You know, I never really developed a fondness for any of the characters per se. The main character is focused on themselves to the exclusion of others, even friends and loved ones. The side characters aren't really developed, and the other characters are presented as the 'bad guys' without any real justification for that label. The plot is an interesting take on an individual claiming their power, and while I would have liked to see that built on a bit more, it was satisfying. I realize that none of that is selling the book. Despite all its flaws, though, this book was interesting and kept me reading until the end.

i had SO much fun reading this one. without a doubt, this is definitely unique compared to anything else i’ve read this year – it follows colin, a low-level employee at a company called dark enterprises, which takes the phrase “work is hell” to new heights. his ambition takes him to places i wouldn’t go with a gun, but that’s why he’s the one getting a promotion when i’d probably be one of the people disappearing from the streets of new york on day one! nevertheless, i found myself rooting for him to live out his evil dreams every step of the way.

if you’re a fan of welcome to night vale or the good place, i’d definitely recommend this book – there’s the same kind of lighthearted, humorous banality surrounding things like world-devouring monsters and artifacts from alternate realities. the supporting characters are great, too, especially my beloved lex! they’re everything to me. i loved trying to guess what kind of zaniness would happen next, and while i loved the ending, i wouldn’t mind another book somewhere down the line to see what shenanigans colin & co get up to next.

CW: Gore (Mild), Sexual Harassment, Abuse (Power Dynamics)

This book was an entertaining ride all the way through. The dark humor of the setting, a truly and openly evil corporation, and Colin’s navigating between that, a deal with an even more evil force, and finding a boyfriend were all equally engaging. The good pacing, fun writing and world building, and satisfying split of chills and thrills make me highly recommend this book.

Humorous. Entertaining, but definitely not my cup of tea. However, I will say I would follow Mark Waddell's other work.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Well this one was fun! If you combined Claudia Lux’s Sign Here and Succession, you’d find this novel! I am so thankful to Berkley Pub/Ace Books, Netgalley, and Mark Waddell for granting me advanced access to this title before it hits shelves on October 7, 2025.

Colin works in Human Resources, but not in the way you think he does. He works in HR for Dark Enterprises one of the darkest, most conniving Do-er companies in the world… and his tasks include harvesting any human’s resources; think tears, screams, hair, blood, the whole nine yards in torturing methods. So yeah a bit different than your run of the mill HR position.

Colin HATES where he’s at on the corporate ladder and would prefer to avoid early retirement (death by firing squad) so he makes a deal with a dark and spectral being and lands himself as the executive assistant to the CEO!!!! Woo hoo, yeah!!! But okay, yeah at a cost. And the thing he made a deal with was just bound by management for centuries and is now free to devour the world all thanks to Colin.

Cool cool cool cool cool cool.

NYC is living a fresh new horror as people begin to disappear out of plain sight, and in order to save his position and his ass, Colin has to put a stop to this world-ending madness before the executive board finds out he’s to blame.

I was living for the lore and never wanted this to end. I could totally see this becoming a TV show for how campy and interesting it was at times. This just goes to show that late stage capitalism is a NIGHTMARE, and no promotion is worth ending the world over. We are seriously so broken lol.

This was a well written story about a low-level corporate drone trying to climb the ladder. Or die trying. When Colin starts his career at Dark enterprises, he becomes desensitized to the way the company handles terminations along with dark entities that will try to hurt you. However, when a staff member tries to get him terminated for turning down his advances he knows his life in in danger. When a dark mysterious entity decides to save him and give him a promotion, he does not realize the horror he has unleashed on the world. He tries to keep his friends, new love interest, and his job all stay intact when they find out what he has done.

How far would you go for a promotion? Would you risk it all when given the chance to have anything you could dream of? Colin isn't afraid of risk and embraces his inner fierce executive in this comical dark novel about a deal with the darkest of dark creatures that goes awry. He's not next in line for permanent retirement though so things are looking up.

I think this would be a hilarious show or audiobook. While I enjoyed reading it, I could feel the humor that would make this a great show. The screams and blood in this book could be Arrested Development level funny with the right cast. I would totally watch this!


Thank you to netgalley for an ARC to enjoy.

