4.5/5! As expected, absolutely amazing! This and Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore have to be the most exciting books about books I've ever read and I will continue to beg people to read them until they do!Initial thoughts:1. A fantastic treat for all fans of Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore! It allows you to learn even more about Mr. Penumbra, his back-story and what he went through before Clay Jannon arrived in the main book. I was completely intrigued throughout - it was full of excitement and despite only being a short book, it was a page-turner for sure. 2. BOOKISH! The characters are so relatable, particularly Ajax Penumbra, Corvina and Claude, who are all book nerds! The bookstore descriptions - wow! Robin Sloan describes things beautifully. The descriptions of the people climbing the ladders to high up bookshelves were particularly memorable for me, and of course the bookish quotes throughout added to everything. I also loved the reference to real life books such as ‘Through the Looking Glass’, ‘Howl’, ‘Dune’, and ‘Slaughterhouse Five’. Perfect for book lovers!3. As well as all of the bookishness, I loved the computer/internet discussions and the mentions about code-breaking - this was all so interesting and added something unique. The references to San Francisco and events during the 1960s also added something unique!4. I love the writing style - perfect balance between beautiful descriptions and humorous but realistic dialogue. A thing that caught me was the use of present tense - I thought it added something different to the tone and made things seem even more mysterious and unusual.5. If I'm really, really, really picky, the ending seemed ever so slightly abrupt. It ended in an understandable and suitable place in terms of where the main book starts/continues on from what's happened in this one, but for some reason I expected a few more pages...? Als Leseprobe vor der "Hauptgeschichte "Die sonderbare Buchhandlung des Mr. Penumbra" gekauft. Die Story ist vielversprechend und macht neugierig auf mehr. Allerdings habe ich mit dem Stil meine Probleme. Ist es weil das Buch aus dem Amerikanischen übersetzt ist? Aber scheinbar ist kein Satz länger als eine halbe Zeile, was ein Stakkatogefühl auslöst das mich zögern läßt das Hauptwerk zu kaufen.
What do You think about Ajax Penumbra: 1969 (2014)?
So much funBookstore setting/mystery/fun charactersLove that cover glows in the dark
—loafspeeta
Definitely an interesting start to the story, I am excited to read the next one.
—Meme
An interesting prequel to an interesting book.
—lilster
