Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour bookstore

Paperback, 288 Seiten

Am 2013 von Picador veröffentlicht.

ISBN:: 978-1-250-03775-6

(1 Bewertung)

The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon away from life as a San Francisco web-design drone and into the aisles of Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, but after a few days on the job, Clay discovers that the store is more curious than either its name or its gnomic owner might suggest. The customers are few, and they never seem to buy anything; instead, they "check out" large, obscure volumes from strange corners of the store. Suspicious, Clay engineers an analysis of the clientele's behavior, seeking help from his variously talented friends, but when they bring their findings to Mr. Penumbra, they discover the bookstore's secrets extend far beyond its walls.

2 editions

Herr Rau reviewed Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour bookstore by Robin Sloan

Review of "Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour bookstore" on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

A book about a mysterious bookshop - in this century? Is there anything new to tell about those? Turns out: yes and no.
It's a neat idea to combine (computer) science with a love of (physical) books. Sadly, it turns into Dan Brown for the middle part. And oh, the science! I cringed when the world's most powerful computers were set to work on the big problem, and the captain of the affair shouted for more power, and the engineer said he couldna take her any fasterr...
That's what it felt like to me. Seriously, some minimal research into ocr and cryptography and how algorithms work would have been appreciated.
Still, it's a book a mysterious bookshop, and I like those.