Saturday, May 24, 2014

58:120 Ajax Penumbra 1969 by Robin Sloan

A prequel short story to Mr. Penumbra's 24-hr Bookstore.  We meet Mr. Penumbra, Ajax, at the start of his collegiate career when he and his roommate are put together via a new and sophisticated computer program.  He is confused by this but as they start unpacking and all the books come out, he starts to realize that the computer may have been on to something.  His roommate is heavily into computers and pursues that as his major while Ajax ends up in the literary department, eventually getting a job with them which leads him to becoming a Jr. procurer of a rare book that has been presumed lost for over a century.  His search leads him to San Francisco where he stumbles into a 24-hr bookstore.  There he finds people who truly understand his passions and a life he had never before dreamed of.  The rest, as they say, is history.

A nice little add-on story as we learn how Ajax and Marcus first met and how Ajax became involved in the society and its mission.  If you've read and enjoyed Mr. Penumbra's 24-hr bookstore, you'll appreciate this bit of backstory.

Page count: 61p/14,483p ytd/195,521p lifetime

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