The Company Man

Apr 20, 2011 Mark rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Here’s a pleasant surprise: a detective style film noir, set in the late 1910’s but in an alternate world. A world of gangsters and the Union, in the fictional American city of Evesden, with worn-down detectives and corrupt business. And airships!

In this post-Great War world we have gruff detective Donald Garvey and his slim blonde colleague, Cyril Hayes, who works for The McNaughton Corporation, the Microsoft of its age. Hayes is a washed out alcoholic who deals with the Corporation’s dirty bus...more Here’s a pleasant surprise: a detective style film noir, set in the late 1910’s but in an alternate world. A world of gangsters and the Union, in the fictional American city of Evesden, with worn-down detectives and corrupt business. And airships!

In this post-Great War world we have gruff detective Donald Garvey and his slim blonde colleague, Cyril Hayes, who works for The McNaughton Corporation, the Microsoft of its age. Hayes is a washed out alcoholic who deals with the Corporation’s dirty business quietly. Recently he’s been on the skids, and after a botched job is now being supervised very closely by Samantha Fairbanks, up-and-coming company employee. He has to keep his secret talent, that he can sense what others are thinking, very carefully hidden.

There’s someone or something out there killing Union factory workers, and Hayes needs to find out who. Not only because his employees want to know, but also because somebody doesn’t want him to find out. His life is at stake, the death count’s rising – and it could be Hayes next.

Considering that this is only Robert’s second novel, after Mr Shivers (2009), this for me was an impressively assured novel. Its tone and style echoed the opulence and decay of early twentieth century urban America, with all, both the best and worst, it has to offer.

It is a clever little novel which makes you feel immersed into a world of commercial skulduggery, union strikes, corrupt management and mob unrest. Reminiscient of Metropolis , it highlights not only the opportunities that technological development can offer but also shows the dark underbelly of such urban living. It is clear that there is a price to pay for such development. Progress, yes: but at what cost?

The book does slow down in the middle, but the final dénouement that elevates the tale to one worthy of the genre is very well done There is a deus ex machina moment that made me think for a while afterwards, ‘What happens next?’ . The book finishes clearly at an appropriate point but one that left me pondering more.

In summary, I was very pleasantly surprised by this one. Nice worldbuilding, great sense of atmosphere, nice tension on the whole. After being a little disappointed by Mr Shivers , this was a definite step in the right direction. More, please!

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Mar 16, 2013 David Rush rated it 3 of 5 stars

Until I was invited to an author reading at the local Barnes and Noble, I had never heard of Robert Jackson Bennett. I checked him out online and what I found piqued my interest enough to read one of his novels before the event.

I got the invitation on Sunday and the reading was on Wednesday so in the interest of time I bought a kindle edition of The Company Man on Sunday. I am not sure why I picked that one over the other 2 or 3 I saw, but it worked out well as I had a good time reading the boo...more Until I was invited to an author reading at the local Barnes and Noble, I had never heard of Robert Jackson Bennett. I checked him out online and what I found piqued my interest enough to read one of his novels before the event.

I got the invitation on Sunday and the reading was on Wednesday so in the interest of time I bought a kindle edition of The Company Man on Sunday. I am not sure why I picked that one over the other 2 or 3 I saw, but it worked out well as I had a good time reading the book.

He mixed genres that I like and struck emotional and storytelling chords that resonated with me. That said for some reason I don’t go overboard in my praise which I sometimes do after an enjoyable reading experience (which this was).

I am probably unfair, but my mind (that tricky little devil) did sometimes identify the genre strands a little too precisely. I thought I could label the Philip Marlowe character, the HP Lovecraft section and even the Sookie Stackhouse seasoning. So it is probably unfair, after all there are plenty of hard boiled detectives that came after Marlow and Sookie certainly wasn’t the first character to be overwhelmed by telepathic overload, and who hasn’t imagined some ancient entity buried in the earth's depths. But that is just how my mind worked and even with that occasional distraction I had a good time.

On a side note I wonder if literary people debate where genre turns into cliché? Maybe that is what tripped me up, I wasn’t quite sure if the story was getting a little too close to this possible line.

In any case, I bought his new book at the reading and got it signed and it if it wasn’t quite so long I might have jumped right in. But I thought The Company Man was definitely good enough to encourage me to read another Bennett novel.

