I really wanted to enjoy this one as I loved the blurb, but I had to stop reading at 17% of because I couldn't get into it. I loved the premise (it reminded me of a well-known store), but the details of all the rules and regulations of the Cloud made it feel like I was reading a staff induction manual. I did push myself on, but a lack of story progression made me put it down in the end.

An exciting corporate thriller with two characters - an ordinary worker and an undercover spy - trying to survive in a vast facility. This isn't my usual kind of read, but the constant cliffhangers and clues kept me absolutely gripped. Really enjoyable and I would read more by the author.

A near future dystopia where an Amazon-style company has taken over a world destroyed by climate change, and it feels so real as this kind of situation looms on the horizon. This was a chilling and thought provoking thriller that felt like it really could happen, and it was a great read if only let down slightly by a rushed ending.

Wow! What an outstanding book. I loved every minute of it. So many twists and turns and question marks throughout kept me guessing all the way to the end. Brilliant.

Terrific speculative fiction... challenging us into engaging with artfully similar-to -now dystopian world .. characters are authentic even though estranged ..I love the atmosphere of this novel and sought it out .. sort of sorry despite hard events that it's over! Breaking a vast controlling organisation with surprisingly adept allies is a heartening story when we face big tech companies today. Bracing read ..

I uniquely addictive book from Rob Hart. The Warehouse is cleverly written, with a storyline keeping you hooked from the start. Recommended read.

Wow. 1984 meets 20something. A brilliant dystopian novel that feels like it will all be too true. I was gripped, appalled and captivated by this read. I also know that my shopping habits make me part of the problem

I always admire an author who can convincingly create a whole future world. So many dystopian novels lack that attention to detail that gives plausibility. Not this one. It presents a frighteningly plausible near future reality in which almost all consumer goods and services are provided by a corporate entity 'Cloud' which has full control over the lives of its workers. It's a fast paced thriller which kept me guessing to the end. The best thing about the book is the narrative of Gibson Wells, CEO of Cloud. His affable, reasonable tone and his conviction in the rightness of his own belief system were chilling. Absolutely loved this book. Highly recommended.

I just could not get into this book, it did not grab my attention and I could not get a handle on the characters, I’m sorry to say. It left me cold, and I did not finish reading it.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this book.

This dystopian novel is set in the near future when Earth has been ravaged by climate change. In America, cities have been destroyed by gun violence and economic collapse. Unemployment is rife, the government is collapsing and citizens are scared to leave their homes. A behemoth Amazon-like company called the Cloud has pushed most companies out of business and supplies nearly everything to American homes, all delivered by drones so they never have to venture outside to shop.

Cloud has built mega live-work complexes all round the country offering accommodation and jobs to those who are prepared to work under its restrictive and draconian policies. People work 12h per day, 7 days per week in whatever job they are assigned and get paid in credits they can use on accommodation, food and other goods within Cloud. In exchange for these basic comforts, people are under constant surveillance by a personal tracking device and there every move is watched. There are no unions and they must maintain a certain star rating for performance or they are ejected back out into the world to survive as best they can. Ruling overall is Cloud's founder and CEO, Gibson Wells. Convinced he is saving the world by providing a new way of living, with green policies and refusal to sell guns, he is a man with limited time left due to his aggressive cancer.

Rob Hart has created a future that is scarily plausible with consumerism taken to its extreme. Into this world enter two new recruits, Paxton, an inventor whose company was pushed out of the market by Cloud and Zinnia, hired to infiltrate the company to hunt out its darkest secrets. Told from their points of view as well as missives from Gibson Wells, the plot unfolds at a fast pace as Zinnia and Paxton learn the ropes in the Cloud and Zinnia tries to find weaknesses in the Cloud's security that will let her get to the heart of their operations.

This is an original and thought provoking novel. In addition to writing an engaging thriller with well developed characters, Hart has built a credible near future world encompassing some worrying features of contemporary life, including rising economic immigration, rising gun violence, the increased incidence of workers not earning enough to live on, the effect of climate change on crops and the economy as well as competitive business practices forcing small companies and shops out of business.

This was a very accessible idea to get into - the idea of a company of this ilk pretty much taking over is entirely believable! While it occasionally got a little convoluted (some of the sub plots seemed almost to confuse rather than enhance the story) it was a good dystopian read

In a future vision of America where violence, unemployment and climate change has all but ravaged society, a multinational known as The Cloud has taken over the public’s needs for commerce. When Paxton reluctantly takes a job at one of the many campus facilities where employees live and work, he meets another intern who may not be quite what she seems. Together, the pair see behind the curtain of this new ‘perfect’ society and things take a sinister and dangerous turn for both of them. In his afterward, the author explains his intentions for this book as a dystopian epic with the resonance of The Handmaid's Tale or Fahrenheit 451, but actually The Warehouse is more akin to a mid-level Michael Crichton novel. Thoroughly entertaining though it may be, it sadly lacks the bite of satire which pushes these sorts of novel into wider public consciousness. And Dave Eggers probably said it all better in The Circle, anyway.

