The Rook Chapter 1 – Waking Up
The Rook is a supernatural thriller with a mystery at it’s core about a woman named Myfanwy who finds herself in some very interesting situations and it starts out with a bang right off the bat. Here’s my look at the first chapter…
Dear You
The chapter starts out in an awesome manner…
You wake up and have no idea who you are, where you are, or what you were doing but somehow you have a letter that tells you a bunch of things about yourself. It’s pretty scary and exciting and I’d be real worried about why whoever wrote the letter felt they had to lay out this elaborate explanation for what’s going on.
Sincerely, Me
Ok, so YOU wrote the letter and you’re telling yourself that you’ve just survived the ‘immediate’ threats as though there are gonna be some more coming soon.
So yeah, go assume a new, new identity and lay low in a hotel before reading more about the life you used to live.
Interlude
Ok, that’s a great hook to start a novel and it’s what drew me in. I’ve not read a bunch of epistemological or rather epistolary fiction before but right at the start of the story I’m feeling a sense of urgency and even a bit of anxiety for Myfanwy.
BTW, I looked up epistemological which is why I changed it – this is not a fiction about the theory of knowldge or philosophy but a story that at least at the start follows from a series of letters – hence is is epistolary rather than epistemological.
Welcome Mint
Now that she knows the basics of who she is/was, Myfanwy realizes it’s time to get away from the bodies surrounding her – not a bad idea. And as Anne Ryan she heads to a hotel where she finds find a comforting welcome mint.
The Dream
A man with his tongue down her throat and then an elderly Victorian lady who clearly knew more about Myfanwy than the current incarnation did. The dreams of our amnesiac were anything but boring. While no introduction was given, since obviously Myfanwy knew the lady, we do learn that this woman is able to manipulate dreams and kept calling Myfanwy a Rook.
The worrisome part of the whole dream is that someone now knows that Myfanwy Thomas is gone and this new version is in her body. Fortunately it’s being kept a secret for now…we’ll see for how long.
Letter 2
The second letter suggests that multiple strangers had indicated she was going to lose her memory. They knew she’d wake up…
The glove part is important since it means someone that knew the original Myfanwy orchestrated the attack.
The Choice
With someone after her and her memories gone should the ‘new’ Myfanwy decide to ‘take the money and run’ or will she stick around to figure out what’s up and who’s behind the attack on her?
The original Myfanwy was obviously a powerful person with resources to live a comfortable life but she was also pretty obsessive – she placed letters in all her jackets along with the epi-pens for her bee sting allergy.
With a relatively clean slate and plenty of money I would be sorely tempted to move on but I would always be looking over my shoulder to see if someone was gonna try to finish the job they started. Considering that and the fact that whoever attacked me was able to wipe my memory, I’d be freaked out and wanting to make sure they didn’t do something worse next time.
Hmm…I think I’d go on the offensive.
The ‘new’ Myfanwy decides to get outta Dodge.
No Choice
So there you have it…a call to adventure and the protagonist turns it down. I’m not sure what happens for the rest of the book but it’s probably not in London and it’s probably more about looking over her shoulder than trying to figure out who was after her.
Oops…I suppose she’s gonna get another chance to accept that call after she gets attacked again. And this time, she does ‘something’ to her assailants sending them to the floor twitching uncontrollably. Apparently her power can work without her conscious control.
1011-B
Did she really have a choice? Attacked once and her memory wiped when she’s attacked again, how could she possibly think she’d ever be safe if she ran. I think she did the right thing by finally choosing the Red Pill. And not only do I think she chose correctly, I’m dying to know what’s in all those other letters she found.
Retrospective
This first chapter of The Rook was a lot of fun. We were introduced to an interesting protagonist who is learning about herself just as we are and I think the letters are a great method of discovery. I’m dying to learn more about her powers and to find out more about whoever attacked her and wiped her memories. So yes, I’m glad she chose the option to dig deeper and I’m happy to follow her on her journey.