The Wordspace Dallas (http://www.wordspace.us/WSblog/) reading event was small but pleasant and those Wordspace people asked some kick-ass questions which got some great answers from the author. I didn’t ask anything since any question I had would have been something juvenile like “What does the ending of your book mean?” So it was better that I kept quiet.
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Mar 14, 2013 Blood Rose Books rated it 2 of 5 stars

Robert Jackson Bennett, takes us to a 1920s world, where the one company controls everything, and the thoughts of a workers turn unionization to help protect their rights but this company will to anything to make sure this does not happen.

It is nearing the end of 1919, the world is controlled by the ever present McNaughton company. McNaughton is responsible for every big and desirable invention that has happened in the last 25 or more years, but at what cost? They have created the beautiful city...more Robert Jackson Bennett, takes us to a 1920s world, where the one company controls everything, and the thoughts of a workers turn unionization to help protect their rights but this company will to anything to make sure this does not happen.

It is nearing the end of 1919, the world is controlled by the ever present McNaughton company. McNaughton is responsible for every big and desirable invention that has happened in the last 25 or more years, but at what cost? They have created the beautiful city of Evesden, but lurking beneath the streets is something dark and sinister as a trolley cart pulls into a station with 11butchered union men on board. The people are crying out for justice, that McNaughton is the cause but the police are powerless to persecute a company that has become a world super power. One man is assigned to the job of hunting down the union leaders and seeing them brought before the McNaughton company, but Cyril Hayes is not known for being a team player or caring which tactics get the job done. He has worked for McNaughton for years because they have helped fuel his addictions, but the mystery behind the McNaughton's inventions, the unions and deaths, is the most powerful addiction that Hayes has.

I actually did not realize that this book had a steam punk and sci-fi feel to it as nothing is mentioned about it in the premise of the book. I thought it was a mystery/thriller book that was based in the 1920s, people wanting to unionize and the companies doing what they could to prevent it. This is not to say that the sci-fi aspect is in your face all the time, it is more subtle and not a constant aspect other than Hayes abilities. This book is really about the Company vs. the Unions, and the battles that ensued as each side tries to promote their beliefs and survive.True the main character Hayes has the ability to mimic people and read people minds and emotions if he is in contact with them for long enough but I did not think Bennett would take the sci-fi aspect as far as he did. I really liked Hayes "powers" within this book, at first I was not sure if he did have powers, I thought he was the master of manipulation and a chameleon which would have been powers in their own right, but add in alight mind reading ability and Hayes becomes a very qualified investigator and interrogator.

Bennett does a great job of building and describing this 1920s world, it was described in such a way that I would picture the city in only blue, white, gray and black shades a very bleak and powerful picture. The people and the world are desperate. There a huge discrepancy between the rich and the poor and the McNaughton company who monopolize it all. The city, the people and the world, are all controlled by the McNaughton corporation in some sense, everyone relies on their inventions, discoveries and wealth, that people believe that they are unable to live without McNaughton. From the overall desperation of the people living in the Shanty area of town, to Hayes addictions to get some peace to Sam attempting to prove her worth and Garvey attempting to find some justice in the world. The book does have an overall depressing feeling about it, but there is hope in what the main characters investigation will present, one that is hopefully a better future. Bennett`s talent lies in his ability to create a world that you truly believe it was real and that his novel was the way things actually did happen in the past.

This book is full on conspiracy and the main characters do not know who they can trust, even each other. Garvey is a police officer whole is loyal to policing and believes not only the city as it once was, but in right and wrong. He is stressed and over whelmed by the amount of death that has occurred within his city (I believe the total stated is well over 400) but he feels helpless to prevent the act as well as solve the multiple homicides that reach his desk. He is searching for a way to make the city what it once was, could the answer lay within the unions, company or with Hayes in his backward (and often illegal way) of doing things. Then there is Sam, the one who is there to control Hayes, but no one can really do that. Sam is powerless most of the time as Hayes is just content to let Sam do all the research while he gallivants around town following the hunches that he gets. I actually questioned the introduction of Sam as a character, her main purpose is to do research however, I feel that this research could have been achieved by have Garvey completing more police work and becoming more of a main character. Perhaps Bennett did not wish to make the book into a police investigation one.

