A spellbinding story of world-altering power and revenge . . . 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. A wholly original, engrossing, disturbing, and beautiful book.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“An extravagant, beautifully imagined fantasy about a universe that is both familiar and unfamiliar. . . . Hawkins makes nary a misstep in this award-worthy effort of imagination. You won't be able to put it down.”—Booklist (starred review)
"A bizarre yet utterly compelling debut . . . might remind readers of Robert Jackson Bennett's or Neil Gaiman's horror/fantasies.”—Library Journal (starred review)
“A terrific book, full of dark mystery and genuine beauty.”—Richard Kadrey, New York Times bestselling author of Sandman Slim
“A first-rate novel… a sprawling, epic contemporary fantasy about cruelty and the end of the world, compulsively readable, with the deep, resonant magic of a world where reality is up for grabs. Unputdownable.”—Cory Doctorow, New York Times bestselling author of Little Brother and Makers
"Funny, horrifying and original…the kind of story that keeps yanking you off in ridiculous new directions every time you think you know what's coming next."—David Wong, New York Times bestselling author of John Dies at the End
"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."—Nancy Kress, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of Beggars in Spain
“This book is batshit crazy. From the very first pages, the story grabs you by the guts and doesn't let go. It mashes together fantasy and thriller, love stories and dark comedy, into a wild trip at once unpredictable and unforgettable. You'll never look at a librarian in quite the same way.”—Keith Donohue, New York Times bestselling author of The Stolen Child
“A pyrotechnic debut...The most terrifyingly psychopathic depiction of a family of gods and their abusive fathersince Genesis.”—Charles Stross, Hugo and Locus Award-winning author of Accelerando and The Apocalypse Codex
"Don't pick up this book unless you want to read something you've absolutely never read before. The Library at Mount Char is funny, bizarre, moving, frightening, and surreal. The most original work I've read in ages."—Walter Jon Williams, New York Times bestselling author of Destiny’s Way and This is Not a Game
Katabasis by R.F. Kuang is a gripping tour de force that takes us into the depths of the underworld alongside two rival academics. Kuang joins us to talk about finding solace in writing, being a genre chameleon, characterization and more with cohost Isabelle McConville. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Isabelle McConville and […]
Fantasy can be a difficult genre for beginners to penetrate, and in a sense, that’s fitting. The foundations of the genre rely on invention and reinvention, pushing boundaries, and infusing the known with the unknown. Where do you even begin when the worlds are unfamiliar (and sprawling), and you can’t fight your way through the […]
The end of 2015 marks the completion of this blog’s first year of existence, and what a year to start with: we can’t remember the last 12-month period that gave us such a strong run of new science fiction and fantasy books, spanning every subgenre on the shelves. Below, we’ve selected 25 of our favorites—these […]
This week’s new releases prove that the gods are crazy, be they literal, imagined, or embodied by the hubris of men who think they know better.
The Library at Mount Char, a fantasy debut by Scott Hawkins, kind of floored me. I don’t say that often. I also don’t often worry about how to talk about a book without giving away what makes it truly special. I have both problems here. First, it wormed into the dark, secret places in my head in just […]