The Library at Mount Char

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A pyrotechnic debut…The most terrifyingly psychopathic depiction of a family of gods and their abusive fathersince Genesis.” —Charles Stross, Hugo and Locus Award-winning author of Accelerando and The Apocalypse Codex 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? Carolyn and Steve, it transpires, had known each other as children. Father had also planned for Carolyn to depose him. David, in between life and death, and in agony, serves as Earth's new, dark sun, but Steve voluntarily replaces him. Carolyn, with the assistance of Michael and Erwin, will protect the Earth from Father's inhuman foes. Review on English, followed by the Bulgarian one. Ревюто на английски е първо, следва това на български. It’s hard to know where to start with this book other than … WOW. What a trip. Imagine if the movie Mother!, Dr. Strange, and an M. C. Escher painting had a baby — you might be close to capturing the essence of this psychotropic tome.

A terrific book, full of dark mystery and genuine beauty.” —Richard Kadrey, New York Times bestselling author of Sandman Slim 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. A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.

The Library at Mount Char

I'm good. Still clearing my head. Thanks, though." She stretched her face into something like a smile.

She did a good job differentiating character voices. She also did some very good subtle work with tone and inflection when reading the different character's thoughts.

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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. And, despite my prior complaints about the foundations of Hawkins’ world, I did get the ultimate message about what happens when we allow ourselves to hide from the world in response to pain. If I just look at The Library as an allegory illustrating an important lesson about human reactions to injustice, violence and misfortune, I can see its value. 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.

Nothing wrong with that- we are all fans for a reason, and sometimes opening a high fantasy book with elves, dwarves and knights set in medieval europe with a farmboy for a main character is comforting; like eating a favourite meal.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 Damn, I love this book. It has not lost any of its flavor. I could keep reading this every single year and still love it. It's definitely one of my all-time favorites. :)

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. 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. Warning - while there are no real spoilers here this is not intended for people thinking of reading the book. If you're thinking of reading The Library at Mount Char, please don't read this. Possibly due to growing up with Doctor Who, possibly due to just me being a fairly eclectic individual, I’ve never cared too much about genre boundaries. Oh, there are times I might fancy a change of setting, and might swap modern day horror for dystopia, or exchange some traditional space sf for a bit of high fantasy, but that is just another destination for my literary Tardis and sooner or later I know I’ll be setting the randomiser and be off somewhen else. Naturally, this also means that I have a distinct fondness for books which don’t fit easily into one category or another.

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I can honestly say this was one of the most bizarre books I've ever read! I read a lot of fantasy and science fiction, but this book was so unique and eccentric, it would blow the mind of even the most seasoned readers: