Latest news with #Librarian
New York Times
30-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
At This School, Students Don't Graduate. Their Teachers Eat Them.
The Library at Hellebore Compared with other horror subgenres, dark academia tends to focus on intellectual pursuits and mysteries instead of just straight-up gore. Khaw's THE LIBRARY AT HELLEBORE (Tor Nightfire, 276 pp., $29.99) does the opposite — yes, it showcases a scholarly environment, but one packed with viciousness and covered in bodily fluids. The novel introduces the Hellebore Technical Institute for the Gifted, a school for young people who have powerful and dangerous abilities that could, if uncontrolled, bring about the end of the world. Hellebore promises that by graduation day, it will have turned these students into people who can live normal lives. The problem is graduation isn't actually a new start for Hellebore's students; it is the end. Because rather than hosting a ceremony, the faculty eat their pupils. The novel follows Alessa Li, who was kidnapped and taken to Hellebore against her will. Her graduation day is here, and she is trapped in the institute's library, where the 'Librarian' is a monster that feeds on students. To survive, she and her classmates need to work together, but instead, they start turning on one another. Khaw's style is a peculiar mix of lyricism and brutality. The pages brim with snark and extreme violence. Layered into that are deep discussions about model minorities and gender. But Khaw keeps readers hooked with the strange allure of Hellebore itself (which, in addition to being populated by terrifying beings, is an enchanting and morphing architectural feat in its own right) and with the tension that at any moment, a student could be devoured. This is a story where there is never any solid ground, and that purposeful confusion deliciously intensifies the novel's anxiety-inducing atmosphere. At one point, Hellebore as an institution is characterized as 'unwholesomely eldritch.' That description also perfectly fits the novel. This book is a treat for horror fans — Hellebore is a perilous place you'll definitely want to visit. Explore our hand-picked genre recommendations Romance Thrillers Fantasy Sci-Fi Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Washington Post
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Firing, hiring and a mystery: The 225-year-old Library of Congress has never had a moment like this
The Library of Congress, a 225-year-old Washington institution, has never had a moment like this. A week ago, the Trump administration fired the longtime librarian of Congress , Carla Hayden. The man appointed by President Donald Trump to be interim librarian , Todd Blanche, may not actually be the interim librarian. And Hayden's ouster may not even be legal.
Washington Post
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Trump taps top Justice Dept. official to also head Library of Congress
President Donald Trump has chosen Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche — the No. 2 official at the Justice Department — to also serve as the acting head of the Library of Congress, according to a Justice official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. Blanche would assume the acting role days after Trump fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden nine years into her 10-year term.
Washington Post
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Trump fires Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden
President Donald Trump fired Carla Hayden, the librarian of Congress, on Thursday evening. Hayden was appointed in 2016 by President Barack Obama and was the first woman and first African American to hold the position. She was also the first librarian by profession to be appointed to the job in decades. Typically, historians and scholars have led the Library of Congress.
