Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

42 reviews

pinkyoshi's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Violence, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Self harm, Grief, Toxic friendship, Animal death, Bullying, Physical abuse, Rape, War, Death of parent, Torture, Sexual content, Child death, Child abuse, Mass/school shootings, Death, Body horror, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Minor: Car accident

kathryn0628's review

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Weird.  Very weird.  But also, very original.  I think with the fantasy genre (which I love,) it's common to see similar plots and characters from book to book/author to author.  The library at Mount Char is as far away from those similarities as you could possibly get.  This unlike any story I've ever read.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Drug use, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, War, Child abuse, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Torture

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

---

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

uncica's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Wow! What a book. I have never read anything like it. 

The Library at Mount Char is original, unique, weird, funny, mysterious, violent, captivating, and just plain smart. I was even more impressed when I found out that the author, Scott Hawkins, is an IT guy who, aside from the Library at Mount Char, only ever published technical books. 

The less you know before you start reading, the better! 

I HIGHLY recommend this book! Scott Hawkins, please write more!!! 

...genuine emotion is the very essence of self. It cannot ever be unfelt, cannot be ignored, cannot even be rechanneled for very long.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, War, Confinement, Drug use, Grief, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Violence, Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Gun violence, Rape, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Child abuse, Excrement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

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.

---

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! 

---

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

cassie7e's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

I picked this only knowing it was dark and weird. It has similar dark vibes as Seanan McGuire's Alchemical Journeys series, which I loved! Creepy old abilities and beings in the modern day, but even darker and more morally twisted, and on a larger scale. It's meticulously elaborately plotted, especially leading up to the climax ~2/3 the way through, whereupon we get more character growth and trauma reckoning in the aftermath.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Murder, Torture, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, Gore, Rape, and Gun violence

Minor: Car accident, Homophobia, and Death of parent

gondorgirl's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Rape, Blood, Bullying, Drug use, Grief, Medical content, Suicide, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Suicide attempt, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Violence, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

nookandcrannyseattle's review

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious sad tense slow-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

That was wild. I like how none of the "big twists" felt like "big twists" because the whole thing was so unhinged that I was prepared to take pretty much anything in stride. A bit like the characters themselves, I guess, which is a little unsettling. Also, this is the first book I've read in recent memory that has an epilogue that doesn't actively detract from the rest of the work. Unnecessary, but not unwelcome to revisit a favorite side character (albeit one I did not want to like as much as I did). 

I will say that this was GORY. Some scenes were very hard to read (see CW - rape, child murder, animal death) and I'm glad I was reading it in print so I could do some strategic skimming. So probably won't read again, but it was a spectacular one-off!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Excrement, Violence, Physical abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

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!

---

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)

.