4 out of 4 stars
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World Incorporated by Tom Gariffo is a thriller/action book set in the dystopian United States. The main protagonist, Agent Silver, is an operative for World Inc. one of the five major super corporations that rule everything. Agent Silver oversees taking out any targets that World Inc. considers a threat to the super corporation. He is also keeping an eye out for the elusive Ancarn, one of the five super corporation CEOs. Silver has a bit of a bone to pick with Ancarn but the CEO is rarely seen in public, making it difficult for Silver to chase his target.
Agent Silver starts out as a stereotypical antihero. He does his job with a cold detachment and moves on to the next target. That is until one target sparks the smallest doubt in his mind which snowballs from there. One of my favorite things about Silver is that he is a well written and complex character. I assumed he would make all the normal choices that a character of this types makes. I was wrong, he has a personality and uses his intelligence wisely.
We also meet a few side characters who really bring out the best of the other personalities. Silvers onboard virtual intelligence system, Franklin; Kelly, who Silver encounters early in the story and Rex, a symbiotic robot sent to kill Silver. All the side characters serve a meaningful purpose but that doesn’t stop the author from making one or two shocking choices with them.
Gariffo as does a great job of describing this new United States as a dystopian landscape. I felt that the descriptions were in depth but at the same time, I didn’t feel overwhelmed by the number of futuristic gadgets and jargon. It is the perfect balance of simple yet advanced and the author shows his imagination while describing places like New Detroit.
The only glaring problem I have with this book is that around chapter four we get a not so brief history of events that led to the current climate. It was the longest chapter in the book and honestly, I felt that it really dragged. I appreciate the background to help you understand the past and present of the book, but it seemed like too much. The second chapter that focused on finishing the history lesson was much better than the first and I was interested in reading it. The first part caused me to put the book down for a day or so and then I had to make myself finish reading it.
I felt that this was a well-edited book, and I only found two problems and those were very simple typos. I enjoyed the characters and settings so much that I found it hard to put this one down and finished it in just a few days. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. This is a good read for anyone who enjoys not only action stories but also a simple yet interesting take on futuristic cities and technology. There isn't much cussing and not too much gore so I would say that it is acceptable for teenagers as well.
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World, Incorporated
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