftentimes won’t understand why the characters are doing what they’re doing. There was a point about two-thirds of the way through when I realized that there was still plenty of story left even though one big thread had wrapped up. It was really exciting because I wasn’t at all sure where Hawkins might be going with the rest of the book.

One of the best parts about The Library at Mount Char is that it is so incredibly confident. The longer you stick with the story, the clearer it becomes that Hawkins knows exactly what he is doing. The way he undermines expectations feels almost gleeful.

The Library at Mount Char is easily one of the best and most exciting books I’ve read in a very long time. I want to buy copies for everyone I know and pester them until they read it. I hope someone eventually figures out a way to turn it into a movie because I’d love to see some of the later scenes dramatized. I can’t recommend it enough.

“Wholly original . . . the work of the newest major talent in fantasy.”—The Wall Street Journal “Freakishly compelling . . . through heart-thumping acts of violence and laugh-out-loud moments, this book practically dares you to keep reading.”—Atlanta Magazine A missing God. A library with the secrets to the universe. A woman too busy to notice her heart slipping away. Carolyn's not so different from the other people around her. She likes guacamole and cigarettes and steak. She knows how to use a phone. Clothes are a bit tricky, but everyone says nice things about her outfit with the Christmas sweater over the gold bicycle shorts. After all, she was a normal American herself once. That was a long time ago, of course. Before her parents died. Before she and the others were taken in by the man they called Father. In the years since then, Carolyn hasn't had a chance to get out much. Instead, she and her adopted siblings have been raised according to Father's ancient customs. They've studied the books in his Library and learned some of the secrets of his power. And sometimes, they've wondered if their cruel tutor might secretly be God. Now, Father is missing—perhaps even dead—and the Library that holds his secrets stands unguarded. And with it, control over all of creation. As Carolyn gathers the tools she needs for the battle to come, fierce competitors for this prize align against her, all of them with powers that far exceed her own. But Carolyn has accounted for this. And Carolyn has a plan. The only trouble is that in the war to make a new God, she's forgotten to protect the things that make her human. Populated by an unforgettable cast of characters and propelled by a plot that will shock you again and again, The Library at Mount Char is at once horrifying and hilarious, mind-blowingly alien and heartbreakingly human, sweepingly visionary and nail-bitingly thrilling—and signals the arrival of a major new voice in fantasy. Praise for The Library at Mount Char An engrossing fantasy world full of supernatural beings and gruesome consequences."—Boston Globe "Vivid . . . the dialogue sings . . . you'll spend equal time shuddering and chortling."—Dallas Morning News"

A Novel

Taylor

Kind of a John Dies at the End vibe. Really fun ride.

Siya S

Interesting plot and characters. A mix between absurdity, fantasy and magical realism. I like the creative ideas behind it...though I don't think I love it.

A mysterious library contains the secrets to the universe in a visionary fantasy with elements of dark academia. Perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman. Carolyn's not so different from the other people around her. She likes guacamole and cigarettes and steak. She knows how to use a phone. Clothes are a bit tricky, but everyone says nice things about her outfit with the Christmas sweater over the gold bicycle shorts. After all, she was a normal American herself once. That was a long time ago, of course. Before she and the others were taken in by the man they called Father. In the years since then, Carolyn hasn't had a chance to get out much. Instead, she and her adopted siblings have studied the books in his Library and learned some of the secrets of his power. And sometimes, they've wondered if their cruel tutor might secretly be God. Now, Father is missing—perhaps even dead—and the Library that holds his secrets stands unguarded. And with it, control over all of creation.

Janice Hopper

I read a lot of buzz about this book when it came out. I read the preview, bought it when it went on sale and... didn't read it. Not for a long time. I'm not even sure why. I THINK I thought I'd be seriously creeped out by it, and was afraid to go down that road.

Well, one day last week it was Time To Read That Book. 

What happens when it's time for what is essentially one of the Great Hidden Powers Behind The World to GO DOWN?? This book, apparently. Carolyn is a Librarian, though definitely NOT one of those folks who work in the helpful place of books. Along with her siblings, she is essentially being groomed to power. Immense, supernatural power. Carolyn and her fellow librarians have the power of life and death; the power to muck around with time; and MORE. Much more.

