5. Do you think that the role of women in the Checquy is a realistic reflection of women in power in the real world?
6. The Rook makes many references to works of fiction, popular culture, and mythology. What was one of your favorite references?
7. How good a job do you think you would do masquerading as another person? Do you think your life would be difficult for another to assume?
8. Which supernatural ability portrayed in The Rook would you like to have? Why?
9. Can you name the capital of Belgium?
Daniel O’Malley’s playlist for The Rook
I’m not one of those writers who has music in the background while he writes. I’m just too easily distracted. And I don’t listen to music when I’m out walking because I read when I walk, and I need to be able to hear the cars before they hit me (as a side note, the only time I fell down a manhole while walking happened when I was not reading). Still, there’s a bunch of tunes that lend themselves to some scenes in The Rook. And if you’re wondering did I listen to this music as I acted out the scenes in the privacy of my house, the answer is maybe. Here’s my soundtrack. The Rook shifts genres at a fairly rapid clip; so too does this playlist.
“Let Go” by Frou Frou
I first stumbled upon this gem at a dance show. Well, all right, I’ll be honest; it was a burlesque show. But it was a burlesque show done with the sharpest sense of humor I’ve seen on stage, and I watched it with a seventy-six-year-old lady sitting next to me. And during this song, no one took anything off. It speaks to me of a woman getting hit by a revelation. From this moment on, the world will be a drastically different place, and depending on how you approach it, you’re either going to shatter or be changed.
“Mi Ricordo (Version 1)” by J. Ralph
When I first heard this, I was on a red-eye flight from San Francisco to Philadelphia. I looked out the window and saw a vast thunderstorm. A huge wall of dark clouds with flashes inside, looming right beside us. “Mi Ricordo (Version 1),” with its overtones of solemnity and the references to memory and records, is ideal for sitting in a hotel room, reading letters written to you by the person you used to be. (Just as it is for sitting in a shuddering airliner, wondering if nature has you in its crosshairs.)
“The Phasmid,” from the soundtrack to Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
God, this music is filled with anticipation and fear and menace, but it’s elegant, too. Perfect for a party of senior civil servants to sit in a darkened room and calmly observe an interrogation.
“Last Day on Earth” by Kate Miller-Heidke
The melancholy of entering a house whose owner is gone away forever. Her possessions are there as if she just stepped out. You touch a book that she left on a table, see the scribbles of her notepad by the phone. And you are wearing her body. But it’s okay, because she knew this would happen, and she’s gotten things ready for you.
“Breakaway” by Big Pig
This is a big song, with majestic, almost reverent overtones. The kind of thing that you want playing when you’re attending the hatching of a dragon. It starts impressive and each development ups the tension. And then it breaks away from what you expected, and you realize that you can’t take it for granted. Wait—are we talking about the music, or the dragon?
“Easy to Love” by the Jezabels
The opening is so calm, so matter-of-fact, and then there is a sudden sweep of delight—not unakin, I would like to think, to having a woman cautiously approach you in the street. She asks you your name and then tells you that she is your long-lost sister. For the next few minutes, you experience moments of pure, unbelievable clarity, and then you are engulfed in a wave of emotion.
“One Step Ahead” performed by Amiel
Neil Finn wrote this song for Split Enz and it continued on with Crowded House, but for me, Amiel’s performance is the one that really resonates. The unwavering tempo, the crisp, controlled enunciation of the singer. Everything about it bespeaks white-knuckle tension. This is what’s playing in your head when you’re infiltrating a secret government installation in the wilderness of Wales.
“Boadicea” by Enya
They played this song as the background to that terrifying educational video in high school where they show all the real-life car accidents. It’s always left me feeling deeply uneasy. The droning repetition, the dirge-like choir, the feeling of ominous crescendo—they all lend themselves perfectly to a house in the city of Bath, where a monstrous fungus has engulfed every room and the cult that has been occupying the place has been consumed.
“Body Talk” by Ratt
Ever since I saw The Golden Child, this has been my quintessential fight song. A fight scene, especially one featuring a lot of people, is big and chaotic and prone to breaking off into complicated little side events. Just like this song. To make matters even better, my big chaotic fight scene breaks out in a distinguished diplomatic reception, so picture this raucous, heavy-metal anthem playing as superpowered English civil servants butcher each other in the most elegant of surroundings.
“Come into My World” by Kylie Minogue
Having snuck out to a London nightclub, surely you have the right to expect that you won’t run into your vampire coworker. But if you do, this is the music that will, if there’s any justice, be playing in the background. Plus, if you’ve seen the amazing video for this song, you’ll be carrying around impressions of the world subtly warping around itself, which adds a nicely appropriate piquancy to the whole thing.
