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The Regional Office is Under Attack!
In a world beset by amassing forces of darkness, one organization—the Regional Office—and its coterie of super-powered female assassins protects the globe from annihilation. At its helm, the mysterious Oyemi and her oracles seek out new recruits and root out evil plots. Then a prophecy suggests that someone from inside might bring about its downfall. And now, the Regional Office is under attack.
Recruited by a defector from within, Rose is a young assassin leading the attack, eager to stretch into her powers and prove herself on her first mission. Defending the Regional Office is Sarah—who may or may not have a mechanical arm—fiercely devoted to the organization that took her in as a young woman in the wake of her mother’s sudden disappearance. On the day that the Regional Office is attacked, Rose’s and Sarah’s stories will overlap, their lives will collide, and the world as they know it just might end.
Recruited by a defector from within, Rose is a young assassin leading the attack, eager to stretch into her powers and prove herself on her first mission. Defending the Regional Office is Sarah—who may or may not have a mechanical arm—fiercely devoted to the organization that took her in as a young woman in the wake of her mother’s sudden disappearance. On the day that the Regional Office is attacked, Rose’s and Sarah’s stories will overlap, their lives will collide, and the world as they know it just might end.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published April 12, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,008 reviews
November 11, 2015
An easy, five-step quiz to determine your probable rating of THE REGIONAL OFFICE IS UNDER ATTACK!:
1) True or false: you are open to the idea of genre fiction.
2) True or false: you believe DIE HARD to be one of the most sublime pieces of entertainment created by human hands.
3) On a scale of 1 to 10, you believe DIE HARD, as sublime as it is, could be improved by the addition of things like samurai swords, killer robots, borderline superheroes, magically-enhanced assassins, creepy oracles lying in vats of that opaque blue milk-like liquid (you know the stuff I mean), and sassy teenagers.
4) Conceptually, you would say you are OK with breaking up the main plot of a narrative with an extended, second-person interlude about events that are only tangentially related to the main plot, but kind of help to bring home the whole insanity of the stuff mentioned above to a more basic, human level.
5) True or false: you are still reading this.
If you answered "True", "Hell yes!", or just did a sort of general nodding along to the above as a goofy grin spread over your face, then there is a good chance your brain will be on fire reading this. I loved it. I think I'm about a 4.9.
1) True or false: you are open to the idea of genre fiction.
2) True or false: you believe DIE HARD to be one of the most sublime pieces of entertainment created by human hands.
3) On a scale of 1 to 10, you believe DIE HARD, as sublime as it is, could be improved by the addition of things like samurai swords, killer robots, borderline superheroes, magically-enhanced assassins, creepy oracles lying in vats of that opaque blue milk-like liquid (you know the stuff I mean), and sassy teenagers.
4) Conceptually, you would say you are OK with breaking up the main plot of a narrative with an extended, second-person interlude about events that are only tangentially related to the main plot, but kind of help to bring home the whole insanity of the stuff mentioned above to a more basic, human level.
5) True or false: you are still reading this.
If you answered "True", "Hell yes!", or just did a sort of general nodding along to the above as a goofy grin spread over your face, then there is a good chance your brain will be on fire reading this. I loved it. I think I'm about a 4.9.
March 19, 2023
2.5 stars. I am not sure how to review this book, because I have very mixed feelings. I loved the premise. A secret underground organization that battles the forces of darkness in the world using oracles and bad-ass female assassins with mystical powers, is being attacked by an unknown enemy. I am on board with that.
However.
The writing style is just not good. I hate to say that because I really wanted to like this book, but I just couldn't get past the narrative voice. The female characters, even those who are awesome and scary and powerful, are still parodies of teenage girl voices - almost to the point of being offensive - and they are ultimately still just puppets being manipulated and controlled by the two male characters in the novel. Stylistically, my main objection was to paragraphs that read like this: "Then suddenly, a thing happened. Well, it didn't actually HAPPEN, but it seemed like it happened. In her perception, it definitely seemed to have happened. It took her a minute to realize that the thing she is sure happened in fact didn't actually happen. Something else happened while she was perceiving the thing she thought happened. What actually happened while she was perceiving incorrectly that this particular thing happened was...." GAH. That type of narration made me crazy and it happened CONSTANTLY. I feel like this book could have easily been half as long if all of that annoying nonsense had been properly edited out. It distracted me from the plot, which I might have really enjoyed otherwise. In my opinion, that's just poor writing.
My other complaint about this book was that it ultimately told a not-very-interesting story with it's toolbox of very interesting premise and characters. It's just a story about an organization with power being corrupted, then the people inside that organization who suddenly become personally affected by the corruption take issue with it and decide to destroy the whole organization. And both sides recruit some other people to do the dirty work of fighting the battle. And then those people are destroyed and angry and vengeful. Etc. etc. etc. I wanted to know more about the back story of what the Regional Office actually was. What the hell actually happened to Oyemi that gave her powers? What could she do with those powers? What specific threat was she aware of that made her want to start the regional office? What kind of missions did the various operatives go on? All of those fascinating potential treasure troves of plot are unexplored. Beyond Sarah and Rose we get no detailed information about the operatives themselves. Emma, who is a pretty important figure in the main action of the plot, we know nothing about except that Henry fell in love with her. Oyemi just sort of disappears until a very abrupt afterthought at the end of the book. I feel like this book needed a different focus, more depth to the female characters' voices and a lot of editing out of all the redundant phrasing. The "paper" analyzing the rise and fall of the Regional Office was actually the most interesting part of the book, and I would have liked the details alluded to there to be more of what the book was about. The ending did not feel like it resolved the plot. And if I never heard the phrase "mechanical arm" again, that would be excellent.
However.