Hayes is the anti hero in this book. He is working for the McNaughton company, and he only does it because it helps him focus and keep the voices out of his head. He also has a major drinking and drug problem, he likes to chase the dragon throughout the book, thinking that it helps him with the voices and the cases. Hayes appears to be loyal to the company but you are never really sure, one thing you are sure of is that he is loyal to himself, first and always. Hayes knows that the drinking and drugs are slowly killing him, but you can feel his pain and his need to escape reality for just a short time. I like when Bennett divulged a little bit of Hayes past and how he came to be working for McNaughton. I also likes how Hayes need for the hunt into mysteries was also an addiction to him and made me think of police officers that become so obsessed with cases that they are unable to see anything else. This is a characterization that is not explored often enough in crime type novels. I understand that Hayes is not a police officer, but an investigator of sort.

The story leaves a little bit to be desired, it was a little slow at points and I found myself not with the huge need to continue reading the book at that moment, I was able to put it down and return to it at a later date. I think everyone wants to read a book that you cannot just walk away from, and for me this book lacked that aspect. I wish that Bennett would have ventured deeper into the hate that the unions had with the McNaughton company. I found that Bennett restricted Hayes and Sam too much through the McNaughton Corporation (though this may have been deliberate on his part to just show the control of the company, but I found this aspect did hurt the story). I also wonder if Bennett was trying to get his own point of view about technology and global warming across within the book (you will have to read the book to understand what I mean by this point, or maybe you will get an entirely different idea altogether).

All in all, a pretty good read and I think it would be a good book if someone is wanting to try out the steam punk genre or a book that has just a touch of sci-fi in it. I have actually heard that his debut novel Mr. Shivers is fantastic (sorry no review of this book quite yet). I find that Bennett`s eye for detail, world building and Hayes overall "powers" has left me intrigued and asking for more, so I think I will be picking up Mr. Shivers (or his next book) sometime soon.

Enjoy!!!(less)

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Feb 06, 2013 Chris Matney rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm not sure who gave me this book, but the premise seemed intriguing. A mystery that promises a bit of steampunk atmosphere set in an alternate America of 1919 where the McNaughton Corporation has become so powerful as almost be their own nation.

Without giving away the plot, what I liked about the book were the characters - Hayes, Gavey and Samantha. They were interesting, quirky and unpredictable. While the dialog was weak in points, the development of the primary relationships and the seconda...more

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Dec 29, 2012 Gaby rated it 2 of 5 stars

Recommended to Gaby by: the book smuglers

Shelves: the-black-list

Mmmm, bueno, para empezar, el darle una puntuación a este libro me es muy difícil porque ni siquiera estoy segura de a qué género pertenece. El libro comienza casi como una crónica policial, rodeada de crímenes extraños y mucho misterio. A medida que la historia avanza, el protagonista principal comienza a mostrar nuevas facetas, llevando a la historia más hacia un contexto fantástico (lo cual me gustó mucho hasta ese momento, porque la trama tenía el potencial para llegar a ser muy buena).
Los...more

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Mar 15, 2012 Charles Dee Mitchell rated it 4 of 5 stars

Publisher's Weekly described Bennett's fist novel, Mr. Shivers, as a cross between John Steinbeck and Stephen King. It won the Shirley Jackson award, and so the King elements must have won out for panel of experts. This new novel, The Company Man has been nominated for the 2011 Philip k> Dick award, but it has the same uneasy relation to genre as its predecessor.

Mr. Shivers was an engaging tale set in the Great Depression and among the hobo jungles and squalid, half-dead towns of the period....more

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Jun 06, 2011 Tony rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: novels

I have to admit, this book's gumshoe pulp fiction-style cover art caught my attention immediately. And once I skimmed the jacket copy and realized that it had a science-fiction element to it, I was hooked. The story takes place in 1919, in a world where a single company based on the coast of Washington State has developed leading technology in every field important to mankind. From airships to advanced weaponry to wireless transmitters, the McNaughton Corporation is powerful enough to direct the...more I have to admit, this book's gumshoe pulp fiction-style cover art caught my attention immediately. And once I skimmed the jacket copy and realized that it had a science-fiction element to it, I was hooked. The story takes place in 1919, in a world where a single company based on the coast of Washington State has developed leading technology in every field important to mankind. From airships to advanced weaponry to wireless transmitters, the McNaughton Corporation is powerful enough to direct the course of nation-states. An entire metropolis has risen around its humble initial facilities, and Evesden is now the largest city in the world.

