Customer Reviews

The Company Man

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I read the Angel's Luck Trilogy while in college and immediately went on a search for this book. It took seven years of searching, but as soon as I found it, I bought it, read it and loved it. This is the best JCF book I've read to date. Cool action, slick suspense and engaging characters make this book a must!

I read Company Man in my early twenties and have been a major fan of Joe Faust ever since, despite not having been able to find any other novels by him. This was absolutely, in 30 years and hundreds of SF authors of reading, the best book I've ever read of overall SF. One of those sleeper novels that should be a cult classic. Have searched for more by him for years and hope one day he does more.

It's not often that I come across a novel that captures my imagination in the way that "The Company Man" did. Its premise of an irradiated world run by a collection of mega-corporations is both compelling and fascinating in an odd way. I also enjoyed the characters who inhabit this world, from the main character of Andy Birch, a hit man, spy and saboteur for one of the big corporations, to the evil-hearted scientist on the verge of a breakthrough that Andy Birch is sent to spy on, to the gorgeous Brazilian model wife of the scientist who has some secrets of her own. All in all, this was a great tale, and I've read it at least half a dozen times without tiring of it. For me, this is Faust's best work that I've read so far, and I hope to read more from him in the future.

I cried when I read the climax of Faust's "A Death of Honor." That was 10 years ago, and the details of the plot have long faded from memory, but I remember that I devoured the book and marveled at my reaction to the bittersweet ending. Some time ago I picked up "The Company Man," expecting more of the same, but didn't get around to reading it until a few weeks ago. Sadly, I was disappointed. It's not badly written by any stretch, but compared to "ADoH," it's just typical sci-fi PI pulp. I am loathe to stop reading a book once I've started, but this one took some effort to stick with; I was fully two-thirds into the story before I really felt hooked. I hate to knock a guy's work, but overall the book just seemed typical, almost tired. If you're a die-hard JCF completist, go ahead with this; otherwise, I'd be hard-pressed to recommend it.

Jeez...I went to an out-of-print bookstore (after reading Ferman's Devils/Boddekker's Demons) and found it in five minutes. While it was probably worth that much time invested, I don't know about seven years. The Company Man is a fairly enjoyable novel, but hardly a masterwork. A bit too much of the "aha, you may have THOUGHT X character was dead, but..." type plot twists for me. Also, I have to admit, I never really warmed to Birch as a character--I mean, I suppose he sort of redeems himself, but...well. The ending was a bit depressing too--I mean, sure he gets the girl and escapes and everything, but the world is still a horrible corporate nightmare; nothing's even slightly different. Also...why would Astradyne just let an ex-agent who rebelled against them go on his merry way? Isn't it inevitable that he's going to be the target of numerous assassination attempts, until one of them finally succeeds? A bit implausible all around; nonetheless a halfway decent read.