The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

The Library at Mount Char was not what I expected, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.  I picked it up because of the word "library" in the title.  Yup... I'm a sucker like that.

Turns out the "library" at Mount Char is NOT your typical library and it's inhabited by folks who are NOT your typical librarians.  Carolyn and her adopted siblings live in the library with a man they call Father and they spend their days studying thousands of tomes that collectively contain all the knowledge of the universe.  Plus some.  Their knowledge extends into the very, very distant past and into the future.  It includes how to practice medicine, and how to heal completely (even from death).  It includes all the languages of the earth, past and present, and also the languages of the animals.  The catch is that no one person gets to know it all.  They each have their own "catalog" to study.  Carolyn, the main character, studies languages.

This is how it's been for decades.  Then one day the siblings find themselves barred from the library, and Father missing.  Is he within the library, which the librarians can't reach?  Or is he dead?  Carolyn, the only sibling left who still speaks enough English to get along in the outside world, starts formulating a plan to get back into the library and find out what happened to Father.  To do this she'll play on all of her siblings' strengths.  So right off the bat there's a lot of magic/fantasy elements:  there's this force field going on that's preventing the librarians from getting near the library, a force field that only affects some people and affects everyone in different ways.  Also, who is this Father guy?  Is he God?  The back-of-the-book synopsis kind of led me to think so, but you'll have to make up your own mind after you read the book.  He's definitely not the same God that Christians know, but is he a god?  Perhaps.

So that's the plot, much boiled down.  There's so much more going on.  I think The Library at Mount Char could have been twice as long, and I'd probably still want more info!  No big plot points are left unanswered, but there are enough characters and enough back story to leave the reader wanting more.  For example, there are two people mentioned throughout the book, Nobununga and Mithrangani, who are never explained.  Who are they and why do all the librarians fear them?  Where did they come from and why did they show up?  I also wanted to know a lot more about the library and how it was set up and what all the librarians studied.  The Library at Mount Char is written from Carolyn's point of view; I would totally read a companion book from Michael's or Jennifer's points of view.  (They're other librarians.)

The book's blurbs are right:  this is definitely an "unputdownable" page-turner.  Each page reveals another bizarre twist or wacky character.  You won't be able to put it down until you know what on earth is going on.  Just as you think you're starting to figure out a character, everything gets turned on it's head!  Occasionally I'd have to go back and re-read a paragraph to make sure my eyes didn't deceive me.  Like when Daniel is first described... did I really read that a 6'+ guy was running around in a purple tutu?  Yup.  And that was one of the least bizarre reveals.  I can't think of any other examples that wouldn't give away big plot points.  Carolyn herself is described as wearing a Christmas sweater with bike shorts and galoshes.  (Normal clothing choices are not, apparently, part of any of their courses of study...)

And last but not least: the writing style.  Most excellent!  Scott Hawkins has a way with words.  I can't put my finger on any concrete examples, but there were definitely passages that felt very Stephen King-esque.

Everything in the book is building toward a HUGE battle for control of the universe, and you won't want to miss finding out about the plans and the battle itself and the aftermath!

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by Tynga at Thursday, June 02, 2016

 Action amp; Adventure, Crown Publishing Group, Fantasy, Fantasy amp; Magic, Library, Publisher, Review, Scott Hawkins  Leave your mark

✎

Near Enemy by Adam Sternbergh

I very recently read and loved Shovel Ready, the first Spademan novel, so I was not surprised at all to end up loving Near Enemy!  (Yes, you read that right:  this is a sequel.  Check out my review of Shovel Ready HERE.)

Near Enemy begins very much the same way Shovel Ready began... and it also starts off much differently.  The story begins with Spademan getting a call- just a name, no other info, no introductions, then a click.  Spademan waits a few minutes for the money to clear his bank account, then begins looking for the person behind the name.  That's the similarity.  The difference?  At the end of the day, Spademan now has a "family" to go home to!  Mark has moved in with him, and he's also helping to look after Persephone and her daughter.