“Strangers” by Portishead
He is centuries old, he is powerful, and you have been called to his limousine to receive an ultimatum. He reeks of authority and menace. He has no skin—he’s a flayed human being in a tub of liquid. He’s unstable. And he’s Belgian. For such a situation, and for such a man, there is only one possible song. Its jarring transitions, its eerie echoes, the snatches of old-timey tone, and that heartbeat-like pulse in the background. For the best effect, this should be played while you’re underwater, with the lights out, and your eyes closed. If possible, throw some lake weed in there as well. After all, you want the full experience, don’t you?
“Wish You Well” by Bernard Fanning
This song communicates perfectly the feeling of waking up exhausted and finding that you are about to be subjected to a battery of medical examinations—examinations which are unpleasant, time-consuming, and highly intrusive. You’re in the hands of cheerful professionals, but still.
“Volcano Songs—Duets: Walking Song” by Meredith Monk
Let me lay the scene before you. You’ve been pulled into a giant cube made up of reconstituted human beings. And it’s doing its best to reconstitute you, breaking you down. The overwhelming tenor is organic, with people being turned into something else against their will. Which is what this song communicates, with its lack of words and instruments, its disconcerting layers of voices, its wavering tones. You can practically feel the heavy breath of others.
“Run, Rabbit, Run” by Flanagan & Allen
In a book full of ridiculous occurrences, there is one involving an animal that can tell the future. Powerful bureaucrats are summoned to witness the creature do its thing. There is a formal dinner, speeches are made, and then the questioning of the animal commences. Things do not end well, for either the bureaucrats or the animal.
“Kara Remembers” by Bear McCreary
Yes, it’s from the soundtrack to Battlestar Galactica, and I luxuriate in that fact. This music conveys like nothing else that pure moment of revelation, when all the details that you have before you merge into sudden and aghast understanding. All the implications flood in upon you, you can see the big picture, and you know that you have to act. Now.
This essay originally appeared on the website Largehearted Boy, http://www.largeheartedboy.com/blog/archive/2012/01/book_notes_dani_6.html. Reprinted with permission.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DANIEL O’MALLEY graduated from Michigan S
tate University and earned a master’s degree in medieval history from Ohio State University. He then returned to his childhood home, Australia, where he manages media relations for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, the agency that investigates plane crashes and runaway boats.
Praise for
Daniel O’Malley’s
THE ROOK
“The Rook is going to kick off my Best Books of the Year list. The opening page alone is a gem, and the narrative just keeps getting better…. Trying to keep up with the startling, terrifying, and very funny events that make up her world is amazingly difficult, but Myfanwy manages with great success… sometimes…. This is wonderful entertainment.”
—Charlaine Harris, on her blog
“The Rook has got it all: secret powers, mysterious organizations, dark corners that the general public isn’t aware of, twisted scientists, and a duck that can see the future…. Hands down, I have not enjoyed a good supernatural novel this much for quite some time…. It’s detailed, gritty storytelling that I read in all of three days. It’s just that good.”
—James Floyd Kelly, Wired.com
“The Rook snapped my head around…. It’s utterly convincing and engrossing—totally thought-through and frequently hilarious. The writing is confident and fully fledged. Even this aging, jaded, attention-deficit-disordered critic was blown away.”
—Lev Grossman, Time
“An imaginative, well-written, lavishly plotted, and frequently hilarious tale with a rogue’s gallery of interesting characters, at whose center is a young woman with enough chutzpah to dismiss the monsters drooling under her bed.”
—Steve Bennett, San Antonio Express-News
“Drily witty…. The Rook is Downton Abbey with superpowers…. A wholly refreshing, original piece of work that recalls many other previous fantasy universes while creating one of its own that will be worth revisiting again and again…. Like Harry Potter before it, it’s what the author does with the elements, and how he mixes them together in new and satisfying ways that makes the book work so well.”
—Alex Zalben, MTV Geek
“The Rook will attract readers of several genres: mystery and detection, fantasy, science fiction, humor…. One of the delights of The Rook is how it unfolds, and how Myfanwy finds herself—in several senses of the word.”
—David Walton, Cleveland Plain Dealer
“Identity theft, only much cooler and with more intriguing implications.”
—John Scalzi, The Big Idea
“The pace never lets up in this entertaining high-action read…. O’Malley has fashioned a near-perfect supernatural thriller. The heroine is appealing, the villains all monsters or freaks, and something unexpected happens on almost every page. Don’t start this book unless you’ve got lots of time, because you won’t want to put it down. It’s that good.”
