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The Rook: A Novel [Kindle Edition]

Daniel O'Malley
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (270 customer reviews)

Print List Price: $15.99
Kindle Price: $8.89 includes free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet
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Sold by: Hachette Book Group

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Book Description

"The body you are wearing used to be mine." So begins the letter Myfanwy Thomas is holding when she awakes in a London park surrounded by bodies all wearing latex gloves. With no recollection of who she is, Myfanwy must follow the instructions her former self left behind to discover her identity and track down the agents who want to destroy her.

She soon learns that she is a Rook, a high-ranking member of a secret organization called the Chequy that battles the many supernatural forces at work in Britain. She also discovers that she possesses a rare, potentially deadly supernatural ability of her own.

In her quest to uncover which member of the Chequy betrayed her and why, Myfanwy encounters a person with four bodies, an aristocratic woman who can enter her dreams, a secret training facility where children are transformed into deadly fighters, and a conspiracy more vast than she ever could have imagined.

Filled with characters both fascinating and fantastical, THE ROOK is a richly inventive, suspenseful, and often wry thriller that marks an ambitious debut from a promising young writer.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Utterly convincing and engrossing---totally thought-through and frequently hilarious. The writing is confident and fully fledged. Even this aging, jaded, attention-deficit-disordered critic was blown away." (TIME Lev Grossman)

"The pace never lets up in this entertaining high-action read....A near-perfect supernatural thriller....Something unexpected happens on almost every page. Don't start this book unless you've got lots of time, because you won't want to put it down. It's that good." (Library Journal David Keymer)

"Adroitly straddles the thin line between fantasy, thriller, and spoof....O'Malley is a nimble writer, effortlessly leaping back and forth between comedy and action. There's plenty of room here for a sequel that readers will no doubt begin clamoring for before they've even finished this book." (Booklist David Pitt)

"Impressive....Dry wit, surprising reversals of fortune, and a clever if offbeat plot make this a winner." (Publishers Weekly)

"O'Malley's narrative is peppered with sly humor, referential social commentary, and the ironic, double-layered self-awareness that will have genre fans believing Buffy the Vampire Slayer has joined Ghostbusters." (Kirkus)

About the Author

Dan O'Malley graduated from Michigan State University and earned a Master's Degree in medieval history from Ohio State University. He then returned to his childhood home, Australia. He now works for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, writing press releases for government investigations of plane crashes and runaway boats.

Product Details

  • File Size: 753 KB
  • Print Length: 504 pages
  • Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1 edition (January 11, 2012)
  • Sold by: Hachette Book Group
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B004QX07EG
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • X-Ray: Enabled
  • Lending: Not Enabled
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,860 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
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Customer Reviews

This is a well-plotted, well written book with great characters. Christopher Gehrman  |  91 reviewers made a similar statement
An enjoyable book I look forward to reading the next book. Kim Lomman  |  44 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
64 of 73 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Little x-men, dash of buffy, and a whole lotta awesome January 8, 2012
Format:Hardcover
I picked this book up on a whim while at the bookstore. Just seemed really interesting. Once I started reading I didn't want to put it down. There is just enough humor to keep it from feeling overly stuffy and just enough intrigue to keep it from being overly fluffy. The idea of a secret spy agency that is designed to monitor the world's supernatural goings-on is not a new one, but the author takes it and makes it his own. There are definite parts of the book/plot that remind me of xmen, buffy the vampire slayer, xfiles, harry potter - but at the same time not in a bad way. The book melds all those together very well. It's a good read from start to finish. I look forward to reading more from this author!
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31 of 35 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
When I think of The Rook the first word that comes to mind is 'fun.' Great fun actually. But to simply say that The Rook is 'fun' would be facile on my part. The Rook is a terrific read for a lot of reasons.

Foremost The Rook is very well written. The mystery of why Myfanwy Thomas is without her memory and who did what to whom is hard to crack. As soon as I'd thought I'd figured it out, the story proved me wrong. Not because of authorial plot shenanigans, but because the unraveling of the mystery was very well handled. I really enjoyed how this is done with new Myfanwy being aided by information left behind by old Myfanwy. Myfanwy is a wonderful character. She's trying to figure out how to do her job as Rook and racing against time to find who in the Chequy harmed her and why. The Rook is not a short read (nearly 500 pages), but I barely noticed the length.

The Chequy is itself amazing. It's a fantastical governmental agency. Think FBI/CIA rolled into one that handles supernatural threats. Yes, other supernatural agencies exist in literature, but none quite like the Chequy. How the Chequy functions is explained well, but never bogs down the story. I really enjoyed seeing how the Chequy works, how threats are handled, and meeting the people with whom Myfanwy works, despite that fact that one of them wants her erased. Mr. O'Malley's scrupulous attention to detail creates a believable, if somewhat unusual, governmental agency.

The upper echelon of the Chequy are fascinating characters themselves. Because Myfanwy is trying to figure out which of them might be after her, we get to know each of them well. I certainly enjoyed learning about them and their powers... and trying to figure out who did it and why.

