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Book Reviewed by: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.
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.
The vast imagination at work in this novel is impressive, yet at times, almost overwhelming. Steve's amazement echoes the effect that this novel may have on its readership. Although loose ends are tied up and everything that needs to be explained is properly addressed by the end, it is so complex that confusion does occasionally creep in. The Library at Mount Char is also a very violent story, with the gore of a horror flick and the pace of a thriller. Highly recommended, but not for the faint of heart...continued
Full Review
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(Reviewed by Kate Braithwaite).
One of the features of the magnificent library in Scott Hawkins' The Library at Mount Char, is its age. Some of the books and manuscripts it contains are said to be at least twenty thousand years old. In the real world there are many fascinating old libraries still in existence, a few of which are described below:
Haeinsa Temple
In the Gaya Mountains in South Korea, the 9th century Haeinsa Temple houses the Tripitaka Koreana, a collection of Buddhist scriptures carved on over 80,000 wooden printing blocks that date back to the 13th century. Since 1398, the blocks have been housed in the Janggyeong Panjeon complex within the temple. The incredible condition of these ancient wood blocks is attributed both to the sunless building which...
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Charles Stross, Hugo and Locus Award-winning author of Accelerando and The Apocalypse Codex
A pyrotechnic debut...The most terrifyingly psychopathic depiction of a family of gods and their abusive father since Genesis.
