Company - Max Barry

This book was recommended by friends, mostly as being far too close to work for comfort. It's a satire of the modern corporate workplace, and specifically large corporations. The over-the-top sub-plots of inefficiency and disconnection have the right feel, even if they're painted in primary colours. HR's attitude, in particular, rings true, if not their specific methods.

However, such a book can't simply be a mockery of the modern workplace. There must be a plot. The main character realises he doesn't know what the company does, and no-one else seems to either, so he goes on a voyage of discovery...

Where it leads, and how it resolves, is handled competently, I guess. The goings-on don't tie together perfectly, so that it feels rather like a whole pile of ideas thrown toegether. The action is all rather visual - film-like, almost as if the author would rather like the thing made into a movie.

Apart from the choice of subject matter, it's fairly mediocre. An enjoyable-enough read, to take random comparisons, it shows how poor The Zenith Angle is, but also how good Ready Player One is.

Posted 2015-04-09.