The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins – Thoughts, very little review
‘When I say librarian, I think…’
Carolyn and Scott, The Library at Mount Char
‘”Tea and cozy mysteries”?’
I went in on this book like I do with most books I grab for the covers – full blaze, no attention paid to the synopsis whatsoever, in a “fuck it” and excited mood. I was all in. Surprisingly, I didn’t pick this up based off of the cover (although, I might have if I had seen it, it totally reminds me of the covers of AJ Hackwith’s Hell’s Library series) but picked it up from one of the many recommendations I’ve gotten since creating a Reddit account. I got addicted to looking at books on Reddit, which I think came from my disappointment of the IG algorithm and then downloading this app and seeing all of these book recs that I don’t see all over IG. I was ecstatic and immediately started looking at new books. Anyway, someone suggested this to me in some fantasy thread and said don’t read the synopsis at all. And omg, I love that person, whoever they are.
This book was crazy good.
“The light inside spilled out like the sunrise breaking over the mountains.”
And this book was crazy. Lots of triggers for some people, so be warned. Gore, torture, fantasy, math and physics in ways you have never imagined. It was my jam.
“Regression completeness – the notion that the universe is structured in such a way that no matter how many mysteries you solve, there is always a deeper mystery behind it.”
Spoilers (and ranting) ahead!
The ending was so sad and heartwarming at the same time. I felt that it had been dragging on for the last 70 pages or so, but I also like that Hawkins kept it going. Because this would’ve been one of those books where I would’ve wondered what happened with life after Carolyn won.
“Alicia held the black candle, still burning as it had in the golden ruin at the end of time. Rachel and her phantom children whispered among themselves of the futures that would never be.”
And I knew, I KNEW that Carolyn was the one who killed their Father and was trying to take over the world. I had my doubts a couple of times, I thought she may have been working with Michael or Rachel. Actually, working with Rachel would have been cool because of her knowledge of the past, present, and all potential futures (at least, I believe she had knowledge of the past and present – there wasn’t as much detailed info on what everyone as Carolyn, Michael, David, and Margaret.
“The words felt like ashes in her mouth. She knew every word that had ever been spoken, but she could think of nothing to say that might ease his grief. All she could do was wipe away his tears with the tips of her fingers.”
Read on and find those hidden gems.
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