THE WAREHOUSE

5 stars out of 5

Think Amazon and Walmart on steroids: What would happen if either (or both) of these already giant companies went wild and, quite literally, took over the world's commerce?

At first blush, the yin-yang is easy to envision; virtually all small business would be wiped out and the only "secure" jobs essentially would be low-paying gruntwork (albeit with substantial benefits). On the other hand, the convenience for consumers would be unmatched. With state-of-the-industry order technology, huge distribution centers staffed by hundreds and a sky littered with delivery drones, anything people might want would be at their fingertips almost instantly. The question then becomes - and worthy of note is that it's a question that's being asked today - to what extent are those consumers willing to overlook the exploitation of other human beings in order for their own needs to be satisfied?

This entertaining yet often disturbing book gives readers some idea of what life might be like should that happen (some, of course, will argue that we're already at that point). The scene is set at the mothership of a ginormous company called Cloud, which has "campuses" all over the country complete with living quarters, health care and recreational opportunities for the thousands of employees at the facilities. During working hours, they perform jobs assigned to them by managers supposedly according to their skills; to keep them all in line, there's a rating system that, if in any way violated, would land them back in the outside world to fend for themselves (with the promise they'd never again be employed by Cloud). That outside world is dog-eat-dog - pretty much literally - and the long lines of people waiting to submit their resumes to Cloud is a testament to their desperation to escape as well as serve yet another deterrent to any employee who might consider bucking the carefully contrived system.

Enter central characters Paxton and Zinnia, both of whom applied for jobs at Cloud, each for a different, nefarious reason. I won't reveal what those reasons are, but only that neither expects to be working there after their goals have been realized. They meet for the first time briefly on the tram ride that takes them to their work and living quarters. Paxton is more interested in Zinnia than she in him, but early on, she sees an advantage in cozying up to him. Meanwhile, Gibson Wells, the creator and CEO of this monster company, is dying of cancer. Considering himself to be the savior of the free world, he starts a blog to lay out the reasons - more like justifications - behind all he's done that will culminate in the announcement of his successor. He's also announced plans to personally visit all his Cloud facilities before he succumbs, ending with the MotherCloud at which Paxton and Zinnia are employed.

Told through alternating perspectives of the three characters, readers begin to get the full story - complete with a few timely surprises that keep things really interesting and, in the process, provide some food for thought that carries over to the real world (as evidenced by the twinge of buyer's remorse I felt just after finishing the book as I pushed the "place order" button to get the items in my Amazon cart). Oh well, at least they haven't activated drone delivery in my neighborhood (yet).

Thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy of this entertaining and thought-provoking book.

The Warehouse by Rob Hart (Crown, August 2019); 348 pp.