#AmReading – Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Book Store

Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan (2012) – Clay Jannon is an out of work graphic artist who stumbles on a job as the night clerk at the strangest bookstore he’s ever seen. It comes with strange customers, stranger books and a mystery that spans centuries. Oh, and he’s not supposed to read the books on the tall shelves in the back. It’s only when modern methods and historic media come together that answers appear.

I don’t remember where I saw a reference to this book, but it sounded like fun. A quick trip to my local library put a copy in my hands. That was the first step to a story that feels like a little Dan Brown, a little Harry Potter all in a sitcom setting. But what a situation to explore! It spans from the first great publishing company (Aldine Press) to the super-computing power of Google. The Founder of the secret society known as the Unbroken Spine left a mystery behind. The secret behind the elaborate puzzle is unclear, but it may be to immortality. The overnight shift is slow at Mr. Penumbra’s, as are the day shifts, and Clay begins a project to keep himself occupied. One that may impress a pretty Googler as well.

This book was a ton of fun. Clay isn’t a “perfect” thriller hero. His decisions are as likely to be wrong as right, in pursuit of both the mystery and the girl.

It’s not a long book (288 pages), but it’s a story that keeps you turning pages. I finished it in just a couple days. Sloane does a nice job of balancing the light tone of the story as told by Clay, and the darker side of the secret society. There’s an internet millionaire, a quest for a lost item out of legend, career pressures, eccentrics pursuing the central mystery, power plays, and a vast library hidden beneath the streets of New York City.

The author sets up the possibility of sequels in this world at the end. I look forward to exploring them as well.

Rating – **** Recommended.

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