In Near Enemy, Spademan is supposed to "take care of" Lesser, a guy who creeps about in the limnosphere, peeping on other people's dreams.  No one would miss a creep like that.  However, when Spademan arrives at Lesser's apartment, he arrives at just the right moment, when Lesser wakes up screaming.  He was creeping on a guy's nasty orgy fantasy when all of a sudden a woman in a burqa shows up and blows up the guy, killing him.  Remember the rules from Shovel Ready?  You're not supposed to be able to die in the limnosphere.  Suddenly Lesser and Spademan are hearing reports of others getting blown up in the limnosphere by the same strange woman.  Just as in Shovel Ready, Spademan is intrigued enough to keep Lesser alive and investigate these strange doings.

There are so many things to love about these books:  they're super snarky (totally my favorite sense of humor), dystopian (taking place in a not-so-distant future after someone nuclear bombs NYC), and mysterious.  Adam Sternbergh manages to keep me guessing all the way to the end!

I gave a very short excerpt in my review of Shovel Ready.  Sternbergh uses the same composition tactics in this book- no quotation marks and no declaration of who's speaking.  But it works!  I wasn't sure about it at first, but I got used to it really quickly.  And y'all, I'm someone who is usually overly bothered by unconventional composition.  I read a book once in which the author would use two or even three exclamation points at the end of sentences and it totally distracted me from the entire point of the book.  For whatever reason, Sternbergh's lack of quotation marks didn't distract me at all.  It even feels right- the conversation in the book is very sparse, as is the landscape, so it seems perfect to have the physical type on the pages be sparse also.

I do so hope this turns into a whole mystery series.  I've really come to like Spademan, and I want to hang out with him more.  The mysteries in the first two books are so completely different from each other as well- no formulaic mystery here!  In Near Enemy, the mystery lies with a female Middle Eastern suicide bomber in the limnosphere... kind of like terrorism 2.0.  As I've mentioned, these mystery aspects to the story are really well plotted out, keeping the reader guessing.  Spademan is a truly reluctant hero:  who would guess that the hit man would turn detective/rescuer?

If I hadn't already given Shovel Ready five of five stars, I'd rate Near Enemy even higher than it.  (Alas, not mathematically possible.)  Perhaps because I already "knew" the main character, and was therefore all the more invested in his story?  I would've never guessed that I'd enjoy two books with a hit man as the main character so much!

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by Tynga at Thursday, March 03, 2016

 Action amp; Adventure, Adam Sternbergh, Crown Publishing Group, Dystopian, Free, Mystery, Noir, NYC, Review, Spademan  Leave your mark

✎

The Fold: A Novel by Peter Clines

Leland Erickson, small town English teacher that prefers to be called ‘Mike’ (you’ll love this explanation) gets a call from an old friend for some help. The twist is, the friend is very high placed and the favor could help usher a discovery that could greatly benefit all of humanity. All Mike needs to do is find out why the scientists behind the discovery are not willing to share it, yet.

I have been a fan of the science-fiction meets techno-thriller story line since I read my first Michael Crichton book. Melding the impossible with the improbable and a generous mix of current technology can be the recipe for a riveting story. This is what Peter Clines seeks to do in The Fold.

From the beginning, we’re given a pretty good idea of Mike Erikson’s feelings and some of his motivations while revelation of their origins are more slowly revealed. Mike seems to be one of those ‘every-guy’ character that makes him not only likeable but, a real protagonist. He’s somebody you really want to succeed. In a time where antiheros are almost the norm, it’s good having a character that has character. Since the story is told from Mike’s point of view and he is the main character, his character along with one or two others show pretty good development through the story.

The overall story, though not terribly original, is well done. There are some over-used tropes employed here that almost always get brought up when bending, warping or folding space/time is done in a story. The worst of these come and go so quickly they are easily forgotten and don’t distract from the narrative. The pacing of this story is excellent. We’re brought in, much as poor Mike is, with a slow tease and soon we’re swept up into a story that won’t let us turn away.

