The Milkman: A Free World Novel

by Michael J. Martineck

WINNER: GOLD MEDAL IPPY for science fiction.
In Edwin McCallum’s world, nations are no more. The world’s assets are divided among three companies. When one of those assets is murdered, it’s McCallum’s job to figure out what it means to the bottom-line. The bottomline’s on fi lm-maker Sylvia Cho’s mind, too. Who’s footing the bill for this documentary? And who’s the subject, this so-called ‘Milkman’? Systems engineer Emory Leveski knows and it looks like it might cost him his life.
With no governments, there is no crime. Any act is measured against competing interests, hidden loyalties and the ever-upward pressure of the corporate ladder. It’s a tough place for those who still believe in right and wrong. And for these three, it just got a lot tougher.

Genres: Science Fiction

215 pages, Paperback

First published May 21, 2014

About the author

The Tongue Trade just came out from EDGE. Love this book. Worked on it on and off for more than 30 years, from which you can assume I've had a writing problem for quite some time. I started writing stories when I was seven and never really stopped. Over the years, I’ve put out short stories, comic book scripts, articles and trio of novels. I’ve put countless other ventures in the drawer. The drawer is in my house on Grand Island, NY., a little cap of clay nestled between the US and Canada. This is also the location of my Ego Retention Program, whereby my beautiful wife and two lovely children continuously call out my various shortcomings, keeping me from becoming the screaming, self-centered artist I long to be. DC Comics published a couple of stories in the early 90s. Planetmag, Aphelion and a couple of other long-dead e-zines helped me out in 00s, along with The Misspellers and The Wrong Channel. Cinco de Mayo was released from EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy in 2010 and was short-listed for an Alberta Readers Choice Award. Very exciting, you know, for me. The Milkman, came out in 2014.fiollowed by The Link Boy (EDGE) and Untouchable, from Our little Secret Press

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

When someone frames Emory Leveski for murder, his life goes down the toilet. McCallum, the detective assigned to the case, doesn't think Emory did it but doesn't have the budget to save him. But what does all that have to do with Sylvia Cho and her documentary about The Milkman, a rogue scientist who posts about milk quality all over the world?

This is one of those books I'm having a hard time formulating an opinion on.

First of all, I love the world The Milkman is set in. Imagine a world where the governments go into debt and are bought out by three corporations. Crimes are given an investigation budget based on the victim's earning potential for the company. Anything beyond that isn't cost effective. Everyone wears wristphones connecting them to the internet. Now that I type it, the world doesn't seem all that unfamiliar...

Ed McCallum is a cop who'd rather be an artist, investigating a crime he suspects is a setup from the start. Emory Leveski, one of the people responsible for the Milkman's reports, finds himself framed for murder. Sylvia Cho has her boss try to strong arm her into getting an abortion so she can work on the documentary. All the ingredients are pretty fresh.

So why can't I give this book a glowing review? Because I didn't think the ingredients were put together in a compelling fashion. The cases were almost completely unrelated until the end. Also, the shifting points of view were so frequent that the only character I really got attached to was McCallum, and that's likely because detective fiction is my bread and butter. Also, did I really need to know the prison rapists used a screwdriver handle coated in butter to lube up Emory's asshole before they went to town on him? No, I think not.

Still, it was a better than average read. Martineck did a good job at doing the world-building without making me feel like I was reading an encyclopedia. The murder victim seemed like an afterthought in the proceedings, though.

All things considered, I liked The Milkman more than I disliked it and I hope Michael Martineck revisits this dystopian corporate world. Three out of Five stars.

[J.A. McLachlan · Rating 4 out of 5]

You always get something unique from Martineck. In this book, his dystopian vision is completely original, fully developed, and very thought-provoking. What if corporations did away with elected governments and ran their own empires? It's a cautionary tale, but not unrealistically black - they have to take a certain amount of care of their people in order to maintain a workforce, after all.
Add in a mystery involving a dead girl and a detective who won't let things go, and of course the milkman, a single voice calling the corporations to account - and you have a great story. My one drawback is Martineck's somewhat brusque writing style. I had trouble remembering the characters and getting into the story at first because he moves from scene to scene so abruptly. A little fleshing in, especially at the beginning, would have improved this. However, be patient, know that Martineck will deliver, and stick with this for a great story that will leave you thinking about the concepts after you're finished.

[Mandy Walkden-Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clever, insightful dystopian noir.

Enjoyed this immensely. It has the darkness that underlies a dystopian society, this one run by corporations, but it's well balanced with likeable characters who, despite the odds, manage to cling on to hope.

