The Library at Mount Char

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The distinctive mix of godlike powers and very human, emotional, knee jerk reactions contained in this story reminded me of some of the darker Greek and Roman mythological story elements like: the serial rapists (Zeus and about every other major god figure) and the unjust punishments of the innocents (Medusa, Actaeon, Laocoon, etc). I was just typing up a reply saying something like "I love playing the recommend-me-a-book game, but it's tough to come up with good recommendations if I only know one book that you--" Surprisingly for a book set in the US, lions play a significant role in the story! Given my knowledge of lions (gathered solely by watching David Attenborough etc) I would say that Hawkins doesn't know much about lions (I don't think the male head of the pride goes hunting with his female cub ... I think the males laze around and the females hunt). But this is a minor niggle and I may be wrong! I actually really liked the lion sections. Funny, horrifying and original…the kind of story that keeps yanking you off in ridiculous new directions every time you think you know what’s coming next.” —David Wong, New York Times bestselling author of John Dies at the End

Well I won't be giving away any spoilers here but basically the novel was one hell of a ride. The central point of the story is the 12 Librarians search for Father, an almost omnipotent, omniscient being who "adopted" them when they were young and raised them, and taught them many things. These things vary among the 12, as each has a domain that is all his/her own to learn and master. I was just typing up a reply saying something like "I love playing the recommend-me-a-book game, but it's tough to come up with good recomme …more Hi Kelsey, And Carolyn, who is studious and organized by nature, has a plan. It’s actually a pretty damned good plan.One of the book’s strongest aspects is undoubtedly its pacing. I got through the entire 15 hours in less than three days (sleepless nights included). Part of this was the truly mysterious world of the Pelapi (I always love exploration), however another major part was that this was a book you really couldn’t predict. I can see why people call this book genre bending, since one second you’re in the pure fantasy territory of weird gods and trans dimensional space, the next you suddenly have a police procedural investigation of a particularly bizarre murder, then your suddenly into a military thriller, or a slice of monster horror with an apocalypse or two. All of this makes for something fast, compelling and richly varied. And even though the deaths, more deaths, and even more deaths, of world-eating plagues and starvation, of the snuffing out of the sun and the raising of a new one, it's kinda odd... that this is strangely one of the most up-beat and hopeful of Fantasies or Science Fiction or Horror that I've ever read. :)

Based on the first two thirds this was an EASY 5 star book. No doubts at all in my mind. But based on the final third? I'm so let down. And not in a "I'm not happy that x won" way, but in a "it's great x won but why did we find out they won by them sitting there explaining it all to us" way. A first-rate novel… a sprawling, epic contemporary fantasy about cruelty and the end of the world, compulsively readable, with the deep, resonant magic of a world where reality is up for grabs. Unputdownable.”— Cory Doctorow, New York Times bestselling author of Little Brother and Makers their particular lessons are harder, and turn them into harder people, prone to infighting, violence, and fear. You want to see the training of gods? You want to participate in a war of gods? From their point of view? Well, welcome yourself to this book, my friend. It's not for the weak of heart. The stakes are really high. Maybe higher than any but the strangest and strongest SF or Fantasy out there, and the wrap-up is frankly an even more awesome story than all the action that came before it. Conclusion: I was not a fan, but a bit selfishly, I’d recommend it if only so that I can hear your thoughts. Plus a bunch of people love it – so don’t let this review deter you.Freakishly compelling . . . through heart-thumping acts of violence and laugh-out-loud moments, this book practically dares you to keep reading.”—Atlanta Magazine