An endorsement from Blake Crouch was all I needed to request this book from netgalley. Imagine a world in the not so distant future where Amazon has become even more all encompassing and you have The Warehouse. Most small businesses have disappeared, driverless trucks and drones are the norm, and job choices are slim. The world is crashing and burning - climate change, minimal government, the lack of clean water, out of control migration. Of course, it’s not just Amazon this book derides. Hart has stolen other elements from our lives - Apple Watch, a government more on the side of corporations than humans (the Worker Responsibility Act will scare you silly).

We hear from alternating narratives from our three main characters. Gibson is the founder of The Cloud. Paxton finds himself working for the Cloud after they forced his small business to fold. Zinnia is there on an undercover espionage mission. I liked that the different narratives provided us with a point/counterpoint to the capitalism vs. worker argument. If 1984 painted a picture against communism, The Warehouse goes after capitalism. In both instances, it’s the individual that gets trampled.

There’s a very dry, subtle sense of humor here. Not just the names of the laws Gibson has enacted, but the commercials. But there’s also a real darkness here, especially as the book progresses.

This book did a great job of keeping me engaged. It’s got a fast pace and quite a few interesting side stories. It actually spooked me. As someone who uses Amazon a lot, I really felt like part of the problem.

My thanks to netgalley and Crown for an advance copy of this book.

Lovers of Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, and Handmaid's Tale should pick this one up. Imagine a world if That One Online Retailer monopolized everything and took over America. Surely that could never happen, right? They'd never buy up the grocery stores or deliver things by drones. No WAY! Oh...wait...

The Warehouse was a great dystopian novel. You discover Cloud, an Amazon-type company that has taken over the world, through three perspectives: a former prison guard who is new to the company and wanting to reinvent himself; a a young woman who spies on large corporations for money; and the CEO of Cloud, who is dying and needs to pick a successor. It’s set in the future when global warming has made much of the planet uninhabitable, making these large Cloud campuses with on site boarding seem pretty appealing, even if that comes at a price. ⁣
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I’m a big fan of dystopian books, stemming from my love of The Giver. If you enjoyed The Circle, you would like this one as well! I’d give it a 4/5! ⁣
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The Warehouse will be released on August 20th. Keep a look out for it! ⁣
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Thank you to @netgalley and @crownpublishing for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. ⁣
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#thewarehouse #robhart #netgalley #booksharks #currentlyreading #arc

Library blog review:
Imagine a world ravaged by gun violence and environmental damage, where a huge corporation that sells everything to everyone and delivers the items by drone limits the choices of where you can live and work. In Rob Hart’s The Warehouse, the giant company Cloud has put other retailers out of business and become the only place to work. Paxton and Zinnia pass the test and start their jobs. Paxton ends up in security; Zinnia works long days racing against the clock, picking items to mail to customers. They work at Cloud. They eat at Cloud. They sleep at Cloud. Zinnia puts up with sexual harassment from a manager; Paxton competes against others for the approval of his boss.

But neither Zinnia nor Paxton is who they seem. Each is keeping secrets, and each has an agenda. However, it’s not easy to stand up for yourself when you are a tiny cog in the Cloud.

The Warehouse is likely to be this year’s big, almost-there dystopian novel. And it all feels like it could come true next week.

Rob Hart dedicated his book to Maria Fernandes, a woman who worked part-time at several Dunkin’Donuts to make ends meet and who died from gas fumes while taking a nap in her car. In the meantime, Dunkin’ CEO Nigel Travis earned $10.2 million the year she died. The Warehouse is not a perfect book, but it will make you think hard about the relationship between corporations and their employees and about income inequality.

I read an advance reader copy of The Warehouse, which comes out on August 20. The Galesburg Public Library will have it in print and as an ebook.

Goodreads review:

Five stars for the concept, 3.5 stars for the execution, plus 1/2 star for the dediction and explanation in the Acknowledgments.

