Archive for the ‘Scott Hawkins’ Category
Sometime in the late 70s, the American military tried to kill a god.
They failed.
Thirty years later, the god’s children are all grown up. And one of them has a murderous intent to kill her Father.
I came across Scott Hawkins’ 2015 debut novel The Library at Mount Char in some book listicle about “books that don’t make any sense until you’re half way through”, and yep, this book is exactly that. If you’re the kind of reader who wants a prologue, wants a ton of history before the main plot gets going, if you want to know the character’s histories . . . yeah this is not the book for you.
This book is absolutely and gloriously bat shit insane.
I spent the first hundred pages thinking things like:
Ok, that’s weird.
Huh. that was even weirder. And gross.
Damn that was a well placed joke!
Well, that’s creepy as fuck.
Wait, what?
Good kitty. Stay calm kitty. You’re a really big kitty, sweetie, aren’t you.
Here’s a taste of the prose:
“On the morning after she murdered Detective Miner for the second time, Carolyn came awake on the floor of Mrs. McGillicutty’s living room.”
The prose, the dark humor, the characters who struggle to relate to each other but must work together, the forbidden knowledge, people with god-like powers, the long game, the author forcing the reader to be patient, the way everything (yep, that too!) is explained at the end. . . you know what The Library at Mount Char reminded me of? It reminded me of Gideon the Ninth, but with a lot fewer swords and a lot more guns.
If I even attempted to explain the plot of this book, I’d sound like I’m just grabbing random words in no order, but I’ll try.
Carolyn is one of twelve orphans adopted by Father. He set each child to study a different section of his vast library, such as languages or medicine, and the children were forbidden to share what they had learned with their siblings. Break the rules, and punishment was swift, often including death. But that was okay, Father would just resurrect the dead child. He might then kill the child again, just to make a point. This is how these children grew up, they forgot their lives before they were adopted. They adapted. They developed some truly epic coping mechanisms. One of them figured out how to be invisible.
Now adults, and forced out of their home, the adoptees must figure out how to live like Americans. Which usually involves wearing shoes. And something called cell phones. Robbing banks is frowned upon. Give Father’s children a break, they really are doing the best they can, even Margaret. It’s not entirely her fault she smells like death warmed over.
And one impossibly painful piece at a time, Carolyn’s dangerous, crazy, and inevitable plan is coming together. The only person she can trust is that klutzy American Steve. He’s such a dork. But he has a pick up truck, and he knows how to break into houses. . . . And oh yeah, what did eventually happen to Erwin?
This books sounds super dark, and it is super dark and very, very fucked up, but it’s also super hilarious. Part of the humor is that there’s a chapter at the end entitled “So, What Ended Up Happening with Erwin?”
And OH THE LONG GAME! Kage Baker would be proud! the last few chapters of this book was a masterclass in invisible guns on tables. it’s as if the entire thing was backwards origami, and then it unfolds, again.
The Library at Mount Char was written in 2015, and as far as I can tell, Scott Hawkins never published another book.
If you’re looking for something weird AF and brilliantly written, The Library at Mount Char is the book for you.
the Little Red Reviewer 
Recent Comments