Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
Robin Sloan
Published: Picador; Reprint edition (September 24, 2013)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 304
Genre: Fiction
Source: own book
I finished this one yesterday and I have to say that I quite liked it. I did pretty much figure out where this was going by the time I reached the middle of the book, but the author kept things interesting and made the story play out well and gracefully. I still didn't feel that most of the characters were very fleshed out, so that detracted from the experience for me. I also had a bit of a timing problem in terms of what the ..um.. members were supposed to accomplish in a lifetime. If you have seen Volumes 1 and 2 of Mark Twain's autobiography you have an idea of what my problem was with the secret society - it was cool but really needed to be thought out more to feel real. However, I love player in the middle stories - where the central character isn't the most awesome expert in the world, or the most magical, or dummm dumm dahhh *destined* - but instead a regular person who uses their knowledge and intelligence to link things together to find a solution.
I enjoyed this book and will probably re-read it at some point. It was kind of like a stripped down contemporary version of Name of the Rose told strictly from a new novice's point of view. (I love Name of the Rose and have read it at least three times). So ... four claws.
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