Brad Carter (1)

I'll be upfront from the beginning: I dont know why I requested this book, and unfortunately at time of writing (late June 2015) I haven't finished it - I've managed about 35% of the way through. I have read other reviews that say "it's a slow start but glad I stuck with it" so I might give it a second chance....but not right now.

Barlow is a small town in Arizona, with lots of different personalities, from uptight upstanding police men, through widowed authors returning home, to dropped out hippies on the edge of society. Dead bodies are stacking up around the place, and not all of the deaths are explainable - apart from the ones done by Chris the librarian who has an overwhelming need for things to be neat and tidy and will do anything to make sure that happens.

That's as far as I get unfortunately....I see potential, lots of different voices are coming through, I just have other books that are calling me louder, and it hasn't gripped me enough to make me drop them in favour of this book.… (meer)

I'll be upfront from the beginning: I dont know why I requested this book, and unfortunately at time of writing (late June 2015) I haven't finished it - I've managed about 35% of the way through. I have read other reviews that say "it's a slow start but glad I stuck with it" so I might give it a second chance....but not right now.

Barlow is a small town in Arizona, with lots of different personalities, from uptight upstanding police men, through widowed authors returning home, to dropped out hippies on the edge of society. Dead bodies are stacking up around the place, and not all of the deaths are explainable - apart from the ones done by Chris the librarian who has an overwhelming need for things to be neat and tidy and will do anything to make sure that happens.

That's as far as I get unfortunately....I see potential, lots of different voices are coming through, I just have other books that are calling me louder, and it hasn't gripped me enough to make me drop them in favour of this book.… (meer)

What would result if you crossed an episode of the dystopic Black Mirror with the The Matrix and added a good helping of The Office ‘s winking humor? In written form, the optimal combination might resemble Brad Carter’s ambitions for his recent release Human Resources. While the novel does succeed in encapsulating some of these elements and does offer a good number of chuckles, it has also has flaws that detract from its potential appeal. Carter’s Curtis Henson numbingly toils in the marketing department at the monolithic ALM Corporation. It is a soulless company whose end-product and objectives are vague and possibly even non-existent. Henson’s marriage is a loveless rut, and his only friend is a womanizing boor with no observable redeeming qualities. The only way he can function is with the help of a medication that keeps his depression and nightmares at bay. While home on a rare sick day, a mysterious man appears at his door with a manifesto that exposes the nefarious alien force that is operating in the highest levels of ALM. In predictable fashion, Curtis is drafted and manipulated by both sides in an ongoing conflict between his employers, the all-powerful “Overlords” and the scruffy rebels seeking to overthrow them. Having witnessed his parents shared descent into madness, Curtis questions his own genetic propensity to distort reality-continually mistrusting what he is experiencing. The reader may also be confused by the erratic jumps in time and may tire of the endless parade of goons that take turns torturing a protagonist that is not particularly sympathetic. Curtis does deliver some witty lines and provides clever and sarcastic asides, but his overall narcissism and misogynistic attitude make him a repellent character. The frequent sex scenes are clumsily depicted and border on farcical “Penthouse Forum” type of wish-fulfillment that becomes banal after repetition. Carter’s book works as a commentary on modern man’s acceptance of the status quo and his willingness to be brain-washed by pointless ambition. The “Overlords” control us because they find humans and their fruitless attempts to achieve significance and differentiation as a source of entertainment and folly. This is not a particularly new theme, but Human Resources delivers an interpretation that is quirky and original enough to provide a worthwhile diversion for die-hard fans of alterative reality fiction.

Thanks to the author, Petulant Child Press and Library Thing for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.… (meer)