However, despite the untold power and wealth residing in the company, the city has a seedy and destitute side to it. And down those dark streets walks the company's odd fixer Cyril Hayes. He possesses the power to create a kind of telepathic bond with anyone he spends time with, eventually being able to charm them and more or less read their thoughts. In the past he's ferreted out industrial spies and secret-sellers, and now he's trying to figure out both how and why a trolly car of eleven unionists pulled into a station with everyone on board completely slaughtered. Helping him is his new organizer/researcher/librarian/assistant, Ms. Fairbanks, and together with Cyril's policeman friend, Detective Garvey, they form a very odd heroic trio.

Unfortunately, about halfway through, the inventiveness starts to wear thin on the book, and the supernatural element starts to become more and more prominent. The mystery of the union murders starts to shift into a kind of X-Files conspiracy and before too long, the hint of alien mumbo-jumbo starts to poke though. I definitely started to lose enthusiasm for the book as the science-fiction elements grew more and more prominent, and by the end I was close to just skimming to see how things turned out. Cyril is the one really interesting character, by turns cantankerous and crafty, and his telepathic ability is described and handled really well. Some of the supporting characters, like his boss, and an underworld contact, come across vividly on the page, but his friend Garvey and assistant Fairbanks are both kind of cardboard types.

The writing has a very rich visual style to it, and to a certain extent I wonder if the story might have worked better in a more visual medium, like a graphic novel, or a film. Still, if you like offbeat crime stories or real-world based science fiction, or genre-blending of the two, this might be worth your time to check out.(less)

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May 25, 2012 Cindy Crawford rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 02, 2012 Wayne McCoy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Set in an alternate world where mysterious technology has made the wilderness of Puget Sound the center of the world, The Company Man is a wonderful noir tale.

The strange city of Evesden, Washington glitters with marvels, but underneath it's surface, all is not right. When an unknown man is pulled from the waters near the city, the police are baffled. One of them has a connection with a man working for the McNaughton Corporation. Since the victim appears to be a union man, the police look to hi...more

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Jun 07, 2011 This Is Not The Michael You're Looking For rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebooks, fiction, alternate-history, mystery, science-fiction

Company man is a tricky book to categorize. It's an alternate history mystery with some steampunk elements (although I personally wouldn't call it steampunk) and science fiction overtones.

The story takes place in a northwestern coastal city of the US in 1919/1920; this city does not exist in the real world but is the center of technology and innovation in this alternate world and is essentially run by *the* technological giant of the planet. The story is focused on a security employee for The Co...more

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Jun 29, 2011 arjuna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Thoroughly enjoyable - well put together, vividly written, interesting characters. Similar in some ways to the books of George Mann (particularly the period aspect/indie female assistant unfazed by Strange Male Maverick etc) but that's largely superficial (and I found Bennett's writing more to my liking, on the whole). Great premise (there's a lot to live up to) and it actually manages to carry it off to the bitter end, marvellously credibly. I really, really like the main characters, and would...more

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Apr 13, 2013 Chris rated it 3 of 5 stars

3.5 star book. I picked this book up off the table in the bookstore when the title and cover caught my attention. The back cover gave a nice summary and so I got it. I found Bennett to be a good writer and the story to be very entertaining and the world he painted in 1919 was realistic with enough of a twist on reality to keep my attention. I enjoyed the main characters, their interaction, development and evolution throughout the book. Was torn between a 3.5 and 4 stars for this one but went wit...more

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Jul 31, 2012 Ellen rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Company Man by Robert Jackson Bennett (Orbit) begins in 1919 as a trolley car filled with eleven factory workers dead inside of it, rolls into a station. All were alive when they entered the trolley and all were union workers. The eponymous investigator works for the McNaughton Corporation, the powerful and mysterious entity running the United States from the capitol city of Evesden, located in a Pacific Northwest very different from the one we know. An engaging, noirish mystery, the book de...more

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Apr 29, 2012 Sidney rated it 4 of 5 stars

A blend of the detective story, alternate history and other science fiction, this tale drops the company man of the title, Cyril Hayes, into a strange series of murders. They lead to suggestions of a dark conspiracy at the heart of the omnipresent McNaughton Company he serves.

Bennett creates a grim 1919 with technological advances provided by McNaughton's key inventor and a city to house the corporation that's complete with failed grandeur and ghastly slums.