These people are TERRIFYING. They're vicious gods. And they're not the only ones in the world. Needless to say, most ordinary people have no idea these beings live among us.

This is the story of how one of these gods overthrows another. And what happens after.

It's rarely gory. There's no woman being stalked (these are my horror bugaboos). But really powerful beings who essentially have no constraints are TERRIFYING. It's cosmic horror, in a big way.

It's well written, and it's good, and it's terrifying. 

(Apologies for all the caps. Nothing else quite expresses the effect this had on me. I read the first part. Then I had to put the book down for a bit, and then read the last part in a couple of sessions. Still terrified.)

Didi Chanoch

This is a book about a library, and a really messed up family, and about gods. Well, sort of. Lets say, godlike people. It's a dark fantasy, occasionally bordering on horror, occasionally crossing that border. 

The Library at Mount Char is an extraordinary beautiful puzzle, excellently written, and telling a compelling story. I really liked it, so that makes it 4 stars. But I had issues with it, which would have made my actual score 3.5 stars if that was an option. While it is a remarkable book, I had trouble believing some of the characters. Well, one in particular, and not one of those whose circumstances have made them at least partially alien. 

I'm being vague on purpose, as I do not want to spoil the book and I do recommend it.

I absolutely loved this book. One of if not the best book I've read this year. It's not quite to the level of but this books spirit animal is American Gods. If you're looking for a Dark fantasy that takes place in modern times and is a bit gruesome while also being rather funny in a twisted way, this is the book for you.

Jasmine

This book is great! It’s going to take you a bit to really get into it, but it’s so worth it once that starts happening.

It's as if Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, and Stephen King decided to make a child together. This book is that child. 

Caoimhe Creaven 

Maggie Gordon

The Library at Mount Char is one of the more creative contemporary fantasies I've read in a long time. It takes place in our world, except there's so much that we don't know happening behind the scenes. There's a seemingly almost all powerful man called "The Father" who has been ruling this universe for 60,000 years. He has 12 children/apprentices, and each specialise in a different field of... science? Magic? It's hard to tell because time is pretty fluid for these people. Are they using incredibly advanced technology or are they casting spells? Who knows, but I categorized this is fantasy so take that as you will. 

The book starts when The Father disappears, and the 12 apprentices find that they can't return to their library (which conveniently exists in a slightly different realm). Now they try to disarm the strange mathematical construct that is keeping them out, but things are not what they seem. Our viewpoint character is Carolyn, master of languages. She enters the human world to bring back a helper, and this sets off a battle with intense repercussions for the rest of the world. 

I commend the book for managing to conjure up a lot of interesting twists and surprises without relying on nonsense plot shifts. Instead, the strange Pelapi apprentices think and react differently than your average human. It lets the narrative hop around in unexpected ways in a natural, but oh so intriguing manner. As a reader, you get the sense that what is going on is so far out of your ability to understand, but this isn't frustrating. It's alien and weird, but in a way that feels organic and provides readers with quite the wild ride. Definitely an interesting, bizarre, and very innovative novel. Highly recommended!

Celeste Richardson

Full review now posted!
You can find this review and more at Booknest.

Have you ever bought a book and not gotten around to reading it until years later? This is a constant problem for me, because I might have the teensiest book-buying addiction. I currently have well over 3,000 books in my home, many of which I bought because they were incredibly cheap, not to mention that I wanted to take them home with me because they had words in them. I have more books than I will probably ever be able to read. Does that stop me from buying more? Nope! My shelves have turned into something akin to archeological sites; I never know what I’ll dig up when I start looking for my next read. 

The Library at Mount Char was my most recent rediscovery. I bought it two years ago because it had a pretty cover (with the word “library” in the title, no less) and was on sale, but I somehow never got around to reading it. When I plucked it from behind the stuffed Totoro it was hiding behind, I got incredibly excited. The synopsis sounded weird and fabulous, and I wanted to start reading it immediately. Alas, now my reading is a bit more structured, so I had to pencil it into my schedule. 

