• Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

  • A Novel
  • By: Robin Sloan
  • Narrated by: Ari Fliakos
  • Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (11,022 ratings)

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Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore  By  cover art

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

By: Robin Sloan
Narrated by: Ari Fliakos
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Publisher's summary

A gleeful and exhilarating tale of global conspiracy, complex code-breaking, high-tech data visualization, young love, rollicking adventure, and the secret to eternal life - mostly set in a hole-in-the-wall San Francisco bookstore.

The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon out of his life as a San Francisco Web-design drone - and serendipity, sheer curiosity, and the ability to climb a ladder like a monkey has landed him a new gig working the night shift at Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. But after just a few days on the job, Clay begins to realize that this store is even more curious than the name suggests. There are only a few customers, but they come in repeatedly and never seem to actually buy anything, instead “checking out” impossibly obscure volumes from strange corners of the store, all according to some elaborate, long-standing arrangement with the gnomic Mr. Penumbra. The store must be a front for something larger, Clay concludes, and soon he’s embarked on a complex analysis of the customers’ behavior and roped his friends into helping to figure out just what’s going on. But once they bring their findings to Mr. Penumbra, it turns out the secrets extend far outside the walls of the bookstore.

With irresistible brio and dazzling intelligence, Robin Sloan has crafted a literary adventure story for the 21st century, evoking both the fairy-tale charm of Haruki Murakami and the enthusiastic novel-of-ideas wizardry of Neal Stephenson or a young Umberto Eco, but with a unique and feisty sensibility that’s rare to the world of literary fiction. Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore is exactly what it sounds like: an establishment you have to enter and will never want to leave, a modern-day cabinet of wonders ready to give a jolt of energy to every curious listener, no matter the time of day.

©2012 Robin Sloan (P)2012 Macmillan Audio

What listeners say about Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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    4,976
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    3,769
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    1,694
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Performance
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Story
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    4,338
  • 4 Stars
    3,261
  • 3 Stars
    1,710
  • 2 Stars
    456
  • 1 Stars
    188

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Outstanding Narration

Any additional comments?

Too often there's a great book read poorly, or a poor book read well. But this is a great book read by an outstanding narrator. I will probably venture outside my usual genres to listen to other books by the same reader.

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I absolutely love this book

I haven't heard this narrator or listened to this author before, but they are both now on my top lists and this book is already in the 'relisten' group. You will not regret it.

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old and modern together

it was unique and a fun read...the right book at exactly the right time! I loved it!

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No other words besides this; simply marvelous!

I absolutely love this book and recommend all to read/listen to it. It's impressionably inspiring.

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great book must listen

awesome book loved it and cant wait till the movie to see this on screen

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Worth it...

It gets a little depressing for me about 2 hours in but if you push past the bump you see it was necessary for the story. I was also worried that it was marked as book 1 but there are no other books to follow after several years. The story is not a cliff hanger and gives solid closure to a story that is original in many good ways.

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Great story for bibliophiles and techies!

Excellent in audio format. Grabbed from the first page. Really fun. Looking forward to getting hi next book.

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Fun mystery story.

Not what I expected. The mystery couldn't have been solved except for the amazing set off circumstances that evolved.

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    4 out of 5 stars

Unexpected Gem

This is a very character-driven story that delivers characters that you want to know more about.

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haven't had a book hook me in awhile

this was a great book had alot of fun listening to it at work

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