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

Amnesiac... I know, but give it a chance!

This book had a very well thought out plot and amazingly written action sequences. Daniel uses a very interesting technique for the two personality of Thomas to interact.

Another down vote for the narrator

Any additional comments?

I couldn't get past the first few pages because of the quirky sing-song narration. It just became more and more irritating to me as it went along. The plot of the book is interesting enough to earn it a spot on my reading list though. It's it possible to return an audiobook?

Great read! Too similar to X-men to be an original

Would you consider the audio edition of The Rook to be better than the print version?

Susan Duerden is fantastic. She does a great job with the different characters - British accent and all - and embodies Myfanwy Thomas exactly as I would have imagined.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Myfanwy is an outstanding heroine. I never felt frustrated with her progress or choices, but instead was cheering her on at each harrowing turn. The juxtaposition of her former self via the carefully planned journals and her newfound life creates a character the reader can empathize with almost immediately.

What does Susan Duerden bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Susan's accent and expertly pronounced Welsch/British/Belgian vernacular added an authenticity to the story that I would not have experienced had I been reading the novel via print.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

While Daniel O'Malley writes a compelling novel, the characterization of the "mutants" hits a little too close to X-men for The Rook to considered an original.

Engaging story, the narrator - not so much

What made the experience of listening to The Rook the most enjoyable?

It's wildly creative with everything from gene-splicing to telekinetics and mind-control.

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

While there are lots of stories about secret organizations of monster-hunters, this one is still quite unique.

What aspect of Susan Duerden’s performance would you have changed?

TONALITY!!!

All fiction is dependent upon the principle of 'suspension of disbelief.' In order for us to enjoy the story, we must suspend our disbelief that the events are actually happening or even possible. Anything that distracts us from the story can break that illusion and make it less enjoyable, or make us lose interest entirely.

In a book, it's bad writing; in a movie, it can be bad writing, acting, audio, or video; and with audiobooks it's either bad writing or bad reading by the narrator. In "The Rook," Susan Duerden proves to be a talented voice-actor, with a singular exception - tonality.

Most Americans speak within a small range of tones, and sentences ending with a question tend to go up in tone at the end, while simple statements tend to end on a lower tone. Ms. Duerden has the maddening habit of ending statements on the same tone as the rest of the sentence, right in the middle. While she does the various voices admirably, her inclination to end sentences on the middle tone can be so distracting that it pulls you completely away from the story and ends your 'suspension of disbelief.' I did manage to finish the book, but it was a relief to begin another book read 'normally.'

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I'm a screenwriter, I don't do tag lines for free :)

Any additional comments?

As far as the story, it was enjoyable and imaginative. The only negative elements were the occasional slapstick scenes of Mepheny being clumsy. I found most of these wince-worthy as they were unnecessary and un-funny.

My advice is to listen closely to the sample audio, because she reads the entire book this way. I've been to England many times and know that this is somewhat of a Brit characteristic, but I've never heard it done to this degree. If it doesn't bother you, then it's worth the listen.

Didn't hook me in but I swam along

Great narrators, interesting story but I feel like too much got introduced at once and never captivated me as much as I expected it to. had to go back and relisten multiple times.

Fun premise and entertaining story

I really liked the story. I thought it was very ingenious to use letters to fill in the back story. I found I had a hard time not listening straight through.

Good book with some interesting quirks

What made the experience of listening to The Rook the most enjoyable?

The narrator did a great job.
It may just be some of the more recent books I have read, or listened to, but listening to this story, I was pleased that the author described things well enough that I did not later have to question, nor get annoyed by the author trying to remind me of something yet again.
I really enjoyed the story, including the back stories earmarked as letters to the main character. The only one exception is I felt the ending was rushed and abrupt. The author added several twists that kept the story interesting, and seem to scurry a bit to close off loose ends at the end.

A favorite

Monster MI5 is a fun genre but O'Malley has given the main character such a wonderful snarky sense of humor that is perfectly emphasized by Susan Duerden's reading. I can't help laughing out loud listening to the book. This is my favorite of my audible books and I have listened to it quite a few times.

Excellent Book

I really really liked the Rook. Great plot, great characters. Ms. Duerden was very good. I hope O'Malley give us another!

A good listen

Where does The Rook rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I am rather new to audio books at the moment but overall i enjoyed this one. The quality on a smart phone was not superb but it was loud enough and easy to understand.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Gestalt is a very unique character concept that i have not yet encountered in a sci-fy / fantasy setting.

What aspect of Susan Duerden’s performance would you have changed?

There are a few times the characters mumble or she uses a very British accent, it would be nice if that was more distinct.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book did have moments of making me laugh, drawing looks from my wife.

Any additional comments?

This book is quite thrilling and keeps you wanting to listen. At times it was hard to work due to the book drawing me deeply in.