Imagine a world ravaged by gun violence and environmental damage, where a huge corporation that sells everything to everyone and delivers the items by drone limits the choices of where you can live and work. In Rob Hart’s The Warehouse, the giant company Cloud has put other retailers out of business and become the only place to work. Paxton and Zinnia pass the test and start their jobs. Paxton ends up in security; Zinnia works long days racing around against the clock, picking items to mail to customers. They work at Cloud. They eat at Cloud. They sleep at Cloud. Zinnia puts up with sexual harassment from a manager; Paxton competes against others for the approval of his boss.

But neither Zinnia nor Paxton is who they seem. Each is keeping secrets, and each has an agenda. However, it’s not easy to stand up for yourself when you are a tiny cog in the Cloud.

I really wanted to love this book, but I did not. It started really slowly, and the characterization was not strong. Zinnia comes across as an unlikable Katniss Everdeen without her redeemable qualities and adorable younger sister. Paxton is bland and never felt like a real person I could care about. There was a plot twist <spoiler>note to self - CloudBurgers</spoiler>that literally pulled me out of the story. Of all the many things I could believe Amazon might be guilty of, this isn't one of them, and I felt like I was supposed to be much more horrified than I was. The difference between the lives of the workers and the CEO was much more horrifying.

The Warehouse is likely to be this year’s big, almost-there dystopian novel. And it all feels like it could come true next week.

Rob Hart dedicated his book to Maria Fernandes, a woman who worked part-time at several Dunkin’Donuts to make ends meet and who died from gas fumes while taking a nap in her car. In the meantime, Dunkin’ CEO Nigel Travis earned $10.2 million the year she died. The Warehouse is not a perfect book, but it will make you think hard about the relationship between corporations and their employees and about income inequality (while making you feel thoroughly angry and depressed).

I read an advance reader copy of The Warehouse.

I can't criticize it too harshly, but can't give it much of a recommendation either. Readable, mainly due to a couple of sympathetic characters, as well as its timely subject matter, but not enough questions were answered for it to be satisfying.

Great characters. Amazing storyline. Seems too close to reality. Could Rob Hart know something everyday people don't know about - which direction we are headed toward when it comes to workplace, retail shopping, and global conglomerates? An excellent book club selection as there are many topics that could be discussed. A definite novel that will have readers thinking and people talking.

The Warehouse takes place in a near-future world where one company, Cloud, has taken over. Cloud is so large it more or less runs parts of the US government.


Paxton is a former prison guard and small business owner. Cloud made him go out of business and now he works for them. Zinnia is a spy hired to take a menial job at Cloud to uncover a hidden secret within the company.

Cloud is so large that workers like Paxton and Zinnia live inside what is called a Mother Cloud. Massive buildings filled with dorms, restaurants, entertainment and Cloud’s Warehouse.

Overall this story was compelling. Author Rob Hart has created a world that is believable. The systems and functions of Monther Cloud were well thought out. For some Cloud is a savior, for others, it is nearly evil. The author keeps ambiguous if Cloud is actually an evil company.

My only criticism would be this story could have been a trilogy. Some of the subplots felt like they could have carried a full novel alone. Especially seeing how Zinnia’s spying involved a few steps, each step could have been the glue to link the multiple books.

A good book leaves you wanting more. So perhaps that minor criticism is nothing more than a personal desire to have more Paxton and Zinnia adventures along with digging deeper into Cloud.

Author Rob Hart truly digs into some scary ideas. Workers living in company-owned housing is nothing new. But the extent to which Mother Cloud is monitoring their employees on and off duty is scary. Yet the modern trend chipping away at our privacy for convenience is real. In a few years, we could be living in a world as The Warehouse envisions…

Anyone looking for a thriller that digs into modern themes should be picking up The Warehouse by Rob Hart. It releases on August 20, 2019.

A free review copy was provided via NetGalley for this unbiased review.

