Company Town by Madeline Ashby
Book Stats:
Reading level: AdultGenre: Science-Fiction, Speculative Fiction
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Tor Books
Release date: May 16th, 2016
Series: Stand-alone
Source: Purchased
Reviewed by: Stéphanie
Order: Amazon | Book Depository
Meet Hwa. One of the few in her community to forego bio-engineered enhancements, she’s the last truly organic person left on the rig. But she’s an expert in the arts of self-defence, and she’s been charged with training the Family’s youngest, who has been receiving death threats – seemingly from another timeline.
Meanwhile, a series of interconnected murders threatens the city’s stability – serial killer? Or something much, much worse...?
I loved this book. I say this quite often, but this time I really
mean it. It's brilliant, intelligent and deals with very relevant and
current themes. And to see this come out of Canada is amazing. We have
some great authors here in Canada, and I'm really happy to have
discovered this author through Canada Reads.
For those of you who aren't aware, Canada Reads is a battle between
five books from March 27-30, 2017. Five Canadian celebrities defend a
Canadian new release and there can only be one winner. I really hope
Tamara Taylor (actress on Bones) defends Madeline Ashby's book for the win. Company Town really deserves it.
The
novel is set in the near future, on the eastern coast of Canada, where a
group of oil rigs have been transformed into a floating city in the
Atlantic ocean. Bioengineered genetic enhancements are the norm in this
future and very few people have no enhancements. One of those people is
Hwa, a high school drop out, working as body guard for sex workers on
the rig. Her lack of enhancements is not by choice but more out of lack
of funds. When Lynch Ltd., the new owner of the city, offers her a new
cushiony job, she's hesitant to leave her post, since so many of the sex
workers are also her friends. But she's perfect for the job of
protecting Lynch's heir, since without enhancements, she can't be hacked
by an outside threat.
I love the way we are introduced into this
new, technologically rich environment. It gives you the impression that
nothing is private, that someone is always monitoring you though
technology. I'll admit, it was very hard to understand the technology at
first, and since the author relies heavily on the technology to tell
her story, you really have to read the first few chapters slowly. The
author assumes the reader knows about the technology, relying on the
reader's intelligence and imagination to extrapolate. It makes you
consider how much we rely on technology, even today. It also makes you
wonder how much more technology we will surround ourselves with in the
future.
Personally, as an optometrist, I rely heavily on
technology to do my job, but I admit, I also love my gadgets like my
smart phone and my smart watch. (On a side note, the protagonist Hwa
suffers from Sturge-Weber Syndrome and one of the possible complications
include glaucoma, an eye disease, so I really appreciated those little
details in the book, especially the artificial intelligence/robotic eye
doctor. However, I highly doubt I'll be replaced by a robot, any time
soon.)
Company Town is a high paced murder mystery that
transforms into a very conspiracy charged novel. Sex workers are the
easy target for murder, and now that Hwa works for the company that owns
the floating city, she takes advantage of her new access to
classified information to investigate the death of her friends. She also
gains the help of her new boss, Daniel SÃofra, who works for the Lynch
family and their business. Together, the unlikely pair form a strange
bond, which makes you wonder if their professional relationship could
ever turn into a personal one.
They seem to care for one another,
but with Hwa's condition comes a large purple "stain" on her face and
insecurity about her physical appearance. Daniel has received so many
bioengineered alterations to his appearance that Hwa considers him to
good for her. Hwa questions everything, from Daniel's implication in the
Lynch business, to Lynch's ultimate goal for the city, to conspiracy
theories about the explosions that killed so many on an oil rig a few
years back. The more Hwa investigates the murders, the more questions
arise.
The futuristic elements, the human connections and the
smart plot makes this book an unforgettable read. I really hope it wins
the Canada Reads competition, but even if it doesn't, I'm glad I
discovered it through its promotion. I'm definitely reading more
Madeline Ashby books in the future. I love her style and the amount of
work she put in creating this futuristic world. I strongly recommend
this book to any fans of the genre.
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