Quotes

“Your life must be an open city, with all sorts of ways to wander in.”
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, Chapter 31
“There is no immortality that is not built on friendship and work done with care.”
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, Chapter 31
“The Internet: always proving that you’re not quite as special as you suspected.”
Sourdough, Chapter 6
“I feel a little whirl of dislocation—the trademark sensation of the world being more closely knit together than you expected.”
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, Chapter 16
“Belasco gave me a frank look. “A market in the Bay Area needs, at minimum, three things. It needs fancy coffee, weird honey, and sourdough bread.””
Sourdough, Chapter 25

Books by Robin Sloan in order

Books by Robin Sloan in the order they were published, from Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore (2012) to Sourdough (2017).

Authors readers of Robin Sloan often like, from our AI-written notes

Neal StephensonAlso writes about technology, hidden histories and playful, information-heavy plots, though at much greater length.
Jorge Luis BorgesHis stories about libraries, obscure books and hidden systems share the bookish, puzzle-driven interest found in Penumbra.
Umberto EcoWrites novels built on learned mysteries, secret societies and the history of books and knowledge, such as The Name of the Rose.
Cory DoctorowWrites about technology, communities and how digital systems shape everyday life, with a similar mix of genre and social commentary.
Ted ChiangWrites short fiction that thinks carefully about technology, language and knowledge, appealing to readers who like the ideas in Sloan's books.
Dan BrownReaders who enjoy the codes, secret societies and fast-moving puzzles of Mr. Penumbra may also like his more conventional thrillers, though the tone is very different.