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

love the book. narrator's phrasing annoying

one of my favorite books-- read and re-read. The narrator dies a great job with the voices, but her vocal pattern in the narrative is frustrating.

A BRILLIANT, NONSTOP ROMP

into a world of mutant world protectors, with plenty of twists and lots of intelligent humor.

What a SURPRISE!!!

Wow!! I absolutely love this book! Every aspect of the writing is a delight and the performance couldn't be better. prior to seeing the series on Starz, I had no idea of its existence. So glad I saw the show - I was so captivated from the very first episode I decided I must read the book. And listening to audiobooks when one's hands are busy is such a pleasure of our modern world. I loved every minute of it and I will be listening to the sequel starting now!

Better than that miserable tv show.

Fun book, but hoped for more depth to the story. It's not a meaty, page turning mystery. Just sit back and enjoy the listen. Can't agree with the reviews that criticised the narration. She varied her accents and characters impressively.

Good story but narrator a little off-putting

The narrator has a strange tonal cadence that made it difficult to listen to.

It's really interesting and different and good

I had trouble getting into the book in the beginning, but stuck with it. Then things got really good and interesting, and I absolutely loved this book. I'm going to buy the print, and I very much hope there will be another. The author took the supernatural world and placed it into an elaborate secret agency older than some countries, and very dedicated to it's purpose. LOVED IT. The main character had enough plot twists going on along with action that you found yourself following right along with her, and trying to figure out who it was that set her up, and where to look for friend and enemy alike.

Loved this book.

Any additional comments?

I really loved this book. It was an all around great listen the writing was tight. The story was complete while at the same time paving the way for a sequel. It was funny and suspenful. The reader was perfect. I can't wait for the next book.

Comic Book Novel

"The Rook" reminds me of a comic book. Almost like X-Men, but in the UK. It's just a fun and fast book to read. Almost feels like Hunger Games, but with superheros, but instead of Superman rescuing a cat in the tree, Myfanwy Thomas reveals the secret organization of the Chequy. It was just a fun read. The book almost felt like a teen story with the Rooks fighting the vampires at one point, but also discovering their super powers. I'm going to imagine there will be a lot of attendees dress up as Myfanwy at Comic-Con.

Really loved this!

No wonder they are making a TV series of this book. Thought everything about it was enjoyable.

Fantastic narration

Great, fun story with surprisingly excellent narration. At first I thought the narrator was sounding too repetitive in her intonation, but once the multiple characters entered the story, she really started to show wonderful variety and I was really engaged. I had a great time listening to this, and will totally recommend to friends.