Naperville

Publishers Weekly (April 2013): Set in the year 2169, this inventive novel takes corporatocracy to its logical extreme, but goes askew at the end. Avery has lived within the sealed walls of Naperville for over 30 years, subsisting on fabricated food earned with fun bucks and the occasional powdered beer. Like his coworkers, he was taught that the Outside is a dangerous mix of toxic air and savages and he is content with visiting the WaltMart Real Nature Park in the Recreation Unit. He is the best customer service rep possible in a department the motto of which is to never help customers, but he has exceeded his allotment of two chairs per decade, and Corporate Services refuses to replace his trash-can-strapped-to-roller-blades with a real piece of furniture. A mysteriously well-connected man leaves a new chair in his office, but when it accidentally explodes, it sets off a chain of events that reshapes the country. Avery and his bookish girlfriend — who he assumes he loves, since she is planning their wedding — are sent to separate work sites while construction continues on the Transcontinental Corridor, a self-contained office complex that will stretch coast to coast. The multi-firm structure’s grand opening is imminent, assuming it can withstand sabotage from rivals and accelerating attacks from the Outsiders whose trade routes are threatened. Endearing aliens and political satire make this a fun read, even if the final chapter seems irrelevant. Avery’s evolution and chair quest is clever, but a protagonist with more depth would inspire greater sympathy among readers.