There's also an underground trolly sy...more

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Mar 16, 2013 Molybdenum rated it 4 of 5 stars

The interesting thing about Robert Jackson Bennett is that even though he starts in such different places for all his books, he always seems to end up in the same place. There's a big grandiose ending that redefines the shape of the world his characters live in, with the purpose of trying to solve some deep problem that the world has.

In this book, Bennett is tackling addictions and self-destruction. It comes up many times throughout the book in many different places, but the only time I recall t...more The interesting thing about Robert Jackson Bennett is that even though he starts in such different places for all his books, he always seems to end up in the same place. There's a big grandiose ending that redefines the shape of the world his characters live in, with the purpose of trying to solve some deep problem that the world has.

In this book, Bennett is tackling addictions and self-destruction. It comes up many times throughout the book in many different places, but the only time I recall the word addictions being used is about the main character Haynes. Here's the quote:
"No, Mr Haynes," said Brightly. "You are a man of addictions. And some of your addictions go far beyond any chemical or bottle. You want to chase Tazz the same way a drunkard needs his tankard. It's simply another exciting little diversion for you, isn't it?"

And addictions keep showing up. We have a man who cannot control himself in regards to his night time activities, where he seeks out a place specializing in little boys. We have an officer who will not leave the city, who feels it is his duty to fix it, despite the fact it is too much for one man. These are not the people Bennett is concerned about. He relates the self-destructive nature of humans through the relationship between a company and its union.

If you were to pick one of those sides that I thought best described self-destructive, I would go with unions. Oftentimes, they demand things from their company that the company that the company simply can't afford, and in doing so drive the company under. (They can also be beneficial, as of course there are times were a company can mistreat its workers. I'm not completely anti-union or anything.) But in this case, since we have a company that is basically the very centre of its city (think Ford in Detroit), the self-destructive onus is put on the company. Through their greed they are destroying the city, and in doing so themselves. There are grand statements being made here about capatalism, the human condition, and the ultimate human fate.

This is maybe not the most original of Bennett's metaphors. I much prefer the way The Troupe metaphors the nothingness that surrounds human existence and the need to combat that. But it is probably his most enticing narrative. The story isn't perfect, it can wane a little at times, and it still probably isn't good enough that it can stand without the metaphor behind it, but it is an entertaining enough read. Once again, if you like the allegory style of story telling, Bennett is really good at it, and this book is no exception. (less)

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Sep 05, 2012 Julie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: dmla

I've been talking about this book a lot, because the premise is so utterly up my alley and I pretty much stan RJB's concepts. So, in a nutshell: In an alternate-universe dieselpunk 1919, a staggeringly powerful corporation named McNoughton has achieved prominence due to their world-changing inventions. They send their 'company man' -- Cyril Hayes, special agent, investigator, problem-solver, fixer, and psychic empath -- to investigate a slew of union murders, lest the company/union tensions bubb...more I've been talking about this book a lot, because the premise is so utterly up my alley and I pretty much stan RJB's concepts. So, in a nutshell: In an alternate-universe dieselpunk 1919, a staggeringly powerful corporation named McNoughton has achieved prominence due to their world-changing inventions. They send their 'company man' -- Cyril Hayes, special agent, investigator, problem-solver, fixer, and psychic empath -- to investigate a slew of union murders, lest the company/union tensions bubble over and take the city with it. The events unfurl in the Pacific Northwest, in a fictional city named Evesden in Washington state.

The first thing to come to mind is that the atmosphere and setting is incredibly evocative and painted in great detail: the financially polarised sections of the city, the lavish sweeping rich districts versus the grim and gritty Shanties, the incredibly colourful and vibrant corners of the city and the treats it has to offer, from sewers to skyscrapers to trolleys to waterside markets to airship docks, and the shadow of McNoughton over it all. Evesden is a fantastic setting, 'urban fantasy' sorta by way of Miéville (but far less wordy -- Bennett's prose is streamlined and utilitarian). Which is the kind of thing I love, when a city becomes a living breathing entity. (And in this novel, perhaps more literally than most.)

Character-wise, the novel is populated with a huge sprawl of fun minor characters, which is an improvement on the smaller scale of Bennett's debut (I love ensemble casts, what can I say). Hayes has an upstanding and dutiful partner in the form of Garvey, the police detective, and a plucky and meticulous female assistant named Samantha -- both of whom I loved, and they all made for a compelling and likeable trio unravelling the mystery at the heart of the novel. Hayes is broken and dysfunctional and sour, and I love him -- he fits right alongside other hardbitten noir heroes, barely cobbled together with alcohol and opiates, except that he's also... well... psychic.

