Book Review: The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

A few weeks ago I was listening to the excellent Watchmen podcast as the Faraci brothers took their deep dive into the recent Dungeons & Dragons movie. (Sidebar: Having been a D&D player as a kid, I was pretty disappointed in the movie and didn't understand why they slapped the D&D label on such a generic fantasy movie. Then I listened to the podcast and found out that the movie is actually swimming in fundamental D&D lore, all of which I missed. I guess that's what happens when you ignore all the Dungeon Masters Guides and make up your own rules!)

One of the things they discussed that was simply amazing was that the person who invented D&D claimed to have an appreciation for JRR Tolkien's works but said the series had absolutely no impact on the game - this despite early versions of the game including Hobbits, Ents, etc. It's a laughable proposition that Lord of the Rings could possible have no impact on any single piece of fantasy content.

That got me thinking - has Lord of the Rings become so synonymous with fantasy that something could only be considered fantasy based on being similar to Lord of the Rings? I mean, when you think of fantasy, the first thought that comes to mind is probably middle ages, knights in armor, elves, goblins, wizards, dragons. Lord of the Rings. Isn't anything that's considered fantasy just a different version of that? (And yes, even D&D had a Japanese version - which was an awesome concept - but even that could be encapsulated as Lord of the Rings in Japan)

Around the same time I started listening to the podcast, I started reading Scott Hawkins' The Library at Mount Char. This book concerns a woman looking for her father figure - from a "family" where all of them have godlike powers - and her manipulation of a former criminal to help her on her quest.

As I was reading the book I was trying to figure out how to categorize it. Even though the supernatural elements aren't too in-your-face, you can't call it a thriller or a mystery. You can't call it science fiction - while supernatural abilities can sometimes fall into that classification, there's no real "how is that possible?" type conversation in the book - things just kind of are. And while there are some bloody scenes, it's definitely not trying to be scary or gory enough for horror.

And then it hit me. It's fantasy. With no call-back to Lord of the Rings!

This is a fantasy novel set within modern-day America. There are no winks or Easter eggs ("How about I help my ELF!"), no hints that what we're reading could have easily taken place within medieval Europe. It's just a tale of supernatural elements flowing through and coexisting with natural elements from the present day. Modern day fantasy!

Classification excitement aside, this is a very engaging read with some very fun characters (seems like a lot to remember at the start, but...you won't have that problem for long!). I have to give some points off for a major death twist happening off-screen, but the story itself is good (a bit complex, but you don't need to remember all of the details) and there are some very fun moments (like when Father got mad at President LeMay - the post-WWII founder of the Air Force in real life - for trying to kill him in 1977, so he changed history so the peaceful Jimmy Carter would win instead).

Altogether, this was a worthy read indifferent to whether it could be replicated at a Ren Fest or not. Eight out of ten hot dogs. Huzzah!