The Library at Mount Char
Ratings278
Average rating4.1
Gave up at 20%.
2021 seems like the year of abandoned books for me. This one has made me feel too much like I waste my time while reading.
I feel like you might like The Library at Mount Char. It's very weird and dark and shares a lot of DNA with the horror elements of Worm (I'd also compare it to Pact and the Umbrella Academy, maybe?). I read it a while ago, so I'm blanking on some of the specifics, but I remember it had a pretty cunning and morally grey protagonist a la Taylor. The characters have supernatural powers from being raised in a library where they each had to master a particular “catalogue”. The writing was excellent.
4
u/Lonewolf8424 Thinker 1 May 06 ‘19
Seconded. This is also one of the few books I've ever read that has made me actually laugh out loud several times.
Very memorable book all around.
2
u/A-wild-comment May 06 ‘19
One of my new favorites. Picked it up randomly and was blown away.
What caught my attention about this book was the description, more accurately the sentence: A library with the secrets to the universe. I clicked the request button without reading anything else wanting to ensure myself ne of the w5 available coies. I am so glad I did. It's one of the strangest, creepiest, memorable and shocking books I have ever come across.
What an opening sentence:
Carolyn, blood-drenched, and barefoot, walked alone down the two-line stretch of blacktop that the Americans called highway 78.
After that, I couldn't it it down without impatiently waiting to pick it back up. I still haven't fully absorbed all that I read, and am not sure that I ever will. I already want to pick it back up to restart reading this. I think I will, I am sure there will be more that I find the second time around now that I know what to expect. This is easily one of the best books I have ever read. I was so shocked to find out that this is the author's debut novel, I so wanted more from him. I hope there is more to come, soon, I am not a patient person.
The Library at Mount Char - 5 Stars
Let’s get one thing out of the way: the author has a sick imagination—this book clearly comes from a very damaged mind, and I mean that as a compliment.
The first part was a bit light on plot, and I started to lose interest. But once it gets going… oh boy. There’s a great setup, super cool characters, no-holds-barred scenes, and a solid writing style holding it all together.
It’s weird in all the right ways, the kind of story that sticks with you for its sheer originality.
I read an interview where the author admitted he’s been struggling to write a second book up to this standard. I thought that was a bit extreme—until I finished this. Now I get it. The Library at Mount Char is so unique, it would be hard to follow it up with anything average.
Verrrrrrrry weird sci-fi! I didn't really understand everything that was happening but I also couldn't stop thinking about it!
This is a very specific take on 'how to kill a god'. Parts of this were very well thought out heist-like planning. Other parts felt very like a first draft, important details being given a random conversation late in the book.
Absurd in the best way possible. It veers unpredictably from horrifying to hilarious. Incredible characters and a totally wild ride. Loved it.
How many technical writers have horror/fantasy/dystopian novels knocking around their brains? One is most certainly Scott Hawkins. This book is a wild ride for sure. And some of that ride is so horrific that you have to have a strong stomach to keep going. That's all I want to say about the tightly-crafted plot because the less you know going in, the better.
One of the most original fantasy(?) books I have read. Pacing is a bit weird, but definitely highly recommended.
This one surprised me, wholly original fantasy. One of those books where I wish I had written it.
UNDENIABLY 5 STARS. One of the best books I've read this year and that is not an exaggeration. (Not saying best because I finished the Remembrance of Earths Past trilogy this year and that series changed me as a person on a fundamental scale.)
Chaotic and absurd. Hilarious and horrifying. Beautiful beautiful ending. Absolutely everything.
Scott Hawkins has an absolutely unique and colourful voice as an author. Just remembering his words as I write this review has my heart pumping.
In the beginning it reminded me of a darker more fucked up Umbrella Academy and as I progressed it reminded me of a more put together, focused Homestuck. Absolute banger. Perfect in every way.
Didn't really enjoy this. Two things that stood out:
- Don't like it when an author wants to make one character the smartest in the room, and they do so by making other characters unreasonably stupid. There's a scene in this where the US secretary of state doesn't know who Oda Nobunaga is plsssss
- The Joss Whedon-style dialogue. It works in stuff like Buffy because there's a good balance of serious and snark. This tips way too far into pure snark. If you're not taking your own plot seriously why should I?
Gratuitously violent. To the point of gross. Just not my thing. Had to hit almost the halfway point before it started to click, and at that point the violence was less and the story took more of a starring role. Back half is much better than the front half. If this was a series, I wouldn't feel compelled to continue.
And there's a point in that first half where I practically shrieked, ‘tell me you don't know anything about jurisdiction without telling me you don't know anything about jurisdiction!' Find a lawyer to run the premise past and course correct the scenario as needed. Sigh.
Slow start for me but halfway through I was fully engaged and I did not predict the end at all.
4.5 rounded up
What did I just read?? I had to keep going back to pay attention at the details. For those of you expecting your classic dark academia, nope. There is an element of black widow sort of training, but the worls building, the nature of the library take over that pretty quick.
Our MC is fantastic, and at the same time, we're not necessarily rooting for her. The side characters, especially Erwin, but also David, Michael, Jennifer were great to learn about. Father was also a very compelling character, though i wished we had time to learn more about him.
Like i said, the world was just amazing. And when things went south the stakes were very high. We aren't necessarily invested in Carolyn's emotional quest, we just want her to succeed and see what happens next. There was a lot going on in this book
I highly recommend this for people who like sci fi, a bit of dark academia and mayhem. The descriptions were pretty graphic, especially when describing smells, it really made you be right there in the story, grossed out and graphic.
Absolute batsh*t ride, different, exciting, dark, inventive, just something different to clean your palate (mind you it has very gross moments)
I love it when I get no information about what is going on, just me, context clues and great vibes.
I wasn't sure what was happening (in a good, mysterious way) until the end. A strange, but engrossing book.
I'm slightly at a loss as to how to describe this book. Think....a secret society with forbidden knowledge has their leader disappear. As you follow the students/disciples on their quest to find him, you learn more about their society along the way. This is a fantasy novel, and I think would sit in the “dark academia” subcategory. But this is DARK academia. Way dark. It also gets pretty weird/trippy, although I think that is what saved it for me. Some of the characters are so bizarre that they tip over into being charming. The plot is also pretty bizarre, to the point that by the end you're just shrugging your shoulders and saying, “sure, why not?”
I had a few points early on in reading that I wasn't sure if I was going to make it through, but by the end I was enjoying it. If you're looking for a spooky-ish novel to read under a blanket during spooky season, this could be the book for you.
This was a strange book. I almost gave up approximately 20 percent in. That's when stuff started to be more cohesive.
There is a guy who is called Father who has a lot of adopted children, and he has a library section for each of them to learn. Carolyn, who is the main character, is a bit off the wall which we learn why later. It turns out that Father made them immortal, and he is a supreme being of some sort. Carolyn gets Steve involved in her schemes and weird stuff happens. I can't tell too much or it will spoil the book.
This book reminded me of the final seasons of the TV show Supernatural. What would happen if an all-knowing god actually lost a battle or two. I also got some higher intelligence treats us like pond scum vibes. By the time things all shake out you get some empathy, deeper layers of understanding, a sacrifice, and a hankering for some BBQ. Or not...