Rate: 2/5

Medium: Book

Overview (Contains Spoilers):

I hardly deliberated on my second purchase at the amazing Powell’s Books after having seen the Company Town reviewed by many other bloggers to glowing reviews. While the book is a very fast read, it suffered from the stereotypical young adult quandary of a deficiency in sufficient details to allow the reader to be lost in the new world. With that being said, I really enjoyed the concept behind the book of augmented, altered humans verse the ‘organic’ human, such as the main character in the book Hwa. However, that is where the potential fizzled, as the decently developed characters existed in a futuristic world that the reader could barely grasp. It felt as through we were given the barest glimpse into a future world that begged for additional insights. My biggest complaint was the climax, in which evil being that had been behind many of the horrific murders was a character that was briefly introduced toward the beginning of the book. I had to go back and try to figure out who he was, which never happens when I read a book. If the backstory had been developed more in this tale, perhaps the big twist and reveal would have been appropriately shocking or even entertaining, however it felt as though this unforeseen revelation was rushed and muddled, leaving the reader confused. Overall, Ashby brought up some intriguing concepts regarding the future of the human race as technology continues to develop and race ahead, however the story she chose the tell in this advanced age left much to be desired.