The writing style is just not good. I hate to say that because I really wanted to like this book, but I just couldn't get past the narrative voice. The female characters, even those who are awesome and scary and powerful, are still parodies of teenage girl voices - almost to the point of being offensive - and they are ultimately still just puppets being manipulated and controlled by the two male characters in the novel. Stylistically, my main objection was to paragraphs that read like this: "Then suddenly, a thing happened. Well, it didn't actually HAPPEN, but it seemed like it happened. In her perception, it definitely seemed to have happened. It took her a minute to realize that the thing she is sure happened in fact didn't actually happen. Something else happened while she was perceiving the thing she thought happened. What actually happened while she was perceiving incorrectly that this particular thing happened was...." GAH. That type of narration made me crazy and it happened CONSTANTLY. I feel like this book could have easily been half as long if all of that annoying nonsense had been properly edited out. It distracted me from the plot, which I might have really enjoyed otherwise. In my opinion, that's just poor writing.
My other complaint about this book was that it ultimately told a not-very-interesting story with it's toolbox of very interesting premise and characters. It's just a story about an organization with power being corrupted, then the people inside that organization who suddenly become personally affected by the corruption take issue with it and decide to destroy the whole organization. And both sides recruit some other people to do the dirty work of fighting the battle. And then those people are destroyed and angry and vengeful. Etc. etc. etc. I wanted to know more about the back story of what the Regional Office actually was. What the hell actually happened to Oyemi that gave her powers? What could she do with those powers? What specific threat was she aware of that made her want to start the regional office? What kind of missions did the various operatives go on? All of those fascinating potential treasure troves of plot are unexplored. Beyond Sarah and Rose we get no detailed information about the operatives themselves. Emma, who is a pretty important figure in the main action of the plot, we know nothing about except that Henry fell in love with her. Oyemi just sort of disappears until a very abrupt afterthought at the end of the book. I feel like this book needed a different focus, more depth to the female characters' voices and a lot of editing out of all the redundant phrasing. The "paper" analyzing the rise and fall of the Regional Office was actually the most interesting part of the book, and I would have liked the details alluded to there to be more of what the book was about. The ending did not feel like it resolved the plot. And if I never heard the phrase "mechanical arm" again, that would be excellent.
June 19, 2017
I absolutely adored the beginning of this book - I think I spent the first 100 pages with a huge grin on my face. I just totally loved the language, the vibe, the world created, and the characters at the centre of the story. But while I think it was a brilliant book, the ending did kind of fizzle out - although I reckon that was on purpose.
The book chronicles the rise and fall of the Regional Office - a private institution created to protect the world from all sorts of dangers - while focussing on two women on opposing sides of the conflict. Rose is leading the charge on the Regional Office, while Sarah (and her mechanical arm) are trying to protect it.
One of the biggest strength were the two main characters. I had an absolute blast spending time in Rose's head - she is 17 and obnoxious and funny and so in over her head. She thinks she has it all figured out, when really she so doesn't. I love the run-on sentences Manuel Gonzales uses to show what her thought processes are like and her voice is hilarious. Sarah is a bit more difficult to like - her colleagues all hate or fear her, but she grew on me. The excessive use of the term "mechanical arm" made me crack up and made that thing feel like a character in its own right.
Both Rose and Sarah were great and different from each other and then not so different at all.
I adored the style Manuel Gonzales chose to tell this story, with asides and non-sequitors and sentences that go nowhere. While the story was maybe a bit weak and a little superficial, the language was enough to keep me glued to the page. I would not have minded had the book been longer and some of the backstory extended - you cannot tell me about the existence of transdimensional monsters and then never talk about them again! I want to see them! - but I still found this to be a great book to spend time with.
____
I received an arc of this book curtesy of NetGalley and Ebury Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for that!
The book chronicles the rise and fall of the Regional Office - a private institution created to protect the world from all sorts of dangers - while focussing on two women on opposing sides of the conflict. Rose is leading the charge on the Regional Office, while Sarah (and her mechanical arm) are trying to protect it.
One of the biggest strength were the two main characters. I had an absolute blast spending time in Rose's head - she is 17 and obnoxious and funny and so in over her head. She thinks she has it all figured out, when really she so doesn't. I love the run-on sentences Manuel Gonzales uses to show what her thought processes are like and her voice is hilarious. Sarah is a bit more difficult to like - her colleagues all hate or fear her, but she grew on me. The excessive use of the term "mechanical arm" made me crack up and made that thing feel like a character in its own right.
Both Rose and Sarah were great and different from each other and then not so different at all.
I adored the style Manuel Gonzales chose to tell this story, with asides and non-sequitors and sentences that go nowhere. While the story was maybe a bit weak and a little superficial, the language was enough to keep me glued to the page. I would not have minded had the book been longer and some of the backstory extended - you cannot tell me about the existence of transdimensional monsters and then never talk about them again! I want to see them! - but I still found this to be a great book to spend time with.
____
I received an arc of this book curtesy of NetGalley and Ebury Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for that!
November 19, 2015
I loved reading this book.
And then the literary whiplash hits you as the real world returns.
It's so good while you're reading, and moves you along at breakneck speed with so many "yippee ki yay motherf*cker" moments that you can't help but love it. Then you turn the final page and close the book a little befuddled: "Um, what just happened?"
So, go along for the ride. Give it five stars during the experience. Then come down from the adrenaline high.
And then the literary whiplash hits you as the real world returns.
It's so good while you're reading, and moves you along at breakneck speed with so many "yippee ki yay motherf*cker" moments that you can't help but love it. Then you turn the final page and close the book a little befuddled: "Um, what just happened?"
So, go along for the ride. Give it five stars during the experience. Then come down from the adrenaline high.
May 7, 2016
Um, where to begin? Wtf happened? On the surface this book has all the trappings of a book I'm going to love. Secret societies? Check. Mysterious bad guys? Check. Superpowers? Robots? Ninja swords? Oracles? Check, check, check and check!
So why on earth am I so unsatisfied and annoyed? Oh because of that whole all style no substance thing. And why keep going after the attack? It's just muddy. The book is fun and enjoyable, yes I will give it that. But I am left with way too many whys and hows that I walk away with who cares.
Also, I never knew who to root for. Everyone was a cartoon, and their motivation questionable. Robot battles in a yarn store aren't enough for me to recommend it to you.
