The Rook

A good tale, but disappointing in places

Any additional comments?

Some reviews make out that the underlying concept of this book ventures into previously unknown territory, which is not correct - the most obvious comparison being Ben Aaronovitch's "Rivers of London series". That said, the concept is sufficiently different that there can be no accusations of copycatting.

Overall, I enjoyed listening to this book and will buy the next in the series if there are any (which I hope that there are). The reading was done well.I liked the overall plot concept and the back-story and the device of the heroine's predecessor writing her informative letters worked well.

My major criticisms are thus: First, there several what I thought to be continuity errors, which I found irritating. For example, the heroine works for a super-secret, illuminati-esque organisation that has managed to stay secret for centuries, but one character almost immediately manages to track her down in about 20 minutes. Actually, the whole plotline involving that character had me shouting at the car speakers at one point because it just seemed so unlikely (but don't let that worry you too much, it's still a good story).

Second, some of the super-natural elements of the story are just a bit silly. The main ones work ok, but some of the people or events referred to in passing are just thrown in without any real thought appearing to have been given to whether they contribute towards a believable universe.

One of the secrets of great fantasy is that although the author can invent the rules, there must be rules and the story must stick to them. An attitude of "it's my world so I can do what I like" doesn't really work. This can be a particular problem, as JK Rowling discovered, if the author is hoping to produce a series, where throw-away gimmicks in early books can come back to bite the author on the bottom in the future.

Also, the limits of the heroine's own abilities seem to ebb and flow like an unpredictable tide, which is slightly distracting.

Third, the author makes a little bit too much use of "deus ex machina". If the heroine finds herself imperilled by a giant fire-breathing moth (which she doesn't) then the next minion that comes along would just happen to have the ability to spit asbestos mothballs, etc. Remember the old James Bond films, where you just knew that every gadget given to him by Q was going to be exactly the right tool to get him out of just one sticky situation, just once? A bit like that, but in reverse.

In part, I get the feeling that the author has not quite decided upon his target audience. Some of the little things that bugged me would not really matter if the book is aimed mostly at children (who are less sophisticated or nit-picky, dependent upon your viewpoint, than I am in my 40s) but some of the concepts hinted at are quite adult.

In summary, I enjoyed the book, I will follow the series and recommend it to others - but I hope the author settles down to give a bit more attention to his world-building in the future.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

great fun

did not know what to expect from this as not my usually choice but have been totally immersed and thoroughly intrigued. The narration is superb and brings to life a book that has really cheered up a miserable cold january week.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Awesome Supernatural Spy Thriller set in the UK

Great audiobook, I'd just finished the rivers of london audiobooks and was looking for something new, definitely didn't let me down.



It opens at full steam and keeps it's pace, a great supernatural spy thriller which keeps you thinking... It is actually funny too when it wants to be which is a bonus. Well worth a credit, I'm looking forward to more from O'Malley.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Brilliant!!

I would 100% recommend this book, to anyone! It is well plotted and very gripping. Listening to it on my commute to and from work made it very difficult to go into the office and very eager to leave in the evening. There are alot of intricate threads that leave you wondering how it will all fit together in the end and everything is finished off very nicely. All of the characters are given interesting backstories without it seeming like a dry lecture and the memory loss makes a fabulous plot device for introducing us into this world. It is a good length and so you really get your moneys worth too. The narrator was a little annoying at first as some of the voices didn't seem quite how you would imagine them but after the first couple of chapters you are so into the story it doesn't even cross your mind.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Weird but enjoyable

This is not usually my type of book so when I started listening I was a bit peeved, However it didn't take long for me to get hooked and to actually really enjoy it. It was funny intriguing and a very good story. Would I read another like this...probably.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Love the book, but the audio is less convincing

The Rook's been one of my favourite books of the last five years. Yes, it's silly and yes, the story resolves rather too conveniently, but it hangs together well and is brilliantly sardonic.

The Audible reading simply isn't as good as the book. Too many "funny" voices, and the pacing is rather pedestrian. In truth, if I wasn't already such a fan of the book, I'd have struggled to get all the way through the audio.

It's not terrible, but the book deserves better.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Overacted accents / voices - let this down

What disappointed you about The Rook?

I don't usually write reviews; equal parts laziness and a preconception that no one will care what I think.
I was after some fantasy/thriller/conspiracy kind of vibe, after researching, this seemed like a worth while find. Plus it had a lead female which is rare in this genre.
I was excited and really wanted to love it. The story seemed to flow and speedily, revealing stuff at a pace you would see in a movie. But the narrator was jarring from the beginning. The reader instantly placed me in something akin to a bad radio 4 play for children. Apologies to the talented narrator, Katy Carmichael, but the reading sounded way too sarcastic and dishonest that it stripped the story of any serious credibility. And the accents, mildly offensive at best, I found them rather grating.
I felt that the numerous accents / over exaggerated voices were unnecessary unless the target audience were below the age of 10. Great effort but this made the story comical and silly.
I shall hopefully read it myself, but fear is that I will now hear only the ridiculous accents / voices in my mind.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Having a powerful female lead

What didn’t you like about Katy Carmichael’s performance?

Sadly most of it, the nasally voices, the accents, the tone, felt sarcastic and comical the whole time.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

It was entertaining but let down gravely by the performance.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Dire. X-men meets chicklit

Any additional comments?

Our Heroine Myfanwy, pronounced Miffany, has found herself in a London park surrounded by dead bodies and with no memories. Luckily, she finds a letter in her coat pocket that tells her who she is. She has superpowers, and works as a high-ranking executive in a nationally-important security organisation consisting largely of other superpowered people. Following the letter's instructions, she takes on the life and career of her body's previous owner. No-one realises. And no-one realises that she's carting round, and continually referring to, a huge folder that the body's previous occupant helpfully put together for her, telling her how to do her job.

Miffany gets into all sorts of scrapes and triumphs over all. In the process she makes girlfriends, something that has been lacking in her life to date. Again, no-one comments on the change. Miffany turns out to be an irritating and unlikely mixture of ass-kicking super-organised superpowered executive and tee-hee-let's-have-a-girlie-evening chicklit heroine.

The superpowers variously exhibited are random. One person can turn metal liquid, another can dreamwalk, a third can destroy buildings. They seem to be random, not in families of gifts such as telekinesis or firestarting, and if there are two or more people with one gift (apart from one notable example) it's never mentioned.

The story's set in London but it's painfully, jarringly obvious that it's neither written nor edited by a Brit. Non-British vocabulary abounds. For example, this Brit has never offered anyone "a beverage" - and yet in Miffany's world this happens frequently.

I love the fantasy genre. I bought The Rook because I'm waiting for the next Rivers of London. But fantasy has to be internally consistent. The Rook isn't, and has too many instances that jarred me out of the suspension of disbelief necessary for enjoying fantasy.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Great fantasy romp

If you could sum up The Rook in three words, what would they be?

Fresh, Clever, Intriguing

What did you like best about this story?

Although cliche, I liked the way of introduction to the world via the amnesia device

Which character – as performed by Katy Carmichael – was your favourite?

Myfanwy Thomas

Any additional comments?

I loved the setting, the world building and the concept - can't wait for the sequel

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

AMAZING

Fantastic story with excellent engaging narration. Hope that this will be the first in a long standing series!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful