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Future Fish
‘Fast, funny and freaky’
Luke Healy
Sacked from his first job in Dublin, Mark McGuire arrives in the dismal town of Ashcross to take up a new role as customer service assistant for Ireland’ s second-biggest pet food brand, WellCat. From his initial impressions, it’ s a toss-up whether he’ ll die of misery or boredom.
He couldn’ t be more wrong. For starters, the improbably cute receptionist, Kevin, seems willing to audition as the man of Mark’ s dreams. There’ s also the launch of a hush-hush new product, Future Fish, on the horizon. Not to mention the ragtag band of exorcists, alien-hunters and animal rights warriors who are all convinced WellCat is up to no good. Why are these crackpots so keen on getting close to Mark? And will their schemes ruin his career prospects?
In a deliciously daft comic caper, Conor Sneyd perfectly captures the powerlessness of low-rung office life as well as the seductive zealotry of our times.
Luke Healy
Sacked from his first job in Dublin, Mark McGuire arrives in the dismal town of Ashcross to take up a new role as customer service assistant for Ireland’ s second-biggest pet food brand, WellCat. From his initial impressions, it’ s a toss-up whether he’ ll die of misery or boredom.
He couldn’ t be more wrong. For starters, the improbably cute receptionist, Kevin, seems willing to audition as the man of Mark’ s dreams. There’ s also the launch of a hush-hush new product, Future Fish, on the horizon. Not to mention the ragtag band of exorcists, alien-hunters and animal rights warriors who are all convinced WellCat is up to no good. Why are these crackpots so keen on getting close to Mark? And will their schemes ruin his career prospects?
In a deliciously daft comic caper, Conor Sneyd perfectly captures the powerlessness of low-rung office life as well as the seductive zealotry of our times.
304 pages, Paperback
Published March 9, 2023
2 people are currently reading
182 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
February 13, 2023
a fucking trip, but absolutely hilarious
read my review here
Rep: gay mc & li
read my review here
Rep: gay mc & li
March 15, 2024
Just sat and read this in one sitting and I am absolutely SHOCKED at how few reviews this has???
I loved loved loved it! A super interesting look at conspiracy theory and how it intertwines with the mundanity of capitalism but in a REALLY funny way!! Feels very topical at the moment with the Kate Middleton conspiracy lol
Anyway, I loved it and everyone should read it!
I loved loved loved it! A super interesting look at conspiracy theory and how it intertwines with the mundanity of capitalism but in a REALLY funny way!! Feels very topical at the moment with the Kate Middleton conspiracy lol
Anyway, I loved it and everyone should read it!
March 19, 2023
This isn't my usual kind of thing but I picked it up because the author is in my book club. It was an entertainingly absurd story about a hapless gay guy who moves to a small town in western Ireland: the writing great, and it kept me amused to the end.
May 10, 2023
never thought I’d relate to a demonic, extraterrestrial, animal rights cat food company conspiracy thriller / comedy but here we are
April 3, 2023
Future Fish is set in the fictional sleepy Irish town of Ashcross so naturally I started reading this whilst on my holiday to the west coast of Ireland.
This debut novel by Conor Sneyd is a hilarious and WILD ride that you won’t be able to put down. Following Mark whilst he starts his new job it has everything from alien conspiracy theorists to kidnap attempts. I devoured this book and it’s such a strong debut from Sneyd. I can’t wait to see what he writes next as I really liked his writing style 😁
If you’re looking for a quick and compulsive read I highly recommend this! 🐟
This debut novel by Conor Sneyd is a hilarious and WILD ride that you won’t be able to put down. Following Mark whilst he starts his new job it has everything from alien conspiracy theorists to kidnap attempts. I devoured this book and it’s such a strong debut from Sneyd. I can’t wait to see what he writes next as I really liked his writing style 😁
If you’re looking for a quick and compulsive read I highly recommend this! 🐟
March 9, 2023
*I received a free copy of this book, with thanks to the author and Eye and Lightning Books. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
How can a story that is mainly about the highs and lows of normal office life be so thoroughly entertaining?!
Main character, Mark, is having a pre-mid-life crisis of sorts. Having been sacked from his job for lack of enthusiasm, he is determined to throw himself wholeheartedly into boring corporate drone life in his new role of email-answerer at WellCat pet food company. Luckily for Mark (and us readers) life and his new colleagues/friends are determined to thwart his efforts at mediocrity, resulting in a series of ridiculous and ridiculously funny situations involving conspiracies, a bit of light crime, and a widespread desperation to get into WellCat’s mysterious basement lab and uncover the big secret of Future Fish cat food.
This all mingles together into a delightfully chaotic romp of a story that manages to be both amusingly absurd (in a similar way to the John Cleese film Clockwise) and yet instantly relatable to anyone who has ever worked a low-grade office job answering the same customer emails over and over again – not an easy feat, but Conor Sneyd pulls it off here with aplomb.
The characters, other than Mark, feel somewhat over-exaggerated and larger than life but this doesn’t detract from the quality of the story but instead adds to the wacky surreality of it all, with Mark as the ‘straight (gay) guy’ in all the chaos. I was equal parts horrified and happy to learnt that the author based said characters partially on his own real-life activist experiences… I never before pictured an overlap between animal rights activism, aliens and religious zealotry, but now I do!
Easy to read and, in fact, difficult to stop reading, this is a really clever and light-hearted debut that kept me on the hook throughout. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for more books from this author in future, whether they feature more of Mark’s antics with his quirky crew, or something entirely different.
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpres...
How can a story that is mainly about the highs and lows of normal office life be so thoroughly entertaining?!
Main character, Mark, is having a pre-mid-life crisis of sorts. Having been sacked from his job for lack of enthusiasm, he is determined to throw himself wholeheartedly into boring corporate drone life in his new role of email-answerer at WellCat pet food company. Luckily for Mark (and us readers) life and his new colleagues/friends are determined to thwart his efforts at mediocrity, resulting in a series of ridiculous and ridiculously funny situations involving conspiracies, a bit of light crime, and a widespread desperation to get into WellCat’s mysterious basement lab and uncover the big secret of Future Fish cat food.
This all mingles together into a delightfully chaotic romp of a story that manages to be both amusingly absurd (in a similar way to the John Cleese film Clockwise) and yet instantly relatable to anyone who has ever worked a low-grade office job answering the same customer emails over and over again – not an easy feat, but Conor Sneyd pulls it off here with aplomb.
The characters, other than Mark, feel somewhat over-exaggerated and larger than life but this doesn’t detract from the quality of the story but instead adds to the wacky surreality of it all, with Mark as the ‘straight (gay) guy’ in all the chaos. I was equal parts horrified and happy to learnt that the author based said characters partially on his own real-life activist experiences… I never before pictured an overlap between animal rights activism, aliens and religious zealotry, but now I do!
Easy to read and, in fact, difficult to stop reading, this is a really clever and light-hearted debut that kept me on the hook throughout. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for more books from this author in future, whether they feature more of Mark’s antics with his quirky crew, or something entirely different.
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpres...
March 18, 2023
Thank you @Conor_sneyd and @lightingbooks for letting me read and review Future Fish. I loved it. I read Future Fish in 4 hours the same day i could not put it down. The front cover is lovely and eyecatching orange With fish on it grabs your sttention staight the way. I found future of fish funny and entertertaining. Conor Sneyd writting style is really good and the story was easy to get into. The story is in first person which is Mark that starts working at the wellcat where he meets Kevin and Noelle there. I liked Noelle alot very strong female character and is there for Mark. Absolutely fantastic read 5 stars. Strongly recommend you read future Fish and i will be reading more by Conor Sneyd in the future. Out now to buy
March 19, 2023
This book is hilarious. Read the first three pages and see if you can put it down. The protagonist is flawed but so honest about his limitations that you can't help but like him. His humor carries you through his mistakes and compels you to forgive him. He lands in a horrible town working a terrible job and who hasn't experienced that in their life? The cast of characters carries the story along, from the boss, to co-workers, to love interests, to conspiracy theorists. The writing is tight. I couldn't put it down. Highly recommend to anyone who wants to be entertained.
July 16, 2023
Fun light entertainment with a big heart! (Also it's gay.) Mark McGuire lost his job and ends up answering customer service emails at a pet food company in the greyest small town in Ireland. The CEO is kinda weird, but the cute receptionist seems to be flirting with him, so maybe that's good? Unfortunately the company's new top-secret product becomes the subject of a YouTuber's alien conspiracy theory... and then things get even more complicated. Part hapless office dude comedy, part caper/heist, part finding your place in the world - all in all, a lot of fun.
February 19, 2023
Mark McGuire is your regular average and hapless Joe. Life hasn’t gone the way he hoped (or, perhaps more importantly, as well as anyone who knows him hoped) and so he has left the city to start a new life in a sleepy and godforsaken town.
Only, it’s not godforsaken — anything but. And, despite its appearance suggesting there’s absolutely no reason anyone should care in the slightest about the place, it turns out Ashcross and Mark’s new employer WellCat are at the centre of a bombastic web of conspiracy and scandal.
To make matters worse, nobody can agree what the scandal actually is! Maybe aliens? Maybe the devil? Maybe animal abuse? Maybe ruthless business espionage? All the above? Who knows — Mark certainly doesn’t.
All that he does know, is that hard as he tries, nothing ever seems to go his way.
In short: This is a book for anyone who has ever been a Mark struggling to keep swimming forward in a world of mundane failures and who wants an uplifting and funny caper to escape into. Check it out!
Only, it’s not godforsaken — anything but. And, despite its appearance suggesting there’s absolutely no reason anyone should care in the slightest about the place, it turns out Ashcross and Mark’s new employer WellCat are at the centre of a bombastic web of conspiracy and scandal.
To make matters worse, nobody can agree what the scandal actually is! Maybe aliens? Maybe the devil? Maybe animal abuse? Maybe ruthless business espionage? All the above? Who knows — Mark certainly doesn’t.
All that he does know, is that hard as he tries, nothing ever seems to go his way.
In short: This is a book for anyone who has ever been a Mark struggling to keep swimming forward in a world of mundane failures and who wants an uplifting and funny caper to escape into. Check it out!
December 1, 2025
I was expecting a classic small town romance/plight of the minimum wage worker tale. This book has that but also a whole lot more, which I'm not sure if it needed. Some of it's most poignant critiques of the pointless banality of office life get overshadowed by the most absurd plot point two pages later. (Ending spoilers below)
I thought the ending was rushed and unclear--are we supposed to support or despise conspiracy theories? Their disastrous effects in the real world seem to point firmly towards the latter, but at some points I felt like the author was implausibly painting the conspiracy theorists as fundamently good and well-intentioned people. I mean, who on earth falls in love with the guy who completely lied to him before actually kidnapping him? I get that the world and the people in it aren't black and white, but the Mark-Sean romance felt completely unjustified after the kidnapping. Overall, the book is an easy read, and I laughed at some parts, but I would definitely not place it in my top ten list.
I thought the ending was rushed and unclear--are we supposed to support or despise conspiracy theories? Their disastrous effects in the real world seem to point firmly towards the latter, but at some points I felt like the author was implausibly painting the conspiracy theorists as fundamently good and well-intentioned people. I mean, who on earth falls in love with the guy who completely lied to him before actually kidnapping him? I get that the world and the people in it aren't black and white, but the Mark-Sean romance felt completely unjustified after the kidnapping. Overall, the book is an easy read, and I laughed at some parts, but I would definitely not place it in my top ten list.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 13, 2023
Witty, addicting and simply brilliant.
It‘s been so long since I enjoyed a story so much! It was so captivating. I never thought that a simple customer service story would make me so tense and hyped.
Furthermore I was simply shocked by how much I related to the story.
I am also a 22 year old working in customer service. I had so many parallels to the maincharacter… I thought that was hilarious. Don‘t ask me why but I saw some Jane Austen elements in the writing and the reading pace was as smooth as a Murakami novel. All the description of working in an office were on point. I talked about the book to my co-workers and we really had a laugh. The future fish mystery was so creative. I really wonder: how can one come up with such a story?!
I can‘t wait to read more from Conor Sneyd in the future!
It‘s been so long since I enjoyed a story so much! It was so captivating. I never thought that a simple customer service story would make me so tense and hyped.
Furthermore I was simply shocked by how much I related to the story.
I am also a 22 year old working in customer service. I had so many parallels to the maincharacter… I thought that was hilarious. Don‘t ask me why but I saw some Jane Austen elements in the writing and the reading pace was as smooth as a Murakami novel. All the description of working in an office were on point. I talked about the book to my co-workers and we really had a laugh. The future fish mystery was so creative. I really wonder: how can one come up with such a story?!
I can‘t wait to read more from Conor Sneyd in the future!
February 6, 2023
What an absolute joy Future Fish was to read! I flew through it in 2 sittings as I was completely hooked!(pardon the pun!)
