'The Rook': A Novel by Daniel O'Malley

Written by SR Staff Friday, 27 January 2012 23:38

Books - Books

The Rook: A Novel [Hardcover]
Daniel O'Malley (Author)

"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.

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 )

Hardcover: 496 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (January 11, 2012)
Language: English

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.

The Rook: A Novel

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Author: Daniel O'Malley Binding: Hardcover EAN: 9780316098793 EANList: Edition: 1 ISBN: 9780316098793 ItemDimensions: Label: Little, Brown and Company Languages: ListPrice: Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company NumberOfItems: 1 NumberOfPages: 496 PackageDimensions: ProductGroup: Book ProductTypeName: ABIS_BOOK PublicationDate: 2012-01-11 Publisher: Little, Brown and Company SKU: Y9780316098793 Studio: Little, Brown and Company Title: The Rook: A Novel

Product 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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'The Rook': A Novel by Daniel O'Malley
The Rook: A Novel [Hardcover] Daniel O'Malley (Author) "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...

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