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Scott Hawkins

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The Library at Mount Char: A Novel Paperback – March 15, 2016

by Scott Hawkins (Author)

4.5 8,186 ratings

Goodreads Choice Award nominee

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“Wholly original . . . the work of the newest major talent in fantasy.”—The Wall Street Journal

“Freakishly compelling . . . through heart-thumping acts of violence and laugh-out-loud moments, this book practically dares you to keep reading.”—Atlanta Magazine

A missing God.
A library with the secrets to the universe.
A woman too busy to notice her heart slipping away.

Carolyn's not so different from the other people around her. She likes guacamole and cigarettes and steak. She knows how to use a phone. Clothes are a bit tricky, but everyone says nice things about her outfit with the Christmas sweater over the gold bicycle shorts.

After all, she was a normal American herself once.

That was a long time ago, of course. Before her parents died. Before she and the others were taken in by the man they called Father.

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.

Now, Father is missing—perhaps even dead—and the Library that holds his secrets stands unguarded. And with it, control over all of creation.

As Carolyn gathers the tools she needs for the battle to come, fierce competitors for this prize align against her, all of them with powers that far exceed her own.

But Carolyn has accounted for this.

And Carolyn has a plan.

The only trouble is that in the war to make a new God, she's forgotten to protect the things that make her human.

Populated by an unforgettable cast of characters and propelled by a plot that will shock you again and again, The Library at Mount Char is at once horrifying and hilarious, mind-blowingly alien and heartbreakingly human, sweepingly visionary and nail-bitingly thrilling—and signals the arrival of a major new voice in fantasy.

Praise for The Library at Mount Char

An engrossing fantasy world full of supernatural beings and gruesome consequences."—Boston Globe

"Vivid . . . the dialogue sings . . . you'll spend equal time shuddering and chortling."—Dallas Morning News"

Print length

400 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Crown
Publication date

March 15, 2016
Dimensions

5.14 x 0.85 x 8 inches
ISBN-10

0553418629
ISBN-13

978-0553418620
Lexile measure

HL590L
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“A spellbinding story of world-altering power and revenge . . . 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. A wholly original, engrossing, disturbing, and beautiful book.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“An extravagant, beautifully imagined fantasy about a universe that is both familiar and unfamiliar. . . . Hawkins makes nary a misstep in this award-worthy effort of imagination. You won't be able to put it down.”—Booklist (starred review)

"A bizarre yet utterly compelling debut . . . might remind readers of Robert Jackson Bennett's or Neil Gaiman's horror/fantasies.”—Library Journal (starred review)

“A terrific book, full of dark mystery and genuine beauty.”—Richard Kadrey, New York Times bestselling author of Sandman Slim

“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

"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

"The most genuinely original fantasy I’ve ever read. Hawkins plays with really, really big ideas and does it with superb invention, deeply affecting characters, and a smashing climax I did not see coming."—Nancy Kress, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of Beggars in Spain

“This book is batshit crazy. From the very first pages, the story grabs you by the guts and doesn't let go. It mashes together fantasy and thriller, love stories and dark comedy, into a wild trip at once unpredictable and unforgettable. You'll never look at a librarian in quite the same way.”—Keith Donohue, New York Times bestselling author of The Stolen Child

“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

"Don't pick up this book unless you want to read something you've absolutely never read before. The Library at Mount Char is funny, bizarre, moving, frightening, and surreal. The most original work I've read in ages."—Walter Jon Williams, New York Times bestselling author of Destiny’s Way and This is Not a Game

About the Author

SCOTT HAWKINS works as a software engineer for Intel. He and his wife live in Atlanta, where they spend much of their time playing Olympic-caliber fetch with their large pack of foster dogs. THE LIBRARY AT MOUNT CHAR is his first novel.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crown; Reprint edition (March 15, 2016)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0553418629
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0553418620
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ HL590L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.14 x 0.85 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #20,909 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #187 in Humorous Fantasy (Books)
- #422 in Dark Fantasy
- #1,154 in Paranormal & Urban Fantasy (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.5 8,186 ratings

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Scott Hawkins

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I'm a computer programmer. I live in the Atlanta suburbs with my wife and a lot of dogs. I write fantasy set in the modern world.

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4.5 out of 5

8,186 global ratings

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Pavel De Anda

Unexpected gem

Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2023

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I don’t even remember why I bought this book. I guess it’s fair then than I don’t remember the last time a book grabbed me this hard from page one and didn’t let me go. Harsh and cruel at times but with such heart and cleverness at its core. I couldn’t have loved it more.

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K Reviews

Dark, Disturbing and Compulsively Readable

Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2020

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As many other reviewers have said, this book is a lot of weird and strange and horrifying. And also straight up compulsively readable. I don't generally think I like dark books, but sometimes they pull me in really strongly. This book certainly did.

In a way this can be classed as urban fantasy. It's set in fairly modern day America, but if certain kinds of magic were real but only available to a very limited number of people who had been carefully groomed for the roles to fulfill certain purposes. It's not urban fantasy in the noir-detective-but-with-magic vein.

This is a tough book to review without getting caught up in explaining myriad insane details. Suffice to say, our story centers on one "librarian" named Carolyn whose specialty is languages. And by languages, we mean ALL the languages. Carolyn started out as a fairly normal childhood, but when she was orphaned she was adopted by a very strange Father. A Father who was incredibly powerful, but not a gentle and caring figure, and only took on a handful of children to learn the various catalogs in the library - catalogs that focused on things like language, war, healing, mathematics, and more tenuous things like the realm of death and futures that never were.