A troubling scenario of rampant capitalism taking over for the state in all manner of politics, infrastructure, employment, and... really disturbing hamburger recipes. The main characters were likable, it not as fleshed out as they could have been, perhaps with a more focused and detailed mystery plot would have demanded.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! It was engaging and drew me in right away. The plot moved quickly and didn’t lag and bore me in places like some books do.

The story focused on two characters, Paxton and Zinnia, two new employees and friends at “the Cloud” which is possibly one of the only employers left for people. The cloud sells everything, delivers by drone, and workers live on site. Workers don’t make much money or get time off. It’s not the most ideal work environment.

I’m glad the story only covered a few characters and didn’t get bogged down in too many stories. Great read!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

THE WAREHOUSE is told through company blog posts and the lenses of Paxton and Zinna, who are hired on at Cloud, a company that has driven out pretty much all of its competitors through rock bottom pricing (due in part by government support due to the company’s green initiatives) and their unique drone delivery service. Employees live onsite in dorm-style accommodations and are paid in company credits, not unlike the terribly unfair system used by mines in the past. The job takes almost all of their time and eats away bit by bit at their souls in the process. Both Paxton and Zinna have their own agendas, but the company harbors the scariest dirty laundry of all.

The corporate blog posts give a nice insight the creator of Cloud’s vision for the company. Gibson, who is dying of cancer, is on the verge of announcing his successor and plans to visit as many “MotherCloud” sites as possible before he passes. I liked how the dark side of the company is mirrored in the details about the poor living conditions of the MotherCloud facility.

The concept is killer, which explains why publishers and movie producers snapped this book up. The plot, however, slips into jump the shark territory. The book also lacks the great characterization and heart of the author’s fantastic Ash McKenna series. I’ve read all five books in the series and the characters simply pop off the page. I found it hard to care for Paxton and Zinna. The former is simply too naive, and the latter too cold and manipulative. One of the character’s demeanor is described as a blank piece of paper, which pretty much sums up the characterization for all the story people in this book. The couple’s love story lacks emotion like the food in the Live-Play recreational area lacks flavor.

Hart dedicates the book to Maria Fernandes, who died while trying to eek out a living working three jobs. His dedication, in my opinion, is the whole heart and soul of the book, rather than the novel itself.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crown Books for providing an Advance Reader Copy.

Lots of people are going to love this book because of the way it turns corporate America into a villain, particularly a certain retailer, who is obviously the inspiration for Cloud. I, however, prefer Hart’s more character-driven Ash McKenna series.

So, I was drawn to this story as it's premise is not as far fetched as it seems!
Imagine my surprise when I saw that a fellow Staten Islander wrote it. I can't lie, that made me like it just a little bit more! Go SI!
In all seriousness, I enjoyed the book and look forward to reading more from Rob Hart.

A cautionary tale for our times, The Warehouse combines the danger of Big Brother with the very real business paradigm we seem to be creating in our world. Governments chosen and then run by big business, people left with fewer and fewer choices as economies fall apart and climate change destroys our environment. This fast-paced thriller is a must read for everyone who loves the convenience of Alexa and their Echo Dots.

The Warehouse is an exciting technological and psychological novel. Perhaps the book's most stellar feature, in addition to its plotting, is the way author Rob Hart incorporates a number of stories and voices to unweave the storyline. Recommended reading and a well-written book.

The Warehouse is set in a time that seems distant but as you read you realize may not be that far off from where we are. I thought the author did a fabulous (if not predictable) job creating and establishing the characters in this story. This story was so well written I could play it in my head like a movie. The characters including the main “bad guy” character were easy to like and root for.

Outside of being a great story this book had me thinking and asking questions about our own world situation and if this life is really that far fetched.

Special thanks to Rob Hart and Crown Publishing for the advanced copy of The Warehouse. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

Cloud, a giant tech company, has created company live-work facilities, where everything you might need is in one place. After his start-up business fails because of Cloud's demand, Paxton is desperate for a job. Zinnia, a corporate spy, has been tasked with finding out about Cloud's energy producing facility. Paxton, assigned to security, quickly becomes an asset to Zinnia, an asset that she is falling form.

