The Regional Office Is Under Attack!

An easy, five-step quiz to determine your probable rating of THE REGIONAL OFFICE IS UNDER ATTACK!:1) True or false: you are open to the idea of genre fiction.2) True or false: you believe DIE HARD to be one of the most sublime pieces of entertainment created by human hands.3) On a scale of 1 to 10, you believe DIE HARD, as sublime as it is, could be improved by the addition of things like samurai swords, killer robots, borderline superheroes, magically-enhanced assassins, creepy oracles lying in [...]

2.5 stars. I am not sure how to review this book, because I have very mixed feelings. I loved the premise. A secret underground organization that battles the forces of darkness in the world using oracles and bad-ass female assassins with mystical powers, is being attacked by an unknown enemy. I am on board with that.However.The writing style is just not good. I hate to say that because I really wanted to like this book, but I just couldn't get past the narrative voice. The female characters, eve [...]

I absolutely adored the beginning of this book - I think I spent the first 100 pages with a huge grin on my face. I just totally loved the language, the vibe, the world created, and the characters at the centre of the story. But while I think it was a brilliant book, the ending did kind of fizzle out - although I reckon that was on purpose.The book chronicles the rise and fall of the Regional Office - a private institution created to protect the world from all sorts of dangers - while focussing [...]

I loved reading this book.And then the literary whiplash hits you as the real world returns.It's so good while you're reading, and moves you along at breakneck speed with so many "yippee ki yay motherf*cker" moments that you can't help but love it. Then you turn the final page and close the book a little befuddled: "Um, what just happened?"So, go along for the ride. Give it five stars during the experience. Then come down from the adrenaline high.

Um, where to begin? Wtf happened? On the surface this book has all the trappings of a book I'm going to love. Secret societies? Check. Mysterious bad guys? Check. Superpowers? Robots? Ninja swords? Oracles? Check, check, check and check!So why on earth am I so unsatisfied and annoyed? Oh because of that whole all style no substance thing. And why keep going after the attack? It's just muddy. The book is fun and enjoyable, yes I will give it that. But I am left with way too many whys and hows tha [...]

This is an interesting book with a fun setup but stumbles fairly seriously at some points.The Regional Office is an organization which finds, trains and employs young women with mystical super powers to right wrongs via secret missions. It's located in Manhattan, deep under its front, a travel agency for the mega-rich. The Regional Office is the creation of the mysterious and mystical Oyemi and her right-hand man/butler Mr Niles. (Yes, there's a reason that sounds like Giles; the Buffy reference [...]

I absolutely hated reading this book. From the very beginning I had a hard time trying to get into it. There are multiple POVs, which is never a problem for me unless the writing doesn't agree with me. The writing did NOT agree with me. Not at all. My eyes developed a strong aversion to said writing: the cursing, the sarcasm, the jumping around to different places/characters/times with no apparent reason. More than a few times I felt like the author was trying much muuuch too hard to be clever a [...]

3.25 stars.I wanted to like this book more than I ended up liking it.I sometimes use comparisons in my reviews even though I am in general against the practice; sometimes it's just easier to compare one book or author to another. the opening chapters reminded me of something by Ernest cline. it bore the cheeky humour and pop culture references that can be found in his worksever reading further I was more in mind of a cline-Lite as IMO the story kind of fizzled after a promising set upe author al [...]

I really wanted to like this. I kept reading in the hopes it would get better.I think my problem was the writing. There were too many characters, too many storylines, and too many timelines that jumped around far too often.Would not recommend.

A joy to read. Wonderful word play, shifting narrators, double crosses of double crosses, darkness, hope, humor, dread. A wild ride. I loved it.

There was a lot going on in this novel. The lightheartedness of the prose, dialogue and premise seemed like they would be fun, and they were for a while. But eventually, I just grew tired of the plot that wasn't fleshed-out, the boring characters and the dragging conflict. So, our main concept is that the Regional Office, a secret organization dedicated to fighting supernatural forces of evil, is under attack. If you can suspend much disbelief (and I can), you will love the premise. It is fun, a [...]

4.5 out of 5. For sheer inventiveness, the book gets full marks - it's only for the sense of there being a lot of the world left on a cutting room floor somewhere that things drop down a half-step. It's an adrenaline blast of crazy adventure and Manuel Gonzales appears to be interested in creating that purest of pleasures: something that's just damn fun. His imagination sparks throughout and my great hope is that he comes back to the Regional Office someday - because the world needs more teams o [...]

Gonzales explodes the narrative and reassembles the shards into a time jumping story that switches from the expletive laden thoughts of a female operative to the dry conjecture of a research paper. It’s a pop culture laden romp through the last days of a superhero initiative with nods to Die Hard, Minority Report, Karate Kid with a healthy dose of the X-Men, Morning Glories or the Umbrella Academy. Given Gonzales’ literary history it gets the literary fiction label with a side of genre inste [...]

