The Rook: A NovelDaniel O'Malley
Little, Brown and Company, January 2012
ISBN: 978-0316098793
Filled with characters both fascinating and fantastical, The Rook is a richly inventive, suspenseful, and often wry thriller that marks an ambitious debut from a promising young writer.
Myfanwy (pronounced 'Mif-fawn-ee') Thomas wakes up in a London park surrounded by dead bodies, all of whom are wearing latex gloves. She is beaten and bruised, and has no idea where or who she is. Letters found in her coat pocket, left by the person she used to be, guide her through a harrowing adventure in the wild and richly imagined world of The Rook by Daniel O’Malley.
The Rook opens with, 'Dear You, The body you are wearing used to be mine.' The body in question belongs to Myfanwy Thomas, a young woman who was made aware that an unknown enemy will erase her memory, and her very identity, leaving her a stranger in her own body. That stranger, helped by the detailed notes from her predecessor, jumps back into Myfanwy's life in order to find the person behind the attack.
Pretending to be the Myfanwy Thomas that the world already knows is no easy task. That Myfanwy is a Rook, a high-level operative in a secret agency known as Chequy, a secret organization dedicated to protecting the United Kingdom, and the world, from supernatural threats. But her memory has been stripped from her by a mole within the organization, one who would like nothing more than to see her dead.
A great deal of the back story is filled in by letters peppered throughout the novel. O’Malley turned a trope into an excellent way to fill in the back story without boring the reader and adding to the tension and excitement of the story. The supernatural world in which the Chequy operates is wonderfully imagined. The Rook bounces between fantasy and science fiction effortlessly as Myfanwy attempts to unravel the mysteries surrounding her.
Daniel O'Malley is one of the most talented and imaginative writers to appear on the literary scene in a long time. He has crafted a fascinating supernatural world and filled it with unique and interesting characters. He is masterful at creating mood and a sense of presence in his descriptions of places and people. He’s got a strong voice and ability to make his characters come alive.
The Rook is a wholly refreshing, original piece of work that will be worth revisiting again and again. It embodies all of the things readers love about the supernatural genre, but operates with a great sense of mystery. I highly recommend The Rook.
DANIEL O'MALLEY graduated from Michigan State University and earned a Master's Degree in medieval history from Ohio State University. He then returned to his childhoom home, Australia. He now works for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, writing press releases for government investigations of plane crashes and runaway boats.
ISBN: 978-0316098793; ISBN10: 0316098795; Imprint: Little, Brown and Company; On Sale: 1/11/2012; Format: Hardcover; Pages: 496; $25.99
