Very interesting premise that is pretty well executed. Well-written characters and good dialog help make this and engaging book with a good plot. Recommended for dystopian sci-fi thriller fans.

I really appreciate the complimentary copy for review!!

Top stars on this one. This was fun - silly, strange, convoluted but in a good way, and all the characters were so well done. Paxton, Zinnea, Gibson Wells, and all those working at the Cloud, a monster of a company. I loved it so much I wanted to start a book blog just to sing its praises. I won't sully it with, "Oh, this could happen with Amazon," or "We're not far from our own Black Friday massacre," or anything silly like that. I went into this with the expectation of sci fi/fantasy, saw it as such, and thoroughly enjoyed myself all the way through. There is humor, a bit of mystery (but not so much you get irritated over it - this book never sings, "I've got a secret and I'm not telling!"), some action, some drug issues, a troublesome love affair, corporate spies, strange recipes at fast food joints, and so much more. Top notch.

Wow. This book. Get ready to explore themes of the greater good, challenging the status quo, and what happens when corporations gain too much power. Is it better to be safe or free? Convenience vs value? How much do you care about your privacy?

I loved that The Warehouse makes you think while entertaining you at the same time. Like many thrillers, it’s told from different characters’ perspectives, but it made sense in this story and helped build tension. There are some surprising twists and turns, and I found the ending satisfying and appropriate. I wished there were more opportunities to connect with Zinnia and Paxton emotionally, but the book excelled in other areas: world-building, suspense, sci-fi elements, pacing, conflict, and so on. I give it 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.

You’ll like The Warehouse if you enjoyed Dark Matter or Recursion by Blake Crouch, or The Handmaid’s Tale.

ARC from NET GALLEY

A good weekend book here, why? Because that will be all it takes once you start. A cautionary tale that soon may be true when lives are lived on phones and all other deceives. It is similar to the big hit "The Circle" but still genuine on its own. I don't want to spoil your read just let me say to be ready because you are already wrong.

I received this book from Netgalley for a honest review. Cloud is like a future Amazon. This book gave me lots to think about. It was a very thought provoking book. As powerful as 1984!

Copy furnished by Net Galley for the price of a review.

Look around you.  The charming Mom & Pop shops of yesteryear are a rarity now.  Brick and mortar chain stores are closing down at an alarming rate.  It's less and less safe to leave your home.  It's the perfect storm.  Online shopping, drone delivery, instant gratification.  Can one mega-corporation really service all your needs?  <i>'The market dictates.'</i>  If this tale doesn't give you the shivers, then you haven't been paying attention.

This near-future dystopia is a mashup of cli-fi and corporatocracy: The world has become a hellish hot desert in which the only employer (if you're lucky enough to get a job) is the company store, a thinly-veiled Amazon called Cloud, where upbeat corporate messaging hides the fact that the workers are essentially slaves with high-tech shackles. Set against this backdrop is a story of three people: Paxton, whose small business was destroyed by Cloud and who applies for a job there as a last resort; Zinnia, a professional industrial spy, whose job is cover for ferreting out Cloud's secrets; and the Sam-Walton-esque Gibson Wells, the dying founder of Cloud, who is visiting all of his company's sites one last time.

It's a bit heavy on the author's message (that is: we did this to ourselves by purchasing the cheap things we could point and click and have delivered) but it's entertaining and easy to read. But the story falls apart a bit toward the end; Zinnia's first discovery is truly shocking, but the climactic revelation is...a bit of an anticlimax. It felt to me as though the various plot bits didn't really line up toward the end, that things happened because the author wanted them to happen rather than because they made sense. But it was a fun ride (and a cautionary tale) up to that point.

Thanks to Mr. Hart and Crown publishing for the Advance Reader Copy of The Warehouse by Rob Hart. No Spoilers, There is a dedication at the end of the book that as Mr. Hart writes, "Beats at the heart of this book" and when I read it, it made an already powerful book into an emotional hammer. As we know, characters are what drives a great book, The Warehouse has character development that is off the charts. We hear the phrase, the characters stick with you, and sometimes we roll our eyes, but in this case for me, Paxton and Zinnia will live on in my memory. Themes of freedom and whether you would give up those freedoms to a Government or Corporation made me really think, especially in these times. Metaphors are perfect including a book that is referenced that ties into the story at the end. A really perfect ending, but don't be in a hurry to get there! Enjoy the characters and their growth and the adventure! My Favorite book of the year, can not wait for August for the rest of the world to enjoy and discuss this story. #thewarehouse #crownpublishing

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview The Warehouse by Rob Hart. Wow - this is a book that will have you thinking when you purchase from one of today's big box stores. Futuristic, scary, and thought provoking are the words that come to mind when you reach the last page of this thrilling novel.
Two young people are on their way to a new job for Cloud - the only "game in town'big box store where you can buy anything your heart desires. When you order ANYTHING, it is delivered by drone to your home in no time at all.
America is no longer a place that has choices for buying anything - CLOUD has the monopoly on everything.
Titus and Zinnia, two new recruits to the CLOUD workforce, meet by chance on their way to Cloud - where workers live, work, and play at the Cloud facility. Both have been hurt by CLOUD and have their own personal reasons to work there and their plans are in part to bring it down.
But can this congolomorate be broken down? Can one person single handedly take down this giant? Well both have their reasons, but it will take time and will each of them get caught up in this cult like facility to meet their end game? Well, you just have to read this and find out.
Fast and furious reading on this one - 4 stars. RECOMMEND.