I saw the overarching twist coming -- I have to say that I preferred the noir-esque first 2/3 of the book, consisting of pounding the pavement, chasing leads and shaking up clues, so it dragged a bit for me in the final act, but I still thought the twist was brilliantly foreshadowed and built up just enough.

I don't want to say much else for fear of spoiling it, so in short, The Company Man is a tantalising mystery set in an incredibly rich AU setting. I loved mentally gambolling about in Evesden, and could even see myself craving another novel (or a few short stories) set here; the worldbuilding was prime.

Though lastly, I'm bemused by the plethora of people using the term 'steampunk' to describe this book. Dieselpunk, guys, start using it!(less)

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Jun 21, 2011 Jaime Moyer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: owned-books

I wanted to read this book because it covers the same time period I'm writing in, and I wanted to see what the author had done with it. It didn't take long for me to realize that the world Robert Bennett is writing about bears little resemblance to the America of 1919 that I know.

And having read this entire book, I still don't know what to think about it. There were so many cool things that I liked, so many little twists and turns. The world felt right, cohesive, and the characters fit well with...more

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Apr 10, 2011 Shelley aka Gizmo's Reviews rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-releases

The Company Man is a steampunk novel with alternate history and science fiction overtures. This makes for a very interesting setting. The book itself is set in Evesden, Washington in the early 20th (1919). Amazing new advancements have come courtesy of the McNaughton Corporation, and have ushered America onto the world stage, as well as making Evesden a hub for businesses and spite from others around the globe.

There are basically three main characters that the author interweaves the story among...more The Company Man is a steampunk novel with alternate history and science fiction overtures. This makes for a very interesting setting. The book itself is set in Evesden, Washington in the early 20th (1919). Amazing new advancements have come courtesy of the McNaughton Corporation, and have ushered America onto the world stage, as well as making Evesden a hub for businesses and spite from others around the globe.

There are basically three main characters that the author interweaves the story among, and they couldn’t be more different in character and what they believe in.

Detective Don Garvey is an Evesden Homicide Investigator, who has been told by his bosses, to drop all other case, except for union members who have been dying. What he doesn’t know is that they are all employees of McNaughton who have been privately spying on the union, and that McNaughton’s own employees are plotting devious deeds that will blame the unions themselves for the troubles. Garvey is a divorced father of two little girls, as well as being a former librarian before finally becoming a murder cop. Garvey is good at his job, but is put into difficult situation because he is friends with Cyril Hayes, who has a different way about doing his investigations. Garvey, is also one of the few people who know about Hayes uniqueness, and doesn’t mind.

Cyril Hayes is a private contractor, and a scientific oddity who works for McNaughton. It is job to look into trouble within the company and solve them before they spread. Hayes is supposed to be a scalpel, not a shotgun, but as he was looking into another problem, the person jumped and the company is now being sued. Now, he is being kept under wraps and ends up with an assistant (Samantha Fairbanks), and loads of ahead. Cyril is addicted to opium and finds himself in teahouses getting his fix on. Hayes can also feel echoes in people’s minds, and it tells them what they are really thinking about. People call him Princeling, for some reason, which is never really explained. He is a former British Colonel, and son of an ambassador to Pakistan who was given really one chance to change his life; work for McNaughton. Cyril’s uniqueness, in the end, is what drives this story to the ending.

Samantha Fairbanks is Hayes new assistant, as well as a person who you can actually enjoy reading about. She’s not a sniffling loony when things go wrong. In fact, she jumps in with both feet and doesn’t take crap from Hayes. She’s English and a former army nurse who has traveled extensively. She is supposed to keep Hayes in line, but ends up doing more in bringing answers to the table, than both Hayes and Garvey combined.

The Company Man is one of the creepiest books you will find, with alternative technology that will make even science fiction lovers stand up and take notice. This is Bennett’s second book after Mr. Shivers, which I have not read. The characters aren’t perfect, but in this reality you would expect that they would all have some faults.

