The Library at Mount Char

Man, this book is weird.

And violent. So, so violent. It's not as explicit as, say, Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, but there is a lot of it. Pretty much every chapter is full of people getting killed or maimed, in a surprisingly wide variety of ways. There's also some sexual violence, but thankfully it's not described in great detail.

Also, there is a ton of swearing, if that's something you want to avoid.

But it's a good book. It's a very original story. It's hard to compare to anything else, but the modern-day setting with near-mythical characters reminded me a little of American Gods. I was also reminded of The Traitor Baru Cormorant in the way this story is about someone willing to go to extreme lengths to get what she's seeking.

One comment I've seen a lot is people saying they had a hard time following what was going on, but I think any reader of fantasy or SF probably has the skills to deal with the strangeness of the plot.

I wouldn't call this a comedy by any means, but there is some dark humor, and there are some touching moments near the end. The story is a page-turner but also rewards close reading. The author has said that he's unsure if he'll write a sequel, but if he does I will read it.

This book was an impulse buy on Audible based on nothing but the good rating, interesting title, and brief blurb. Based on those, I was expecting something more classic fantasy, maybe a cross between "The High House" and a Neil Gaiman story. It's actually more of a dark urban fantasy, however. There is torture, child abuse, murder (frequent and bloody), brief mention of rape, frequent drug references... all of which can have their place in a book, but none of which I was expecting when I picked up this book, so it was very surprising. It also takes a while to figure out what's going on and who's who, not to mention why anyone's doing anything they do. Be prepared to be confused a lot.

Essentially there's a very old and powerful man mostly referred to as Father, who has a Library filled with masses of knowledge divided into 12 topics (catalogs). Following a disaster that wipes out a suburban neighbourhood, Father adopts 12 orphaned children and teaches them to be librarians, each specializing in one of the twelve catalogs. (What exactly all of these are is unclear, only some are described in detail.) The kids are strongly forbidden from learning anything outside their own catalog (again, for reasons never well explained). Father seems to feel the best way for them to learn is through cruelty (again, never well-justified). At the start of the book Father has vanished, and the twelve librarians have been prevented from entering the library by a powerful spell/curse/charm/whatever. Has this been created by one of father's enemies? One of the librarians? How can they get around it? As the plot confusingly progresses we also meet a few "normal" humans and slowly piece together what's happening. Not a book I'd recommend if you don't like not knowing what's going on. It had interesting moments, it was certainly unpredictable, and it was quite original. Not a book I imagine I'll reread, however.

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.

Get indoors, on the top of a tall building, if you can. Stay away from windows. And if you see people with tentacles, stay away. Don't let them touch you.

That quote describes "The Library at Mount Char" perfectly. You know what was said, even if there was something amiss in it, but when you get to the end and look back it all makes sense. "The Library at Mount Char" can be frustratingly difficult when you start off. You feel that information is intentionally being withheld, but then the story falls in to place and you are along for a wild ride.

It is difficult to describe this book without giving away plot points. The story is incredibly creative with some of the most imaginative characters you could expect to read. The story is funny, a great page turner, and while it has elements of fantasy in one section it will turn in to gratuitously gory in another. The story is all over the map but if you stay with it you will settle in for a truly great journey.

When I finished the book I was curious to see what else Scott Hawkins has written and prior to this story his name is beside computer manuals. This puzzled me, but I just accepted it because it makes perfect sense, just like "The Library at Mount Char".

Do not listen to this on audio. Just don't. There is too much going on and you will miss things, no matter how hard you try.

I started out not understanding what was happening. It was hard to continue on in parts because the book doesn't really give you a proper setup. I'm clearly not alone in this, as the reviews are filled with "DNFs" and "Abandoned" and "I hated this book because it was frustrating and didn't make sense." But stick with it if you like complicated stories with a mostly satisfying payoff at the end. I will eventually go back and read this one, because I can't be sure I didn't miss something cool or relevant. It's just too complicated of a plot for my work commute.

I'm sticking with three stars because I liked it, but I have reservations about it as well. Fits a lot of genres so if you stick with it you will probably like it by the end.