The Library at Mount Char

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What I am trying to say is that it was odd, I often had no clue what was going on, but I loved every second of it! WARNING: this book contains violent scenes, including towards animals, which may be upsetting for some readers/listeners. The most genuinely original fantasy I've ever read. Hawkins plays with really, really big ideas and does it with superb invention, deeply affecting characters, and a smashing climax I did not see coming. as a lad, I grew up in a household that was just not into the traditional concept of God, or into God at all. my dad was sort of an atheist and my mom was sort of an existentialist (which amounted to basically the same thing, to me at least). like most kids, I rebelled against my parents' rule. I did this by finding God. haha, that really came out of left field for my parents! this included accepting Christ as my personal savior, going to bible study, and a few summers spent at a religious camp. at the end of one such summer, the pastor had a practice of gathering us all together to answer any questions we might have. I had a classic one: "If God truly loves us, why does He allow bad things to happen to us?" Centuries before, robots of Panga gained self-awareness, laid down their tools, wandered, en masse into the wilderness, never to be seen again. They faded into myth and urban legend.

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. 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. Now, Father is missing—perhaps even dead—and the Library that holds his secrets stands unguarded. And with it, control over all of creation. And, despite my prior complaints about the foundations of Hawkins’ world, I did get the ultimate message about what happens when we allow ourselves to hide from the world in response to pain. If I just look at The Library as an allegory illustrating an important lesson about human reactions to injustice, violence and misfortune, I can see its value.After that it was gunshots, poison, hanging, whatever. Sometimes it was a surprise, sometimes not. Another time Father pierced her heart with a stiletto, but only “after telling her what he would do, setting the knife before her on a silver tray, and letting her contemplate it for three full days and nights. 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. But David was so very strong. It was not until full dark, when the bronze belly of the bull began to glow a dull orange, that he began to shriek.

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. his reply was equally classic: "Imagine a quilt. If you turn it over, all you can see are a mess of colors that make no sense and go nowhere. But the top side is God's side. And there you can see a beautiful pattern. That's God's plan. We don't see its beauty, but it is there, guiding us." Challenges. We have monthly challenges based on various themes. We also have a year-long challenge. I'm not completely sure how I felt about this book. Hell, for most of the book, I wasn't sure who was supposed to be the main character. However, I did enjoy it. Here's how it all went down. One problem I did have, is while we get to see a lot of several of the Pelapi, others were only given cursory character sketches at most, whilst others did not appear at all, even though they apparently were present for most of the book’s events, indeed the gamer in me would love to get a break down of all twelve librarians and the nature of their catalogues, whilst the reader in me is sorry that such potentially fascinating characters as Rachel, a prophet who sees possibility through the ghosts of her murdered children barely register, Indeed to say that early on Carolyn mentions that she doesn’t know Jenifer well, it was a little odd that we got to see so much of her and so little of many of the others.Garbed in a reindeer sweater, 80s-style leg warmers, and Spandex bicycle shorts, our MC has mastered every language ever used on Earth, including those of all the animals.

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. One of the most sadistic characters, if not the most sadistic character, I've come across in fiction, Father is thousands of years old and has written the books contained in the world's largest library (the one at Mount Char), cataloging all of the knowledge of all times. When Carolyn's and 11 other children's parents are killed, Father adopts them all and begins training them to be Librarians. The ways in which he does so are..... are.... well, let's just say he would never win the Parent of the Year award. Carolyn would have supposed that the ax would be the worse of the two, but Margaret seemed to take that one in stride. After a day or so of looking at the knife, though, she started to do that giggle of hers. And after that, she never really stopped.”Monthly Group Themed Read. Each month our members select a small set of related books to read and discuss as a group. See our bookshelves to see our past reads. 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. The only trouble is that in the war to make a new God, she's forgotten to protect the things that make her human.