So why on earth am I so unsatisfied and annoyed? Oh because of that whole all style no substance thing. And why keep going after the attack? It's just muddy. The book is fun and enjoyable, yes I will give it that. But I am left with way too many whys and hows that I walk away with who cares.
Also, I never knew who to root for. Everyone was a cartoon, and their motivation questionable. Robot battles in a yarn store aren't enough for me to recommend it to you.
August 20, 2016
This is an interesting book with a fun setup but stumbles fairly seriously at some points.
The Regional Office is an organization which finds, trains and employs young women with mystical super powers to right wrongs via secret missions. It's located in Manhattan, deep under its front, a travel agency for the mega-rich. The Regional Office is the creation of the mysterious and mystical Oyemi and her right-hand man/butler Mr Niles. (Yes, there's a reason that sounds like Giles; the Buffy references come thick and fast). This pair have recruited/created Oracles who help find the Operatives that the group employs and there are also numerous employees that run the office and its front, some of whom know about the secret organization and some who don't.
And now, the Regional Office is Under Attack by about the only force that could successfully attack them: a group of disgruntled employees.
The story is told from two main viewpoints. Rose, a young Operative who is also a devotee of the guy organizing the attack and Sarah, an employee of Mr Niles, who has her own mysterious history with the organization as well as a robotic arm. The story interleaves between Rose and Sarah during the present day of the attack and various time periods in their pasts giving background to their characters and motivations. There's also excerpts of an historical document chronicling the history of the Regional Office written some time after the attack. There's also a section of the book that's set well after the attack.
Unfortunately, to discuss my problems with the book, I need to get into some spoilers, some of which are fairly major plot points in the book. Just in case you don't want the spoilers I'll give you the short version here: the characterization of Rose and Sarah really suffer because they both lack agency and are being manipulated heavily at every turn by men in their lives, and in general the characterization of women in this book is horrible and in two separate cases, literally dehumanizing.
Overall, I enjoyed the setup and the writing was pretty good, but the things in the spoilers just overwhelmed my appreciation in the end.
The Regional Office is an organization which finds, trains and employs young women with mystical super powers to right wrongs via secret missions. It's located in Manhattan, deep under its front, a travel agency for the mega-rich. The Regional Office is the creation of the mysterious and mystical Oyemi and her right-hand man/butler Mr Niles. (Yes, there's a reason that sounds like Giles; the Buffy references come thick and fast). This pair have recruited/created Oracles who help find the Operatives that the group employs and there are also numerous employees that run the office and its front, some of whom know about the secret organization and some who don't.
And now, the Regional Office is Under Attack by about the only force that could successfully attack them: a group of disgruntled employees.
The story is told from two main viewpoints. Rose, a young Operative who is also a devotee of the guy organizing the attack and Sarah, an employee of Mr Niles, who has her own mysterious history with the organization as well as a robotic arm. The story interleaves between Rose and Sarah during the present day of the attack and various time periods in their pasts giving background to their characters and motivations. There's also excerpts of an historical document chronicling the history of the Regional Office written some time after the attack. There's also a section of the book that's set well after the attack.
Unfortunately, to discuss my problems with the book, I need to get into some spoilers, some of which are fairly major plot points in the book. Just in case you don't want the spoilers I'll give you the short version here: the characterization of Rose and Sarah really suffer because they both lack agency and are being manipulated heavily at every turn by men in their lives, and in general the characterization of women in this book is horrible and in two separate cases, literally dehumanizing.
Overall, I enjoyed the setup and the writing was pretty good, but the things in the spoilers just overwhelmed my appreciation in the end.
July 24, 2017
I absolutely hated reading this book. From the very beginning I had a hard time trying to get into it. There are multiple POVs, which is never a problem for me unless the writing doesn't agree with me. The writing did NOT agree with me. Not at all. My eyes developed a strong aversion to said writing: the cursing, the sarcasm, the jumping around to different places/characters/times with no apparent reason. More than a few times I felt like the author was trying much muuuch too hard to be clever and cute. Just, no.
I can't recall how many times I sighed and rolled my eyes while reading this book but suffice it to say it was a looooot. It seemed like something written by a high school student who consumes too much caffeine on a daily basis. I'm unashamed to say that I didn't finish this book; I refuse to waste any more time on it. There are plenty of books better suited to me that are waiting for me to read them.
I can't recall how many times I sighed and rolled my eyes while reading this book but suffice it to say it was a looooot. It seemed like something written by a high school student who consumes too much caffeine on a daily basis. I'm unashamed to say that I didn't finish this book; I refuse to waste any more time on it. There are plenty of books better suited to me that are waiting for me to read them.
June 15, 2016
3.25 stars.
I wanted to like this book more than I ended up liking it.
I sometimes use comparisons in my reviews even though I am in general against the practice; sometimes it's just easier to compare one book or author to another. the opening chapters reminded me of something by Ernest cline. it bore the cheeky humour and pop culture references that can be found in his works.
however reading further I was more in mind of a cline-Lite as IMO the story kind of fizzled after a promising set up.
the author alternates perspective every other chapter or so giving multiple povs, which would have been more interesting if I felt invested in the characters. and therein lies my main issue despite a lot of backstory there was no one I really connected with or cared about. there was some cool aspects to the story but the sum didn't add up greater than their parts. in fact this novel seemed to consist of parts with no sum.sarah could have been a kick add heroine but seemed a little blah to me.
anyhow it's better than an average read but by no means a great read if you ask me, which you didn't but I'm telling ya anyhow lol.
I wanted to like this book more than I ended up liking it.
I sometimes use comparisons in my reviews even though I am in general against the practice; sometimes it's just easier to compare one book or author to another. the opening chapters reminded me of something by Ernest cline. it bore the cheeky humour and pop culture references that can be found in his works.
however reading further I was more in mind of a cline-Lite as IMO the story kind of fizzled after a promising set up.
the author alternates perspective every other chapter or so giving multiple povs, which would have been more interesting if I felt invested in the characters. and therein lies my main issue despite a lot of backstory there was no one I really connected with or cared about. there was some cool aspects to the story but the sum didn't add up greater than their parts. in fact this novel seemed to consist of parts with no sum.sarah could have been a kick add heroine but seemed a little blah to me.
anyhow it's better than an average read but by no means a great read if you ask me, which you didn't but I'm telling ya anyhow lol.
