Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore: A Novel

Clay Jannon, newly unemployed, stumbles upon a mysterious bookshop during his frequent wanderings through the streets of San Francisco. The Help Wanted sign in the window seems like a sign of fate and he feels drawn into the bizarrely shaped store filled primarily with antique one-of-a-kind texts. Although far removed from his previous employment as a tech-savvy designer and marketer for a failed startup, Clay accepts the position of overnight sales clerk. Little does he realize that this spontaneous decision will catapult him into a mystery involving an ancient society whose cryptic workings will change the course of his life. Robin Sloan’s unique novel, Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, brings together cutting-edge advances and time-worn tradition as they conflict and combine. Clay discovers that his embrace of new technology and a new-found respect for the methods of the past brings him great reward. Sloan’s novel also explores the idea that good things happen when people of different backgrounds combine their personal strengths and beliefs to solve problems. Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore is a delightful exploration of how curiosity and innovation have acted as universal and timeless inspiration for the advancement of ideas. A good selection for those who enjoy mysteries that are more cerebral than action-packed.

I went into this book without knowing anything about it, it turned out to be a wonderful surprise and become one of my favourite books. The characters are fantastic, diverse, multi-layered and introduced in very different sceneries making the book dynamic and very fun to read. The story is interesting and even moving, I just couldn't put it down until I finished it. Another thing that I loved about this book was he cover (this one in particular). Not only is it beautiful in it’s simplicity, It was awesome to discover, completely by accident, that it also glows in the dark.

Anti-climatic, poorly written, the main character has no charisma...pile these problems in a blender and you have a book that is a pain to get through. The plot description seems interesting enough, but the reader quickly finds that what could have been a fun, magical journey with relevant technology references becomes a badly executed story that I found myself skimming just to get to the end (for which, I don't even know why I cared---it was, as expected, dismal.) Save yourself the money and time...this felt like a creative writing exercise done by a high school student.