I also have to applaud Peter Clines for his use of setting. He takes us through 3 cities in the US but the one that gets the most time is my home, San Diego, CA. His use of setting was very judicious in that, he didn’t use too many points of interest. All too often, a story is damaged by misplacement of landmarks in well-known locations. The author also gets points for proper use of many terms used by the US Marines. I’ve seen so many in my time that proper treatment stands out like it did here.

This is a high impact, high paced sci-fi techno-thriller in the tradition of Michael Crichton. It’s a well told tale enough that I will likely look into more of Peter Clines works. This is not, however, for the little ones or even for teens at home. It gets an R rating from me because of some of the language, violence and a somewhat tepid sex scene.

 

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by Tynga at Wednesday, June 10, 2015

 Crown Publishing Group, Peter Clines, Purchased, Review, Science Fiction, techno-thriller, teleport  2 People left their mark

✎

The Martian by Andy Weir

"You should go read this RIGHT NOW!"  <--That right there is what I've been telling nearly anyone and everyone (family, friends, a few strangers....) for the last two days.  Wow!  The Martian is definitely in my Top Ten books of 2014.

The vast majority of the book is told from Mark's point of view, and all of his point of view is presented in the form of trip log entries.  You see, he's part of the third manned expedition to Mars, at some unidentified point in the future.  Shortly after his team lands on Mars, though, there's a huge sandstorm that forces them to evacuate.  The bad news:  Mark's suit was struck by a piece of debris in such a way that it knocked out his biofeedback equipment, his teammates think he's been killed, and they leave Mars without him.  The good news:  they left a large tent and all the remaining supplies that were meant to support the crew through a month-long stay on the planet.  The book opens with the "Sol 6" (Martian "day" 6) log entry:  "I'm pretty much f*cked.  That's my considered opinion.  F*cked... I was the very lowest ranked member of the crew.  I would only be "in command" of the mission if I were the only remaining person.  What do you know?  I'm in command."  This first entry really sets the tone for the whole book.  Mark is a fantastic narrator.  He's very self-aware and smart and has a very dry sense of humor, which is my favorite kind of humor.  He knows from all of his training that even if he perishes, the electronic log of his time on Mars will be picked up by the next manned mission to Mars, so he takes time nearly every day to record his activities to try to survive.  But he also knows that his situation absolutely sucks, and he's not shy about griping a little.  He rags on NASA a bit, good-naturedly, and on his crewmates.  (Turns out every crew member was allowed to bring a flashdrive of personal entertainment, which he pillages for his own entertainment and one crewmate was apparently very fond of the 1970s...)  But underneath it all, Mark is very determined.  He never gives up.  He never wastes a day laying about feeling sorry for himself.   Think MacGuyver with Mitch Hedberg's sense of humor.

So... I was impressed by Mark, and I enjoyed his dry sense of humor.  Also:  spent the entire book on the edge of my seat!  While chuckling out loud at Mark's log entries, I was so tense waiting to see if he'd make it!  I never thought I'd find a humorous suspenseful thriller.  Does that genre even exist?  About 1/3 of the way into the book, Andy Weir begins introducing the occasional segment showing what's going on at NASA when they discover that Mark is still on Mars.  This actually made me more tense!  The scientists would discuss his odds, and I also figured that the author could still reveal that Mark didn't make it if there was another point of view present.  I'm not going to give you any spoilers!  You need to be put through all the same suspense that I endured.  The author never lets Mark off the hook; it felt like he just kept getting dealt a hard hand right to the end.  Laughing while biting your nails... it's an interesting sensation.

You should go read this right now!

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by Tynga at Thursday, December 11, 2014

 Andy Weir, Crown Publishing Group, Fiction, mars, Publisher, Review, sci-fi, Science Fiction, space travel  2 People left their mark

✎