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katykelly's review against another edition
5.0
There just aren't enough bookshop-based conspiracy/secret code/tech-filled novels. There really aren't.
At last though, Mr Penumbra is here to make inroads into that deficit.
Have you a seen From Dusk til Dawn? It starts as a crime road-movie, then morphs suddenly into a vampire thriller. Sloan's book starts with Clay taking a job covering the night shift in he coolest sounding bookshop in he world. Strange customers come in for specific and very random tomes, borrowing and not paying.
And then it morphs... Not only into a centuries-old alchemical-style mystery, but involves a trip into the office of Google, novices in hooded toes and a high-tech scanner made from cardboard.
Kinda. Mr Penumbra is a great creation, and I really, really wish the bookshop was a real one.
Original, sparky, highly enjoyable. A real find.
At last though, Mr Penumbra is here to make inroads into that deficit.
Have you a seen From Dusk til Dawn? It starts as a crime road-movie, then morphs suddenly into a vampire thriller. Sloan's book starts with Clay taking a job covering the night shift in he coolest sounding bookshop in he world. Strange customers come in for specific and very random tomes, borrowing and not paying.
And then it morphs... Not only into a centuries-old alchemical-style mystery, but involves a trip into the office of Google, novices in hooded toes and a high-tech scanner made from cardboard.
Kinda. Mr Penumbra is a great creation, and I really, really wish the bookshop was a real one.
Original, sparky, highly enjoyable. A real find.
dembury's review against another edition
5.0
SEPT 2020, 2nd read
Honestly just as enjoyable the second time around. Always a new detail to notice or appreciate, and listening to this on audio is such a pleasant experience. I wish the Dragon Song Chronicles were real because I badly want to read them!
SEPT/OCT 2019, 1st read
This is book that has been hovering around by TBR for at least 5 years since a customer at a bookstore I was working at raved about it and told me it was unlike anything they had read. I just didn't get around to it until now; I needed something engaging to listen to on my college commute and this was sitting there so I figured I'd finally try it. And I get what that customer meant. "Mr. Penumbra" is truly a unique book, and at no point was this novel what I thought it was going to be.
Goodreads has a solid synopsis, but what it doesn't hint at are the wonderful, sometimes bizarre conversations that take place in the story. There is a lot of discourse around printed books and bookstores VS digital spaces and reading technology, but NOT in a "which is better?" way. This book could have been disastrous in that respect, painting those who read print books as "superior", but Sloan does such a beautiful job of highlight the constraints and affordances of each medium and putting them in conversation with one another. It made my little bibliophile heart swell seeing characters embrace reading as a whole, as an enjoyable, immersive artform that doesn't favor a certain platform or person. I really think this book is a celebration of reading, of curiosity for the sake of curiosity, of sharing knowledge, and the bonds formed between readers.
There were a few moments here and there that I think were a little out of place; for instance, I personally thought too much time was spent on the Google headquarters and describing people readers would never see again. Just from a plot perspective I would have like that trimmed down a bit. And I ALMOST didn't like the ending, but then I did? I think it's what I said before and it just wasn't what I was expecting, so it was a little jarring. But not in a bad way!
I just got a lot of delight out of this book. It's very transportive: it takes readers to new cities, pokes into crevices of thoughts that maybe you hadn't considered before, and paints a world that's both familiar and magical - and for me, that's a really special thing for a book to do. I can't wait to read more of Sloan's writing, and if we ever get a "Mr. Penumbra's" movie I'm gonna LOSE. MY. MIND.
Honestly just as enjoyable the second time around. Always a new detail to notice or appreciate, and listening to this on audio is such a pleasant experience. I wish the Dragon Song Chronicles were real because I badly want to read them!
SEPT/OCT 2019, 1st read
This is book that has been hovering around by TBR for at least 5 years since a customer at a bookstore I was working at raved about it and told me it was unlike anything they had read. I just didn't get around to it until now; I needed something engaging to listen to on my college commute and this was sitting there so I figured I'd finally try it. And I get what that customer meant. "Mr. Penumbra" is truly a unique book, and at no point was this novel what I thought it was going to be.
Goodreads has a solid synopsis, but what it doesn't hint at are the wonderful, sometimes bizarre conversations that take place in the story. There is a lot of discourse around printed books and bookstores VS digital spaces and reading technology, but NOT in a "which is better?" way. This book could have been disastrous in that respect, painting those who read print books as "superior", but Sloan does such a beautiful job of highlight the constraints and affordances of each medium and putting them in conversation with one another. It made my little bibliophile heart swell seeing characters embrace reading as a whole, as an enjoyable, immersive artform that doesn't favor a certain platform or person. I really think this book is a celebration of reading, of curiosity for the sake of curiosity, of sharing knowledge, and the bonds formed between readers.