This was a well constructed and fascinating world. The characters were realistic and multi-dimensional. I enjoyed this book and would love to read more set in this world. Overall, highly recommended.

The Warehouse is an interesting story about what Amazon could become. It is a city unto itself with its own rules. I loved the interview and the job descriptions. I enjoyed the character development; they were so well-written that I felt I knew them. I thought I knew what was going to happen,but I was totally surprised and delighted. I like the way each segment is dedicated to a single person and that each chapter had its own title. The author is a great writer who understands the characters and the subject. He is able to take an otherwise boring idea and make it brilliant. There are so many things going on that I was amazed That I was able to keep up,and yet the author made it easy and fun. I hope to read more from him and I highly recommend this book.

The Warehouse is a clever 1984-esque dystopian view of a future where corporate America is the ONLY America. The company called Cloud (with plenty of thinly veiled pot shots at Amazon) has redefined its work force by allowing its employees to live within the constructs where they work, creating a haven (or prison) from the rest of the world and in the process, of course, maximizing revenues and profits. It's an enthralling premise that simultaneously acts as a warning, as the deeper in you get the more you could see this playing out somehow in our future.

What really elevates this novel above the premise are the characters we're quickly introduced to--one coming to Cloud after losing his business to the company and another entering in an act of corporate espionage. Their stories are expertly intertwined to create a dynamic--and tension--the reader cares about. I also really appreciated the humanity that was brought to the founder of Cloud. Though it's easy to hate what he's done and the way he uses the system for greater gain, in lesser hands it would have been easy to make him a villain just because he's evil or wants to destroy the world. You may not agree with his philosophies, but you can see that he's sincere in what he's attempted to do, which added a nice layer to the story.

I could have used a little more complexities with some of the systems in place at Cloud for tracking employees, especially for a business as sophisticated at this conglomerate, and I would have loved to have seen more of the world outside just the one hub, but ultimately this story and its characters captivated me and certainly kept me flying through the pages. A clever concept delivered with care and precision. Almost sounds like a product that could be coming to you soon from your local Cloud epicenter. A solid recommend.

This book is a twisty nice little thriller that deserves maybe 5 stars for that with a lot of rollovers however it is also based on common themes of many books that came out in the 70s and 80s with a modern more callous faceup.
The Boomers before me that were writing classics [some of which are mentioned here but by far not necessarily the best], of the need to reign things in and actually work on saving nature and the environment and helping people so we didn't end up with the world crisis we are in right now. They should have been taken more seriously by the whole instead of lauded heavily, made into movies and then somewhat discarded by the masses as far as actual messages put forth. As a young teen I watched [illegally] Soylent Green as well as copiously read all the sci fi this can happen books and watched the movies [friends older brothers would sneak us in the drive ins and theatres] and it stuck with me hard and at the time many were raising the alarms of overpopulation but it was suppressed second hand to claims of religion and actual intent by some for control. Major points in time this could have been turned 180 around if people had as a whole been proactive & worked within the best systems available. Not allowing the reagan or bushes in would have been key along with foremost and in particular trump. reagan in made a major nosedive with the shadow group that supported him with civil rights and environment, bushes took it way further worldwide. Then there was the this last election where someone told everyone what they would do and was supported by people that were well known fascists and we had the true dolt syndrome.
I could go on for hours but will get back to the book. We start out with Paxton that is on a bus to a cloud facility. Cloud s the next generation Amazon as this is based on a Amazon like take over of commerce and a Bezos in platinum overdrive. Being a book freak from a very early age when I discovered Amazon I was in heaven. I could actually find the books I wanted that had been stolen, lost or never bought at prices I couldn't believe. There were many like me out there as Amazon grew into something people have started to fear. Lets be clear: people created the Walmarts & Amazons they had and have choices and have as usual exaggerated on both sides.
I almost got hired for a customer service phone position a little over a year ago. It would have probably been the best job working for someone else I would have ever had. As we only have AT&T here & they have a complete monopoly they cut speeds & reception a year and a half ago while charging the same. Regardless of what Amazon tried to do to hire me it didn't work at the time. [& they really did try] Companies like AT&T were put into check before & need to be again. It tool mass people of this area changing services to somewhat make them give us back what we should have but would take federal and state to break them up or put them into check.
Paxton is in an overpopulated screwed up world and environment is going to a Cloud facility which is the only game going pretty much to survive & meets Zinna a corporate spy & assassin. [she is my favorite character]. It goes through their experiences working in the facility and some minor characters I want to touch on. Hadley ia cute little innocent doe girl and then Ember your stereo typical I want to blow everything up because I have the sads regardless of the amount of damage and death it will cause billions & any hope of survival of the marginalized, environment or any animals that still exist. Will tell you this was a romp and while some things I already had ideas of what would happen other looped me.
I will say the Embers of the country helped create the current environment as much as the fascists fully. They aided them in the deaths, murders, extinctions and carnage through actions and inaction. All these things are on the Embers of the worlds heads secondary or mainly in some cases as they have undone the hard work and sacrifices others have made over the decades with wanton disregard. There is no reset button nor has there been, it will be much harder to pull out of the situation country & world wide now than it would have been a few years ago. Getting off my soapbox, yes would recommend this book, but think about it & read all the older classic books that tried to warn you before and ask yourselves if you are part of the problem or the fix. People that can't create destroy and there are too many of the later in control now.

