Company Town
Hwa is one of the few people on New Arcadia, a converted oil platform off the Canadian coast, who has refused all body modifications. That makes her useful as a bodyguard, particularly to the family that owns the rig. When the heir to that family becomes the target of an apparent killer who can reach across networks, Hwa finds herself drawn into a case that mixes corporate intrigue, futuristic technology, and a string of murders. Madeline Ashby blends near future science fiction with elements of mystery and noir, and sets her story in a believable, working class community where sex workers and rig hands live and look out for one another. Published in 2016, Company Town is a standalone novel rather than part of her earlier Machine Dynasty trilogy.
What you might want to know about Company Town
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
On a near future Atlantic oil rig that doubles as a company city, an unaugmented bodyguard tries to protect a young heir from someone hunting him through time and code.
No. Company Town is a standalone novel.
It is near future and accessible, with realistic technology rather than far future settings.
Company Town was written by Madeline Ashby, published in 2016 by Tor Books.
Company Town is 288 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Company Town takes most readers 4 to 6 hours to finish.
Company Town is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