I did have many qualms about The Company Man as I was reading it, but eventually things do work themselves out, and the ending is as interesting as you will find, but it also left me wanting to know more about Hayes future. My only problem was that one of the main characters doesn’t make it to the end. Call it a sort of betrayal by those this person trusted with his life. Yes, there is a romantic interlude between the characters, but it’s not all hot and bothered like UF and PNR novels.

Publishers ARC...book releases 04/11/2011(less)

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Jul 08, 2011 Desolation Culture rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the second novel by Robert Jackson Bennett. His first, the excellent Mr. Shivers, was a dark supernatural horror/fantasy hybrid played out against the backdrop of the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression. For his sophmore, Bennett has ventured into science fiction territory and created a steam punkish, noir mystery set a decade earlier than his previous.

The story begins with Hayes, an idiosyncratic investigator for the McNaughton Corporation, brought in by his friend inspector Garvey t...more This is the second novel by Robert Jackson Bennett. His first, the excellent Mr. Shivers, was a dark supernatural horror/fantasy hybrid played out against the backdrop of the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression. For his sophmore, Bennett has ventured into science fiction territory and created a steam punkish, noir mystery set a decade earlier than his previous.

The story begins with Hayes, an idiosyncratic investigator for the McNaughton Corporation, brought in by his friend inspector Garvey to assist with an inquiry into a recently discovered body found floating in the city canal. In a city where a new body is hardly a discovery, something doesn't seem quite right here and Garvey is determined to find out the truth behind the man's demise. Was this man a company man? Did he work for the mighty McNaughton? As Garvey together with Hayes make their enquiries, the reader is slowly introduced into the nature of the city of Evesden. We learn of its spectacular rise on an unprecedented scale to become a technological marvel, and an economic powerhouse fuelled by the discoveries of the enigmatic company at its heart.

Firstly, I loved the setting for this book: the rapidly developed city of Evesden, with its irregular and confusing layout. The shanty towns down by the canal, the looming skyscrapers in the business district; the airships navigating overhead, and the whispering voices in the catacombs beneath, all contribute to a vividly realized backdrop to the story.

Then there is the hardboiled presentation of the characters, combining into something which reads like an anti-corporate version of a Raymond Chandler novel or the musical Chicago (minus the songs) collided with Jules Verne.

Conspiracy is everywhere in Evesden and I relished the sense of corruption and collusion as it unfurled, drawing the reader ever deeper into the intriguing mystery surrounding the McNaughton Corporation. What is the source of the amazing technology they have developed? What are they now working on in secret? What lies deep in the catacombs and tunnels beneath Evesden? Why do people employed by the company keep dying in unusual circumstance...?

The action itself unfolds slowly at first, with the narrative building towards a number of key set-pieces throughout. Such as the one mentioned in the book blurb, which doesn't actually happen until about 100 pages in. Initially, perhaps due to this slow build and also because of Bennett's pragmatic writing style, I found it a little difficult to empathise emotionally with the characters. In particular, the belligerent and wayward Hayes is a difficult character to like. Crucially as the story developed, I found this less of an issue and I became more and more connected to the characters. By the second half of the novel I was thoroughly invested in them. In particular I was drawn to detective Garvey's unflinching sense of duty and honour - something which Bennett uses to great emotional effect later in the novel - but I also warmed to Hayes, and to Samantha, the sidekick appointed to Hayes by the corporation to help keep him focused on their work.

Bennett is an interesting and imaginative writer. It's very early days in his career, but it doesn't take too much to imagine him developing into a writer along the lines of Neil Gaiman or China Miéville. Based on his first two novels, he clearly has wide ranging literary interests across the speculative fiction genres and outside them. As such it is difficult to pin his work down. His first novel was largely considered to be a horror title, and whilst he certainly has a healthy dose of horror DNA in his writing genes, it's clear his work will not be confined to any one genre label. In The Company Man, Bennett has fashioned a tense mystery that could appeal equally to fans of Horror, Crime, Thrillers and Science Fiction.

