3 out of 4 stars
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World Incorporated is a dystopian (not-too-distant ) future novel that follows the story of Sliver, mysterious mercenary to the mega-corporations that run the world. This novel will appeal to science fiction fans, fans of dystopian future stories, and anyone who enjoys the discomfort of a fictional world feeling too close to reality.
Agent Sliver is a man tasked with the dirty work for World, Inc., one of a handful of giant corporations that have assumed world power and divided it neatly between themselves. The author does excellent work creating the character of Sliver, with generous detail and objective description. I was hooked on the character alone within the first few pages. Already the author has planted the seed that Sliver is not an ordinary human being.
As the story proceeds, we are introduced to the world Sliver lives in, one that seems like it could be ours-small town farm, big flashy city, Washington, D.C.-except, people are not in control of their own lives. The world has changed dramatically, power has shifted, and gigantic corporate conglomerates control it all; they claim to bring peace, stability, and prosperity to all humanity. And from birth to death, each individual is fed a steady stream of advertising to create the ideal consumer.
Along with these advances in advertising and creative power balancing have come technological advances. Sliver travels by aircraft, which becomes a character of its own. The author has given us a highly advanced piece of machinery fine-tuned by Sliver himself. The exchanges between Sliver and his craft are so well done, one forgets half of the conversation is provided by a machine.
Overall, I found this to be a very enjoyable read, and I would certainly read more of Sliver’s story. Author Tom Gariffo gives readers a well-crafted story that stands perfectly on its own, or which could be the first book of an addictive series. Every character that walks into the story feels real, and engenders sympathy or revulsion because of the author’s way with detail.
My least favorite part of this story were the giant expository monologues. The author relied more than once on a multiple page story from the character about their origins and background, or their motivations, or how something came to be. The first time it occurred was natural; the scene had been set up for the speaker to assume control of the conversation in that manner. However, from that point on there are several more monologues that don’t have the same perfect setup. Toward the end of the story, when the heart-stopping action is wrapping up and it seems like that satisfying ending is just around the corner, there is a giant monologue that manages to tidy up several loose ends, from a character in the story I hadn’t meaningfully interacted with. The monologues felt strategic, placed into the story to force a pivot on the storyline, rather than allowing the story to move organically toward that point.
I would rate World Incorporated 3 out of 4 stars. I liked the story, so much that I want to read more about Sliver and his adventures. However, the seamless reality of the story was missing for me because of the long monologues, they felt forced onto the story.
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World, Incorporated
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