Imagine that Amazon eventually takes over the world and government. People live, work, eat and spend their free time all in the bubble that is Amazon and the world outside the bubble is ravaged by crime and climate change. This is The Warehouse.

Cloud is the retail overlord in <i>The Warehouse</i> that has taken over the world. Drones deliver packages all over the world. The people that live inside Cloud are sorted and given jobs upon intake. Paxton, former prison guard with an axe to grind with Cloud CEO, is put on Security detail. Zinnia, corporate spy and trained killer, is put into the warehouse.

I wouldn’t call this one a thriller, more dystopian but it was eye opening and thought provoking. Some parts were monotonous, but it was intentional. Some plot twists at the end you might not see coming. This novel is definitely a great look into our current business models and the way major corporations are and can truly take over the world.

This book is terrifying and engrossing all the same time and it makes me scared for the future, but also hopeful that this isn't it.

Cloud is like a future Amazon, but much more including live in compounds and branding itself as the place that saved the world from gun violence, poverty, and much more.

Here we find two new employees; Paxton, whose life was ruined by Cloud when they priced out his product, and Zinnia, who is working undercover to destroy Cloud. The two of them take drastically different paths in Cloud yet somehow they keep being drawn to each other.

This book does a very interesting job at creating a world that is both unthinkable and yet completely probable at the same time. I was very drawn into the characters and loved getting to hear from the CEO of Cloud at the same time.

Rob Hart has written a impossible to put down book of espionage and intrigue so eerie such a compelling read.I read Ron Howard is making this into a movie can’t wautbto see this book come alive on screen,

This tale is disconcertingly realistic. From the corporate interview via tablet in a large group, complete with DNA and drug testing, onward with other sophisticated features, working for Cloud, a monster-sized company isn't like working anywhere else. Scarily, the interview process actually makes sense and I could see this being done online at people's homes, minus the body hair medical testing. I'm sure there's a workaround for THAT in progress.
George Orwell would be right at home in this world.

Where to start? This gave me a lot to think about. Also, I might be seeing my obsession with Amazon for what it is and might be in the future. No cloud burgers for me. Lol

This was an extremely interesting concept. I don't understand why anyone would want to live where they work, but that's just my opinion. I guess if the world was as bad as the author made it seem, I might have moved in, too. I'd like to think I wouldn't but humanity's need to be safe and secure is a powerful thing.

Great book, kept my attention throughout and there were some thrilling moments.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

So, if the corporations Amazon and Apple one day merged together to form an elite, futuristic and all inclusive company then that would be The Cloud; the biggest retail and cloud computing company in the entire world. At first I thought I would totally want to work there, and then things started to get a little dark. If you’re a fan of Black Mirror on Netflix, I think you’ll find this read to be interesting and fun. The Warehouse, has a slower start but I found myself craving to know more about this sensational mega company known as The Cloud and the people who work for it. The book picked up as parts of the story became unveiled but never fully reached the peak I was hoping. I enjoyed that it was told through three very differing character perspectives, and the author did an excellent job making them each come to life. This essentially is a story of entrepreneurship in a dystopian world and the downfalls of “big brother” that can arise as technology advances. I rated it a 3.5/5 but rounded up to 4 for this review. Ron Howard has already claimed the film rights for this book and I’m excited to see where that goes. Anyone hungry for a cloud burger?! Lol

This is a good book. A damn good book. A hell of a good book.

I may be slightly prejudiced, having read a really bad book just before this one.

I used to tell my students that some novels are plot books; some are character books; some are setting books. The Warehouse is a setting book. What it is "about" is a dystopic world, dominated by a nightmare version of Amazon, with a few Trumpish features just to make it more horrifying. That's not to say it doesn't have a strong plot, but the plot serves to illuminate the soul-killing world of MotherCloud. And it has characters: real, three-dimensional ones, who develop, both in the sense of our learning more about them, and in changing themselves. They have serious flaws, but we can hope they succeed. We cheer for them to overcome their own weaknesses.

And that's the real conflict in The Warehouse: finding the strength to resist the quicksand of pressure and rules and need for approval and economic dependency. The real horror is that everyone is trying to do the right thing. The few villains are bit players, just irritants in this nightmare.

This is how Franz Kafka might envision the future of e-commerce.

Can a company become too big, too powerful, and too. controlling? In a fictional story that may be too close to reality, the reader is confronted with these questions in what starts as a case of corporate espionage.

The Warehouse by Rob Hart is an unnervingly realistic view of a foreseeable future. All are going with the flow and are definitely up the "River" without a paddle. Beware - pink is not what you think. Realistic, reliable characters, Paxton and Zinnia are realistic in their actions, strengths and weaknesses. Gibson is charismatic but his flaws are easily seen. One of the best futuristic corporate control takeovers story I have read and the one with the grossest ick scene. Highly recommended.

Thank you to Crown, Penguin Random House Publishers, Rob Hart, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

Rob Hart has written a thrilling story of corporate intrigue and espionage in The Warehouse. A real page-turner!

Review Copy

4.5 stars

I've spent a good while trying to decide how to rate and review THE WAREHOUSE. First, let me say that I think author Rob Hart nailed his characters. His people acted liked I would have expected people to act. The were true to form and that was very nice.

This is a dystopian tale in the vein of 1984 and BRAVE NEW WORLD. To those people who would say we're not close to being in a live-work situation and wonder who buys the warehouse's product, I would suggest that that this is where the rich/poor divide really comes into play. The rich are outside buying and poor are inside working. Scary? Yes. This. is. horror. Take the time to read read and digest this. If you can...

Highly recommended and available this summer. Ron Howard has optioned this for Imagine, so read it quick! (less)