The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
Publication Date: June 16th, 2015
Publisher: Broadway Books
Genre: Adult Fantasy
Source: Library
Summary
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.
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.
(Courtesy of Goodreads)
My Review
I'm going to start off this review by saying I don't think anything I say can possibly do this book justice. I honestly don't even think the publishers summary on Goodreads does a good job of telling you what this book is about. The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins is one of the strangest, and yet most beautiful stories I've read in a long time. It explores the depths of the human condition without being pretentious (just writing the phrase "the human condition" made me feel pretentious, please don't let that turn you off). I hope this somewhat short review can at least convince you to pick it up, because I don't think you'll regret it.
The Library at Mount Char is classified as fantasy and while it has many fantastical elements, it's not your typical fantasy book. It's less about the world and more about the people within them. I wouldn't say it's a character-driven novel, but in my opinion, the plot is more of a device to showcase the characters. Hawkins does an amazing job of creating such unique, flawed characters. I almost didn't care about the plot itself, but rather how the characters acted and reacted. Maybe it's more of a character driven story than I initially thought.
This book is a textbook example of starting a story in media res. The story literally starts out with Caroline, the main character walking down a highway covered in blood. I promise that's not a spoiler for anything. The first fifty pages are confusing as the reader is thrust into a world that they know nothing about. But, the story is so well-written that it makes you want to continue reading, rather than put the book down. At least, that was the case in my experience, but I can see how others would think differently. There are a lot of elements of the story that don't come together until half-way through, and some aren't tied up until the very end, which, honestly, is what I loved about The Library at Mount Char.
I never intended to pick up The Library at Mount Char, and I kind of did it on a whim. Reading it brought me back to the days where I would find a book in the bookstore or library without having heard anything about it before that moment and just start reading. Being so entrenched in the book community, it's been a while since I've had that luxury, and I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing that again with The Library at Mount Char.
The Library at Mount Char is classified as fantasy and while it has many fantastical elements, it's not your typical fantasy book. It's less about the world and more about the people within them. I wouldn't say it's a character-driven novel, but in my opinion, the plot is more of a device to showcase the characters. Hawkins does an amazing job of creating such unique, flawed characters. I almost didn't care about the plot itself, but rather how the characters acted and reacted. Maybe it's more of a character driven story than I initially thought.
This book is a textbook example of starting a story in media res. The story literally starts out with Caroline, the main character walking down a highway covered in blood. I promise that's not a spoiler for anything. The first fifty pages are confusing as the reader is thrust into a world that they know nothing about. But, the story is so well-written that it makes you want to continue reading, rather than put the book down. At least, that was the case in my experience, but I can see how others would think differently. There are a lot of elements of the story that don't come together until half-way through, and some aren't tied up until the very end, which, honestly, is what I loved about The Library at Mount Char.
I never intended to pick up The Library at Mount Char, and I kind of did it on a whim. Reading it brought me back to the days where I would find a book in the bookstore or library without having heard anything about it before that moment and just start reading. Being so entrenched in the book community, it's been a while since I've had that luxury, and I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing that again with The Library at Mount Char.
Happy reading!
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