Tag: daniel omalley

Book Review: The Rook by Daniel O’Malley

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Overall Rating: 5 Stars

This book is so delightfully weird. The idea of a secret government organization and people with special powers sounds overdone, but O’Malley manages to make the entire concept seem fresh and new.

At the forefront of this is our introduction to the main character, Myfawny Thomas. Myfawny wakes up in a park with no memory of who she is or how she got there. She finds a letter in her pocket from the old Myfawny explaining a choice: to go off and live a new life or pursue the mystery of what happened to her. Unsurprisingly, the new Myfawny picks the second choice.

I’m normally not a fan of amnesia plot lines, but O’Malley managed to give away enough information to keep me invested in the mystery without getting frustrated. As the new, more assertive, Myfawny bluffs her way into the organization we learn about how the Checquy has protected the British Isles from supernatural threats for centuries and about Myfawny’s own unique powers. Their titles come from the names of chess pieces, which is where the book gets its name: she’s Rook Thomas. There are also Pawns, Chevaliers, Bishops, and the Lord and Lady. The Lady of the Checquy can enter people’s dreams, one of the Bishops is a vampire and Myfawny’s fellow Rook is a creature called Gestalt whose consciousness inhabits several bodies at once.

But now a new threat has emerged and it looks as though it may be an ancient enemy the Checquy thought it destroyed long ago. The Grafters are the opposite of the people who work for the Checquy. They gain their powers through extremely advanced surgical modifications that grant them advantages like extreme strength and speed. They consider the Checquy to be supernatural abominations. We learn about the world O’Malley has built as Myfawny attempts to lead her organization through a crisis 

This book kept me guessing right up until the last minute. I honestly never knew what would happen next. There was also an element of humor and absurdity to the plot that kept the book from getting too heavy. The result was a very engaging read and I didn’t even notice how long it was. I would definitely recommend it and look forward to continuing the series.

As an aside, I’ve just learned The Rook has been made into a TV show and is set to debut on Starz very soon. From the clip that I saw, I’m not overly impressed. They changed the letters Myfawny left behind into videos which, okay, I don’t love but understand is more TV-appropriate. But it seems like they missed the mark on some of the characters. I’m definitely going to watch it, though, so stay tuned for a review.

Book Review: The Rook

cdigiroLeave a comment

Overall Rating: 5 stars

Today I’m reviewing an old favorite, The Rook by Daniel O’Malley. It’s book one in a series called the The Checquy Files. Book two is called Stiletto, and I believe the author is currently working on book three.

The Rook is so delightfully weird. The idea of a secret government organization and people with special powers sounds overdone, but O’Malley manages to make the entire concept seem fresh and new.

At the forefront of this is our introduction to the main character, Myfawny Thomas. Myfawny wakes up in a park with no memory of who she is or how she got there. She finds a letter in her pocket from the old Myfawny explaining a choice: to go off and live a new life or pursue the mystery of what happened to her. Unsurprisingly, the new Myfawny picks the second choice.

I’m normally not a fan of amnesia plot lines, but O’Malley managed to give away enough information to keep me invested in the mystery without getting frustrated. As the new, more assertive, Myfawny bluffs her way into the organization we learn about how the Checquy has protected the British Isles from supernatural threats for centuries and about Myfawny’s own unique powers. Their titles come from the names of chess pieces, which is where the book gets its name: she’s Rook Thomas. There are also Pawns, Chevaliers, Bishops, and the Lord and Lady. The Lady of the Checquy can enter people’s dreams, one of the Bishops is a vampire and Myfawny’s fellow Rook is a creature called Gestalt whose consciousness inhabits several bodies at once.

But now a new threat has emerged and it looks as though it may be an ancient enemy the Checquy thought it destroyed long ago. The Grafters are the opposite of the people who work for the Checquy. They gain their powers through extremely advanced surgical modifications that grant them advantages like extreme strength and speed. They consider the Checquy to be supernatural abominations. We learn about the world O’Malley has built as Myfawny attempts to lead her organization through a crisis while concealing her amnesia. 

My only criticism would be that the author relies on the old “describing her body in the mirror” trick to introduce us to Myfawny, which is a bit clumsy given how good the rest of the book is. I’ve seen people complain about the author getting too bogged down in the details or slowing down the action, but given that Myfawny is an amnesiac who doesn’t actually know that much about the organization, I think we really need the flashbacks and expository dialogue for the story to make sense.

Fair warning, at nearly 500 pages this book is long. But I love myself a big book and The Rook kept me guessing right up until the last minute. I honestly never knew what would happen next. There was also an element of humor and absurdity to the plot that kept the book from getting too heavy. The result was a very engaging read and I was sad when it was over. I’ve read it a few times now, loved book two (called Stiletto), and can’t wait to read book three.