The Recommendation Thread

[Lady Ara]

Read an awesome book? Think everyone else should read that book too? Recommend it!

(I figured this was more economical and efficient than starting a new thread for an author others may or may not be familiar with, as those unfamiliar might not go into the thread and therefore miss the rec, and as often new threads in here seem to get a handful of posts then die.)


Book: The Rook by Daniel O'Malley
Genre(s): Supernatural, urban fantasy
Rating: 5 out of 5

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.

Thoughts: Normally a tagline like "On Her Majesty's Supernatural Secret Service" would have me running for the hills, but luckily I read the sample chapters before the tagline because The Rook was absolutely amazing. It's one of those rare books that manages not only to be highly entertaining and fun, but also very well thought out and well written. I highly recommend it!

You can read the first two chapters here.

[Alinya]

I really enjoyed the first installment of Daniel Abraham's "The Long Price" quartet. I have the rest downloaded but haven't had a chance to get to them yet.

[ltngu6]

I cannot recommend The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson enough times. I just love it. I would try to describe it, but I didn't really intend to post, just came in to lurk.

It is supposed to be part of a long series of 10 books but I think it does reasonably well as a stand alone.

[b4dave]

I cannot stop recommending the Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. It is SIMPLY AMAZING, and well worth the hype it was given before publication. It was one of those novels that actually inspired me to start writing again.

[christroybels]

I just finished the Night Circus aswell!! I came in here to recommend it but B4Dave beat me to it . i LOVED it aswell. I can't stop thinking about it. Read it, you wont be disappointed.

[b4dave]

Has anyone read the series "The Mortal Engines"...I can't remember the authors name, but from what I have heard, its an awesome series...I was wondering if anyone had read it?

[Alinya]

I am 100 or so pages into The Night Circus and I can see I am going to have to read it quickly. It's beautifully written and absorbing. It reminds me a little of the short lived series Carnivale, with Nick Stahl.

[Alinya]

It took me longer to finish than I intended, but on balance I really liked it. However the further I read the more like Carnivale it seemed. Beautifully written but the idea seems fairly much lifted from the series.