As The Company Man reaches it's final quarter and ultimately the mystery begins to clear, all the disparate elements combine to reveal a novel with a grand and slightly melancholy vision. Unlike some reviewers whose reviews I have read, I was not particularly surprised to learn the origin of McNaughton's tech. The conclusion to this book was in some ways what I expected, but the deeper explanation, the why rather than the where, is what lifted the ending for me. This whole picture combines to reveal a novel with a fine coherent vision. The Company Man further highlights Bennett's gift for redefining the mythic canon of US history into beguiling contemporary fables. If like me you never trust those damn corporations anyway, and you love original speculative fiction, I think you'll love The Company Man. I know I did.(less)

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Jan 07, 2012 Gsmattingly rated it 3 of 5 stars

I just finished The Company Man last night. I enjoyed it. I thought the ending left something to be desired but maybe he expects to write a sequel. I finished it relatively quickly. I guess you could say it is a steampunk detective noir novel based in 1919. Michael Berry, who is a SF Chronicle staff writer and reviews science fiction put it amongst the top sf and fantasy of 2011, which is how I happened upon it.

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May 07, 2013 Barac Wiley rated it 3 of 5 stars

Bennett paints a vivid picture of an Upton Sinclair-esque early 20th century dystopia corrupted by advanced technology of mysterious origins, and the class struggle emerging therein. But while I probably would have given the book four or five stars for much of it, the last 10% or so just didn't sit right with me and this eroded my enjoyment of it significantly. Still solid and worth reading, but just doesn't quite stick that landing.

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Jan 18, 2012 Simon Gosden rated it 4 of 5 stars

A dark weird tale set in a an alternate America of 1919 where the McNaughton Corporation has become the pinnacle of American Industry. At the heart of this industrial empire is the great city of Evesden. But something is rotten in the heart of this city and Union men are dying, drutally and violently. It's up to the alcoholic investigator Cyril Hayes to try and get to the bottom......

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Jan 12, 2012 David Hebblethwaite rated it 3 of 5 stars

Bennett’s debut, Mr Shivers, was one of my favourite books of 2010; his latest does not quite reach the same heights, but at its best shows the same refreshing and distinctive imagination. I've reviewed The Company Man for The Zone here.

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Sep 03, 2012 Alan Pongratz rated it 3 of 5 stars

It isn't that this is an uninteresting book... the character development leads you to believe that the ending will be really good. So, when you get there, you experience a lot of disappointment. In spite of this review, I'll still be on the lookout for another book or two from this author, in hopes that he figures out how to really end a novel.

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Mar 12, 2012 Jeremy Hurd rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dystopia, horror, mystery, noire, read-in-2012, the-slush-pile, science-fiction

This book vaguely floats through a number of genres--is it a mystery? noire? steampunk? sci-fi?--without fully committing to one, which makes for a spastic storyline that cannot stay in place long enough to engage me in the storyline. The charcacters are pretty one dimensional, as is the fictional mega-city of Evesden, Washington. The ending was the worst kind of cop out, resorting to unsatisfying cliche, and of course, an opening for a sequel. I won't read it, because I'm not entirely certain w...more

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Jan 23, 2012 Michael Hanscom rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime, fiction, science-fiction

I definitely enjoyed this one; it's a fun mix of detective noir and sci-fi that kept me engaged enough to plow through in just two days. Admittedly, the mystery of the city's secret was pretty obvious partway through, but as the characters still had to figure it out, not to mention wrap up all the other threads, this was a case where the journey was more the point than the destination.

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Sep 04, 2012 Carey Shea rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopia

This is a science fiction murder mystery. It takes place in 1919 in a fictitious city near Pugent Sound. The city is technologically addvanced but there are many secrets about that. Murders start occurring which relates to the city's secrets. A very unusual sci-fi but I enjoyed it.

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Jun 10, 2012 Mike Vaughnwilliams rated it 3 of 5 stars

A dark and devious world in a parallel universe where the company man in an outcast whose special skills seem more a curse than a blessing and the corporation is a sinister and secretive entity. You wouldn't want to live there.

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Apr 12, 2012 April rated it 4 of 5 stars

I greatly enjoyed this gripping almagamation of horror, sci fi, detective noir, and police procedural. Well written, with an exciting page-turner plot and great characters. Is it Shakespeare? No, but it's a lot of fun to read!

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Feb 14, 2012 Norman rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction

Solid, enjoyable and well written, if perhaps too leisurely paced, mix of Noir Crime Fiction and Alternate Universe SF. The characters are interesting and well rounded, although the author is occasionally curiously flat in his conveying of their responses to the traumatic events taking place around and to them.

The Noir atmosphere and setting was successfully maintained throughout and was nicely balanced with the SF elements. The ending of the story come across as (just) a little too contrived -...more

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