I was lucky enough to receive an e-copy proof in exchange for an honest review.
Our protagonist, Mark McGuire, embarks on a new job and new life in a seemingly sleepy Irish town but Mark soon discovers all isn't as it seems at WellCat. What is down in the lab and why is Mark's boss Maeve so keen to keep everyone out of there?
Hilarity, comic misunderstandings, LGBTQ+ romance, mystery of suspense and a dash of peril ensue. This book really does have it all.
Conor has a natural and immersive writing style and I can't wait to see what He comes up with next!
A must read!
I was lucky enough to receive an e-copy proof in exchange for an honest review.
Our protagonist, Mark McGuire, embarks on a new job and new life in a seemingly sleepy Irish town but Mark soon discovers all isn't as it seems at WellCat. What is down in the lab and why is Mark's boss Maeve so keen to keep everyone out of there?
Hilarity, comic misunderstandings, LGBTQ+ romance, mystery of suspense and a dash of peril ensue. This book really does have it all.
Conor has a natural and immersive writing style and I can't wait to see what He comes up with next!
A must read!
October 14, 2024
Daft and snarky - my kind of book!! This was a really fun, light read that was much needed on a grey day! You just lose yourself in the madness of it all and wonder what trouble Mark will find himself wrapped up in!
Set in a company that manufactures cat food - yes really! - we follow Mark as he navigates an odd working environment, dating disasters and multiple conspiracy theories! You're really in the thick of things with the difficulties of office politics, and questioning where his life has taken him! But it's all done with the perfect humour, many moments had me laughing out loud and it's a great escape book from all the doom and gloom in the world today!
Set in a company that manufactures cat food - yes really! - we follow Mark as he navigates an odd working environment, dating disasters and multiple conspiracy theories! You're really in the thick of things with the difficulties of office politics, and questioning where his life has taken him! But it's all done with the perfect humour, many moments had me laughing out loud and it's a great escape book from all the doom and gloom in the world today!
March 11, 2023
Hilarious, ridiculous, and somehow heart-warming, this fast paced adventure will resonate particularly with millennials who struggle to articulate why their lives feel emptier than those that society (and Oprah) promised, as well as anyone who has ever worked in customer service. Highly recommended.
April 10, 2023
I could not put this book down. Loved every minute of it! It’s basically a workplace comedy with an intriguing mystery that makes the stakes feel way higher than they actually are. I’m not sure if it was just the mystery or the engaging narrator, but I got some pretty strong Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore vibes from this one!
May 1, 2023
This genre of book isn't usually my cup of tea, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't audibly laugh multiple times while reading. The book is silly and fun in all the best ways, and I recommend this book for anyone looking for a lighthearted romp into corporate tediousness.
July 14, 2025
3.5 stars
Essentially an anti-capitalist fantasy: better to run with a bunch of unhinged criminals and conspiracy theorists than slave away at a soul-sucking job. It’s easy and fun to read, with a very relatable protagonist, but it could probably use a bit more depth.
Essentially an anti-capitalist fantasy: better to run with a bunch of unhinged criminals and conspiracy theorists than slave away at a soul-sucking job. It’s easy and fun to read, with a very relatable protagonist, but it could probably use a bit more depth.
February 23, 2023
This book is hilarious. An absolutely mad ride which is still completely believable from start to finish. 100% recommended!
April 9, 2023
A delightfully silly and easy read, about the silliness of mdoern workplaces
April 13, 2023
Easily my favorite comedy read of the year! The contents are almost as intriguing as the cover.
May 20, 2023
A solid 4.
June 14, 2023
i’m so so glad that i randomly picked this up!! who would’ve thought a mystery about a cat food company with extraterrestrial, churchy and animal rights elements would be so incredibly entertaining!
June 19, 2023
This was absolutely ridiculous, and I loved it.
July 8, 2023
was war das
September 9, 2023
Sublimely silly and fantastically funny.
October 30, 2023
Funny and enjoyable read, kept me entertained throughout and I liked the characters.
January 25, 2024
You know it's good when you laugh out loud on the train. Utterly mad, thoroughly enjoyable
July 18, 2024
I picked up this book recommended by my local bookshop, with no expectations at all. I read it in two days, completely hooked! A light but thrilling read, kept me engaged until the very last page!
October 15, 2024
One of the pleasant surprises of this year. Very clever and beautifully written.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews