Myfanwy Thomas awakens in a London park surrounded by dead bodies. With her memory gone, she must trust the instructions left by her former in order to survive. 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. Battling to save herself, … save herself, Myfanwy will encounter a person with four bodies, a woman who can enter her dreams, children transformed into deadly fighters, and terrifyingly vast conspiracy.
Suspenseful and hilarious, The Rook is an outrageously imaginative thriller for readers who like their espionage with a dollop of purple slime.
“Utterly convincing and engrossing — -totally thought-through and frequently hilarious….Even this aging, jaded, attention-deficit-disordered critic was blown away.”-Lev Grossman, Time
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The Rook blew my mind when it came out years ago. I decided to re-read it and it was just as hilarious the second time! Myfawnwy (rhymes with Tiffany) is a Rook in the Checquy – a secret government organization that deals with paranormal problems, such as a vampire cornering the wheat market or a house mysteriously filled with pink slime that kills people. Love, love, LOVE this book!
Fantastic beginning – gets a big random/slower-going, but picks up again, and the sequel is also excellent… I am a long-time fan of the world-within-the-world genre, and this is a very fine addition. The construct – Myfanwy Thomas wakes up in her body but not her mind – is intriguingly presented and developed, and there’s enough spy genre and mystery to make things really interesting. Definitely worth your time!
Somehow I’ve neglected to share my love for The Rook, so I am remedying that immediately. It’s more or less the concept of Men in Black (secret gov’t agency saving the world from supernatural threats), except even funnier and smarter and weirder. And very British, which is always a bonus as far I’m concerned. It opens like this: “Dear You, The body you are wearing used to be mine…”
This book grabs your attention from the first page and never lets up. The fantasy framework is England full of a large variety of supernatural beings who frequently threaten the society. A governmental agency for many years has tried to protect the population and keep the fact that there are supernatural threats secret. An important woman in this agency has had her body, her governmental role, and her abilities taken over by another entity. It’s a fabulous achievement as a first book from a new author and a terrific read.
I was hooked from the first line. I loved the suspense, the deeply imagined world, and the humor interwoven with the action. O’Malley has impressive talent!
Myfanwy Thomas is my hero. Calm, cool and collected in a VERY strange world. She wakes up with no memory of who she is, surrounded by people she apparently killed. This is only the beginning of the mysteries in this novel, which is packed to the gills with weird, wonderful, scary and amazing… people? As Myfanwy attempts to understand who she is and how she fits into the world she woke up to, the reader is pulled into a story that is complex, but so satisfying. This is one of those books you won’t want to put down because you just have to find out what the heck is going on! The second book in the series just came out, they are both really worth your time.
This is a novel about adventures on her Majesty’s supernatural secret service, and the author telling the tale has an imagination with no limits. Anything and everything goes as these agents come up against unpredictable, supernatural foes and forces all requiring action in order to protect the blissfully ignorant public. Fortunately these agents are armed not just with their wits and common weaponry; they have their own diverse supernatural abilities.
“Dear You, The body you are wearing used to be mine. . .” At the beginning of the book, this mysterious letter is read by a young woman who inhabits the body of an agent who was working for good. Myfanwy Thomas is her Welsh name (pronounced like Tiffany). The new Myfanwy comes conscious in the agent’s body for the first time in a London park, surrounded by dead bodies that are all wearing latex gloves. What’s a girl to do? She follows the limited guidance contained in the ominous letter. This is the beginning of a fast-paced action novel. Circumstances force the new Myfanwy to learn how to take on and succeed in her responsibilities as a Rook, which is a high-level operative in the secret British government agency that protects the world.
There is a lot to learn from a series of well-hidden letters and other clues from the former Myfanwy, which were intentionally left hidden for her successor. The new Myfanwy has no memory at all of what has happened before the moment in the London park. The letters are a help to her, and to the reader throughout the book, as you both try to understand this new world and how to survive. You both learn so much too about the former Myfanwy as the letters go on, and how the new Myfanwy is different too. Reading the letter clues at the same time as the heroine, you’ll feel directly a part of the action.
But time is of the essence when dangers are all around, including covert dangers within the agency itself. Myfanwy must stop her unknown enemy before being destroyed herself. She can’t just spend her time reading letters, she has to think and act for herself. She also has to learn how to control and use her own interesting, supernatural powers. There’s a lot to take on while handling her day-to-day job activities. This book is suspenseful, mysterious, funny, and action packed.
The author has a master’s degree in medieval history and in his other life he works for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau writing press releases for government investigations of plane crashes and runaway boats. In this debut work he has created a complex, unique, logical, imaginative and entertaining paranormal fantasy where you have license to let your own imagination run wild.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It is certainly one of a kind and a fresh take on the paranormal genre. I loved the British humor of it and the snappy way in which it was written.
too predictable.
Wow! I’m so glad I picked this book up following a recommendation from a magazine.
It’s stunning, a complete page turner, and now I’m bugging all my friends to read it so we can talk about it!
I like totally new things-this is one. I have re-read it already and enjoyed it all over. When I started, I was thinking what the heck is going on? Making me want to read it that much more! so very different and interesting. still not sure I got it all
I flat out adored it and could not turn the pages fast enough. This is a FANTASTIC new world that is captivating and magical.
A novel by Daniel O’Malley
Myfanwy Alice Thomas lives in London, England. She works for the Checquy, pronounced “Sheck-eh,” which is a secret army working in Great Britain. Their job is to handle all the unusual, and supernatural events that occur in Her Majesty’s Realm. Why The Checquy, you ask?; Because they are unusual and supernatural too. The power structure of the Checquy is like the pieces on a chess board. There are a Lord and Lady, (called that to differentiate them from the ruling Monarchs of Great Britain) two Bishops, two Chevaliers (Knights), two Rooks and a lot of Pawns. Myfanwy, (pronounced “Mif-un-ee, in case you were wondering) is a Rook. As a Rook, she handles domestic “events.” And she has power, supernatural power, that is. She can kill with a touch. Then one day someone or some “thing” took away every memory that made her who she was, and another woman opened Myfanwy’s eyes.
“The Rook” one of the most enjoyable, funny and original fantasies that I have ever read. The writing is first rate, the humor witty, and the ending satisfying. I highly recommend it to all aficionados of modern-day dystopian fantasy.
I listened to this as an audiobook, and Susan Duerden’s narration & Daniel O’Malley’s story pulled me right into the story, which I can only describe as ‘supernatural British X-Men’.
Great book, loved it.