The day arrived. I picked up the book and started reading. And I almost put it down. The first fifty pages of it were so dark, so bleak, that it was almost too much for me. There was child abuse and human sacrifice and poor victims resurrected to endure the torture over and over again until they grasped whatever lesson was being taught. Although the Library itself sounds amazing, it’s not a place I would ever in a million years want to visit. The hopelessness of the situation and the feral self-preservation that defined the students was just about enough to convince me to return the book to its hiding place behind Totoro. 

“You can adjust to almost anything.”

But I’m glad I didn’t. I read the last two hundred pages in less than three hours. I can’t even tell you exactly what kept me so engaged, except that it was incredibly unpredictable. I’ve never read anything like it. Carolyn and Steve, the story’s main characters, continued to grow and surprise and sometimes horrify. Both characters had far more depth than I anticipated when they first appeared on the scene. Steve was the only genuinely good person in the book. He had a past, and he made mistakes, but he was good down to his toenails. But Carolyn, the true protagonist, was the real surprise for me. I understood her motivations, even when they made me super uncomfortable. Her intellectual rigor was so impressive. I loved this quote describing her:

“Carolyn’s eyes were like granite, against which soft things might smash and be broken.”

There was never a dull moment in this little book. There were epic lions battling packs of completely insane dogs. There were zombies in suburbia. There was the most terrifying barbecue pit on the face of the earth. There was a psychotic warmonger in a tutu and his girlfriend who liked to lick the tears from the decapitated heads of his victims. (They liked to finish off their sex-capades by killing each other and having their incredibly stoned physician resurrect them. Seriously, they were so disturbing.) We get to meet the Sun and a tiger god and the President of the United States. This was one of the most varied casts I’ve ever read.

All in all, The Library at Mount Char was one of the most unique books I’ve ever read, if also one of the darkest and most irreverent. I recommend this book to those who can handle that darkness and the depression it often brings with it. Maybe balance it out with a Disney movie or two. Moana worked for me. If you do decide to pick this book up, I can promise you that you won’t be bored!

Alex Q

I kept putting this book down because I couldn't really get into it. It definitely got more interesting about 1/3 of the way through, but did it get better? I still don't know. I can't tell if I liked it. It was so strange, and then had such a predictable ending. Something about it kept me coming back though. It is, at least, unlike many other books I've read within the genre.

Jenna

Oh man... where to even begin with this one? One of the most original books I've ever read. This book was so creative and fun. Fun? I mean, I had fun reading it. 

This book is about a girl named Carolyn who grows up in a "library" and is forced by her father to study languages. This library is unlike a normal library. When the "students" study a topic, they go very deep. Carolyn can speak every language on earth. Her "siblings" all study different topics and have a variety of special skills, like healing or mathematics. The book follows what happens when Carolyn's father disappears. 

This book was so, so good. The characters were great and the original plot kept me guessing. I really loved being immersed in this world and I've been in a book hangover ever since finishing it.

Mia Kern

Ok...wow. I'm having a hard time putting what I'm thinking into words because this book took away my ability to think coherently. 

First off, this book is just...bizarre. Like, murderers in tutus and talking tigers bizarre. Reading it was like putting together a very weird puzzle, where nothing makes sense until the very end. But this book is so unbelievably  smart. Small stories that appeared, at first, to serve only as character building turned out to be integral to the entire plot. The story was so ridiculously well thought out, with every little piece falling perfectly into place within the larger narrative.

Also, the characters? *chef's kiss.* Carolyn was a fascinating lead, sympathetic at times, cold and calculated at others. An antihero who's clearly hiding something from everyone, including the reader. The chapters told from Steve and Erwin's perspectives were so clearly written with their unique voices, and also served to keep the reader in the dark about key pieces of Carolyn's scheme. This is a book that, while I'm sad that I'll never get to experience it for the first time again, I can't wait to reread and pick up on all the little clues that I missed the first time around.

Ian Marchant 

I don't normally leave reviews on books but this one made me at least leave a few words. 

Absolutely agree with some of the other comments on here. I had no clue what was going on at the start and then it just got weirder and weirder and more compelling as I went through the book.

Loved it to bits and have been extolling the virtues to anyone who will listen :-)

The Library at Mount Char

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