The Regional Office and its superpowered female assassins protect the world from the forces of darkness and annihilation. Oyemi and her oracles find new recruits and uncover evil plots. Then, a prophecy suggests that someone from within the Regional Office will bring about its downfall - and before you know it the Regional Office is under attack! Rose, the leader of the attack, was recruited from a defector on the inside and she is eager to strengthen her powers and prove herself. Sarah, defendi [...]

So, this book promised to be one thing (that I was really excited about!) and turned out to be another - which I was much less excited about.I really was SO excited about this book. The description promised madcap, possibly bordering on the edge of silly but definitely funny - adventures, with a dash of paranormal. Instead, we get a tale of revenge, which we do not understand the reasons for (for most of the book, and even then) with a dash of chuckle-worthy moments and a SHIT TON OF FLASHBACKS. [...]

This novel is fun! That said, I enjoyed the writing style more than the story. My expectations were pretty high going into this one since I'd heard a lot of hype. I did like it, but didn't love it.

Freaking loved it. Die Hard references? Kick-ass women? What's not to love?

The writing and the action scenes were great. I wish I was more invested in the characters, but nonetheless I enjoyed this book.

I loved this! It was a smart, pop-culture filled frolic full of badass superpowered women. I can completely understand why some reviewers couldn't gel with Gonzales's writing style, but it just clicked for me. I never felt like he came across as smarmy or seemed to be trying too hard, I just thought he was razor sharp and hilarious. If you like Marvel and suspending your belief, then give this a go. It isn't perfect, but the high you feel while reading it almost makes it feel like it is.

The premise of The Regional Office is Under Attack! is very exciting: a secret underground organization of badass warrior women who save the world, is under attack. It’s Die Hard with cyborgs and angsty teenager girls, with Oracles in turtle bathtubs and orange macbooks; what’s not to like? Or so I thought.It starts out well enough; one of the assassins, Rose, is counting down the minutes until she can give the infiltration signal, before she can descend the mile underground to the Regional [...]

I read most books long before publication, so other people's reviews or recommendations rarely matter to me. But sometimes a book will build and build and I'll hear enough about it that I'll finally crack and have to read it. THE REGIONAL OFFICE IS UNDER ATTACK! is that kind of book. Luckily I started this book with no idea what it was about. (Yes, my friends are excellent non-spoiler types.) I recommend you do the same. Don't read the jacket. Don't read the summary. Don't read the reviews. What [...]

A total sugar rush of a novel. I'm always bemoaning the lack of interesting stories about women that don't involve journeys to "find themselves" or dysfunctional families so kudos to Gonzales for going all-in with his premise of bad-ass female assassins. "Strong female characters" is a loaded term, one that I have some problems with, but Gonzales understands that every facet of the young women here is worth exploring, not just their ass-kicking abilities, and for all the crackerjack action set p [...]

I have so many feelings right now I don't even know where to begin. This story is told incredibly well for people who like this type of story. And I liked a heckuva a lot of this story! It was adventurous and quirky and meandering and violent and unpredicatble, but ultimately, in the end, I was left feeling unsatisfied. I wanted more and I wanted closure and it wouldn't have hurt to have one likable character.

A highly entertaining satire of the superhero genre. Did it have deeper themes? Would be hard pressed to point to one, but it was well written with characters more interesting than average. I suppose I might say that the book revolves around how putting the ends before the means ends up leading to the destruction of your good intentions and corrupts your values. But beyond that, I will say this is a fast, fun-filled fantasy romp. I chomped it down in a few days.

4.5(Review first appeared at thenewdorkreviewofbooks)If you're like me, and fun is one of the main reasons you read, then stay tuned. Because I haven't had more fun with a book in a long, long time than I did with Manuel Gonzalez's crazy, goofy, hilarious, utterly original novel The Regional Office Is Under Attack!, out today.What it's about: A mysterious organization called the Regional Office, housed in a secret location several stories below a Manhattan travel agency, uses a cadre of highly s [...]

One of the fastest, most fun books I have ever read! The Regional Office accomplishes being completely cinematic while still thoughtful about characters and the development of their relationships. The pace is swift and smart. If this book was a roller coaster ride, it would be Space Mountain. It's dark and cool, and man did I enjoy it. (Total disclaimer: I did cry during a certain chapter *no spoilers* because Gonzales wrote in a totally riveting, heartbreaking scene that I wasn't expecting and [...]

While the ending could have been tied up a little nicer, this book definitely exceeded my expectations. Fun, fast paced, with kick ass female characters. C'mon Hollywood, don't miss out on this!

This is fun and punchy and badass and I liked it a lot.

Very strange, extremely funny, quickly paced, and highly entertaining. I love Manual Gonzales's short stories and his first novel did not disappoint.

On the surface this book has all the trappings of a book I'm going to love. Secret societies? Check. Mysterious bad guys? Check. Superpowers? Robots? Ninja swords? Oracles? Check, check and check! But eventually, I just grew tired of the plot that wasn't fleshed-out, the boring characters and the dragging conflict. I really was SO excited about this book. The description of madcap adventures, with a dash of paranormal. Instead, we get a tale of revenge, which we do not understand the reasons for [...]