Reviews

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

tregina's review against another edition

3.0

So odd. So very odd. And violent and horrific and strange and I've never read anyting quite like it. Not quite Tony Burgess levels of violent and horrific, but definitely in that vein. I think I liked it, but little bits and pieces that didn't quite work for me keep niggling at me and keeping me from committing. A lot of questions, including the question "why?" several times, are never answered, and that's not always a question that needs answering—I like ambiguity, and I like out-and-out strangeness—but here, at least in a few cases, it feels pretty relevant. In some ways I feel almost like it didn't go far enough into the weird, that it left me still trying to apply logic, and logistics. I think I liked it, though. Yes, I'm pretty sure I did.

thequark's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective 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

4.5

ritabrush's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

3.75

threegoodrats's review against another edition

4.0

My review is here.

rcrystal4's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

rilester's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

kek513's review against another edition

challenging dark funny 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

jaelynq's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

2.0

gracebirdly's review against another edition

4.5

This whole book was wild, it was disturbing, I never knew where the plot would go and yet I loved it. The characters were memorable and the story is so unexpected. It was disturbing though. I feel the need to say it again. It was disturbing.

saegelsomino's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense 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

5.0

This is one of the most unique books I’ve ever read and I’m still wrapping my brain around it.

It’s fantasy, but feels really genre-bending in some ways. At times it feels sci-fi like, the gratuitous violence often feels like a horror, there’s a murderous crime at the centre that feels like a mystery, and somehow with all this going on there’s also a decent amount of humour and wit. It’s one of those stories that you wonder how it’s possible someone actually came up with it, there are so many components and stories and twists that you get a bit of whiplash. 

The characters were all interesting and unlikeable to varying degrees, and the “magic” that wasn’t magic was complex and  mysterious in ways that never full unravel. The plot was dense and it took a fair bit of time for the connections to start weaving together but once they did, I couldn’t put it down. 

This novel was a ride that I wasn’t expecting and I loved every minute of it. An easy 5 stars for me.