August 2, 2016
There was a lot going on in this novel. The lightheartedness of the prose, dialogue and premise seemed like they would be fun, and they were for a while. But eventually, I just grew tired of the plot that wasn't fleshed-out, the boring characters and the dragging conflict.
So, our main concept is that the Regional Office, a secret organization dedicated to fighting supernatural forces of evil, is under attack. If you can suspend much disbelief (and I can), you will love the premise. It is fun, and lighthearted, and unique.
But the novel immediately encounters problems by attempting to bring in chapters that aren't connected to the plot at all, and shifts the conflict away from this excellent idea, and into... what? I don't really even know what the main plot was after Gonzales turned away from the Regional Office attack. The plot became convoluted and I really wondered not only what was happening, but why it was happening. What was the point, at the end?
The narrative voice was fun for a little bit, but then became annoying. Rose's "teenage-girl voice", the weird way of describing things, etc. just got old quickly. I did like the academic paper detailing the background of the Regional Office, but other than that, the writing style grew old quickly.
And don't get me started on the characters? Sarah and Rose were fine, because we learned some of their back history, but other characters just seemed to be dropped in randomly, and others disappeared just as randomly.
Ultimately, it was just too cool of an idea, and I felt Gonzales really dropped the ball on the execution.
So, our main concept is that the Regional Office, a secret organization dedicated to fighting supernatural forces of evil, is under attack. If you can suspend much disbelief (and I can), you will love the premise. It is fun, and lighthearted, and unique.
But the novel immediately encounters problems by attempting to bring in chapters that aren't connected to the plot at all, and shifts the conflict away from this excellent idea, and into... what? I don't really even know what the main plot was after Gonzales turned away from the Regional Office attack. The plot became convoluted and I really wondered not only what was happening, but why it was happening. What was the point, at the end?
The narrative voice was fun for a little bit, but then became annoying. Rose's "teenage-girl voice", the weird way of describing things, etc. just got old quickly. I did like the academic paper detailing the background of the Regional Office, but other than that, the writing style grew old quickly.
And don't get me started on the characters? Sarah and Rose were fine, because we learned some of their back history, but other characters just seemed to be dropped in randomly, and others disappeared just as randomly.
Ultimately, it was just too cool of an idea, and I felt Gonzales really dropped the ball on the execution.
May 12, 2016
Gonzales explodes the narrative and reassembles the shards into a time jumping story that switches from the expletive laden thoughts of a female operative to the dry conjecture of a research paper. It’s a pop culture laden romp through the last days of a superhero initiative with nods to Die Hard, Minority Report, Karate Kid with a healthy dose of the X-Men, Morning Glories or the Umbrella Academy.
Given Gonzales’ literary history it gets the literary fiction label with a side of genre instead of being placed firmly in YA where it could comfortably sit - less the grisly and funny interlude focused on the office drones that splits the book. And while I loved the action beats throughout I thought Daniel O’Malley’s The Rook was the better version of this book.
Given Gonzales’ literary history it gets the literary fiction label with a side of genre instead of being placed firmly in YA where it could comfortably sit - less the grisly and funny interlude focused on the office drones that splits the book. And while I loved the action beats throughout I thought Daniel O’Malley’s The Rook was the better version of this book.
November 26, 2016
A joy to read. Wonderful word play, shifting narrators, double crosses of double crosses, darkness, hope, humor, dread. A wild ride. I loved it.
June 20, 2016
So, this book promised to be one thing (that I was really excited about!) and turned out to be another - which I was much less excited about.
I really was SO excited about this book. The description promised madcap, possibly bordering on the edge of silly but definitely funny - adventures, with a dash of paranormal. Instead, we get a tale of revenge, which we do not understand the reasons for (for most of the book, and even then...) with a dash of chuckle-worthy moments and a SHIT TON OF FLASHBACKS. Like, there were flashbacks within flashbacks, no joke. And basically nothing but allusions to the paranormal.
After one particularly flashback-ridden part of the book, I almost cried with anguish when we actually had to read an *interlude* right there in the middle, with characters we had never met nor ever came to care about. I honestly almost put the book down and didn't go back. I survived the interlude, barely.
Needless to say, by about the midway point I was no longer looking forward to picking this book up anymore, but I finished it anyway.
It was a bit overwrought, a little too clever by half and just not as much fun as I was expecting.
I really was SO excited about this book. The description promised madcap, possibly bordering on the edge of silly but definitely funny - adventures, with a dash of paranormal. Instead, we get a tale of revenge, which we do not understand the reasons for (for most of the book, and even then...) with a dash of chuckle-worthy moments and a SHIT TON OF FLASHBACKS. Like, there were flashbacks within flashbacks, no joke. And basically nothing but allusions to the paranormal.
After one particularly flashback-ridden part of the book, I almost cried with anguish when we actually had to read an *interlude* right there in the middle, with characters we had never met nor ever came to care about. I honestly almost put the book down and didn't go back. I survived the interlude, barely.
Needless to say, by about the midway point I was no longer looking forward to picking this book up anymore, but I finished it anyway.
It was a bit overwrought, a little too clever by half and just not as much fun as I was expecting.
March 28, 2016
4.5 out of 5.
For sheer inventiveness, the book gets full marks - it's only for the sense of there being a lot of the world left on a cutting room floor somewhere that things drop down a half-step. It's an adrenaline blast of crazy adventure and Manuel Gonzales appears to be interested in creating that purest of pleasures: something that's just damn fun. His imagination sparks throughout and my great hope is that he comes back to the Regional Office someday - because the world needs more teams of ass-kicking female assassins, magical artifacts, and old-fashioned front organizations hiding old-school secret teams of save-the-planet types. But regardless, that inventiveness coupled with his delightful prose and dexterous craftsmanship results in a novel that earns the exclamation point in its title. Read it!
