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

Clichés be damned!

Rook opens on a rather cliché note, amnesiac hero, who's tabla-rasa for any personal memories but retains her instincts. From the Bourne Identity beginning to an X-men like world, Daniel O' Malley dances along being trite to actually clever. Its a mish-mash of supernatural beings, shadowy government organizations and a world unseen by the public, and schools for the unique of talent. While not a book about super heros and super villains , The Rook certainly takes cues from X-Men.

Susan Duerden is one hell of a voice actor, but she fails at the narrative. Her voice switches into a repetitive cadence, strangely melodic and robotic, that sounds strangely like a high level text to speech algorithm. The words are there but the inflection is the same, regardless of content. Its strange and annoying. Early in the book, when narrative parts extend minutes, I found myself annoyed, which is unusual for me as I'm not the most demanding of listeners. Fortunately, as more characters are introduced, Susan Duerden spends less time in her repetitive robo-speak.

That said, for a rookie writer, Daniel O' Malley proves himself a worthy read. About the only complaint I had is it seemed that every character of substance was described as being "Beautiful"... how many beautiful people can occupy a single novel? ;)

Who Knew Fighting Monsters Could Be So Funny...?

I wonder sometimes who it is that selects titles for Audible's sales. I'd really like to know so I could thank them for bringing about my discovery of The Rook. I doubt I would have found it otherwise, and that'd have been a real shame, as this is a truly hilarious book with some uplifting undertones.

Imagine someone having to cope all at once with the existence of supernatural threats to humanity as well as their leadership role in an organization established to hold the line against such threats. This story could get very dark very quickly, but it doesn't, as the author and the reader enjoy themselves too much along the way. Our hero has plots to uncover, monsters to vanquish, and people to fool, all while learning who she was before her memory was lost and who she wants to be now. It all makes for a quick pace as she meets all sorts of colorful characters and risks her life to save the people of Britain, blissfully unaware of the dangers all around them.

The narration takes some getting used to, filled with an urgency suited to some events, but not to others. Eventually though, the voices of the characters shine through and allow the narrator's vocal talents to dazzle the listener, particularly with Myfanwy and other characters' spontaneous reactions to the odd events they encounter.

There are occasions when I wonder whether a book's sale price colored my opinion of its merits, not so in this case. I had far too much fun, something born out by the fact that I'll be buying the sequel as soon as it hits Audible.

Loved Everything, Except Two Things

I really did like this book! I wanted to like it a lot more, but two things brought it down. First, the narrator is really good, but during the parts of the book with no characters speaking, she gets very sing-songy and it drove me just a bit crazy (not hard to do) if I thought about it too much. I can't find it anywhere, but I swear she also did some narration on The Golden Compass audiobook. I like everything about her except that every sentence has to end going....uuuuup. This was actually more minor than the second thing.

The second thing I couldn't get past was the antagonists, the grafters. Their capabilities are supposedly based on pure science, but they can do things that go far beyond the people who have super abilities! I LOVE science, so I was just unable to accept this concept of a totally secret group of people who have the scientific abilities attributed to them in the book. If the grafters had some supernatural leader that was channeling supernatural energy to make all of their stuff possible, I could even buy that, but to say it was pure science, bah! To say there were people who centuries ago could men who could craft flesh and organs with capabilities beyond what we have available even today, nope. For me, this all but ruined a really good book and since it is clear that they will have a part in a sequel, I doubt I'll be buying that either.

More, Please!

I absolutely adored this book and didn't want it to end! I hear there is to be a sequel and can not wait! The one drawback is the narrator. The sing-song tone of her voice can be grating and when she tries to do a Belgian accent I want to claw my eyes out. I don't even know how she arrived at psuedo-cockney-German = Belgian. My suggestion is to listen to the sample, if you can tolerate that give it a try. If not, get the paperback or ebook!

Maybe I read a different book.

Would you try another book from Daniel O'Malley and/or Susan Duerden?

Possibly, but with reservations.

What do you think your next listen will be?

that depends on my mood at the time.

What three words best describe Susan Duerden’s performance?

Good range, effort, quality

Was The Rook worth the listening time?

I found the book to be fairly trope ridden. If you are new to the genre it might seem fresh but if you have read alot in this genre it is pretty formulaic and not terribly orignal. The authors writing style was difficult to get into. You could tell that the narrarator had a hard time with this book.

Any additional comments?

A similar concept that is much better executed is Simon Greens Secret Histories series. I just didn't care for the author's writing style and the premise is cliched to the extreme. The narrator did the best she could with the material she had. I would definitely listen to another book narrarated by her.I read some of the other reviews comparing this book to the Dresden files. If you haven't read that series go get the books right now. Jim Butcher is an author of several magnitudes above this one.

If you loose your memories are you still you?

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

This is probably my second favorite standalone audiobook I have listened to.

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

Truthfully I can not compare the rook to any audiobook I have listened to so far since it is very fresh and new. There are many new ideas that really kept it interesting.

What about Susan Duerden’s performance did you like?

She seems to be a perfect match for the book.

Any additional comments?

This is a new type of Sci-Fi book to myself. This does not hold to the whole wizard, vampire, and werewolf theme. It goes into many well thought out abilities and makes the book a lot more entertaining.

English Paranormal

An excellent listen! I really like the Harry Dresden series by Jim Butcher and Charlotte Davidson books by Darynda Jones but the crazy romance in the Darynda Jones books really are distracting and tedious. This book has none of that and I'm able to really enjoy a good female character. The humor is funny and the plot is smart. The reader Susan Duerden does some wonderful voice work. I'll have to look into her other books. Im hoping this will become a series so I can listen to more of her adventures.

A Fabulous Narrator makes a Good Story Better

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

Yes. While the story is good in either form, the narrator's interpretation of the characters adds to the story.

Which scene was your favorite?

The first time the new Myfanwy ventures into the field to tackle a living, mold-like creature that has taken over some people. She is still unaware of how powerful she is, and people all around her are astonished that she confronts the terrifying monster like a boss. The original Myfanwy would never do that, but because the two characters share the same body, no one knows there is a difference.

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

The original Myfanwy is gone, but she left behind letters and notes to help guide the new Myfanwy through a fantastical and dangerous world. She has been treated disdainfully her whole life, and it is sad to realize that this powerful, competent woman has never been acknowledged for who she really is.

Any additional comments?

The story is long, but every minute is a joy. I sometimes wanted the story to move faster, but only because I desperately wanted to know what happened next. The narrator is fantastic. Susan Duerden manages to give a unique voice to a large number of characters, including the English Myfanwy, an American operative, an arrogant youth, a cultured vampire, a wheezing sick child, and a horrible monster. It does not happen often, but I will shop for books that are read by this narrator. She is that good. Highly recommended.

Great book, lots of action and sub plots

What did you love best about The Rook?

Myfanwy Thomas felt very real. I had difficulty believing that it was written by a male.

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoyed Daniel's sense of humor, not everything runs smoothly, bureaucratic fowl-ups. A lot of intrigue, and story turns.

What about Susan Duerden’s performance did you like?

Wow, Susan's performance made the book so believable. I enjoyed her reading and intonation.

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

No, I listened to the book 3 times, there was a lot going on and it took a few times to catch everything.

Any additional comments?

I would love to hear more on Myfanwy read by Susan! I want a comfort bear.

Rough but promising

Not the best book I've ever had, but one of the better first books I've seen. Could have been more tightly edited, and a bit more rambly, but by the same token, lots of quirk, some nice lines and a pleasing mishmash of visceral horror and comedy of manners. Curious what comes next from O'Malley.