Ajax Penumbra 1969

By: Robin Sloan

Narrated by: Ari Fliakos

From Robin Sloan, author of Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, the story of Mr. Penumbra’s first trip to San Francisco - and of how he got entangled with the city’s most unusual always-open enterprise….

It is August 1969. The Summer of Love is a fading memory. The streets of San Francisco pulse to the sounds of Led Zeppelin and Marvin Gaye. And of jackhammers: A futuristic pyramid of a skyscraper is rising a few blocks from City Lights bookstore and an unprecedented subway tunnel is being built under the bay. Meanwhile, south of the city, orchards are quickly giving way to a brand-new industry built on silicon.

But young Ajax Penumbra has not arrived in San Francisco looking for free love or a glimpse of the technological future. He is seeking a book: the single surviving copy of the Techne Tycheon, a mysterious volume that has brought and lost great fortune for anyone who has owned it. The last record of the book locates it in the San Francisco of more than a century earlier, and on that scant bit of evidence, Penumbra's university has dispatched him west to acquire it for their library. After a few weeks of rigorous hunting, Penumbra feels no closer to his goal than when he started. But late one night, after another day of dispiriting dead ends, he stumbles across a 24-hour bookstore, and the possibilities before him expand exponentially....

©2013 Robin Sloan (P)2013 Macmillan Audio

Delightful companion to the novel

Enjoyable from start to finish; once again great combo of subject and reader, would do with t again.

Good companion

After being completely enthralled with mr. penumbra's 24-hour bookstore, this was a fun backstory to go with it. Having just finished the original it was great to find many of the same characters within the story.

Ajax Penumbra

What did you love best about Ajax Penumbra 1969?

That he was searching for a BOOK.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Ajax Penumbra 1969?

When they revealed that a ship was a store.

Which character – as performed by Ari Fliakos – was your favorite?

Ajax

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

no

Any additional comments?

This was a great read!I enjoyed the storyline.It was plausable and I'd like to visist the store where secrets are revealed!Ari Fliakos did a fine job narrating this book.The inflections and tone were perfect.

Far out! (:

Glad to see further into Mr Penumbra's world- but I did wish it were longer!

Excellent preamble

This is a short but intriguing preamble to Mr. Penambra’s 24-hour Bookstore. It’s a piece of the backstory and really does leave you wishing to know more! I look forward to more books in the series!

Great read

I read the 24 hour bookstore last year. Listening to this great little story brought me back to the original enjoyable mysterious world of the bookstore.

A brief prequel but a fun adventure

Any additional comments?

This book is for all of us who are fans of Robin Sloan's first book...Mr Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore. Thankfully Ari Fliakos narrates this one as well. This book is very brief but the backstory that sets up the next book is interesting and the adventure contained within is quite fun.

Also enjoyable is the imagery of San Francisco in 1969 when BART and the Transamerica Pyramid were just getting under construction. A lifetime away from the San Francisco of today.

Looking forward to Robin Sloan's newest book, though disappointed that Ari Fliakos isn't narrating it.

A fun prequel

This was interesting and fun. Not surprising or especially deep; if you have read Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Book Store, you know what to expect. If you enjoyed the book, this is definitely worth checking out.

Lovely addition!

I like Ajax even more after reading this story. Such a fun read for fans!

Fun, short adventure

Great story about the origins of Ajax Penumbra — after reading the 24 Bookstore, this was a fun origin story