The Library at Mount Char

The Library at Mount Char is an astonishing puzzle-box of a novel, and one of the strangest and finest fantasies I've ever read.

Main character Carolyn was raised in a bizarre family of adopted siblings, taught magic by their enigmatic "father," and forced to live in isolation... but when their father dies, their world changes forever (and so does everyone else's). I actually re-read this novel immediately after finishing it the first time, because I wanted to experience it again while knowing how everything turned out, and it was even better.

My all-time favorite book.

A handful of children are rescued from certain doom and brought to the Library, where they learn reality’s secrets. Their rescuer and not-exactly-benevolent new father figure is omnipotent, demanding, and merciless; also, he’s good with a grill. Then he vanishes without a trace, leaving creation in the hands of his inexperienced adoptees, and supernatural problems pile up. I’ve read this book several times since I discovered it, and it still surprises me. Big fancy Libraries are a venerable tradition in the SFF arena, but these strangely powerful kids spend most of their time in suburbia, which… show more.

This is one of my favorite dark fantasy books. This book is filled with acolytes that are imbued with the power of great deities doing the bidding of a cruel godlike being. It takes some time to unravel the truth in this book simply because the kids we follow don’t understand it themselves. I am still in awe of this beautiful, complex storyline. This is a book that isn’t talked about enough. Once you get to the talking lions, you start to understand how it all fits together like a thousand-piece puzzle. Once you finish it, you’ll be begging for… show more.

The Library at Mount Char is the most imaginative, original work of fiction that I have read—ever. A friend who also read and loved it said, “What the f*ck was up with that book?” I knew exactly what she meant, and she meant it in the best way possible.

Blackly humorous at times, this dark, weird, twisted tale set in modern-day America—and not—revolves around Carolyn. She speaks every language ever known because of Father; all of his children have their own catalogue of study in The Library. As she navigates the intrigues of power and ambition, the cast… show more.