The Library at Mount Char

Genre: Fantasy / Mystery

Book Type: Physical

Author: Scott Hawkins

Pages: 400

Publisher: Crown (March 15, 2016)

Book Description:

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.

Thoughts:

This was a completely out of my normal genre read for me! I’ve been dabbling in fantasy a little, but this took things to a whole new level for me – AND IT WORKED?! This book was actually insane to read. I had ZERO clue what I was reading for about the first half of the book but was told to “stick with it,” and I am so glad I did.

💥⚠️💥Warning 💥⚠️💥

This was extremely dark and graphic.

This sounds crazy but I don’t know how to describe a book like this. It was about 12 children who each had unique catalogs to study and perfect (ie: language, resurrection from the dead, fight/battle, the afterlife, etc), and these children live in a parallel universe as Earth. There is Steve, who is a “normal” human, a “Father” figure, and a whole lot of chaos. Carolyn is trying to overthrow the current norm, and underneath this crazy story, there is a level of mystery and complexities of the mind and how far you can push it. There is this idea of “regression completeness” that is summed up as, “It’s the notion that the universe is structured in such a way that no matter how many mysteries you solve, there is always a deeper mystery behind it,” (pg 20).

The beginning of the book could have been about 60 – 80 pages shorter for me, as there is A LOT of backstory and groundwork laid in this book, it’s incredibly gruesome at times, but if you stick with this, somehow it all comes together in the end, and dare I say “beautifully?!” That seems like an inappropriate word to use for this book, but if you’ve read it, comment below. I’m interested in your take on this book.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#Fantasy #horror #Mystery #paranormal #scifi