The Library at Mount Char: A Novel

by Scott Hawkins

Overview

“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"

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780553418620
Publisher:	Crown Publishing Group
Publication date:	03/15/2016
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	18,963
Product dimensions:	7.90(w) x 5.20(h) x 1.00(d)

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.

Editorial Reviews

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

From the Publisher

04/13/2015
In Hawkins’s terror-driven debut, set in a twisted version of our world, the library at Garrison Oaks serves as both heaven and hell, a place where mastery of the library’s 12 sections can bring untold power or unending misery. Twelve children orphaned in a mysterious disaster are taken in by Father, the stern librarian at Garrison Oaks. The library’s millions of books cover topics ranging from the mundane to the downright spooky, and the orphans become Father’s students, each assigned to a specific area of the library for study. Young Carolyn’s section is languages, both human and other—but first and foremost she is learning fear, obedience, and deep, quiet hatred of Father. Readers may struggle with the opening sections, where much happens and little is explained, but they will be relieved by the belated inclusion of flashbacks that answer many questions. Hawkins’s cunning plotting is backed up by crisp dialogue, a sensation of constant dread, and a solid, subtly weird setting. Agent: Caitlin Blasdell, Liza Dawson Associates. (June)

Publishers Weekly

★ 05/15/2015
Carolyn was one of a group of children adopted by a godlike father figure, brought to a library outside of normal time and space, and taught various disciplines. When Father disappears from the library, Carolyn and her siblings must go out into the world, our world, to find out what happened to him. If they fail to recover Father, there will be other forces trying to fill the power vacuum. The off-kilter cast of characters who are the librarians seem even more alien when juxtaposed with the normal humans who get caught in their schemes, with Carolyn as the most relatable and her sibling David, librarian of war, a truly monstrous construction. Carolyn seems the most in touch with her abandoned humanity, but it becomes clear that she is plotting and her plan could destroy not only herself but the universe. VERDICT This bizarre yet utterly compelling debut might remind readers of Robert Jackson Bennett's or Neil Gaiman's horror/fantasies.

Library Journal

★ 2015-04-01
A spellbinding story of world-altering power and revenge from debut novelist Hawkins. 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. A wholly original, engrossing, disturbing, and beautiful book. You've never read anything quite like this, and you won't soon forget it.

Kirkus Reviews