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Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

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Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

By: Robin Sloan
Narrated by: Ari Fliakos
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About this listen

 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 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 21st 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 listener, no matter the time of day.

Read by Ari Fliakos. Ari Fliakos is a television, radio, film, theater and voice actor. He narrated the Dalton Fury's audiobooks Black Site and Tier One Wild, as well Robin Sloan's Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore: A Novel. In reviewing his performance of Mark Allen Smith's The Inquisitor, AudioFile magazine raves that he "adds significant color to all the characters" and "pulls all the strings of the listener's emotions." His most well-known film credits include roles in Law & Order, Pills, and Company K.

(p) 2012 Macmillan Audio©2012 Robin Sloan Adventure Coming of Age Fiction Genre Fiction Science Fiction Urban Mind-bending Thought-Provoking Fantasy Feel-Good Comedy San Francisco

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All stars
Most relevant
Really enjoyed this book. The characters are performed brilliantly and are believable. Would recommend giving this a listen.

Engaging!

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Would you listen to Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore again? Why?

It's a lovely listen, characters are unusual and plot.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Mr Penumbra, from the start your wanting to know more, little pieces are thrown to you though our the book. He's a man with a history

What does Ari Fliakos bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

A hugely enjoyable plot.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I enjoyed the tussel between growing need for computers and the Internet as opposed to a good old fashioned book

Enjoyable listen

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Where does Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In the middle-ground.

Any additional comments?

Got this on audiobook at half-price, just over £2, and so thought it would not be up to much. But, right from the start it charmed and intrigued me.

I like things that are different and this certainly falls into that category.

Well worth a listen / read in my opinion.

Charming and intriguing in equal measure

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This is one of those unexpected delights. I didn't know the plot or even the genre before I started listening but very quickly found myself engrossed. There was a great modern quest with intricate puzzles and classic roles made relevant. It really spoke to the data loving problem solver in me. The only downside is the overwhelming one sided love of Google shown.

A fascinating adventure

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I was recommended this by a stranger on twitter and i'm glad i was, its an adventure you could only find in a bookshop with enough intrigue to keep you guessing. Great fun!

A new meaning to getting lost in a book

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