More at RB: http://ragingbiblioholism.com/2016/03...
For sheer inventiveness, the book gets full marks - it's only for the sense of there being a lot of the world left on a cutting room floor somewhere that things drop down a half-step. It's an adrenaline blast of crazy adventure and Manuel Gonzales appears to be interested in creating that purest of pleasures: something that's just damn fun. His imagination sparks throughout and my great hope is that he comes back to the Regional Office someday - because the world needs more teams of ass-kicking female assassins, magical artifacts, and old-fashioned front organizations hiding old-school secret teams of save-the-planet types. But regardless, that inventiveness coupled with his delightful prose and dexterous craftsmanship results in a novel that earns the exclamation point in its title. Read it!
More at RB: http://ragingbiblioholism.com/2016/03...
March 14, 2016
Freaking loved it. Die Hard references? Kick-ass women? What's not to love?
November 19, 2017
The writing and the action scenes were great. I wish I was more invested in the characters, but nonetheless I enjoyed this book.
May 28, 2016
The Regional Office and its superpowered female assassins protect the world from the forces of darkness and annihilation. Oyemi and her oracles find new recruits and uncover evil plots. Then, a prophecy suggests that someone from within the Regional Office will bring about its downfall - and before you know it the Regional Office is under attack! Rose, the leader of the attack, was recruited from a defector on the inside and she is eager to strengthen her powers and prove herself. Sarah, defending the Regional Office, may actually have a mechanical arm and is devoted to the organization that took her in after her mother's disappearance. On the day of the attack, Rose and Sarah will collide and the world just might end.
The Regional Office is Under Attack! by Manuel Gonzales is a whole lot of fun and just plain awesome! It's incredibly imaginative with the right amount of crazy and a healthy dose of humor. Plus, it packs quite an adrenaline rush. If you're a fan of The Intern's Handbook by Shane Kuhn, Die Hard, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and The Avengers, especially Black Widow, you will love this fantastic new novel. Seriously, just read it already - you won't be disappointed!
The Regional Office is Under Attack! by Manuel Gonzales is a whole lot of fun and just plain awesome! It's incredibly imaginative with the right amount of crazy and a healthy dose of humor. Plus, it packs quite an adrenaline rush. If you're a fan of The Intern's Handbook by Shane Kuhn, Die Hard, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and The Avengers, especially Black Widow, you will love this fantastic new novel. Seriously, just read it already - you won't be disappointed!
June 2, 2016
I loved this! It was a smart, pop-culture filled frolic full of badass superpowered women. I can completely understand why some reviewers couldn't gel with Gonzales's writing style, but it just clicked for me. I never felt like he came across as smarmy or seemed to be trying too hard, I just thought he was razor sharp and hilarious.
If you like Marvel and suspending your belief, then give this a go. It isn't perfect, but the high you feel while reading it almost makes it feel like it is.
If you like Marvel and suspending your belief, then give this a go. It isn't perfect, but the high you feel while reading it almost makes it feel like it is.
April 12, 2016
4.5
(Review first appeared at http://www.thenewdorkreviewofbooks.co...)
If you're like me, and fun is one of the main reasons you read, then stay tuned. Because I haven't had more fun with a book in a long, long time than I did with Manuel Gonzalez's crazy, goofy, hilarious, utterly original novel The Regional Office Is Under Attack!, out today.
What it's about: A mysterious organization called the Regional Office, housed in a secret location several stories below a Manhattan travel agency, uses a cadre of highly skilled young women warriors and assassins to protect the world from all that is dark and evil, including time traveling aliens and terrorist cartels. Founded by the mysterious possibly insane Oyemi, whose origin story includes becoming radioactive at a young age, and Mr. Niles, who has always loved her, the Regional Office may not, however, be all it seems. One of our two protagonists, the young and beautiful, but mercurial Sarah, is a Regional Office lifer, vowing to defend it to the death. Also, she has a mechanical arm, which allows her to kick more than the usual amount of ass.
Rose, a mere 17 years old, is our second protagonist and represents the opposition — the attackers of the Regional Office. She's already a graduate of Assassin School and is like a more foul-mouthed, smoking-and-boozing version of Katniss from The Hunger Games. But why is Rose attacking the Regional Office, and what is her organization of highly trained graduates of Assassin School all about?
As we learn more about the backgrounds of these characters, we begin to see a more full picture of everyone's motivations, and why they're making the decisions they are. We also learn about a mysterious man named Henry, who recruits Rose at the beginning of the novel and may or may not be playing both sides. But what is his motivation? Revenge? Love? If there's a "serious" theme at all to this novel, it's about how tough it is to make decisions without complete information, and the dire consequences of doing so.
But, really, this novel's more about fun. There's almost a comic book feel to it. And there are a million pop culture references, including several nods to Die Hard, which all the characters think they might be in at one point. It's not sci-fi, exactly, nor is it a thriller. This novel is really its own thing — I've never read anything quite like this. And I thoroughly enjoyed it. Just so much fun.
(Review first appeared at http://www.thenewdorkreviewofbooks.co...)
If you're like me, and fun is one of the main reasons you read, then stay tuned. Because I haven't had more fun with a book in a long, long time than I did with Manuel Gonzalez's crazy, goofy, hilarious, utterly original novel The Regional Office Is Under Attack!, out today.
What it's about: A mysterious organization called the Regional Office, housed in a secret location several stories below a Manhattan travel agency, uses a cadre of highly skilled young women warriors and assassins to protect the world from all that is dark and evil, including time traveling aliens and terrorist cartels. Founded by the mysterious possibly insane Oyemi, whose origin story includes becoming radioactive at a young age, and Mr. Niles, who has always loved her, the Regional Office may not, however, be all it seems. One of our two protagonists, the young and beautiful, but mercurial Sarah, is a Regional Office lifer, vowing to defend it to the death. Also, she has a mechanical arm, which allows her to kick more than the usual amount of ass.