Mr.
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26 of 29 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Fun but flawed August 7, 2012
Format:Hardcover
The Rook is a fine summer beach read. It's light and frothy fun--with its wild world full of superpowered secret agents and grotesque monsters, there's always something interesting going on. Like a typical summer blockbuster, though, it works best when you're willing to shut your brain off and look past some slapdash plotting and questionable logic.

It's not a knock against the book, but be warned that the "Supernatural Secret Service" tagline is a bit misleading. The Rook bears far more resemblance to a superhero comic than horror story or spy novel. The members of the Chequey are each gifted from birth with a unique, superhuman ability--a premise that feels more than a little similar to Marvel's X-Men comics. (Or--a more precise analogy for serious comic book geeks--with their opulent wealth and chess-based ranks, they're essentially a good guy version of the Hellfire Club.) Yes, there's a vampire, and some of the antagonists are Lovecraftian grotesques, but the book never delivers the dark, atmospheric chills of horror or growing paranoia of a good spy thriller; this is all about fast pacing and big, explosive action setpieces.

Though The Rook's story and setting owe a lot to comics, its silly and irreverent tone most closely resembles the fantasy parody writings of Terry Pratchett. There's a lot of implausibly goofy behavior both from the eccentric, dysfunctional staff at the Cheque and their various antagonists. Fortunately, the humor amuses more often than not (though never quite as much as the author's winking tone seems to think).

The book's humor, however, is at odds with its occasional attempts to build drama. On the one hand, we're invited to laugh at the Cheque as a group of buffoons.
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41 of 48 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Shut Up and Take My Money! April 20, 2012
Format:Hardcover
About once a week I get really excited about a new novel I'm reading, declaring that it might just be the best book I've read all year. Ask my friends, they'll resignedly confirm this. In keeping with tradition, 80 pages into The Rook by Daniel O'Malley my excitement was running full bore. "You have to buy this book! It is so freaking awesome!" I would say. Their reply: finish the book, write a review, and then tell us to buy it. Yeah well I've finished the book, this is me writing the review, and at the very end I'm going to tell you to buy it.

If you look up reviews or descriptions of The Rook you are bound to come away with a quite the impression. I've seen comparisons made to X-Men, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Ghostbusters, Monty Python, Men in Black, The Maltese Falcon, and The Bourne Identity. I would agree with those comparisons and hazard to throw in a few comparisons of my own. The Rook also blends the supernatural and the mundane like Lev Grossman's The Magicians, and may even be considered reminiscent of some of the creepier episodes of Doctor Who. So yeah, that is a lot to take in. It sounds like this O'Malley guy took a sci-fi/fantasy buffet and crammed it all in a blender. Fortunately the result isn't some hideous fictional slop, but a genre-bending supernatural spy thriller smoothie.

Myfanwy Thomas opens her eyes and she is not who she was. Surrounding her are dead men wearing suits and latex gloves. She is aching from a serious beating and soaked to the bone from the rain. In her pocket is a letter from her body's previous occupant warning her of an imminent threat to her life. She is given two options: run away and live in comfort or find out who has betrayed her and given her a wicked case of amnesia.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly good.
Picked this book up, and then found I didn't want to put it down! It has an unusual story plot, with characters that engage you immediately. Read more
Published 1 day ago by T. Corsetti
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and Engrossing
It has been a long time since I picked up a book that I didn't want to put down. The Rook is one of those. It is a fun mix of intrigue, humor, and Lovecraftian villains. Read more
Published 4 days ago by MF
5.0 out of 5 stars right up my alley
it really does have an x-men type feel. you can call them mutants if you want or not, but the premis is the same. super powered humans. waging secret wars. suspense, intrigue. Read more
Published 6 days ago by Plincoln21
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting writing style
The Rook has one of the most interesting story-telling methods that I have read in a long while. The contrast between 3rd and 2nd/1st person is really interesting, especially given... Read more
Published 8 days ago by Fae713
4.0 out of 5 stars Benefit of the Doubt
I read the book, I enjoyed the book, and I am giving it a more than fair rating of 4 stars. The Rook is one of those sci-fi books where they can either be a total miss or a great... Read more
Published 10 days ago by SWitch1
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Entertaining Read!
Fun and well written story. With an unexpected plot at every turn and good humor resembling that of JK Rouling the book is a very entertaining read. Highly recommend.
Published 14 days ago by Fair Knightness
1.0 out of 5 stars What a mess
I have been trying to read this book for nearly 2 weeks. I just hit page 100 and I can't go on. It has some good laughs but it is unreadable. I feel I need a nap every 10 pages. Read more
Published 15 days ago by kczar
5.0 out of 5 stars Where's the sequel!!!?
Loved this book, loved the world, loved the characters... When are we getting more?! Daniel OMalley is one of my favorite newly discovered authors and I'm actually sad he doesn't... Read more
Published 16 days ago by Bobby Z
5.0 out of 5 stars cannot recommend strongly enough
Spectacular read. Completely riveting from start to finish and very, very well written. The alternative history sprinkled throughout is particularly interesting. Read more
Published 19 days ago by MW
4.0 out of 5 stars What happens when you lose your memory.
Great concept, what happens when you know you are going to lose your memory and wake up with no idea of what is happening. Read more
Published 20 days ago by Lisa D. Maddison
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