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

very fun listen

this was a great roll of the dice. The story and performance were both well done.

Great story. Good Brit humor. Narrator takes time.

Great, if just a little green, sci-fi with a dollop of delicate British humor. Narrator's intonation takes getting used to. I won't tell you why, beacuse once you clue in it will drive you nuts until the quality of the story makes you forget. That being said, she's a good actor with a fitting reading voice and my slight quibble with her performance should by no means dissuade you from missing out on a good book.

The Rook isn't edge-of-your seat thrills or laugh-out-loud humor, but instead superb world creation and slowly simmering development of an interesting, unique and thought-provoking premise (when it comes to books about a British female protagonist losing her memory, this is paced slightly faster than Girl on the Train with a much, much more interesting setting, better writing and a more compelling and enjoyable protagonist). Very happy I discovered it, well worth the credit or full price. I'm buying the sequel after I write this review.

Great fiction and premise

Made me extend my workout to get to the end of each chapter. Hope there is a sequel or prequel.

Improved as it progressed

I did end up liking it and look forward to checking out the Starz series.

Fun read

Not exactly what I was expecting, but the book was fantastic nonetheless. Full of twists, turns, and fun.

Engrossing & engaging

Amazing plot and good attention to detail.

Narrator did a very great job changing her voice and intonation for the various characters. On to the next book in the series.

Very imaginative and suspenseful

Original characters and magic. I couldn't put it down. I can't wait for the next book.

That being said, I was a little disappointed by the explanation of how the main character resolved the flesh cube problem. That could have benefitted from a lot more logic and explanation.

Fun Story, Not Sleezy

Any additional comments?

Character was intelligent and setting was unexpected. Would like more stories from this author.

This book is amazing

I’ve listened to this book multiple times all the way through and can’t recommend it enough.

Wonderful book-horrible narration

I love this 2 book series and have read it many times. This narration was terrible. She read in a sort of sing song that was very distracting and took away from the story. Everything sounded like a damn question! I think I’ve been spoiled for narrators by Zara Ramm who does The Chronicles of St Mary’s series by Jodi Taylor. Now THOSE audible books I HIGHLY recommend.