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| The Rook by Daniel O'Malley On her Majesty's Supernatural Secret Service |
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.
Thereby hangs a tale . . . .
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