Father has gone missing and Carolyn and her fellow librarians are trying to figure out where he is, what happened to him, and what forces are in play. The plot-twists and deep laid plans abound.

All that being said, I really felt like this story could/should have ended at about 80% of the book. All the of the "wrapping up" and conclusion after that point just seemed to muddy the waters for me. Still, really strong, fascinating, original read. Unexpected.

6 people found this helpful

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Taylor Calloway

Genuinely the best Standalone story I have ever read in my life

Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2023

Verified Purchase

I have spent the last 12 hours reading this book after a recommendation, and it is hands down the best novel I have read in many many years. I am crying, I have chills, and I cannot thank you enough. I haven't experienced anything like that in a long time and I am deeply happy to have been blessed with it.

To anyone who may be considering this book, it is genuinely one of the most satisfying stories I have ever read. It catches you immediately and I literally found it impossible to put down. I read the whole thing in one sitting. It is 4:00 a.m. and I'm still awake because I could not stop reading. I usually stay away from ebooks but after reading the first chapter for free I bought it immediately. I cannot praise this enough.

7 people found this helpful

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Adman

Full of flaws but still amazing

Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2020

Verified Purchase

I was on page 100 before I looked up the writer’s name. Happens sometimes with fresh books. Scott Hawkins, not hard to remember, with Stephen Hawking as a memory trigger.

I was on page 388 which also happened to be the last one when I thought to look up Hawking’s, nope, Hawkins’ bibliography. Sure, this guy must have been as prolific as at least Jack Vance and Robert Silverberg combined.

So, his book tall is exactly… one.

Scott Hawkins’ magnum opus is also his only opus, which makes what kept me awake for 3 nights in a row, more than amazing. Full of flaws, but still amazing.

Yes, the tone of voice can change so abruptly for the lyrical dark to extreme Marx brothers slapstick (how extreme? think giving a suppository to a lion). But it is still amazing.

Yes, the attempt to outsmart the reader by far more twists and turns than necessary feels too clever by half, especially when VERY exotic physics give the easy way out. But it is still amazing.

Yes, the writer uses the tired cliché of the tragic fate awaiting the President of the United States (and it was not even organically necessary). But it is still amazing.

And finally, yes, the gore is very inventive and graphic (I don’t remember to have ever read about blood AND aqueous humor leaking from an eye) but when the person responsible for this not so subtle damage is a human Terminator dressed in a, would you believe it, tutu, it is still amazing.

I really hope Scott Hawkins is not a one-hit-wonder. He seems like a decent guy who respects himself, not having flooded us with Library II, III and IV in 3 years as many of the “so called” great SF writers are shamelessly doing. I wish him the best. Getting to an even higher level after Mount Char will be nothing less than… amazing.

7 people found this helpful

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One of my favorites!

Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2023

Verified Purchase

After reading this book...I'm just so glad I did. It's a really amazing story with a unique story. If you are thinking about reading it, just do yourself a favor and read it. I find it nearly impossible to rate a book 10/10 but this was really close, 9.5/10 maybe higher. I really enjoyed the characters and idea. I just wish there was more!

3 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Kt

Weird, very dark but enjoyable

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 11, 2023

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A distinctly strange book with some very dark (and potentially triggering) and violent plot lines. Definitely not for the faint hearted, it never the less has great characters and very unexpected plot twists. Complicated but I got there, I think!

Colin Murtagh

Compelling, twisted and Weird

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 30, 2023

Verified Purchase

Well, this was dark.
I'm not sure how this get categorised, horror or fantasy. The book is based around a small town in America, Garrison Oaks. While it looks normal from the outside, there are a small group who aren't quite what they seem.
Imagine as a child you see your parents killed in front of you, a god like creature protects you, takes you in, shelters you, brings you up, adopts you. All they ask is that you learn, so you spend lifetimes studying, some of the teaching with love, some with torture, but virtually no time passes in the real world. And then he vanishes.
It's so hard to talk about this without spoilers. It's dark and twisted, but so creative. Killers in tutus and lions with attitude and so much more. This appealed to me so much, and paid off beautifully. Wonderfully Weird.

Kindle Customer

Different

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 24, 2023

Verified Purchase

Not my usual cup of tea, in fact not anybody's as it is genuinely unique. Did I enjoy it? I dont know. It was compelling enough that I read it through to the end although I interspersed it with other novels. It was certainly clever, with unexpected twists and turns. Id certainly consider reading another book by the author but I'd probably have to be in the right "mood" . 4 stars may be a bit mean, 4 and a half would be closer.

Jonathan E Lim

Interesting story telling

Reviewed in Canada on November 5, 2023

Verified Purchase

This was an interesting book. Dark in places, mysterious in others. I thought it exhibits great soul and the darkness in humans.

I am eager to read the next one

Jess

Please come back and write more

Reviewed in Canada on August 9, 2023

Verified Purchase

I hope he comes back and writes more to this story because the world and tone and everything is so weird and cool and lovely. I really really really loved this books, I loved the pieces converging together to make and ending that is equal parts woah and what. Reminds me of Neil Gaiman, except I liked this more !!

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