Rose, a mere 17 years old, is our second protagonist and represents the opposition — the attackers of the Regional Office. She's already a graduate of Assassin School and is like a more foul-mouthed, smoking-and-boozing version of Katniss from The Hunger Games. But why is Rose attacking the Regional Office, and what is her organization of highly trained graduates of Assassin School all about?
As we learn more about the backgrounds of these characters, we begin to see a more full picture of everyone's motivations, and why they're making the decisions they are. We also learn about a mysterious man named Henry, who recruits Rose at the beginning of the novel and may or may not be playing both sides. But what is his motivation? Revenge? Love? If there's a "serious" theme at all to this novel, it's about how tough it is to make decisions without complete information, and the dire consequences of doing so.
But, really, this novel's more about fun. There's almost a comic book feel to it. And there are a million pop culture references, including several nods to Die Hard, which all the characters think they might be in at one point. It's not sci-fi, exactly, nor is it a thriller. This novel is really its own thing — I've never read anything quite like this. And I thoroughly enjoyed it. Just so much fun.
June 27, 2016
I read most books long before publication, so other people's reviews or recommendations rarely matter to me. But sometimes a book will build and build and I'll hear enough about it that I'll finally crack and have to read it. THE REGIONAL OFFICE IS UNDER ATTACK! is that kind of book.
Luckily I started this book with no idea what it was about. (Yes, my friends are excellent non-spoiler types.) I recommend you do the same. Don't read the jacket. Don't read the summary. Don't read the reviews.
What I will tell you that may be useful in deciding if this book is for you is that it is bonkers. It is totally bonkers in a really delightful way. There are sci-fi and supernatural elements and multiple narrators (some of whom are not actually characters at all). It is fun to read, the flashes across time and across narrators work shockingly well. The ending is not tied up in a bow, but then again that is my personal preference.
The closest readalike I can get to this book is THE LIBRARY OF MOUNT CHAR, which was a book I heard so much about last year that I finally caved and read it much the same way I did with this one. That book is also best described as "bonkers" and while the books aren't similar on their face, they both have a degree of mischief and unusual storytelling that you rarely find. They are both books that are constantly surprising to read. LIBRARY is definitely darker and more stoic, REGIONAL OFFICE is a light more breezy even though the stakes are still high.
Basically this is the kind of book that you read and immediately tell everyone else to read, too. Which is an incredibly high compliment. Great readability for planes, beaches, or road trips (I listened to about half of the book in one long stretch in the car).
Luckily I started this book with no idea what it was about. (Yes, my friends are excellent non-spoiler types.) I recommend you do the same. Don't read the jacket. Don't read the summary. Don't read the reviews.
What I will tell you that may be useful in deciding if this book is for you is that it is bonkers. It is totally bonkers in a really delightful way. There are sci-fi and supernatural elements and multiple narrators (some of whom are not actually characters at all). It is fun to read, the flashes across time and across narrators work shockingly well. The ending is not tied up in a bow, but then again that is my personal preference.
The closest readalike I can get to this book is THE LIBRARY OF MOUNT CHAR, which was a book I heard so much about last year that I finally caved and read it much the same way I did with this one. That book is also best described as "bonkers" and while the books aren't similar on their face, they both have a degree of mischief and unusual storytelling that you rarely find. They are both books that are constantly surprising to read. LIBRARY is definitely darker and more stoic, REGIONAL OFFICE is a light more breezy even though the stakes are still high.
Basically this is the kind of book that you read and immediately tell everyone else to read, too. Which is an incredibly high compliment. Great readability for planes, beaches, or road trips (I listened to about half of the book in one long stretch in the car).
June 21, 2016
The premise of The Regional Office is Under Attack! is very exciting: a secret underground organization of badass warrior women who save the world, is under attack. It’s Die Hard with cyborgs and angsty teenager girls, with Oracles in turtle bathtubs and orange macbooks; what’s not to like? Or so I thought.
It starts out well enough; one of the assassins, Rose, is counting down the minutes until she can give the infiltration signal, before she can descend the mile underground to the Regional Office under stealth, before things go wrong.
But soon enough, the story gets lost in the spiraling backstories of characters I can’t find myself liking and the confusing narration, and it loses that initial spark.
The story follows two main characters: Sarah, the Director’s right hand, who has a mechanical arm and a broken past; and Rose, the newest and youngest recruit, but who is also rash and angry and doesn’t quite fit in.
Alongside them are a handful of other secondary character that are perhaps more important to the plot than the two main protagonists are: Henry, the Recruiter on whom Rose has a crush, and who is perhaps behind this attack; and Mr. Niles, who, along with Oyemi, created the Regional Office and broke Sarah’s life. The men are the ones pulling the strings, despite the womens’ best efforts.
The story is told in sections based on each of the female characters, with chapters flip flopping between the past and present; in between these character sections are dissertation accounts on the Regional Office and it’s history and what could have happened to it. Much of it is speculation, but it does add backstory to the Regional Office and offers an outsider viewpoint on what happened.
Basically, this story is weird. I appreciate the tongue in cheek narrative about heroes and hero plots, but I had a really hard time getting through this. I didn’t particularly care for any of the characters, and had a hard time getting past the writing style (there’s a lot of “I could have done this, then I would’ve done this, and watch this… except I didn’t do any of it”) and a lot of it is left up to the reader’s interpretation of events.
I thought the premise was cool, but didn’t enjoy this nearly as much as I wanted to.
It starts out well enough; one of the assassins, Rose, is counting down the minutes until she can give the infiltration signal, before she can descend the mile underground to the Regional Office under stealth, before things go wrong.
But soon enough, the story gets lost in the spiraling backstories of characters I can’t find myself liking and the confusing narration, and it loses that initial spark.
The story follows two main characters: Sarah, the Director’s right hand, who has a mechanical arm and a broken past; and Rose, the newest and youngest recruit, but who is also rash and angry and doesn’t quite fit in.