Deftly written, thought provoking and a very satisfying read. I'll be reading more by this author, it's an intriguing world he's developed.

I received an e-ARC and voluntarily chose to post a review.

[Chip Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first exposure to Michael J. Martineck and really pleased with the introduction. This is a fast paced book with a collection of characters I want to know more about. Michael's future world is well thought out, with enough commonality with present day to keep me engaged with the events, and yet futuristic enough to make me think about what this means for humanity.

This is a GREAT book for a relaxing couple of days on vacation. Once you pick it up you're not going to want to put it down.

[Alexander Kosoris · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can see the influence of authors such as Ray Bradbury and George Orwell on a work like The Milkman, but I suppose most science fiction can probably trace back to both of these authors. (Speaking with Martineck at this year’s When Words Collide, he mentioned the influences of Philip K. Dick on the work as well. When reflecting further on it, however, I think it would need a great deal more surrealism to resemble anything I’m familiar with by that author. Of course, we do follow an investigator through most of the story, but I’d go so far to say that McCallum is more Montag than Deckard.) The big problem comes when an author basically apes the greats without adding anything of his own but, luckily, Martineck runs with the themes he appropriates from stories such as Fahrenheit 451 and 1984, creating a story all his own.

In a future where government assets were all slowly purchased by a few large corporations, nations are no more, but everything comes down to the bottom line, including human life. When a young woman is murdered, Edwin McCallum is given a small budget to investigate the crime based on her projected worth to the company. In doing so, he finds himself entangled in the mystery surrounding the Milkman––an individual who posts purity tests of milk from different sources without permission from any of the companies––and questioning the morality of the world he lives in.

In my original draft of this review, I made a few vague suggestions as to what I liked and disliked with the story, packing it up and calling it a day, but I felt dissatisfied when I “finished.” Hearing Martineck talk on various topics made me remember how much I respect him as an author; I know he deserves better than that, so I’ll try a bit harder to at least be less evasive about my opinions in the matter.

The Milkman was a story that I liked, but didn’t love, and I’m pretty sure I can at least identify a few of the problems I had. I struggled to accept various details of the story, including the central concept. Even though I can see pushes in the direction of governments selling off assets to various companies and the heightened influence of powerful corporations on all stripes of politician as we move forward, it’s hard for me to make the jump to the dissolution of nations and the complete disregard for human life, even if only superficially to try and convince people that the corporations aren’t heartless. Of course, if this proves to be a complete deal-breaker from the get-go, there’s no point in reading further; I understood that I had to take this to be true in order to give Martineck’s narrative a chance, so I didn’t dwell on it. However, other plot points came up that I had similar difficulties with as I continued reading. (The clearest that comes to mind now is that the Milkman got away with publishing his reports online for such a long time without being detected. While I can believe that there are reasonable explanations for this, such as people in powerful positions actually knowing of the activities, but either ignoring him or allowing the reports to continue for strategic reasons, I found it odd that he both seemed difficult to locate with significant company resources behind the search efforts and that none of the characters considered this issue, at least that I can recall. I would have loved to see some sort of low-tech distribution strategy to get around the electronic tracking methods all the companies would most certainly have at their disposal, like getting an old printing press and passing paper reports through the community, but I suppose that’s neither here nor there.)

While The Milkman consists of multiple, interweaving story arcs that focus on several characters, I probably focused on McCallum in my synopsis as his was the most compelling to me, partly because I liked his character the best, but also because he was the only one to show a very clear and significant growth. And this isn’t to say that every character needs go through a profound change for me to appreciate a story, but I likely would have appreciated the other major characters more if they were either given similar treatment to the investigator. (Or, you know, we could have just focused more on his side of the plot.) And, truth be told, McCallum’s plot moved forward at a good clip and kept me interested throughout. (I will admit that I wasn’t happy to see some loose ends that come near the end of it; upon finishing it originally, the epilogue seemed to hint at a jumping off point for a sequel. Re-reading it quickly, however, it may just be something of a non-traditional ending that looks to make some sense of certain events without tying things up too nicely, so perhaps it was just my expectations talking.)

Looking back now, most of my complaints are largely subjective in nature, so don’t let them turn you off Martineck’s story. When everything comes together, The Milkman is still well-paced and interesting throughout.

[Brian Gaston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Along the ilk of 1984 and Brave New World although a little less dark.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

The world of The Milkman is intriguing: Government has gone by the wayside, replaced and displaced by three global corporations. Every adult is an employee of one of these three corporations, and their place in society depends on their pay grade--the lower the better.