I like this kind of thing, but I've seen it down so much better. Colin's only personality traits seems to be self-doubt and ambition. We're told that the higher ups at the corporation saw something in him, but what? The love connection just didn't work for me - I found Colin too annoying to understand why he'd convince an agent of good that he was so special.

I'd recommend "The Regional Office is Under Attack" or "The Rook" instead.

"But how does he manage to make the exact wrong choice in every situation? Like, how is that even possible?”

Oh my gosh, this book is absolutely delightful. Colin's a mess (see above) and probably a bit of a psychopath, but he's the most entertaining psychopath I've read about in very long time … or perhaps ever. Colin works for Dark Enterprises in a dead-end, low-level job but longs for real power, primarily for enemy-smiting purposes. And what do you do when you need power? Well, you make a deal with a dark entity of questionable origin, of course. Unfortunately, making deals with dark entities rarely comes without its challenges, and in Colin's case he just happens to doom the world. No biggie.

Dark Enterprises is a scary, scary place, you guys. Like, there's a people-eating monster living in the stairwell and that's one of the least frightening things about it. Having your employment terminated involves a visit from a “remediation team” known as the Firing Squad (which does exactly what you're thinking it does), and even high-performing employees meet their demise at an alarming rate. I certainly wouldn't want to work there, but it was a blast to read about. The world-building is absolutely top-notch, and I was constantly amazed (and more than a little horrified) by all of the fantastic details that the author managed to fit into this book regarding the company's, um … business dealings. There's sorcery and torture and magical relics and portals to alternate dimensions and many, many frightening otherworldly beings and it's all just simply brilliant.

And Colin? Well, he's got … issues, but he's entertaining. He dooms the world and really only cares how it'll affect him and, like, three other people. I mean, if I set the apocalypse into motion, I'd probably feel a little guilty. Colin, though? Nope. Colin wants a promotion to middle management and he plans to work this whole “dark entity destroying the world” thing to his advantage. And, by the way, the entity that Colin unleashes is terrifying and almost pushes this book into horror territory at points. I don't know why, but the way the author chose to format the creature's dialogue makes it so much more scary than it would have been otherwise.

Do expect the romance to be very, very insta-love. It totally fits in with the weirdness that is this book, but Colin and Eric have one of the most bizarre first date conversations I've ever heard. “Amira told me you have all the muscles” … um, okay, Colin. Very smooth.

But, yeah, this book is wonderful. It's full of dark humor and morally gray characters and, okay, lots of death and destruction, but it's amusing death and destruction. Colin Gets Promoted and Dooms the World honestly might just be my new favorite urban fantasy read. 4.8 stars, rounded up.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Ace for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review. Its expected publication date is October 7, 2025.

I absolutely loved this book. The writing was hilarious, and had me giggling to myself the whole time. The characters were great, believable decision-making, good development, and easy to root for. The plot had just the right amount of complexity for this kind of book, with a perfectly satisfying ending.
5/5, perfect for fans of The Witchstone.

Colin Gets Promoted and Dooms the World was AWESOME! The company itself reminded me a lot of the SCP Foundation, which I love, so I was already super into the book when I started and it just kept getting better. Love the gay romance, love the friendship, love the secret demon company, love it all. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who's into SCPs, and/or Sci-fi horrors.

Thank you Mark Waddell, Berkley, and NetGalley for the ARC!

I enjoyed this significantly more than I expected to! I found it refreshing—it’s pretty rare to read about a character doing bad things that isn’t preachy, and I had a good time. I didn’t love the central romance—I could have done without it, particularly because the friendships were so strong and well-written—but I had a good enough time that it feels like a minor quibble. I look forward to reading more from this author!

Never read this author before but this was, somehow, a lot of fun while being fairly nasty. Our main character Colin Harris, though quite a nebbish, is also not a very nice guy - except when he sometimes is nice. He's not an exceptionally evil guy, except when he is. His character growth is, I rather feel, the point of the whole thing.

On the whole Mr. Waddell's book is funny even if the villain(s) save the day. Recommended for the oddity, the corporate soul-sucking banalities laid bare in all the crazy ways the author could think of, and everyone coming together in the end to get shit done.