Friday 8 April 2011

ALTERNATE HISTORY CRIME REVIEW: The Company Man - Robert Jackson Bennett

Release Date: 07/04/11

SYNOPSIS:

A trolley car pulls into the station with eleven dead bodies inside. Four minutes before, the factory workers were seen boarding at the previous station. Now, all are dead. And all of them are union. The year is 1919. The McNaughton Corporation is the pinnacle of American industry. They built airships that crossed the seas. Guns that won the Great War. And above all, they built Evesden: the city of tomorrow, dominated by the immense McNaughton Tower. But something is rotten at the heart of Evesden and one man must uncover its dark secret before it all goes up in flames. Caught between the union and the company, between the police and the victims, McNaughton investigator Cyril Hayes must find the truth behind the city of the future. Because if he doesn't ...he's history.


REVIEW:

Having originally read Roberts work with his debut title, Mr Shivers, I was interested to see where he’d go in his next title. Luckily he sticks with early 20th Century America albeit this time in an alternate universe. It’s well written, the concept clearly thought out and with the added benefit of a crime novel thrown in, makes this a deeply involving read for any who pick up this title. Add to this a great writing style, ideal for a Noir type title with a great understanding of prose and pace which will make this a title to keep you glued to the last page.

Whilst this will be placed in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section, I’d really recommend this to any who enjoy a good crime read with a solid dash of thrills, finally mix that up with solid characterisation and the reader really will have a treat ahead. I can’t wait to see what he’ll come up with next but for now it seems that Robert will not be pegged into any singular hole.

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