There were a few moments here and there that I think were a little out of place; for instance, I personally thought too much time was spent on the Google headquarters and describing people readers would never see again. Just from a plot perspective I would have like that trimmed down a bit. And I ALMOST didn't like the ending, but then I did? I think it's what I said before and it just wasn't what I was expecting, so it was a little jarring. But not in a bad way!
I just got a lot of delight out of this book. It's very transportive: it takes readers to new cities, pokes into crevices of thoughts that maybe you hadn't considered before, and paints a world that's both familiar and magical - and for me, that's a really special thing for a book to do. I can't wait to read more of Sloan's writing, and if we ever get a "Mr. Penumbra's" movie I'm gonna LOSE. MY. MIND.
jess_westhafer's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
alicebme's review against another edition
3.0
Recommended by J. and pretty interesting for adult fiction. Loved the Google crazy.
1_paigeatatime's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5
colleenpalladino's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
gramorwal's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
lbarsk's review against another edition
3.0
This book seems to be really polarizing, but you know what? It was actually pretty great! Yes, there's a lot that will make it "dated" in about ten years, what with one of the main characters working at Google and it being set in the present day with the protagonist literally working in digital marketing. But you know what? There's also a serious respect for books here, which I like a lot, and there's sort of a cool linking up of books and technology. I'm getting a little tired of the BOOKS VERSUS TECHNOLOGY, NEVER THE TWAIN SHALL MEET argument (even though I'm Team Books, haha) because at some point both sides have got to compromise. Physical books are still incredible, as Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore proves, but technology is pretty cool, too, and it's up to THE READERS, the actual people using the books and technology, to reconcile the differences between these two mediums.
So I liked that aspect of the book. And I really liked Mr. Penumbra, because he was a pretty flawed mentor figure instead of the all-knowing one that's usually so present in these sorts of books. Was the prose incredible? No, but it was a pretty solidly told story. It was solid enough that I didn't get distracted from the plot, and it was from the first person POV anyway, which made the shortness/abruptness of some sentences easier to swallow. Were there some problems with female representation in the book? Yes, and that's actually my biggest issue with the book. Kat, the main female (the Google employee mentioned above), was wildly two-dimensional and basically created to be the Manic Pixie Dream Girl for our main character Clay. So do better with your female characters, Robin Sloan. Overall though, a pretty solid book. It would certainly make for a great beach read or a break in between more serious stuff!
So I liked that aspect of the book. And I really liked Mr. Penumbra, because he was a pretty flawed mentor figure instead of the all-knowing one that's usually so present in these sorts of books. Was the prose incredible? No, but it was a pretty solidly told story. It was solid enough that I didn't get distracted from the plot, and it was from the first person POV anyway, which made the shortness/abruptness of some sentences easier to swallow. Were there some problems with female representation in the book? Yes, and that's actually my biggest issue with the book. Kat, the main female (the Google employee mentioned above), was wildly two-dimensional and basically created to be the Manic Pixie Dream Girl for our main character Clay. So do better with your female characters, Robin Sloan. Overall though, a pretty solid book. It would certainly make for a great beach read or a break in between more serious stuff!
protoman21's review against another edition
4.0
I am afraid this book was a bit over-hyped for me. It isn't that I didn't like the novel, but it just didn't live up to my overinflated expectations, so it ended up being a bit of a let down. I found Clay to be a likeable character: smart and clever, but in a humble way that isn't braggy at all. I like the way Kat entered the story by way of a Google ad, and I appreciated that she played a part in the story and was the romantic partner to Clay without that distracting from the rest of the story.
The bookstore was almost a character itself with its secrets and mysteries and off collection of books and patrons. I definitely enjoyed the way the story was constructed and the different techniques Clay employed to solve the various codes.
The end worked well for me and I really liked the method in which Clay solved the final mystery, although the actually solution was not exactly ground breaking. A solid story and fun read, but not something that ever had me on the edge of my seat. Clay's chill attitude, though pleasant, just didn't translate into that kind of thrilling read.
The bookstore was almost a character itself with its secrets and mysteries and off collection of books and patrons. I definitely enjoyed the way the story was constructed and the different techniques Clay employed to solve the various codes.
The end worked well for me and I really liked the method in which Clay solved the final mystery, although the actually solution was not exactly ground breaking. A solid story and fun read, but not something that ever had me on the edge of my seat. Clay's chill attitude, though pleasant, just didn't translate into that kind of thrilling read.