Alongside them are a handful of other secondary character that are perhaps more important to the plot than the two main protagonists are: Henry, the Recruiter on whom Rose has a crush, and who is perhaps behind this attack; and Mr. Niles, who, along with Oyemi, created the Regional Office and broke Sarah’s life. The men are the ones pulling the strings, despite the womens’ best efforts.
The story is told in sections based on each of the female characters, with chapters flip flopping between the past and present; in between these character sections are dissertation accounts on the Regional Office and it’s history and what could have happened to it. Much of it is speculation, but it does add backstory to the Regional Office and offers an outsider viewpoint on what happened.
Basically, this story is weird. I appreciate the tongue in cheek narrative about heroes and hero plots, but I had a really hard time getting through this. I didn’t particularly care for any of the characters, and had a hard time getting past the writing style (there’s a lot of “I could have done this, then I would’ve done this, and watch this… except I didn’t do any of it”) and a lot of it is left up to the reader’s interpretation of events.
I thought the premise was cool, but didn’t enjoy this nearly as much as I wanted to.
May 17, 2016
This books thinks it's much more clever and charming than it actually is. Not much actually happens but it goes on forever in this smarmy, whimsical-without-being-interesting narrative. The plot sounded SO fun, but it was tedious, long winded, and an absolute chore to get through. It glazes over all the truly interesting plot points and character moments and instead focuses on mundane story filler. Even the action scenes seem slow. I almost didn't finish. Also, there is no pay off whatsoever by finishing. You think there will be. There won't. That's when you will throw the book across the room and wish for all the time You spent reading back.
May 24, 2016
One of the fastest, most fun books I have ever read! The Regional Office accomplishes being completely cinematic while still thoughtful about characters and the development of their relationships. The pace is swift and smart. If this book was a roller coaster ride, it would be Space Mountain. It's dark and cool, and man did I enjoy it.
(Total disclaimer: I did cry during a certain chapter *no spoilers* because Gonzales wrote in a totally riveting, heartbreaking scene that I wasn't expecting and it caught me by the throat. I loved it!)
(Total disclaimer: I did cry during a certain chapter *no spoilers* because Gonzales wrote in a totally riveting, heartbreaking scene that I wasn't expecting and it caught me by the throat. I loved it!)
December 1, 2015
I have so many feelings right now I don't even know where to begin. This story is told incredibly well for people who like this type of story. And I liked a heckuva a lot of this story! It was adventurous and quirky and meandering and violent and unpredicatble, but ultimately, in the end, I was left feeling unsatisfied. I wanted more and I wanted closure and it wouldn't have hurt to have one likable character.
June 3, 2017
A highly entertaining satire of the superhero genre. Did it have deeper themes? Would be hard pressed to point to one, but it was well written with characters more interesting than average. I suppose I might say that the book revolves around how putting the ends before the means ends up leading to the destruction of your good intentions and corrupts your values. But beyond that, I will say this is a fast, fun-filled fantasy romp. I chomped it down in a few days.
August 15, 2016
I was crazy about his last story collection, so I was pumped about his new novel. It had an off-the-wall premise, which showed much promise. It only partially delivers and never really soared for me. I did like some of it's wry humor and I liked kick-ass Sara, with her cyborg arm. I still give it 3 stars but was hoping for more.
November 13, 2019
I adored this very very strange book.
Read
February 22, 2019DNF at 50%.
From the back cover:
Soooo not that. 😠 The actual attack on the Regional Office comprises less than 20 pages in the first 100. The rest of the book could be interesting but isn’t because of Gonzales’ pacing and writing style. To elaborate I dissect in plain english the reviews posted on the front and back cover:
On my buy, borrow, skip scale: Burn on sight.
I now turn to Kim Possible on DVD for real action packed fun and imminently better storytelling.
And Ron. Ron Stoppable is awesome.
From the back cover:
It saves the world every weekHow could this not be fun in an action packed Kim Possible vs Shego fight for the fate of the world? Let’s Go! 😀
But can the Regional Office save itself!
Leading the assault: Rose, a teenage super assassin with a serious attitude problem.
Standing her way: Sarah, who has a mechanical arm and knows how to work the printers.
Soooo not that. 😠 The actual attack on the Regional Office comprises less than 20 pages in the first 100. The rest of the book could be interesting but isn’t because of Gonzales’ pacing and writing style. To elaborate I dissect in plain english the reviews posted on the front and back cover:
From the Guardian: “Explosively paced…Jaw Dropping… Glorious” by which they mean plodding, repetitive, and otherwise tedious. 😴Gonzales aims I think for a David Wong Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits vibe but widely misses the mark due his exhaustingly vomitous (yes that word again) writing style. To wit:
From the NYT: “Rollicking good fun” but which they mean the vomitous mess left after the Saturday night beer goggles are removed and the hangover sets it. 🤮
Karen Russel: “This is winged creation and absolutely marvelous” by which she means I am obsessed with winged unicorns and pegasi (plural for Pegasus? 🤔) and can’t get them out of my head even though they have nothing to do with this book. 🤪
But now that she’d kissed him, and that he’d kissed her back, it seemed that neither of them knew what to do but to stand awkwardly in her dorm room and talk about anything but what had happened before. He was focused on trying to make her feel special about the fact that that she didn’t have a roommate and that she’d come there late, and she was focused on trying to figure out how to say something to him about that kiss, about the spur-of-the-moment quality of it, about the first-time-ever quality of it, and she was trying to figure how to apologize for having done it but make it clear that she wasn’t exactly sorry that it had happened and she wouldn’t be opposed to a second less spontaneous go-around, and how old was he anyway, and did he make it part of his business to kiss people almost immediately after jumping them and trying to strangle them to death, or was it just her, and sorry to about how she kicked him the ribs those times.But she’s a girl you say. Girls think like this. No. Gonzales writes in this style for every character, every event, every damn paragraph in the book. No good writing contains 5 “ands’ and 7 commas in a single sentence. No good writing contains 5 “ands" in a paragraph. And is Gonzales’ favorite word. Ugh. Periods dude. Learn how to use them.
