The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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.

A Disturbing, Dazzling, One‑of‑a‑Kind Experience

The following ratings are out of 5:
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📙📔
World building: 🌏🌍🌏🌎🌍
Character development: 😋🙂😁😎😍
Narrator(s): 🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration type: Solo Narration

Audiobook Review: The Library at Mount Char

Author: Scott Hawkins
Genre: Paranormal Mystery
Narrator(s): Hillary Huber

Characters Background and Plot Dynamics

The novel opens with a striking, disorienting image: Carolyn, an adult librarian, walking alone down a highway, drenched in blood after killing Detective Miner. When a well‑meaning driver stops to help, she lies to protect him—not from herself, but from the world she comes from. Carolyn lives in Garrison Oaks, a place so strange and forgotten that locals can pass it daily without ever noticing it exists.

Carolyn wasn’t born a librarian. As a child, she survived a violent uprising against “Father,” the enigmatic figure who then gathered the surviving children and declared that they would become librarians—students of the vast, ancient library he controlled. His lessons were brutal, his discipline merciless, and the children bore the scars to prove it. Each child was assigned a catalogue, a field of mastery that shaped their identity. Carolyn’s was languages—human, animal, and beyond. Others studied war, healing, engineering, or the mysteries of the universe.

By adulthood, the librarians had become powerful, damaged, and deeply distinct individuals. Some grew cruel, like David, whose war catalogue turned him into a blood‑soaked monster surrounded by flies. When Father suddenly disappears, the librarians are forced to search for him across realms—America, the forgotten lands, the possible futures, even the domains of gods. A mysterious barrier now prevents them from entering the library, making some violently ill if they try.

Hints emerge: Father was working on something called regression completeness, a concept suggesting that every solved mystery only reveals a larger one. A forest god warns of a visitor named Nobununga who seeks to help find Father. To prepare, the librarians gather totems—and Carolyn is tasked with retrieving an innocent heart. All the while, she hides a secret plan from the others, one that slowly reshapes the entire narrative.

Highlights

• Distinct, fully realized characters. Each librarian’s catalogue shapes their personality, abilities, and worldview, making the ensemble feel vivid and unforgettable.
• Inventive, unsettling magic. The book blends brutality with originality—resurrections, talking severed heads, mind‑reading, and ancient Pelapi lore create a world that is both horrifying and mesmerizing.
• Dark humor and surprising interactions. The scene between David and Mrs. McGilicutty is a standout, especially the librarians’ reactions.
• A protagonist with hidden depths. Carolyn’s secret agenda adds tension and intrigue from the very beginning.
• A story unlike anything else. The plot is wildly unpredictable, constantly shifting into strange, imaginative territory that defies genre expectations.

Limitations

• Abrupt chapter transitions. The narrative occasionally jumps to new characters or timelines without warning—such as the sudden introduction of the ex‑con plumber in chapter two or Erwin in chapter four—leaving the listener temporarily disoriented until the threads eventually connect.
• Extreme brutality in Father’s lessons. The torture scenes, especially involving children who can die and be revived repeatedly, are deeply disturbing and may be too much for some listeners.
• Cruelty beyond Father. David’s violence and sadism mirror Father’s, adding another layer of harshness that can be difficult to sit with.

Narration

The audiobook is performed by Hillary Huber in a solo narration despite the multiple points of view. Her voice is warm, resonant, and slightly raspy—qualities that suit the eerie, mythic tone of the story. While her character differentiation is subtle and sometimes requires close attention, her overall delivery is compelling. Still, with so many shifting perspectives, the story might have benefited from dual or duet narration to help anchor the transitions.

Final Assessment

This audiobook is a bold, unsettling, and fiercely original experience—one that blends horror, mythology, dark humor, and cosmic mystery into something wholly unique. The world‑building is extraordinary, the characters unforgettable, and the plot endlessly surprising. At the same time, the brutality and abrupt structural shifts may challenge some listeners. For those who appreciate imaginative, boundary‑pushing fiction with a strong emotional core and a touch of madness, this is a gripping, unforgettable journey into the strange and the sublime.

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