The Library at Mount Char

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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. Michael tried and tried, but the Deep One wouldn’t go for it. My brother tried to explain the situation, but Father wouldn’t listen." A first-rate novel… a sprawling, epic contemporary fantasy about cruelty and the end of the world, compulsively readable, with the deep, resonant magic of a world where reality is up for grabs. Unputdownable.”— Cory Doctorow, New York Times bestselling author of Little Brother and Makers At first, I thought it was a small story. Carolyn says to Steve, “come to this place with me and do this thing. I’ll pay you to do it.” But Hawkins fooled me. It was so much more. Allegorical. Universal in scope. But still relatable and funny at times. When I wasn’t thinking, “now what’s happening?” The ending is very satisfying – things are somehow fully explained without completely closing the door on the option for a sequel, if the author can figure out a few small details. (There is no sequel announced but the author has not ruled out the possibility.) I would take a sequel, though, if anyone’s asking. And I wouldn’t let it sit for nearly 2 years on my TBR list.

A wholly original, engrossing, disturbing, and beautiful book. You’ve never read anything quite like this, and you won’t soon forget it. The only trouble is that in the war to make a new God, she's forgotten to protect the things that make her human. Carolyn’s life changed forever when she was 8. That was the year her ordinary suburban subdivision was destroyed and the man she now calls Father took her and 11 other children to study in his very unusual Library. Carolyn studied languages—and not only human ones. The other children studied the ways of beasts, learned healing and resurrection, and wandered in the lands of the dead or in possible futures. Now they’re all in their 30s, and Father is missing. Carolyn and the others are trying to find him—but Carolyn has her own agenda and her own feelings about the most dangerous of her adopted siblings, David, who has spent years perfecting the arts of murder and war. Carolyn is an engaging heroine with a wry sense of humor, and Steve, the ordinary American ally she recruits, helps keep the book grounded in reality despite the ever growing strangeness that swirls around them. Like the Library itself, the book is bigger, darker, and more dangerous than it seems. The plot never flags, and it’s never predictable. Hawkins has created a fascinating, unusual world in which ordinary people can learn to wield breathtaking power—and he’s also written a compelling story about love and revenge that never loses sight of the human emotions at its heart. From the author of Looker comes this "compulsive and unforgettable novel" (Mona Awad) of razor-sharp suspense about two local librarians whose lives become dangerously intertwined.Many people are familiar with Schrödinger's cat, a thought experiment developed by Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger in the mid-1930s. Essentially, the idea was this: if you put a cat in a box, to an external observer, the cat is equally likely to be alive or dead at any given moment (or, more accurately, simultaneously alive and dead—e.g., quantum superposition). Smarter people than I (of which there are many) can elucidate how the experiment suggests flaws in the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics applied to everyday objects, but I’m going to apply it to another scenario. Shippey, Tom (2015-07-24). "Science Fiction: Hidden Worlds". Wall Street Journal . Retrieved 2016-02-28. Of course, this isn’t actually a mystery book, either. The book is classified under “contemporary fantasy”, and I guess that will have to do. I don’t want to go into the plot too much because half the fun of this book is the slow, steady reveal of how weird and crazy things are. Suffice to say, I have not read anything like it before, and just when I thought I figured out what’s going on, I was sooner proven wrong. Several times throughout the book we have examples of karmic horror, those occasions in which the self-serving, bureaucratic or petty minded arsehole suddenly comes up against something they cannot cope with and gets justly and roundly slaughtered as a result, and this was initially where I thought Erwin’s story was going, especially given David’s superhuman combat skills. Yet, in his anti-authoritarian attitude and supposed baddassery Hawkins seemed to think we were supposed to identify with, or at least admire Erwin. Not that someone cannot be a soldier, even a soldier who takes pride in war and also be a likable character, just that telling me how tough a character is even as they spout of quips and engage in self-aggrandisement is not usually a way to make me like that character. I also was a little confused at some of the military worship that goes on here, indeed I suspect both Erwin and the heavy emphasis on the US military is likely a carry over from a high ranking officer whom Hawkins is friends with and to whom the book is dedicated. Hawkins does however manage to avoid the usual slant into nationalism that often occurs when American writers like Scott Sigler or Dean Koontz discuss the military, though I still found it a bit strange how, instead of speaking of muggles or mortals or humans, everyone who is not Pelapi are apparently all Americans; which felt a little strange given that I’m neither an American nor a semi immortal librarian myself.

And then…”—she spat, blood spattering on his face in a fine spray—“from the east…” The words hissed out of her ragged, shattered throat as she took her finger away from his cheek. “Thunder.” Gods walking the earth is one thing, but to actually watch them perform an infinite regression of events to create their own successors in such a way that the poor sap doesn't even realize it until long after the big battle is a scale of craft that ought to be left to actual gods, and not some person named Scott Hawkins, who, out of the blue, blew my mind by actually pulling it off. Overall, I really enjoyed the book. Not only was it refreshingly original, but it was also laugh out loud funny in some moments and cry out loud powerful in others. The casual prose while discussing outlandish events fit perfectly with the quirky nature of the novel.What I am trying to say is that it was odd, I often had no clue what was going on, but I loved every second of it! Buddy Reads. Do you want to read a book and discuss it with others? Our Buddy Read section is open for this purpose. Funny, horrifying and original…the kind of story that keeps yanking you off in ridiculous new directions every time you think you know what’s coming next.” —David Wong, New York Times bestselling author of John Dies at the End

Hi there i am kavin, its my first occasion to commenting anywhere, when i read this article i thought i could Funny, horrifying and original…the kind of story that keeps yanking you off in ridiculous new directions every time you think you know what's coming next." - Jason Pargin although the majority of the characters are most unlikeable (which makes this story so engrossing), I did have an affinity for "Steve" and "Erwin"; and, This is a very brutal, rather crazy/flaky book that is so compellingly written it just drags you off on its bizarre journey.When Father goes missing, the Librarians he trained try to solve his murder while his legacy hangs in the balance. But what happened to him and who is responsible? More importantly, what will happen to His Library? Where both rage and love can be the energy source of suns, and bitch-slapping lionesses is perfectly acceptable behavior. Or where standing up for yourself can usually mean several dozen suicides. Sequentially. For one man. And Carolyn, who is studious and organized by nature, has a plan. It’s actually a pretty damned good plan. At the story’s center are Carolyn and Steve. He’s “American,” meaning “normal.” And she’s mostly comfortable in America but not really “of it.” Their past could possibly be linked, but Hawkins uses the entire book to gradually explain exactly how. In the present, however, she’s inwardly devious with an outward innocent streak. And her foil Steve is equal parts naïve and steely jawed.

Those mythologies were written to explain the unexplainable workings of nature, weather, time, and humanity itself. Funny, horrifying and original…the kind of story that keeps yanking you off in ridiculous new directions every time you think you know what's coming next. The Library at Mount Char is an urban fantasy/horror novel about Carolyn and her adopted "family" who are studying the seemingly endless knowledge of an immortal being that they call "Father." The lessons that they learn are terrifying but powerful.

Father" taught each of his librarians, but they were only allowed to study out of the books in their fields. Or they suffered the consequences. unusual alliances are formed, there is a great deal of violence (for those of you with triggers - many animals are harmed. people, too - scores of them - but i know a lot of readers are more sensitive to animal deaths, so be warned), and the story is not at all concerned with who the reader may have become attached to - this is a harsh realm. But I’m still givin’ it the big 4, because it’s so insane and imaginative and unique and really more of an Experience than a book. And you can’t undermine that.