Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

17 reviews

tetrootz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Violence, Suicide, Medical trauma, Forced institutionalization, Bullying, Body horror, War, Sexual content, Cursing, Chronic illness, Car accident, Torture, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, Drug abuse, Death, Animal death, Blood, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Stalking, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Rape, Religious bigotry, Murder, Medical content, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Confinement, Child abuse, Child death, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Addiction, and Abandonment

abookwormspov's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was absolutely insane. Deeply unsettling. And it ruled.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Alcohol, Self harm, War, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Slavery, Toxic friendship, and Violence

carbs666's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Ok first of all: huge TW for literally every thing you could possibly imagine and a bunch of stuff you couldn't. Now I'm going to try to describe what I liked and disliked without spoilers, which is difficult so bear with me.

I liked how conversationally the book is written, how wacky the characters are (real people are wacky so this made them really whole to me), and how even when the narrative is taken over by one character's POV it maintains a good omniscient remove. I also liked how intricate the book was and how the author released just enough information about the central mystery to keep you paying attention. There are no throw-away scenes in this book; absolutely everything matters.

The core thing I didn't like about the book is that I thought the final act was a bit drawn out, and while I did think Carolyn experienced some growth of character I felt the implication that things work out for her was somewhat.....unearned? Absolute power corrupts absolutely and all that. 

Anyways, if you like weird-ass books and aren't troubled by some of the most horrifying, traumatic shit that can happen to a person, you're gonna love this book! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Torture, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Violence, War, Addiction, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, and Suicide

knifed's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

good for fans of american elsewhere by robert jackson bennett

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Murder, and Child abuse

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Addiction, Rape, Drug use, and Self harm

onlyincursive's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A wild ride from start to finish. This book is for the readers who grew up on stories about kids with powers (e.g. Animorphs, Percy Jackson) and who want the adult version. The type of book that I would recommend to everyone - if only the content warning list wasn’t so long!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Animal cruelty, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Gore, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Violence, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Torture, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Cursing, Rape, Drug abuse, Xenophobia, Car accident, War, Toxic friendship, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Misogyny, Bullying, Classism, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Islamophobia, and Pregnancy

This book is hard to warn for. Be especially aware that there is torture and murder of children

(many of whom are effectively immortal and experience this torture and murder multiple times)

, as well as a lot of animal death

(including many, many dogs)

.

chalkletters's review

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

It's pure coincidence that both my book clubs picked books with 'library' in the title in the same month, and that neither of them actually spend all that much time in a library or doing any reading. Of the two (The Library at Mount Char and The Library of the Dead), this book is far more action-orientated, which is even more surprising for a book supposedly about librarians. (At least in book form; film and TV librarians are quite often action heroes!) 

Scott Hawkins plunges readers straight into Caroline's life after Father (not her biological parent) goes missing, with only brief flashbacks to provide backstory. There's a lot of darkness in both the past and present, and it's interesting to see how it has affected all of Father's adopted children. By midway through the novel, it's obvious that there is a plan being enacted, even if the details of that plan aren't given. The introduction of other perspective characters complicates things. Erwin is even more of an action star than Caroline: a literal war hero who would feel at home in Modern Warfare or could be played by Dwayne Johnson. It makes The Library at Mount Char feel like two very different books smashed together, which certainly keeps things interesting! 

While it's never exactly clear what the 'win condition' of the novel is going to be, Scott Hawkins definitely throws in a late curveball once the titular library is actually reached. Up until that point, the character arcs feel like they're moving in a particular direction. After it, everything is up in the air and the final ending is far more bleak for everyone involved than might have been anticipated. The bleakness in itself isn't necessarily bad — Steve’s ending is beautiful, in a very bittersweet kind of way — but it does feel as though the novel swerved dramatically from the track it previously seemed to be following.

Despite the lack of what I'll call 'library aesthetic', I was never bored with The Library at Mount Char. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Suicide, and Death

Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Drug use, Violence, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Rape

Minor: Car accident and Addiction

poetsofsweetpea's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book is violent.  Torture is a feature. I did like it though.  The beginning was slow, but when it hooked me, I was interested until the end.  You have to lean into the suspension of disbelief and let go of your knowledge of science but I've granted that to lesser stories. This is a story that toys with our idea of God.  What happens if he died? It's interesting and despite the horror, unlikable characters and unbelievable science there is something almost charming about it.  The mystery keeps you engaged and then it's hope that sustains you. This book is not for everyone but most assuredly for some.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Death of parent, Addiction, Bullying, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Animal cruelty, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Genocide, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Self harm, Murder, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

ohmage_resistance's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Murder, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Body horror, War, Animal death, Violence, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, and Self harm

Moderate: Drug use, Rape, and Incest

Minor: Addiction, Cannibalism, Cancer, and Car accident

silverheartbookclub's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Murder, Blood, Child death, Rape, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Drug use, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, War, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Car accident, Addiction, and Cancer

azurae's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

While I have mixed feelings about this book, I overall really didn't enjoy it. The violence was overdone to the point of being gratuitous, the story didn't flow well, alternating between painfully slow and dropping large storyline bombs quickly, and so many loose ends left unexplored. Many of the characters are never developed at all, for example

Nearly half the librarians were barely mentioned, the enemies were nebulous and barely any info is given on them, many of the mysteries brought up left unexplained etc

The "oh father was the hero all along and had to horrifically torture these kids to make a god, and planned everything out behind the scenes, meaning Carolyn was just a pawn plodding to her destiny" ending was really unsatisfying. The sexual assault scenes were unnecessary and horrible to read, the story would've been better without them. The author himself in interviews has said that he debated heavily with himself on whether to include them, and I feel he made the wrong call. 
However, the writing was really gripping, the library concept was executed well, and I did enjoy some aspects of this book. Dresden & Naga were my favorite characters and the whole lion arc was meaningful and engrossing, albeit sad. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Homophobia, Murder, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Suicide, Child abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Excrement, and Addiction