A gleeful and exhilarating tale of global conspiracy, complex code-breaking, high-tech data visualization, young love, rollicking adventure, and the secret to eternal life–mostly set in a hole-in-the-wall San Francisco bookstore The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon out of his life as a San Francisco Web-design drone–and serendipity, sheer curiosity, and the ability to climb a ladder … climb a ladder like a monkey has landed him a new gig working the night shift at Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. But after just a few days on the job, Clay begins to realize that this store is even more curious than the name suggests. There are only a few customers, but they come in repeatedly and never seem to actually buy anything, instead “checking out” impossibly obscure volumes from strange corners of the store, all according to some elaborate, long-standing arrangement with the gnomic Mr. Penumbra. The store must be a front for something larger, Clay concludes, and soon he’s embarked on a complex analysis of the customers’ behavior and roped his friends into helping to figure out just what’s going on. But once they bring their findings to Mr. Penumbra, it turns out the secrets extend far outside the walls of the bookstore.
With irresistible brio and dazzling intelligence, Robin Sloan has crafted a literary adventure story for the twenty-first century, evoking both the fairy-tale charm of Haruki Murakami and the enthusiastic novel-of-ideas wizardry of Neal Stephenson or a young Umberto Eco, but with a unique and feisty sensibility that’s rare to the world of literary fiction. Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore is exactly what it sounds like: an establishment you have to enter and will never want to leave, a modern-day cabinet of wonders ready to give a jolt of energy to every curious reader, no matter the time of day.
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Smart, original and very entertaining.
Great book. Great characters and story.
An exceptional tale starring the lovely City of San Francisco
The book was okay. I thought there would be more to the ending. Glad I borrow it from the local library instead of buying it.
I put this down the first time I bought it, then grabbed it again after reading the author’s second book, which I liked (Sourdough). I guess it’s a slow start–but i enjoyed this. Little bit of magical realism, fun look at tech and Silicon Valley, good characters.
It was a delight to read. I am not a techie but enjoyed the mix of many themes, characters, mystery, and playfulness of the narrator. Thank you.
This was so much fun to read! I hated to have to put it down, but it was my bedtime book and I do get sleepy and need sleep especially this week so I can heal. Feeling so much better and finished this wonderful book this morning.
A 24-hour bookstore?! Heck yeah! But it’s not just that. There was a nifty secret society, a code that needed to be …
good fiction unexpected ending
Fun story and interesting characters. It just was a very slow read.
A wonderful read; inventive and unexpected plot twists, fascinating characters
If you like Harry Potter, this is a light read with realistic modern day magic and wizards. A central puzzle with a delightfully satisfying solve.
Unpredictable, and engaging. Loved the tenacity of the characters.
A change of pace from my reading choices, I enjoyed this. Opened my eyes to publishing, quests, computerization of everyday items.
Combining the best of tech and old world books.
I loved this book! The characters were lovable and amazing. I loved how they worked together to achieve their goal (one that took lifetimes to solve).
Original and well written. After I read this I also read Sourdough…another unusual story. Robin Sloan is an interesting writer.
This book was filled with computer references and had a weird “dungeons and dragons” feel to it. Not my cup of tea, but very imaginative.
What a creative and fun read!
Another great book about a bookstore. Imaginative and fun to read and it glows in the dark!
Great original read, fun and wonderfully entertaining personalities.