Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore Analysis

Technology has completely revolutionized the way humans function. From travelling on horse and buggy for journeys across land, to now having the ability to possess one’s own personalized car to meet one’s self-satisfaction. Technology has immensely impacted how humans perform everyday tasks, in a positive and beneficial manner, making life tremendously easier for people living in this era. In Robin Sloan’s Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, the positive impact of living in a technological world is constantly addressed and emphasised. Firstly, by helping scientists expand their knowledge and understanding of worldly viruses and diseases (utilizing the knowledge gained from technology) it gives scientists purpose of aiding those in need across the world. This closely relates to Kat Potente’s ideas of what Google Forever should offer. Later, through the utilization of computers to go further (and discover more) than the human brain in relation to the use of multiple computers and Google servers to decode an unsolved mystery. Finally, addressing technology’s positive contribution to small businesses which correlates to Neel Shah’s start-up company Anatomix, and Google’s hyper-targeted local advertising program. Clearly, the technology in Sloan’s fiction has a positive impact on characters’ lives.
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Technology can overpass human capabilities to meet total efficiency and productivity. In Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, a revolving theme is utilizing technology to better enhance, and quicken the time, for specific tasks. Whether that was Clay Jannon making a 3-D simulation of the Mr. Penumbra’s Bookstore to crack the founder’s mystery. Subsequently, the simulation's implementation to the Waybacklist led to Clay cracking the unsolved mystery of the Unbroken Spine--a secret that was long-standing for 500 years. In the novel, the narration