Mr. Penumbra'S 24Hour Bookstore: A Novel,New

A Gleeful And Exhilarating Tale Of Global Conspiracy, Complex Codebreaking, Hightech Data Visualization, Young Love, Rollicking Adventure, And The Secret To Eternal Lifemostly Set In A Holeinthewall San Francisco Bookstorethe Great Recession Has Shuffled Clay Jannon Out Of His Life As A San Francisco Webdesign Droneand Serendipity, Sheer Curiosity, And The Ability To Climb A Ladder Like A Monkey Has Landed Him A New Gig Working The Night Shift At Mr. Penumbra'S 24Hour Bookstore. But After Just A Few Days On The Job, Clay Begins To Realize That This Store Is Even More Curious Than The Name Suggests. There Are Only A Few Customers, But They Come In Repeatedly And Never Seem To Actually Buy Anything, Instead 'Checking Out' Impossibly Obscure Volumes From Strange Corners Of The Store, All According To Some Elaborate, Longstanding Arrangement With The Gnomic Mr. Penumbra. The Store Must Be A Front For Something Larger, Clay Concludes, And Soon He'S Embarked On A Complex Analysis Of The Customers' Behavior And Roped His Friends Into Helping To Figure Out Just What'S Going On. But Once They Bring Their Findings To Mr. Penumbra, It Turns Out The Secrets Extend Far Outside The Walls Of The Bookstore.With Irresistible Brio And Dazzling Intelligence, Robin Sloan Has Crafted A Literary Adventure Story For The Twentyfirst Century, Evoking Both The Fairytale Charm Of Haruki Murakami And The Enthusiastic Novelofideas Wizardry Of Neal Stephenson Or A Young Umberto Eco, But With A Unique And Feisty Sensibility That'S Rare To The World Of Literary Fiction. Mr. Penumbra'S 24Hour Bookstore Is Exactly What It Sounds Like: An Establishment You Have To Enter And Will Never Want To Leave, A Modernday Cabinet Of Wonders Ready To Give A Jolt Of Energy To Every Curious Reader, No Matter The Time Of Day.