The Thing in the Snow: A Novel by Sean Adams
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Web ID: 15697191Fresh & Funny
Sean Adams' THE THING IN THE SNOW is brilliant in its dry, sarcastic look at the inane tasks and pointless hierarchies of the typical office. Of course, the office in question is located in an unnamed, isolated, and freezing environment, but the office humor hits just the same. A fan of Adams' debut, THE HEAP, I thoroughly enjoyed THE THING IN THE SNOW for it's subtle mysteries and eccentric (and relatable) characters. Perfect for fans of Kevin Wilson or Jesse Andrews.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Just a Great Mystery
Writing: 4/5 Character Development: 3/5 Warnings: None Themes: Mystery The Thing in the Snow is about a group of people who are assigned to an abandoned research facility. This book was unlike anything I have read before. It is based around 4 people that try to complete their tasks but keep getting distracted or confused about what they are doing. There isn’t any world building and very little character development. It is just a simple mystery that had me wanting to know the ending. I would suggest this book to anyone who want to read a quick mystery and nothing else. I received a free copy of this book and am leaving an honest review.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
highly recommended
The Thing in the Snow by Sean Adams is a highly recommended novel which is a satirical and psychological examination of the workplace. The Northern Institute is a seven story research facility in an environment of permanent snow and ice. The researchers have all left the building and three caretakers, Hart, the supervisor, Gibbs, and Cline, and one mysterious researcher, Gilroy, are left in the building. Hart, Gibbs, and Cline do weekly tasks assigned by Kay to keep the building in working order. These are sent to them in a folder along with their weekly supplies which are dropped off via a weekly helicopter. Their weekly tasks are mundane, repetitious assignments, such as checking every door in the building for squeaks, etc, or sit on every chair to ensure its stability. After opening their day with coffee and light conversation in Hart's office, the three begin their tasks. They usually start with the first floor, the first two floors are buried in the snow, and work their way upwards. Hart embraces his role as the leader, so when Gibbs and Cline bring up the thing in the snow, he isn't thriller about it and finds it an unnecessary distraction. Those two, however, are mesmerized by it. But then it seems that other things might be a bit off in the building. Are the lights really flickering oddly? Is the thing moving? Hart is the narrator of the novel, so we experience and view everything through his perceptions and point of view. He is also the only developed character. The pace of the novel is slow and plodding throughout, but is surprisingly appealing and humorous, especially if you have ever experienced work place drama and distractions. There are many things that could be "the thing in the snow" at work places. This novel is a pure satirical and psychological study of isolation, obsession, ineffective bureaucracy, distractions, and meaningless tasks in a work place. The narrative takes, examining isolation, obsession, and paranoia in a mundane, repetitious environment. It is not an action packed horror novel or even especially creepy. It does tackle the toll of monotony and isolation in one's life and can be surprisingly funny at times. Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of William Morrow.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Adams Elevates the Banal
Sean Adam’s follow up to his debut The Heap expounds further on his satire of pointless bureaucracy and mindless obedience to authority. As in his first outing, Adams places the setting in an amorphous future wasteland containing remnants of a decimated civilization. Even the name of the abandoned research facility is meaningless. The Northern Institute is stripped bare of its own history and significance, now a shell surrounded by obliterating snow. The novel’s characters are roughly hewn with no backgrounds or depth, serving as drones for the repetitive plot about inane maintenance tasks. The narrator has willingly reduced his own identity to that of a robotic, prototypical middle-manager. There is a faceless authority that disinterestedly deposits provisions and assigns tasks for the Institute’s caretakers—as remote and inaccessible as any supreme power. Without the usual markers of time and physical borders, the free-floating existence of the inhabitants requires the creation of arbitrary measures to assuage existential anxiety. When an unknown object suddenly appears, it disrupts the entire system, leaving the unmoored characters to careen into obsession and paranoia. The Thing in the Snow is itself a maddening exercise—the reader is lulled into a stupor by the granular description of boring assignments and circular interactions. A commentary on the necessity of basic curiosity and adaptability, Adam’s second novel succeeds at being at once stultifying and captivating.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com