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

This is definitely not something I'd have even looked at on a bookshelf but reading the description really intrigued me so was pleased to recieve an early copy.

Now I cant say I enjoyed the book, I felt I was treading water at times BUT once finished it stayed in the back if my brain for quite some time so I guess it done what Rob Hart wanted it to do!

2* from me, I just didnt get gripped in its vices with this one.

In the not too distant future, the world is dominated by The Cloud, an online retail one-stop shop that feeds the growing demand for consumerism and controls everything, and everyone. Essentially, it’s the Amazon of the next decade. And that’s what makes this so chillingly real.

This reminded me of the recent Doctor Who episode “Kerblam!” which follows a similar storyline about an all powerful, all seeing retail company that dominates the galaxy with an ulterior motive. Like that episode, the world building is really well done, with every detail about living, working and sleeping within your place of work all day, every day exposed bare. There are also subtle hints about the wider world, and the damage that’s occurred to the country and political state, but it’s never overly done - rather, it’s left open to reader interpretation without stating the obvious. There’s also a wonderful sense of dread that runs throughout, mingled in with the every day monotony of working in a warehouse, where your only form of payment come in credits for The Cloud, and your every move is monitored. You know that there’s something a little more sinister and suspect lurking around every corner, but you’re not sure what it is, and what form it’s going to take.

The story is told over three POVs, from Paxton the new security employee who’s own business went bust because of The Cloud, the inquisitive and insightful Zinnia, who is working as a double agent and Gibson Wells, owner of The Cloud. Each voice is distinct from the other, and the three stories merged and blended well together to make a robust story that had a good pace and kept me interested until the end. All the characters are well developed, and in particular I enjoyed reading Gibson’s sections and the backstory that led to the creation of The Cloud. A simple idea that snowballed into an omnipotent presence. You can tell that Gibson isn’t necessarily the most reliable narrator, but this only adds to the intrigue of the story.

I will say that I did find the ending a bit of a let down, as it felt rushed and not thought through well enough after all of the build up that goes before it.

Great dystopian novel that hits a little too close to home with wonderful writing, world building and characters. Thought provoking.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'The Warehouse'. Though I'm not sure enjoyed is the right word because Hart has held up a mirror to our society with such scary accuracy that I will have trouble sleeping. And ordering from Amazon. And using fast food restaurants. The inner workings of a big company and they spy elements were both interesting and the characters inspired a lot of sympathy. I particularly liked how fast paced the book is, while still giving the impression of the tedium the characters go through. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for a sequel.

If Amazon took over the world..... The mantra of the market dictates pervades every part of this terrifying possible future. We want cheap products delivered quickly. What are we prepared to sacrifice to get what we want? In the Cloud, we see the brutal work environment, the Draconian ratings system and how those in charge are prepared to take some very 'grey area' decisions in order to give the consumer exactly what they want. And how people are starting to fight against it. A scary world that could so easily become real.

Excellent. I enjoyed this thriller set in the near future, where a huge organisation has taken control of US retailing and employment. It is well described and fast paced, it reminded in a good way of ‘The Circle’. Recommended.

I really enjoyed this book - it has a good plot with an interesting twist, enough interesting characters that you care about and are frustratingly unable to do what really want to do, and it was easy to read from the point of views of the three main characters. The premise of the story uses the worst of the current negative press that some of today's dominant corporations and projects what the world's unchecked gratification could possibly lead to if we are not careful.
The plot really depends on the lack of CCTV installation in MotherCloud which the CEO of Cloud claims is not used for 'moral' reasons - which is possibly out of character, otherwise the story moves along at a good pace and resolves all of the questions by the end of the book.

The Warehouse builds intrigue from the very beginning. Opening with a blog post by Gibson, the owner of the mysterious Cloud, we are then introduced to people trying to gain employment with them. As the story continues, each chapter is prefaced by another blog post by Gibson and then alternates between the perspectives of two Cloud employees, the Paxton and Zinnia from the blurb. Each has their own agenda in seeking employment within Cloud which is revealed as the story progresses.

The actual Cloud company and their internal systems are inventive and Hart has developed an excellent sci-fi/dystopian feel with the way it operates. The characters of Paxton and Zinnia are well developed and their interactions help to build the intrigue and suspense in the story. I did feel that it only really got properly going in the second half, with a lot of the first half helping to immerse the reader in the world of Cloud and what it's like to work for them, but once the story took off I was completely hooked and stayed up far too late to finish it. Look out for some well-timed and surprising twists at the end as well.

Interesting premise but the book doesn't work for me. There's a lot of description at the expense of characterisation/action. It's a bit like reading the Cloud office manual..

Maybe events have overtaken the author but unfortunately I think the real tech companies are far scarier than Cloud!