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A review by kylietokar
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
challenging
dark
4.0
Is there a box I can check for batshit insane?
This is one of those books that I'm thrilled I read, but I'm still not actually sure how I feel about it. The premise is X-Men meets Umbrella Academy meets Series of Unfortunate Events (supernatural old guy adopts a bunch of orphans and abuses them into developing their own unique powers). Hawkins does not bother to develop any depth of character in any of the orphans except Carolyn, whose mood swings are so wild it's hard to believe she's a cohesive personality.
Conversely, the mortal pawn she manipulates into doing her bidding throughout this story is so gosh darn loveable it hurts. He's compassionate, he's rash, he's thoughtful, he's resourceful, he's angry, he's human. He is worth reading this book on his own.
The plot itself, and the world that Hawkins craftily chooses to build only in pieces (leave things up to the imagination and all that), is fantastical, science fictiony, and probably would translate well to the screen. But it's also horrifically violent (& borderline insulting to victims of sexual assault at a few points) and sometimes frustratingly vast.
I recommend reading this book, for sure, almost just because I need more people to experience the bizarreness that exists within these pages. But go at your own risk!
This is one of those books that I'm thrilled I read, but I'm still not actually sure how I feel about it. The premise is X-Men meets Umbrella Academy meets Series of Unfortunate Events (supernatural old guy adopts a bunch of orphans and abuses them into developing their own unique powers). Hawkins does not bother to develop any depth of character in any of the orphans except Carolyn, whose mood swings are so wild it's hard to believe she's a cohesive personality.
Conversely, the mortal pawn she manipulates into doing her bidding throughout this story is so gosh darn loveable it hurts. He's compassionate, he's rash, he's thoughtful, he's resourceful, he's angry, he's human. He is worth reading this book on his own.
The plot itself, and the world that Hawkins craftily chooses to build only in pieces (leave things up to the imagination and all that), is fantastical, science fictiony, and probably would translate well to the screen. But it's also horrifically violent (& borderline insulting to victims of sexual assault at a few points) and sometimes frustratingly vast.
I recommend reading this book, for sure, almost just because I need more people to experience the bizarreness that exists within these pages. But go at your own risk!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Sexual assault