The Rook

A Novel

By: Daniel O'Malley

Narrated by: Susan Duerden

Length: 17 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Myfanwy Thomas awakes in a London park surrounded by dead bodies. With her memory gone, her only hope of survival is to trust the instructions left in her pocket by her former self. She quickly learns that she is a Rook, a high-level operative in a secret agency that protects the world from supernatural threats. But there is a mole inside the organization - and this person wants her dead.

As Myfanwy battles to save herself, she encounters a person with four bodies, a woman who can enter her dreams, children transformed into deadly fighters, and an unimaginably vast conspiracy.

Suspenseful and hilarious, The Rookis an outrageously inventive debut for listeners who like their espionage with a dollop of purple slime.

©2012 Daniel O'Malley (P)2012 Hachette

Wonderful and enjoyable read

This was such an intriguing concept. Having the main character, Myfanwy Thomas waking up without memories and spending a great majority of the book trying to pretend to be the person everyone thinks she is while also trying to figure out exactly what that is is such a fun and unique story line. I must say though, with the things she was faced with, she kept it remarkably cool. 😜 The government facility she’s working for has been infiltrated and Myfanwy has lost her memory, luckily her old self knew this was going to happen and left a series of extremely helpful notes for her to find. The entire story is full of fantastical creatures of Daniel O’Mally’s imagination and boy oh boy does he have an imagination. Very enjoyable read for anyone who wants to leave this world and enter a parallel one. 💕

The rook

Brilliant story telling! The plot is intense and thought provoking. I loved watching the characters grow!

I never write reviews

I know. Everyone says it. But it's VERY rare that I write a review. I loved it. Entertained by every minute of its 18 hours. The narrator was amazing, but sadly she is not the narrator for the next in the series. Nor does she seem to be the narrator for other books that interest me. But bravo Susan Duerden.

Exceptional world-building and Characters

The Rook is a rather fascinating story following the tale of Myfanwy Thomas. Myfanwy is actually a Welsh name, and is pronounced like “Tiffany” with an M. Myfanwy works for a secret organisation in the British government known as ‘The Checquy’, that have been around for hundreds of years, and deal with supernatural events and other odd things within the United Kingdom.
Within the world of ‘The Rook’, there are multiple different people who have special abilities, people who have been born with ‘powers’ as such, from the fairly standard such as super strength or hearing, to rather fantastical, such as talking to the clouds and getting useful intelligence from them. Myfanwy Thomas has the ability to touch someone, and with that touch, take complete control of that person, whether making them walk, looking through their eyes, or making them empty their bowels.
However, Myfanwy doesn’t like to use her powers.
People with powers are generally found by The Checquy and taken in, taken from their families as children, In the old days, they were just taken. Now, with modern society, things need to be a little more discrete. Myfanwy’s removal was somewhat traumatic for her, and as a result, she has associated this with her abilities, and has both become very shy, and doesn’t like to use her powers. Much to the disappointment of the Checquy who had seen her as a possible major asset in both warrior or spy for their operations.
However, she is also gifted in admin, like a savant, and has progressed to the rank of ‘Rook’ in the organisation.
Within the Checquy, the organisation is set up like a chess board, 2 Rooks, 2 Knights, 2 Bishops, but there is a Lord and Lady as the British already have a King and Queen and can’t have a second set.
As we start the story, we learn all about the Checquy, Myfanwy, and the history of supernatural powers with the UK. This is utterly fascinating, the world building is exceptional, creating this gritty and detailed story that is not only remarkable, but totally compelling.
We learn though, that Myfanwy has lost her memory, she was attacked, and has no recollection of who she is. We learn about all this background through mysterious notes, messages and information that has been left by Myfanwy herself. She knew she was going to lose her memory, and being that she is so organised, she has prepared for this, with a full set of instructions for Myfanwy to follow – because if she is found out, those within the Checquy will see her as a threat and kill her.
And thus the story unfolds, with Myfanwy trying to uncover who she is, who tried to kill her, who took her memories. We learn through this set of exceptionally well documented notes and messages left by the former Myfanwy Thomas for the new version. But as this happens, the new version starts to realise that things have changed, she doesn’t have to be the shy little person she was, she has power and authority, and she can use it. And she has an ability that the old Myfanwy didn’t tell the truth about, because it turns out, she is far more powerful than people think she is.
There are some really great characters in this book, Gestalt, the other Rook, who is actually a single mind occupying four different bodies (quadruplets), so that at any time, the hive mind can be in any body, and all bodies, operating things, is just amazing. There is a range of extraordinary beings, X-Men eat your heart out, O’Malley has had so much fun in creating his characters with abilities, it is one of the best parts of this book, reading about the various powers and how they have been used or found.
The other really fascinating, at times gruesome, at times amusing and even just plain hilarious (O’Malley is not afraid to use humour and does it exceptionally well), part of this story is the world-building. There are supernatural ‘manifestations’, the United Kingdom has a higher rate than a lot of countries, thus the Checquy, and this makes for some really interesting back/side stories as the Checquy deal with these events.
This is a story that is part history (alternative timeline obviously), as it delves into the past and we learn about the history of the Checquy and those with powers, how it all came about. There is also the part of the story that follows Myfanwy, both in the present, as well as through her past in the various notes and messages she leaves, and we get to learn who she ‘was’. It is really quite fascinating watching the transformation of the person she was, to who she becomes as the story goes on.
There are so many genres in this book, mystery, thriller, supernatural, sci-fi, a bit of horror, alternative history, spy, crime, there is a bit of something for everyone. But overall, it is a really well done and exceptional book. I was hooked from the moment I picked it up, right to the end. As soon as I had finished, I went looking for the sequel, and I have been happily tearing through book 2 (which is just as good, if not better!!)
This is an absolute must read.
Susan Duerden is not someone I have heard previously. Her narration was clear and concise, and relatively easy to understand.
She had a habit of pitching her voice at the end of every sentence which was difficult to initially listen to, but after a while, you can just ignore it.
She did a good range of Female voices, especially the main character of Myfanwy, which she did an excellent job of narrating. Her Male voices were not quite as clear, but were ok.
She did a great job with providing the emotional states of the characters, of reading the story, so we understood how the characters felt during scenes. Again, she did an outstanding job with the main character of Myfanwy with this aspect, so we really understood how she was dealing with all the different things happening to her.
Overall this was not a bad narration.

