In the years since then, Carolyn hasn't had a chance to get out much. Instead, she and her adopted siblings have been raised according to Father's ancient customs. They've studied the books in his Library and learned some of the secrets of his power. And sometimes, they've wondered if their cruel tutor might secretly be God. Father has gone missing and Carolyn and her fellow librarians are trying to figure out where he is, what happened to him, and what forces are in play. The plot-twists and deep laid plans abound. Somehow, this dude sat down and wrote a science fiction novel. The book is great, the way Zelazny and Philip Jose Farmer used to write. Absolutely amazing!!!

Aside from all that, for awhile it seemed like the climax was really about 2/3 of the way through the book, with the remaining ~5 hours being an extended epilogue. It wasn't, though. True, most of the action was done, but that time was needed for Carolyn to begin to let go of her hatred and make things better. I still didn't buy her making peace with Father, given what she learns about his relationship to David, but it does end on an optimistic note. Any complaints I might have about this book were minor. There are some long talking scenes that repeat information to characters that I, as a reader, already knew. That was fine, it happens to the best of us. The pacing of the last act runs a little long, but again, by that point I didn’t care because the book was just laying down the payoff of the mysteries it promised to solve at the beginning, and I was fine with that. There are horrible things done to people. Horrible things! But it’s not voyeuristic and purposeless. There is a method to the horror and madness, and it’s treated fairly. I am absolutely amazed by what I have just read, and I'm bumping this one up to one of my top ten novels of all time. It's just that good. That was a long time ago, of course. Before her parents died. Before she and the others were taken in by the man they called Father.Carolyn’s life changed forever when she was 8. That was the year her ordinary suburban subdivision was destroyed and the man she now calls Father took her and 11 other children to study in his very unusual Library. Carolyn studied languages—and not only human ones. The other children studied the ways of beasts, learned healing and resurrection, and wandered in the lands of the dead or in possible futures. Now they’re all in their 30s, and Father is missing. Carolyn and the others are trying to find him—but Carolyn has her own agenda and her own feelings about the most dangerous of her adopted siblings, David, who has spent years perfecting the arts of murder and war. Carolyn is an engaging heroine with a wry sense of humor, and Steve, the ordinary American ally she recruits, helps keep the book grounded in reality despite the ever growing strangeness that swirls around them. Like the Library itself, the book is bigger, darker, and more dangerous than it seems. The plot never flags, and it’s never predictable. Hawkins has created a fascinating, unusual world in which ordinary people can learn to wield breathtaking power—and he’s also written a compelling story about love and revenge that never loses sight of the human emotions at its heart.

Similarly, several times excessive force is used rather arbitrarily. This is understandable for Father and the Pelapi who obviously work on a slightly different scale, however even normal characters seemed to regard violence or threats as a first resort, something which again made neither Steve nor Erwin, our supposed perspective characters particularly easy to sympathise with. And: this is most decidedly not science fiction, although some praise it as such. As a math teacher and former engineer, I cannot do science-math mumbo-jumbo, like this explanation of a reissak: “Its essence is a mathematical construct, a self-referencing tautology, consecrated in the plane of regret…”. Ummm, no, stop right there. There wasn’t much of this, I’m pretty sure Hawkins knows he’s writing pure fantasy. But still, these quasi-pretend-mathematical descriptions were quite aggravating, especially seeing as they were not mathematically profound in any way- but rather, just random collections of mathy-sounding words. (Aaaarrrr! Math-teacher pet-peeve #1: Don’t BS the math! Of course I can tell! Sigh. The story of my grading-life.) After several decades of learning their assigned catalog, Father goes missing, and a mysterious trap settles around the Library that causes severe harm (and probably death) to any who get too close. Carolyn and her “family” must find a solution. The knowledge in the Library is vast enough for someone to be a God and truly rule the world; it must be reclaimed before Father’s enemies can take control of it.Damn, I love this book. It has not lost any of its flavor. I could keep reading this every single year and still love it. It's definitely one of my all-time favorites. :) 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. Jesus," he said. "Was there an accident?" His voice was warm with concern—the real kind, not the predator's fake that the last man had tried. She heard this and knew the old man was seeing her as a father might see his daughter. She relaxed a little. At times reminding me of bits of American Gods and The Magicians, The Library at Mount Char is both interesting and pretty messed up. There are scenes with tons of dogs being brutally murdered and people being burned to death in a grill shaped like a bull. Not to mention that the kids grow up to pretty much be sociopaths, with the rape and murder and such. i think my obstacle is that with MR and slipstream, things are only just slightly tweaked, and what i relish is that unsettling feeling - that the possibility for fantastical occurrences is present, but there's still something concrete and recognizable to ground me.

You might try The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides. It's a slow build, but it's got a kind of surreal, not-quite-a-dream, trapped-in-the-suburbs vibe that I really like. I pull that one out and reread it every couple of years. The audiobook version is also excellent. 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. Freakishly compelling . . . through heart-thumping acts of violence and laugh-out-loud moments, this book practically dares you to keep reading. ” —Atlanta Magazine This was my first buddy read with The Wonderful Kristen, but it definitely won't be the last one ! It was a lot of fun discussing theories and comparing notes with you, Kristen! :D A tightly wound caseworker is pushed out of his comfort zone when he’s sent to observe a remote orphanage for magical children.

Open Library

That being said, other aspects of Carolyn’s resolution seemed inconsistent, particularly in what atrocities she was prepared to accept, and what atrocities she felt a need to avenge. Yet, maybe this was absolutely intentional since one continual thread which runs through the book is the fact that the concerns of Father and the Pelapi are so far beyond the concerns of ordinary Americans, that even horrific torture and the scars it leaves cannot be approached in a human way. All the oddness of this book, its sheer creativity, blows me away. All its characters become real and archetypes and real all over again, wrenched from all those endlessly tired grounds to become something new and fantastic again. Now, Father is missing—perhaps even dead—and the Library that holds his secrets stands unguarded. And with it, control over all of creation.