By: Daniel O'Malley
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
Series: The Checquy Files (#1)
Summary:" The body you are wearing used to be mine."
So begins the letter Myfanwy Thomas is holding when she awakes in a London park surrounded by bodies all wearing latex gloves. With no recollection of who she is, Myfanwy must follow the instructions her former self left behind to discover her identity and track down the agents who want to destroy her.
She soon learns that she is a Rook, a high-ranking member of a secret organization called the Chequy that battles the many supernatural forces at work in Britain. She also discovers that she possesses a rare, potentially deadly supernatural ability of her own.
In her quest to uncover which member of the Chequy betrayed her and why, Myfanwy encounters a person with four bodies, an aristocratic woman who can enter her dreams, a secret training facility where children are transformed into deadly fighters, and a conspiracy more vast than she ever could have imagined.
Filled with characters both fascinating and fantastical, The Rook is a richly inventive, suspenseful, and often wry thriller that marks an ambitious debut from a promising young writer.
Review: As Myfanwy Thomas wakes up in a London park surrounded by latex gloves, she holds a letter. Myfanwy, with no memory, must follow her former self’s instructions to find her identity and locate the agents set on destroying her.Upon discovering that she belongs to a secret organization called the Chequy battling supernatural forces in Britain, they quickly label her a Rook.
As well as discovering a rare supernatural ability, she learns her abilities can be deadly. In her quest to uncover which Chequy member betrayed her and why?
It’s both confusing and appalling to see how highly regarded this book seems to be everywhere. After reading the praise this book has received, I was curious to read it. By the end, I was wondering if some massive conspiracy was at play..
A hackneyed writing style, a juvenile take on character, ruin an intriguing premise, and an overly self-important narrative. A relentlessly condescending heroine. The same smug tone and self-congratulatory style. Taking the same I’m-too-busy-amusing-myself-to-actually plot-this approach.
In almost every chapter, the book interrupts the story with historical encyclopedia entries about characters Myfanwy recently met or terms she just learned, completely redefining the concept of info dumping. It comprises letters from the pre-amnesia Myfanwy to the present Myfanwy, sharing unrelated stories.
As such, the book stands out as an example of effective info dumping, as the encyclopedia entries and letters play an integral role in Myfanwy’s journey. There are no words to describe how much I hate this book. I would not recommend it to anyone.