Library at Mount Char

By: Scott Hawkins

Narrated by: Hillary Huber

Length: 16 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

Carolyn's not so different from the other human beings around her. She's sure of it. She likes guacamole and cigarettes and steak. She knows how to use a phone. She even remembers what clothes are for. After all, she was a normal American herself once. That was a long time ago, of course - before the time she calls "adoption day", when she and a dozen other children found themselves being raised by a man they learned to call Father.

Father could do strange things. He could call light from darkness. Sometimes he raised the dead. And when he was disobeyed, the consequences were terrible. In the years since Father took her in, Carolyn hasn't gotten out much. Instead she and her adopted siblings have been raised according to Father's ancient Pelapi customs. They've studied the books in his library and learned some of the secrets behind his equally ancient power. Sometimes they've wondered if their cruel tutor might secretly be God. Now Father is missing. And if God truly is dead, the only thing that matters is who will inherit his library - and with it power over all of creation.

As Carolyn gathers the tools she needs for the battle to come, fierce competitors for this prize align against her. But can Carolyn win? She's sure of it. What she doesn't realize is that her victory may come at an unacceptable price - because in becoming a god, she's forgotten a great deal about being human.

©2015 Scott Hawkins. Recorded by arrangement with Crown, an imprint of Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc. (P)2015 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

An amazing adventure!

(Warning: Don't read this book if you have an aversion to gore...there is a healthy dose throughout.)
Wow...this book was captivating! It's one that I will think of often for the rest of my life.
The ending left open the possibility of a sequel, and I would love to see maybe a series of shorter length adventures (as opposed to something of the same magnitude as this one) involving the trio of characters from the end of the book (and maybe reviving some of the others).
Hillary Huber did an outstanding job with the range of character's voices...I could always tell who was speaking. And she nailed everyone's personalities, too.
Kudos and thank you, Scott Hawkins!

Fantastic read. Inventive, Dark, and Snarky

What did you love best about Library at Mount Char?

Hawkins creates a universe paralleling our own that is full of interesting characters and powers that allow the story to veer in and out of normative reality subtly and not so subtly.

What other book might you compare Library at Mount Char to and why?

This is a hard book to compare as it is pretty original. Maybe Neal Stephenson meets Stephen King

What about Hillary Huber’s performance did you like?

Hillary was spot on in accents, timing, and appropriate affectations

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Absolutely

Any additional comments?

This is a title worth giving a try

The weirdest book I've ever listened to

The title says it all. This was a super strange story, not at ALL what I was expecting based on the synopsis. There were pacing issues, and the disjointed nature of the story made it feel strange. However, I enjoyed it in the end - I think. I'm still pondering it, a week later. I'm not a fan of the rushed ending, but overall, 4 stars.

Worth a second listen.

This book requires your full attention to detail to get the mist out of it, I listened to it a second time and enjoyed it more catching details I'd missed.

Unexpected

I bought this book with the hope that it might be entertaining enough to get me through my day. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised to find that not only was this book entertaining, but it was also quite excellent. I am the type of person who reads a lot of reviews before i purchase a new book and I was on the fence with this one. After reading reviews here and on goodreads I decided to go for it. Well worth the credit. If you are like me and are unsure about this book, I'd suggest you go for it. It's an excellent story and the narration is really good. I usually have a hard time listening to female narrators, but Hillary did a great job. This is one of those unexpected jewels you are surprised to find out of the blue.

Unique

An interesting and unique story line with rather scary main characters. Science fiction/paranormal/dystopian story with very little compassion, and horrifying deaths but an edge of humor and hope and twisted beauty. I will keep this one in my library and recommend it to others.

Poetic, huge emotional spectrum

Frequently disturbing, often hilarious, and artfully designed, the storytelling here shines for covering so many different emotions so well. The narrator is particularly good for imparting a lot of humor into sarcastic dialogue.

Good Concept, bad writing

Have you ever listened to a whole book and thought: I don’t like any of these characters at all but the story is JUST engaging enough to make you finish it... well this is like that.

The concept is fantastic but unfortunately I think the author is just not good at character development. There was SO much potential.

The narrator makes the lead, Carolyn sound like a stuck up ditz, but did great on all the other characters.

Truly Unique (In a Good Way)

I've never read (or listened) to anything quite like this. Every aspect of this book exceeded my expectations going in and they started out high.

The blurb does a good job of selling it and I don't want to spoil too much as a lot of the appeal is the slowly unraveling mystery of the main character's plan. As others have noted, it's on the dark side, but it's not gratuitous - it's central to the message of the book.

There's a lot to unpack and it stays with you. I'm certain this will remain one of my favorites for quite some time.

expansive

A brilliant read and listen. Was thought provoking and readers performance was great. really impressed.