—David Keymer, Library Journal
“Harry Potter meets Ghostbusters meets War of the Worlds. The Rook is a scintillating supernatural swashbuckler, replete with spores, slime, and unrelenting suspense.”
—Katherine Neville, author of The Eight and The Fire
“Great, rattling fun, as if Neil Gaiman took Buffy the Vampire Slayer and crossed it with Torchwood…. Throughout a rip-roaring narrative, O’Malley off-handedly weaves deadpan humor.”
—Joyce Sáenz Harris, Dallas Morning News
“A fast-paced paranormal spy thriller filled with smart flourishes.”
—Ron Hogan, Shelf Awareness
“Adroitly straddles the thin line between fantasy, thriller, and spoof…. O’Malley is a nimble writer, effortlessly leaping back and forth between comedy and action. There’s plenty of room here for a sequel that readers will no doubt begin clamoring for before they’ve even finished this book.”
—David Pitt, Booklist
“There is something magical about The Rook…. It is original with a fantastic premise. It has a wonderful lead character who has wit and charm. There are books you pick up and start to read—and suddenly five hours have passed and your morning alarm will be going off in three hours. With The Rook, I decided to use the three hours more wisely and keep reading until the sun came up. Then I canceled my early morning appointment. Took a nap. And kept reading through the afternoon.”
—Shawn Speakman, Suvudu
“This quirky debut reads like a mash-up of TV’s The Office and The Fringe…. Utterly uncategorizable yet fantastically fun.”
—Parade
“A book of wild imagination and overflowing wit. We’re thrown into O’Malley’s looping playfulness from quite literally the first line…. There are what feels like dozens of well-thought-out mythologies spun into one dense yarn. Tying this all together is a wryly dry sense of humor, particularly nailed in the interplay between past and present Myfanwy…. A pretty pure and propulsive joy.”
—David Berry, National Post
“Once I picked up The Rook my weekend reading plans were totally derailed. I’m always waiting for the book that crosses fantasy and reality in the right way, and this was it for me—great world-building, totally charming, and finally addressing a truth we had all long suspected: that modeling your secret organization after a chessboard sounds cool but gets really awkward after a while.”
—Austin Grossman, author of Soon I Will Be Invincible
“The Rook defied my expectaions at every turn. A supernatural thriller wrapped around a mystery wrapped around a cleverly constructed story of self-discovery.”
—Charles Yu, author of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe
“Engrossing…. Entertaining…. Anyone who’s been a comic book fan, enjoyed a sci-fi television show or film, or even found themselves guiltily tickled by an Anne Rice novel will probably get a kick out of The Rook.”
—Eugenia Williamson, Boston Phoenix
“Impressive…. A supernatural detective thriller distinguished by its adept use of humor…. Dry wit, surprising reversals of fortune, and a clever if offbeat plot make this a winner. Dr. Who fans will find a lot to like.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review, Pick of the Week)
“Fast moving and refreshingly different, this outstanding debut delivers wit along with plenty of surprising twists that keep the reader slightly off balance in an enjoyable, Dr. Who sort of way. The character development and plot draw readers in from the first page and hold interest to the last page. Let’s hope for more from this new author.”
—Sandy Amazeen, Monsters and Critics
“O’Malley’s narrative is peppered with sly humor, referential social commentary, and the ironic, double-layered self-awareness that will have genre fans beliving Buffy the Vampire Slayer has joined Ghostbusters.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“The Rook is a wildly inventive and at times startling debut. Part Bourne Identity, part X-Men, and with a hefty dose of Monty Python, this genre-bending novel is a refreshing addition to contemporary fantasy. I can’t wait to see what surprises Daniel O’Malley comes up with next.”
—Jay Wells, author of Red-Headed Stepchild
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Contents
Welcome
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
/> Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Acknowledgments
Reading Group Guide
A conversation with Daniel O’Malley
Daniel O’Malley’s suggested reading for fans of The Rook
Questions and topics for discussion
Daniel O’Malley’s playlist for The Rook
About the Author
Praise for Daniel O’Malley’s The Rook
Newsletters
Copyright
Copyright
The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Copyright © 2012 by Daniel O’Malley
Reading group guide Copyright © 2012 by Daniel O’Malley and Little, Brown and Company
Interview with Daniel O’Malley © 2012 by Megan Solomon for StellarFour.com
Cover design by Lindsey Andrews
Cover Copyright © 2012 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at
[email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.