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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
Just did not get into the story. Was confusing and not interesting. Honestly the last 30% I slept through and didn’t bother to go back to hear it again.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Struggled to put it down, haven’t devoured a book like that in a long time.
He fabulously pulls off something very difficult to do with fantasy novels, describing a chaotic universe while implying a whole host of rules and restrictions just behind the curtain without a huge amount of exposition and info-dumping. Also introduces a ‘magic’ system (more like arcane science) that I haven’t seen in any other fantasy setting, which at this point would be an achievement even if nothing else in the book lived up to it. Only negative point is that it’s made pretty clear early on that everything that is happening is according to the main character’s plan which removes some of the stakes, but it says a lot about how good the book is a as a whole that it didn’t lessen my enjoyment at all.
Beneath the insane fantasy dressing, it’s still a grounded story that has you invested in the these characters and ultimately shows that all the power all in the universe doesn’t provide shortcuts to dealing with trauma.
He fabulously pulls off something very difficult to do with fantasy novels, describing a chaotic universe while implying a whole host of rules and restrictions just behind the curtain without a huge amount of exposition and info-dumping. Also introduces a ‘magic’ system (more like arcane science) that I haven’t seen in any other fantasy setting, which at this point would be an achievement even if nothing else in the book lived up to it. Only negative point is that it’s made pretty clear early on that everything that is happening is according to the main character’s plan which removes some of the stakes, but it says a lot about how good the book is a as a whole that it didn’t lessen my enjoyment at all.
Beneath the insane fantasy dressing, it’s still a grounded story that has you invested in the these characters and ultimately shows that all the power all in the universe doesn’t provide shortcuts to dealing with trauma.
This is an unusual and original novel. It is not without flaws, but it is so delightfully fresh that I had no trouble overlooking them.
It's well-written, well-executed...The characters are well-developed and consistent. If you're a fan of modern fantasy/horror, this is a book you should read. It's one of the better things in the space.
It's well-written, well-executed...The characters are well-developed and consistent. If you're a fan of modern fantasy/horror, this is a book you should read. It's one of the better things in the space.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The world built by Scott Hawkins was incredibly interesting and a joy to explore. The only flaw was the characters felt two dimensional at times but overall a great book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I don’t even know how a person comes up with a story like this.
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I might change my rating later. I think this got too over hyped, everyone saying its super weird so I was expecting some David Lynch Twin Peaks shit but silly me nothing can top that. This was definitely interesting and hard to put down, especially the last 30%. There's a lot of big ideas in this, stuff about the universe, and it takes the idea of us being playthings for entities beyond our imagination and turns it into a story set in America that we can relate to, bringing in familiar concepts of love, family, and friends. Everything eventually ties together and I like how it's a clear conclusion but also the beginning of a new story that we the readers are left to imagine.
Carolyn and her siblings are adopted by "Father" - clearly a humanoid shaped being - and forced to study their catalogs from this vast library that he wrote. The reveal at the end is that Father aka Adam Black aka Ablahka is 60,000+ years old and that the universe has been through multiple ages. He defeated the previous ruler of the universe and took it over. There's many other ancient beings, some who serve/ally with him and others who look for any opportunity to defeat him. He controls the Library which contains our universe and holds all the knowledge he's learned - things like how to reverse time, compel people, murder them, not feel pain, the language of animals, healing, resurrecting, literally everything except not quite everything because they discuss at the end how it's not possible to know everything and he had to accept that. After so many years he wants to retire and create his own universe, so he is trying to create a successor.
That's the premise for the plot of this book. Originally Father tried to make his own biological son, David, be his heir but in every iteration of time David failed and instead the "villain," Carolyn!, would always win so he finally gave in and set her up to be heir. He manipulated bloodlines to create her and had her live in this setting with neighborhood kids - David (who studies war), Michael (animals), Jennifer (healing), Margaret (exploring the realm of death), Peter (math?), Rachel (she had to kill her own kids for some reason), others I forget, and Carolyn herself whose catalog is languages. They are forbidden to study outside their catalog, but Carolyn does this in secret. Father punishes them brutally for disobeyed: burning David alive slowly in a smoker shaped like a bull, Margaret he kills multiple times, etc. He sets them up so they are all cautious of each other, so that Carolyn has no one she can trust. The only happy memory she has is her childhood friend Steve.
Eventually Carolyn plots to murder Father and takeover the library, killing any she views threatening such as David who raped her multiple times growing up and Margaret who is insane now. However we don't know this is what's going on. Everything seems to be loosely connected. Father is missing and Carolyn brings in Steve to help. She robs a bank suspiciously which attracts the notice of Erwin, a famous hero veteran turned homeland security investigator. There's too much to describe, it's insane. But what happens is she wins. She kills Father, all her siblings, and in turn nearly ends the world because the sun was a being she killed and she turned David into a black sphere to be the sun instead. The president is dead, the world is rioting and starving from famine because there's no daylight. The only person she saved is Steve. He tries to convince her to care about the world and eventually kills himself to get her attention. This cause Carolyn to eventually resurrect Father who explains about her being heir, about him moving on, about how she can continue to nurture this universe. She brings Steve back, contacts Erwin to bring him in, and presumably goes on to rule the Library and the universe with them at her side. And I didn't even mention the lions Dresden and Naga in this book, huge side characters.
That's the premise for the plot of this book. Originally Father tried to make his own biological son, David, be his heir but in every iteration of time David failed and instead the "villain," Carolyn!, would always win so he finally gave in and set her up to be heir. He manipulated bloodlines to create her and had her live in this setting with neighborhood kids - David (who studies war), Michael (animals), Jennifer (healing), Margaret (exploring the realm of death), Peter (math?), Rachel (she had to kill her own kids for some reason), others I forget, and Carolyn herself whose catalog is languages. They are forbidden to study outside their catalog, but Carolyn does this in secret. Father punishes them brutally for disobeyed: burning David alive slowly in a smoker shaped like a bull, Margaret he kills multiple times, etc. He sets them up so they are all cautious of each other, so that Carolyn has no one she can trust. The only happy memory she has is her childhood friend Steve.
Eventually Carolyn plots to murder Father and takeover the library, killing any she views threatening such as David who raped her multiple times growing up and Margaret who is insane now. However we don't know this is what's going on. Everything seems to be loosely connected. Father is missing and Carolyn brings in Steve to help. She robs a bank suspiciously which attracts the notice of Erwin, a famous hero veteran turned homeland security investigator. There's too much to describe, it's insane. But what happens is she wins. She kills Father, all her siblings, and in turn nearly ends the world because the sun was a being she killed and she turned David into a black sphere to be the sun instead. The president is dead, the world is rioting and starving from famine because there's no daylight. The only person she saved is Steve. He tries to convince her to care about the world and eventually kills himself to get her attention. This cause Carolyn to eventually resurrect Father who explains about her being heir, about him moving on, about how she can continue to nurture this universe. She brings Steve back, contacts Erwin to bring him in, and presumably goes on to rule the Library and the universe with them at her side. And I didn't even mention the lions Dresden and Naga in this book, huge side characters.