Manuel Gonzales’ debut collection of short stories, The Miniature Wife and Other Stories,
was so phenomenally good, and played with genre in such an interesting way,
that I try to recommend it to everyone. So to say that my expectations for his
first novel were high is a vast understatement. And, for the most part, The Regional Office is Under Attack! doesn’t
disappoint.
The story is primarily composed (and I say primarily because
there is a brief interlude that uses a “we” narrator that slowly transforms
into an “I” narrator in a thrillingly done way) of two alternating character
viewpoints and an additional viewpoint written as a distant, but maybe not so
distant, laboratory report voice. The plot concerns the Regional Office, a
secretive organization that tries to keep the “forces of darkness” at bay. They
do so through carefully organized missions and a team of highly trained
super-powered women (think: potential Slayers, if you’re a Buffy fan). As the title states, the Regional Office comes under
attack (and we see this from the viewpoint of one of those highly trained
women: Rose) and the only person who seems capable of defending it is our other
viewpoint, Sarah, an office manager who just so happens to have an extremely
high-powered mechanical arm.
The novel zips along, I read it one sitting, in a propulsive
way. Gonzales’ use of pacing and action-scenes to push along the story in a way
that should feel formulaic, instead just comes across as enjoyable. Spread
throughout is a good deal of humor, enough pop culture references to annoy many
a reader (though, I thought they were excellently utilized), and some truly
beautiful pieces of writing.
My hesitancies with wholeheartedly declaring this absolutely
brilliant come from a few places, however. While both Rose and Sarah are
thoroughly interesting and well-drawn protagonists, I felt neither entirely got
the space that they deserved. Maybe that would have slowed the book down too
much, but it still felt lacking. Additionally, I wanted to know more about the
other members of the Regional Office, and the broken off faction that attacks
them. I feel we only truly understand one character, that of Henry—a recruiter
for the agency and a key player in the novel’s events. His motivations are
clear and he comes across as fully rounded in a way that most of the side
characters do not.
Still, if you want a thoroughly fun read that’s also
incredibly well-written and smart, then I highly advise picking this one up!
The Math
Baseline Assessment: 8/10
Bonuses: +1 for extremely well-written action scenes
Penalties: -1 for lack of character depth in some cases
Nerd Coefficient: 8/10 “well worth your time and attention”
Baseline Assessment: 8/10
Bonuses: +1 for extremely well-written action scenes
Penalties: -1 for lack of character depth in some cases
Nerd Coefficient: 8/10 “well worth your time and attention”
POSTED BY: Chloe, speculative fiction fan in all forms, monster theorist, and Nerds of a Feather blogger since 2016.
