The Rook by Daniel O’Malley
Reviewed by: Carey Gibbons, Adult Services
Genre: Science Fiction
Suggested Age: Adults
What is the book about?: Myfanwy (pronounced Miffany) Thomas wakes up in a park in the rain with no memory, surrounded by dead people, and with a letter that begins, “Dear You, The body you are wearing used to be mine.” This is only the beginning of Myfanwy’s strange journey as she navigates this new life while attempting to maintain the illusion that nothing has changed. Because someone is trying to kill her, and not even the old Myfanwy Thomas knew who. New Myfanwy needs to find out who wants her dead before they find out that Old Myfanwy is no longer in residence. New Myfanwy has help in the form of letters from Old Myfanwy, but not even those are enough to prepare her for the reality of her new life as a super secret and also high ranking officer of the Checquy, England’s first and last line of defense against the supernatural. And to complicate things further, it turns out that New Myfanwy has strange powers of her own that are far superior to those of Old Myfanwy. The Rook goes back and forth between the life experiences of New Myfanwy and the instructional letters left behind by Old Myfanwy, both of whom need to find out who wants them dead.
My Review: This book was so much fun! I was torn between wanting to read it as fast as possible and reading a little bit at a time to make the book last as long as I could. Luckily for me, and anyone else who has enjoyed The Rook, the sequel, Stiletto, was released on June 14th. I liked this book because it hit all of the major buttons that I like in genre fiction. Super powered people – yes; super powered forces of evil – yes; an all consuming mystery – yes; a clever sense of humor – yes. This book was both fun and funny. It felt like a mix of television shows like Orphan Black and The X-Files, with bits of movies like Kingsman and comics like X-Men thrown in. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes any of those things. O’Malley does a great job of keeping readers curious and engaged, and he writes excellent heroes and villains.
Rating: 5/5
About FDL Reads
Welcome to FDL Reads, weekly book reviews from Fondulac District Library. Librarians (and possibly some other guest reviewers) review all types of books, from children’s picture books, young adult favorites, to the latest adult thriller, and share their thoughts each week at fondulaclibrary.org. If the book is owned by Fondulac District Library (or another local library), you’ll see a direct link to the catalog entry and whether or not it is available. If it is checked out or at another local library, you will be able to place a hold as long as you have your library card and PIN numbers. As with any book review, these are our opinions…we disagree amongst ourselves about books frequently. We all have different likes and dislikes, which is what makes the world an interesting place. Please enjoy, and keep on reading!