On my buy, borrow, skip scale: Burn on sight.
I now turn to Kim Possible on DVD for real action packed fun and imminently better storytelling.
And Ron. Ron Stoppable is awesome.
July 10, 2017
On the surface this book has all the trappings of a book I'm going to love. Secret societies? Check. Mysterious bad guys? Check. Superpowers? Robots? Ninja swords? Oracles? Check, check and check! But eventually, I just grew tired of the plot that wasn't fleshed-out, the boring characters and the dragging conflict.
I really was SO excited about this book. The description of madcap adventures, with a dash of paranormal. Instead, we get a tale of revenge, which we do not understand the reasons for, with a dash of chuckle-worthy moments and a SHIT TON OF FLASHBACKS. Like, there were flashbacks within flashbacks, no joke. And basically nothing but allusions to the paranormal. After one particularly flashback-ridden part of the book, I almost cried when we actually had to read an interlude right there in the middle, with characters we had never met nor ever came to care about. I honestly almost put the book down and didn't go back. Needless to say, by about the midway point I was no longer looking forward to picking this book up anymore, but I finished it anyway.
The author alternates perspective every other chapter or so giving multiple povs, which would have been more interesting if I felt invested in the characters. and therein lies my main issue. Despite a lot of backstory there was no one I really connected with or cared about. There was some interesting aspects to the story but the sum didn't add up greater than their parts. But then the novel immediately encounters problems by attempting to bring in chapters that aren't connected to the plot at all, and shifts the conflict away from this excellent idea, and into a convoluted mess. I don't really even know what the main plot was after Gonzales turned away from the Regional Office attack. The plot became very confusing, and I really wondered not only what was happening, but why it was happening. What was the point, at the end?
The narrative voice was fun for about a minute, but then became deadly annoying. I did like the academic paper detailing the background of the Regional Office, but other than that, the writing style grew old quickly.
Ultimately, it was just too cool of an idea, and I felt Gonzales really dropped the ball on the execution. It was just not as much fun as I was expecting. Clever structure. Clever idea. Horrible treatment of women.
3 stars, and barely that. Not really recommended.
Sarah Scott, Natasha Soudek, Susan Hanfield, and Mike Chamberlain are the narrators of this audiobook.
See these reviews for a more in-depth character analysis:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I really was SO excited about this book. The description of madcap adventures, with a dash of paranormal. Instead, we get a tale of revenge, which we do not understand the reasons for, with a dash of chuckle-worthy moments and a SHIT TON OF FLASHBACKS. Like, there were flashbacks within flashbacks, no joke. And basically nothing but allusions to the paranormal. After one particularly flashback-ridden part of the book, I almost cried when we actually had to read an interlude right there in the middle, with characters we had never met nor ever came to care about. I honestly almost put the book down and didn't go back. Needless to say, by about the midway point I was no longer looking forward to picking this book up anymore, but I finished it anyway.
The author alternates perspective every other chapter or so giving multiple povs, which would have been more interesting if I felt invested in the characters. and therein lies my main issue. Despite a lot of backstory there was no one I really connected with or cared about. There was some interesting aspects to the story but the sum didn't add up greater than their parts. But then the novel immediately encounters problems by attempting to bring in chapters that aren't connected to the plot at all, and shifts the conflict away from this excellent idea, and into a convoluted mess. I don't really even know what the main plot was after Gonzales turned away from the Regional Office attack. The plot became very confusing, and I really wondered not only what was happening, but why it was happening. What was the point, at the end?
The narrative voice was fun for about a minute, but then became deadly annoying. I did like the academic paper detailing the background of the Regional Office, but other than that, the writing style grew old quickly.
Ultimately, it was just too cool of an idea, and I felt Gonzales really dropped the ball on the execution. It was just not as much fun as I was expecting. Clever structure. Clever idea. Horrible treatment of women.
3 stars, and barely that. Not really recommended.
Sarah Scott, Natasha Soudek, Susan Hanfield, and Mike Chamberlain are the narrators of this audiobook.
See these reviews for a more in-depth character analysis:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
December 8, 2018
Reviewed for The Bibliophibian.
Hm. I’m not quite sure what to make of this. I found some parts of it quite interesting — like, I’d love to know what the hell is up with Sarah’s arm and then her foot and then, well, that’s spoilers. And I found it quite a fast read, too. But the narration drove me a little nuts: it’s rather stream-of-consciousness, and things keep repeating, or thoughts don’t quite seem to finish. Or you get through a long paragraph and then realise it was all hypotheticals and the character has yet to act at all.
I’d love to know a bit more of the background stuff, really: Oyemi, and what was going on there; why any of these powers and people existed; what’s going on with Sarah, because that was creepy and weird and fascinating. It feels like a mash-up of superhero/sci-fi tropes that doesn’t quite go anywhere, leaving you not even knowing which side to pick. It was fun enough to read, but at the end, I’m left staring a bit blankly, and I don’t think I could really explain why any of it happened. It just… peters out, boom, the end. I don��t get it.
Hm. I’m not quite sure what to make of this. I found some parts of it quite interesting — like, I’d love to know what the hell is up with Sarah’s arm and then her foot and then, well, that’s spoilers. And I found it quite a fast read, too. But the narration drove me a little nuts: it’s rather stream-of-consciousness, and things keep repeating, or thoughts don’t quite seem to finish. Or you get through a long paragraph and then realise it was all hypotheticals and the character has yet to act at all.
I’d love to know a bit more of the background stuff, really: Oyemi, and what was going on there; why any of these powers and people existed; what’s going on with Sarah, because that was creepy and weird and fascinating. It feels like a mash-up of superhero/sci-fi tropes that doesn’t quite go anywhere, leaving you not even knowing which side to pick. It was fun enough to read, but at the end, I’m left staring a bit blankly, and I don’t think I could really explain why any of it happened. It just… peters out, boom, the end. I don��t get it.
September 15, 2016
Very strange, extremely funny, quickly paced, and highly entertaining. I love Manual Gonzales's short stories and his first novel did not disappoint.
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