The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

i had never expected it to be this full of horror and blood, but i love it

I also have no idea where I heard about this book, it’s like it magically appeared in my TBR a long time ago and I finally got to it, thinking it seemed autumn-ish from the cover.

HAHAH. I was not prepared at all.

There’s some books so hard to explain without spoiling the plot. It makes it nearly impossible to recommend any other way than yelling “IT’S GOOD I PROMISE”. But if you want more info: it’s a fantasy/sci-fi/mystery/horror story. Very specific. Some gruesome events are described in so much detail, with so little feeling. The writing is amazing and so is the entire plot and mystery and end. I loved this book, but I don’t feel like I’ve understood it completely yet. And I might have felt a bit naseous at times, the smell of burned flesh appearing in my mind. Yes, it’s that kind of book, but also a big multi-dimensional mystery. Gods and shit, you know. Please read it, and then tell me what the fuck it’s about. Obviously I need it.

*SPOILERS*

“The only real escape from hell is to conquer it.” 

Carolyn is the main character and seemingly the only sane person among her semi-immortal peers. At least she tricked me, for fairly long. I did realize she was planning for something with lots of pieces, but I never realized the extent of it, or who she was willing to sacrifice. It’s such a good move to make David able to read minds, so Carolyn had a reason to hide her plans, also from the reader. When it was revealed she was the mastermind behind everything I found myself yelling at the book, and then you know it’s a good one. I somehow also loved the transition from the search for Father, to Carolyn’s reveal, to suddenly we’re in a different universe and everything is falling apart around Steve. Carolyn going mad and then full-circle again with Father’s clues and intentions made it all fit, even though it’s all one book.

“But her fingertips trembled with the memory of faint, fading vibrations carried down the shaft of a brass spear, and in her heart the hate of them blazed like a black sun.” This made me think I understood the lengths Carolyn was willing to go to get rid of them. I didn’t.