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A review by julianav
Oddjobs by Heide Goody, Iain Grant
4.0
This audiobook has a very intriguing blurb and I jumped at the chance for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
Morag, a transfer from the Edinburgh to Birmingham travels on Sunday to her new job as a member of a response team of an agency that deals with ensuring that the Apocalypse runs smoothly. Arriving in Birmingham she is pulled into a search for one of the high-ranking nobles of the Venislarn. These fish-like intelligent aliens invaded Earth and when the time is right, their gods (who they conveniently brought with them) will plunge our planet into an inescapable hell. Until then, the government agency that employs Morag appeases the aliens and tries to come up with a way to market the apocalypse to the general public.
Other characters, like Rod Campbell and the clueless, yet smart Nina work with Morag, to at the very least contain the damage to the public from the Venislarn aided by Mrs Vivian Grey, a woman who gives most aliens pause, and the stage is set.
Whilst the book is billed as workplace comedy, and there are enough laughs from the satire of the typical office, it often doesn't gel with a Cthulhu-like feel of the book. That's where I feel was the biggest failing of the book. Balancing two genres without giving preference to one. This made the book hard to get into at first, but once the story, which I would describe as a supernatural horror with elements of satire I didn't want to stop listening to it.
The narrator for this book is amazing, every person is distinct and I think Nina's Birmingham accent is seared in my brain, but in a good way.
I would recommend this and to not be discouraged by the first couple of chapters, it really does get better by the end. Even if better mean the Apocalypse is still on track.
Morag, a transfer from the Edinburgh to Birmingham travels on Sunday to her new job as a member of a response team of an agency that deals with ensuring that the Apocalypse runs smoothly. Arriving in Birmingham she is pulled into a search for one of the high-ranking nobles of the Venislarn. These fish-like intelligent aliens invaded Earth and when the time is right, their gods (who they conveniently brought with them) will plunge our planet into an inescapable hell. Until then, the government agency that employs Morag appeases the aliens and tries to come up with a way to market the apocalypse to the general public.
Other characters, like Rod Campbell and the clueless, yet smart Nina work with Morag, to at the very least contain the damage to the public from the Venislarn aided by Mrs Vivian Grey, a woman who gives most aliens pause, and the stage is set.
Whilst the book is billed as workplace comedy, and there are enough laughs from the satire of the typical office, it often doesn't gel with a Cthulhu-like feel of the book. That's where I feel was the biggest failing of the book. Balancing two genres without giving preference to one. This made the book hard to get into at first, but once the story, which I would describe as a supernatural horror with elements of satire I didn't want to stop listening to it.
The narrator for this book is amazing, every person is distinct and I think Nina's Birmingham accent is seared in my brain, but in a good way.
I would recommend this and to not be discouraged by the first couple of chapters, it really does get better by the end. Even if better mean the Apocalypse is still on track.