Wow, Rob Hart really hates Amazon. I mean, he hates the fictitious company Cloud which is obviously not Amazon in any way, shape or form even though it obviously is a stand in for Amazon.

In the future the world's gone to Hell and everything sucks because not-Amazon stepped in and took over everything turning everyone in to their indentured servants, or something like that. Cloud, the not-Amazon company, has company settlements all across the United States where workers live in dorms on the company campus where they work in various fields based on their backgrounds: security, tech, food service, maintenance and the dreaded warehouse pickers. This particular story revolves around Paxton, a bitter man whose company went under because of the demands Cloud was putting on it to lower costs, and Zinnia, a corporate spy sent in to uncover just how the company is producing the power for these complexes with green energy. The two meet briefly on the way to the Cloud complex, a relationship Paxton wants to pursue but which Zinnia thinks is a distraction.
Paxton winds up in security with some real stereotypical security guys and a big bad southern sheriff. Zinnia winds up as a picker in the Amazon, I mean Cloud, distribution center. Their stories intertwine and become somewhat more interesting, but you just can't get past how much the author takes out his vitriol against Amazon though this book. Many of the characters are one dimensional and often just there to move the plot along. The protagonists are not very likable and make really dumb choices based on what you suppose to be their backgrounds. Paxton is tasked with busting up a drug ring because of his prison guard experience but he doesn't understand how the sheriff is playing him? Sure thing.
Overall not a horrible read. The mystery aspect and espionage adventure parts were fun at times, but a lot of it reads like a high schooler's diatribe against the evils of Amazon.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for the digital ARC of The Warehouse, by Rob Hart. How often do we order on-line products because they can be bought in the comfort of our homes and placed in our hands within 24 hours, sometimes even the same day? Most people will confess that this is their preferred way to shop, but most of us would have trouble explaining the process that seems to make our lives so convenient. In the near future, citizens are watching small businesses and familiar chain stores disappear and the economy failing. People are searching for jobs, which are scarce, so they are turning to The Cloud, where every job and life on the cloud seems like a dream. The Cloud provides a perfect place to live and work, so it seems. Paxton is initially enthralled with his new life and job, but questions the perfection of this world as he is charmed by his friend, Zinnia, who is trying to find all the flaws in The Cloud, and shut it down. Is this future world looming in our near future? As you read this book, you will question the future of our world and the way we let big business control our thoughts and action and shape a new, unsettling world.