Scott Hawkins
Prepare yourself for a bumpy ride when you open the pages of The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins.
Enter a strange world with a zany cast of characters (the “librarians”). There’s Carolyn, fluent in all human languages. Michael speaks very little English but is fluent in the language of animals. Jennifer is a pot-smoking addict who resuscitates the dead. Margaret has been killed and resuscitated so many times that she has lost her mind and feels quite at home among the dead. And then there is David—a bloody-thirsty, sadistic killer wearing a tutu and a helmet covered with dried blood.
Speaking in Pelapi, a language only they understand, they are on a quest to locate “Father” who has been missing for some time. Throw into the mix Steve and Erwin—"normal” characters who get embroiled in the antics while trying to make sense of it all.
It gets even stranger. Two friendly lions rescue Steve when he is attacked by a pack of ferocious dogs. The dead walk among the living, but they won’t harm you if you haven’t died yet. The president is killed; bombs go off; the sun disappears, plunging the world into darkness; and a library with volumes upon volumes of books is suspended in the sky.
Welcome to the crazy world created by Scott Hawkins. It is a violent and dangerous world with power struggles for control of the world. The characters adopted by “Father” have been trained in some sort of esoteric knowledge, with each one specializing in a specific area or library catalog. Their training includes personal experience with violence, cruelty, and torture—all of which are designed to desensitize them to human and animal suffering. It is a cruel, violent world, one that shocks and surprises with each turn of the page to make for a compelling read.
The plot is difficult to explain because it makes little sense. Confusion thrives at every corner. But if you’re willing to continue reading, you will be rewarded with a highly imaginative and thrilling book with snappy dialogue, bizarre happenings, unique characters, and end-of-the world scenarios. It also happens to be funny.
Suspend your disbelief. Buckle up, sit back, and enjoy the madcap ride! Highly recommended.