Definitely worth taking a chance on

Powers, secret governments, amnesia... what else do you need!? Just hit the button already!

My favorite

I've lost count of how many times I've listened to and read The Room, but every single time I revisit the world of the Checquy I find it fresh and amazing. Susan Duerden's performance is masterful, switching seamlessly between tones and accents.

It's superb. It's funny and fascinating and intense and intriguing. Highly recommended!

Excellent Listen

What did you love best about The Rook?

This book had everything. Suspense, originality, And a Dr Who kind of kookiness.

What other book might you compare The Rook to and why?

Not sure. It was suggested to me after liking the Hunger Games but there is more humour and supernatural elements. I told my husband it was like a dr who episode told by the shopoholic.

Which scene was your favorite?

Honestly, the first chapter was so well written I've gone back to listen to it again. But all the scenes have such a sense of place and suspense, I have no idea how he kept it up throughout the book.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When we find out how the herine lost her memory. I thought it was going to be just a simple reveal but it was quite heartbreaking.

Any additional comments?

Enjoy. I will definitely listen to this a second time. The only downside is I'll be waiting two years for the next installments.

disappointing performance

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

the storyline may have been really good, but it's been a while since a story has been spoilt for me, based solely on the narrator's performance. i could't quite get my head round the

How could the performance have been better?

it would be helpful to have a different narrator, as Susan Duerden's tendency to finish sentences on an upnote is quite jarring and distracting.

the most irritating narrater EVER

I have only made it through part of the first chapter , i listened to parts of some later chapters and it doesn't get better. The narrator has a sing song cadence that is really annoying. I have tried to get into the book and hope that Ill stop noticing this. Im giving it another little bit. I wonder why theres not some quality control for this.
If I can't get past this i'll return the book.and read it the old fashioned way!

Sometimes I get lucky. This is one of those times!

The Rook is a wonderful book. Just enough strangeness and mystery to keep you wanting to hear more and not needing to make crib notes about which dastardly evil entity Rook Thomas is facing.

The Rook starts out with someone waking up with amnesia and finding they have a sudden choice to make, assume their old life or abandon it and start totally over. Fortunately Ms. Myfanwy Thomas, decides to resume her existing life after her memory was rebooted and takes us all along on an enjoyable journey. We discover the many wonders and challenges she faces as a domestic section chief of a secret 'government' agency charged with protecting Brittan from abnormals. It is a challenging task with some great twists and turns O'Mally deftly switches between monsters du jour and the letters from her old self helping to teach Myfanwy about whom she was/is, the life she led, and how it all helps her face this day's challenges.

Daniel O'Malley has written a solid first novel and a great foundation that could support one or a half dozen more. The pacing of The Rook kept me enjoying every passing minute, especially with the detours of the letters from ‘Me’ to ‘You,’ Myfanwy's prior and post memory reboot alter egos. O'Mally moves these passages along and, although they suddenly leave one story arc, I don't remember ever wishing he would just hurry up and get back to the main plot.

Whoever selected Susan Duerden to narrate this book is an absolute genius. She is a perfect Myfanwy Thomas and has such an ability to bring each of O'Malley's characters solidly to life (even the slimly / barely alive ones)! I am looking forward to enjoying the work of each of these artists again and again (including an instant replay of The Rook).