Human Resource Inconstant Moon [Paperback]

 

 

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I would like to begin by confessing that I did not purchase this book on Amazon but at a local bookstore because it was in the Bargain Bin for $5. However, after reading the selected title for the 3rd time, I feel that I am qualified to write a review.

Truth be told, when I finished reading Human Resource I didn't know what to think. It was good but not great. The plot made sense but it wasn't as intense as I was hoping. It left me disappointed. While reading, I tried to imagine how the story would be presented in film and the movie Blade Runner came to mind. I could see the story being presented in that kind of sci-fi style. But what is the story?

Well, for starters, the setting is the moon in the distant future, where the main colony is called Villanueva Base. It is jointly operated by 5 corporations that make up the Allied Lunar Combine: Zonix Infotainment (entertainment & leisure), EnTek (AI & data processing systems); Biome (products), Applied Systems Dynamics (fusion power & heavy machinery), and Duckworth Foundries (construction & heavy metal production). Villanueva is mostly a tourist attraction for earthlings but for the people who live there, its home and a place to work.

Enter the main protagonist, Erik Morrison, a man who doesn't want to be on the moon but was sent there anyway by his EnTek superiors to be the new EnTek Site Coordinator. His previous assignment in Alaska ended in disaster so this posting is pretty much a form of exile. His trusted & attractive secretary Juanita Garcia helps him adapt to life on the moon by showing him how to get from point A to point B, where the best places are to eat & shop, and most importantly, how to walk in the light gravitational environment. Erik's boss, Janos Horvath, frequently checks on him via picture phone to see how he's coping with his new assignment.

Other main characters that Erik comes into contact are: Hector Kowalski, a large, obnoxious security officer who knows everything about everybody; Wendy Scheer, the head of Project Halo, who for some reason is admired by everyone who enters her 'personal space'; Doug Stewart, an annoying talking salesman who keeps appearing at awkward moments; and Enola Hasbro, a Duckworth receptionist that seems to have developed a crush on Erik. The are many more characters in the novel but they're mostly in a secondary role.

While getting the job done, Erik uncovers that all 5 companies, including his own, are looking for a Keith Ramirez, a researcher who seems to have made a very big discovery on the moon but has gone into hiding, fearing for his life. The basis of the novel is for the reader to find out what Ramirez has discovered and why are the corporations so desperate to find him first. If you were expecting me to divulge that information then I'm sorry to disappoint.

If you're expecting balls-to-the-wall action then you're out of luck; it's mostly dialogue and some suspense. Over time, I began to like the book more because of character development & interaction with one another. The 3 star rating you see at the top is what I thought after I read the book for the 1st time. Now, the novel feels more like a 4 star and most likely down the road, it''ll earn my 5 star rating.

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