Our story begins with the stabbing death of a young woman marketing researcher, and the investigation of this "act of insubordination" by Ambyr System Security (ASS) operative Ed McCallum. Though not immediately evident, this incident gets wrapped up with an independent website reporting on the quality of dairy products in upstate New York (excuse me, Niagara Falls Catchment). "The Milkman" is, in turn, to become the subject of a would-be blockbuster documentary by Sylvia Cho.

The story is told through the perspectives of McCallum, Cho, and Emory Leveski, "the Milkman." Michael Martineck explores aspects of this world, asking the Big Question of "What does a world run exclusively by an oligopoly look like?

Another not-exactly Big Question explored by The Milkman is timely: When everything we know about the world sits in a device the size of a blood-pressure cuff wrapped around our forearm, what do you really know? There are two scenes where one character asks another to "make a call" for them, and the respondent had never done such a thing!

Of course, at least as important about that cuff is that it contains everything your employer knows about you. For this reason, some folks go offline to live outside society. These "ollies" play a role too.

The Milkman is an interesting story, with insights on criminal justice, corporate control, and the logistics of the movie business. Worth checking out.

[Arlene Marks · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like your science fiction noir, The Milkman by Michael Martineck is right up your alley.

Ed McCallum is a "company op", part of a corporate police force in a future society in which the world has basically been divided up among three huge conglomerates. McCallum's employer is Ambyr. When a low-ranking Ambyr worker is found dead in the vicinity of a bar owned by a rival company, McCallum is called upon to investigate the crime. But because the bottom line is everything in a company-run world, he first has to apply for funding to cover the cost of his inquiry. Low-ranking workers don't rate large budgets, forcing McCallum to close the case sooner than he would like with whatever evidence is at hand. However, he has reason to suspect that the wrong man has been incarcerated. And that's when the fun begins.

There is much to like about this book. The "free world" setting is richly imagined and realistically portrayed. McCallum makes an engaging and highly sympathetic main character, a cop with the soul of an artist. His counterpoint is Sylvia Cho, a documentary filmmaker with the soul of a bulldog, and the story moves back and forth between their converging plotlines at precisely the right times. Most impressive is Martineck's smooth and easy writing style, which rises above the occasional missed typo to keep the reader in the story and turning pages.

Here's this reviewer's bottom line: I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and am hoping there will be further cases for Ed to solve and for Sylvia to latch onto.

[Ren Bedasbad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I didn't know what to suspect with a book about a milkman, but it turns out it is nothing really about that. It is incredibly interesting. The author sets up a very believable world where there are no more governments and the world is run by 3 giant corporations. The way people act and how decisions are made in the world makes it completely possible that this is how our world would be if corporations took over. This story just covers a small part about that, and focuses solely on 3 people. The author writes really well. He introduces you to the world not by telling you every little detail, but by showing you by how the characters interact. No words are waisted and it never feels tedious. You may just feel lost for the first few pages, but it was never a chore to read. He brings the story together really well at the end, and I really enjoyed the ending.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Readers with any interest in speculative economics are likely to enjoy this mystery story set in an alternate world where three multinational corporations have absorbed and replaced all governmental entities. In Martineck's dystopic vision, there are no longer crimes to investigate, but economic impacts that need to be rectified. If perhaps this strikes you as dull, let me assure you that both the ideas and the characters in this story are absorbing. My fingers are crossed that there will be more Freeworld novels in the future.

[David Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Milkman, By Michael J. Martinsville, is my one hundred and eleventh book that I have received and read from Goodreads. I didn't know what to suspect with a book about a milkman, and as it turns out, it has nothing to do with it. I really had a hard time getting into this book. There is alot going on in this novel. As I was reading, I was wondering how the author was going to tie it all together. To me the author sets up a story that is based on their is no longer any government's. The world is run by three giant corporations, which is very unrealistic and unreliable.

[Megan Fennell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crisp clever writing and a terrific triumvirate of narrators, each with their own reasons to love and hate them. There's a lot going on in this novel, to the point where I started to wonder how the author was going to tie it all together, but the ending was gorgeously satisfying. I may have cheered out loud a couple of times in the final few chapters! Excellent concept used to fullest advantage. Bravo!

[Robby · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't do it for me. I can see where it might be good, but it spun between characters so fast and with so little during each moment for characters that I couldn't get attached to any of the characters or get interested in the story.

[Sheila]

I'm sorry, did you say "a mystery novel based on the concept of a world where the free hand of the market reigns supreme?" WELL THEN.

[Bill Lasley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good writer with interesting ideas. He reminds me of Philip K. Dick

[Michael Martineck]

Lovely

[Charlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A future world where there are no governments, just three giant corporations. Everything boils down to economics, including crime and punishment.