From the Bookshelf of The Sword and Laser…

The Library at Mount Char

Scott Hawkins

Start date: October 1, 2023

Finish date: October 31, 2023

Discussion: The Library at Mount Char

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The Library at Mount Char

TLAMC: Some final thoughts (spoilers)
By Pumpkinstew · 6 posts · 69 views

last updated Nov 01, 2023 04:06PM

TLAMC: Book Vibes
By CountZeroOr · 13 posts · 116 views

last updated Oct 26, 2023 06:01AM

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What Members Thought

Mar 22, 2021 John Wiswell rated it it was amazing

I've been so busy and drained that I haven't read nearly as much fiction as I'd like. The best indication of that? Every time I picked up The Library at Mount Char, I was sucked right in. It took me months to finish purely because of my schedule.

Hawkins's balance of protagonists is dizzying. Each feels uncomfortably well realized, given foibles and traumas so specific that they quickly feel like people I know, even if some of them are cosmic entities. Bouncing between demigods in search of their ...more

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Nov 18, 2016 Brittany rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

A wonderful book, with the exception of one truly upsetting scene about dogs. (And the author had dogs, so what's up with that??)

It wasn't nearly as grim as I was expecting, though there was plenty of that in it. It was surprisingly sweet, but not in a saccharine way. ...more

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Sep 30, 2015 Jeff James rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, audiobooks, review-copies, library-books, netgalley, podcastgen

Full disclosure: I received a free review copy of this book from Net Galley.

The Library at Mount Char is a fantastic book, but it’s almost impossible to summarize. Part of the problem is that a lot of the book hangs on misdirection. The main character knows a lot of things that she isn’t telling us, so we have to work with what little the author provides.

This means that to summarize the book past the first few chapters is to spoil some really great surprises. On the other hand, some of the bat-s Full disclosure: I received a free review copy of this book from Net Galley.

The Library at Mount Char is a fantastic book, but it’s almost impossible to summarize. Part of the problem is that a lot of the book hangs on misdirection. The main character knows a lot of things that she isn’t telling us, so we have to work with what little the author provides.

This means that to summarize the book past the first few chapters is to spoil some really great surprises. On the other hand, some of the bat-shit weirdness that occurs in later chapters is what made me truly, madly, deeply love this completely insane novel. It’s a bit of a quandary, because I want to recommend this book to everyone I know.

It doesn’t help that the book’s cover looks like the sort of thing you might find on a remaindered thriller in the bargain bin. The design doesn’t really grab you by the face and insist that you start reading the book RIGHT THIS INSTANT.

The basic summary is as follows: Carolyn and her adopted brothers and sisters are apprentice librarians in a massive, strange Library full of books that include all the knowledge in the world. When they were young, all of their parents died suddenly and a mysterious man they call “Father” adopted them. Father is viciously cruel, incredibly dangerous and infinitely powerful… but he’s gone missing and now none of them can get back into the Library. When they discover what actually happened to Father, it may change the fate of the entire universe as we know it.

I started reading Mount Char back in September on my Kindle, but – even though I was definitely enjoying the book – I just didn’t make much progress. It’s gotten to the point that I just don’t finish books quickly unless they’re an audiobook because I can listen to them during my commute. I don’t really set aside time to sit down with a book in front of my face. So, despite the fact that I really enjoyed what I’d read of Mount Char, it ended up languishing on my Kindle to the point that I began forgetting what was going on in the story.

Luckily, my local library has a great selection of books in Overdrive, so I was able to download the MP3 version without waiting for too long. The audiobook has a fantastic narrator who really captures Carolyn’s odd combination of valley girl mannerisms and menacing behavior, so it ended up being the best possible way to read the book.

So, the question is: how do I explain to you what this book is and why you should read it? Well, first off, I think one of the simplest things I can say is that if you enjoy the work of Neil Gaiman, it’ll probably be in your wheelhouse even though it’s simultaneously very different from the sorts of things he writes.

The Library at Mount Char is a dark fantasy with occasional gruesome parts. It’s also absurdly funny. You may go for long stretches of the novel not entirely sure who to root for. You oftentimes won’t understand why the characters are doing what they’re doing. There was a point about two-thirds of the way through when I realized that there was still plenty of story left even though one big thread had wrapped up. It was really exciting because I wasn’t at all sure where Hawkins might be going with the rest of the book.

One of the best parts about The Library at Mount Char is that it is so incredibly confident. The longer you stick with the story, the clearer it becomes that Hawkins knows exactly what he is doing. The way he undermines expectations feels almost gleeful.

The Library at Mount Char is easily one of the best and most exciting books I’ve read in a very long time. I want to buy copies for everyone I know and pester them until they read it. I hope someone eventually figures out a way to turn it into a movie because I’d love to see some of the later scenes dramatized. I can’t recommend it enough. ...more

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Jul 30, 2015 Maire rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

4 stars instead of 5 only because of the amazing amount of violence. This book hit all of my "yeah, this is what I want a book to be" spots. ...more

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Feb 18, 2016 Marianne rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, audio, horror

Great narration by Hillary Huber.

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Feb 02, 2018 travelgirlut rated it it was ok

I'm really not sure how to rate this one. I almost put it down right at the beginning because it is dark and gruesome. There is a lot of abuse in this, and somehow because it all turns out well in the end, the abuse was okay? Somehow necessary to make things end the way it did? I didn't like that. I might have rated it higher for the interesting way the story unfolded, but I really can't get past the fact that somehow the horrid things that happen are accepted as necessary in the end. ...more

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