Title: The Library at Mount Char
Author: Scott Hawkins
ISBN: 9780553418606
No. of Pages: 400
Genre: Fantasy
Origins: Mine. All mine.
Release Date: 16 June 2015
Synopsis:
“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.”
My Thoughts: Hot damn, was this an amazing book! My biggest regret is not reading it at an earlier date. Seriously, why didn’t you all tell me that I had to read it as soon as it was published? A simple, “Michelle, it is all sick and twisted and gross and everything you absolutely adore in a book” would have sufficed.
I am going to be completely incapable of doing anything other than gush here. Carolyn is kick-ass. Sneaky and powerful and awesome in the fact that she cares about a select few but doesn’t really give a rat’s ass about anything or anyone else. Steve is hilarious in his cluelessness and at the hapless events that befall him. Erwin is all sorts of awesome with his badassery. As for the rest of the crew, they are some messed-up mo-fos, but you cannot help but love them for it because they don’t pretend to be anything else.
As for the events of the novel, I could try to describe them. Unfortunately, anything I say will make The Library at Mount Char sound just plain weird. There is a Library with a capital L because it contains all of the secrets. There are Librarians each with their own specialty. There is Father, who is missing and who has quite the sadistic streak. There are other odd god-like entities that threaten but remain shadowy figures. There is a battle for that Library and its secrets, just like there is a half-hearted search for Father. There is lots of blood and gore and power and pseudo-science. There is trauma and drama and mystery and action and intrigue and love. See? Odd. But SO, so good. Just read it and be done with it!
BOTTOM LINE: What a fabulous way to start the new year in books!
