Westmore and More!

by Jud Widing

Karen McCorkal, a mid-level programmer at family-run corporation/sovereign nation Westmore Industries, has created a program capable of programming other programs. This renders human programmers redundant, and Westmore is nothing if not efficient.

So they fire her.
And, oops, sort of erase her identity in the process.
She does not take it well.

Now a non-person, Karen's got all the time in the world to devote to her newest hobby: tearing Westmore - man, company and country alike - down to the ground.

Trying to, anyway.

556 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 13, 2017

Reviews

[Paige Eaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

(this book actually earns 4.5/5 from me, but Goodreads hasn’t implemented half stars, so I guess 4 will have to do)

Golly, where to begin with “Westmore and More?”

Here seems okay: Jud, you magnificent bastard, you’ve done it again.

After reading “A Middling Sort,” I thought I had digested all of the witty, hilarious, and biting paragraphs Widing had to offer. I’m very happy to be wrong.

The expanses of science fiction have yet another fantastic addition because there’s so much in this book to like and explore. You want investigations of human will and thought? It’s here. Fancy a bit of artificial intelligence ethics and tautology? Also here. Ready for human ingenuity and failure? Ditto. How about innovative technological marvels impacting the future of civilization? Oh, no doubt it’s present too. Widing packed this adventure chock full of hefty substance and I’ll be satiated for quite some time.

Karen is a fallible protagonist (or antagonist? [depends on who’s asking]) who trips and stumbles her way into something WAY bigger than her (former) day job as a programmer. It’s hard not to empathize with her situation, as the ever-growing domination of Amazon/Walmart/Apple/Microsoft/capitalism looms over our ever-deteriorating lives/world/humanity. Karen tries to do something I wish I could do: take down a mega-corporation and make them pay for fucking with her. You’ll have to read to see what happens, but suffice to say, it didn’t lead where I thought it would. Which is great. Because that’s the beauty of well-written science fiction.

Widing’s imagination is deep, creative, and humorous. Some of the shit written in this book is downright appalling, side-splittingly hilarious, or deep thought-inducing - sometimes all three at once. This book jumps rope with the border of The Ridiculous, so if you’re looking for dry examinations of human nature interacting with technology, prepare to laugh and shake your head instead.

Enjoy the ride. Watch Karen succeed. Or fail. Again, depends on who’s asking.

[Lynne Hinkey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3. 5 stars: Westmore and More! takes place in a not-so-distant and not so hard to imagine future where the social media “must-have” is a MeMore account. The MeMore, brainchild product of the corporation and now sovereign country of Westmore, uses the plethora of personal information we all so readily share online, “from purchasing history to medical records to finances to genealogical analyses” to “handle the boring parts of modern life for you.” Karen McCorkal, like almost everyone, grew up with the MeMore technology and is now a midlevel programmer for Westmore Corporation.

Westmore and More! is an entertaining and ambitious story with plenty of dark humor. The satire bites hard and deep with some sadly accurate truths about human nature. The story could benefit from some serious editing, both copy editing for the numerous typos and to improve the uneven pacing and overall length. It’s worth a look for the creative story, especially for those who enjoy humorous sci-fi satire.

To read this review in its entirety, go to www(dot)undergoundbookreviews(dot)org.

[Katelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A ricocheted bullet strikes one poor soul standing with his back to a wall. It pops his skull like a zit. The force of the impact propels his corpse backwards, where the altered gravity of the wall tries to pick it up. The gravity of his current floor doesn’t relent, however, and so the body flattens into the corner, vibrating nightmarishly as it oscillates between two planes of gravity, dancing the dance of death so that the living might learn the steps."

This isn't even the best passage out of the book but it's one that I find visually thrilling to read. Jud Widing is quite imaginative in Westmore and More! with it's many quirky characters and futuristic technologies that probably aren't far from our own future. One of my favorite "inventions" in this book is The Grumbler, a futuristic way to punish via virtual reality.

I will say it probably could have used some cutting down where it drags on in some parts, although much of that is part of the personality of the Narrator.

I really enjoyed Westmore and More! and I can't wait to read Jud's next book!

[Parker Watts · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming, cyberpunk comedy of errors, where the hubris of our corporate overlords is matched only by the hubris of their creations.

This is the first of Jud's books that I've read. It begins with a farcical, punchline-heavy style of writing that fans of Pratchett's work will probably enjoy. The jokes are genuinely very funny in places, but I was slightly concerned during the first half of the novel that this would carry through to the very end, which can cause issues during climaxes and dramatic moments. Thankfully, while the jokes don't stop in the latter half, they become more plot-driven, and several are funny more in a cosmic irony sort of way. The narrator's character arc is probably the best example of this, which I enjoyed greatly.

The cover design is, as always, lovely. A physical copy looks quite nice on the shelf. I'd highly recommend this book to Terry Pratchett fans, and people who are terrified of the Amazon Alexa.

[Kasie · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to read a whirlwind piece of literature, this book is for you. Such a cool concept of a story and the way it’s written will really keep you guessing about what happens next. I was audibly laughing out loud for a lot of this book, it was such a fun one to read. Looking forward to reading more books by this author!!

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel ill equipped to do a review justice, but her goes nothing. The entertainment value in this book is alone worth the read. Try to imagine sitting near Robin Williams and Jonathan Winters, discussing Firesign Theater. Jud Widing's imagination is truly amazing.