Kaczka’s vicious blend of suspense, bloodshed, and parody is inspired and original, as he lampoons influencer culture, racism, boomers, buzzword-afflicted corpo-culturists, and more. Abigor, in a frenzy of self-adulation, makes a toast, with human blood, to “one hundred years of excellence” and ruling “the corporate world from the shadows” in one scene, while in others he muses on how strange he finds it that workplaces have become increasingly diverse. Some jolts of horror are both funny and inventive, like the revelation of the contents of the rules book given to conference goers. The satire is heavy-handed but likely to amuse readers wary of management happy-talk, especially as the presentations spin increasingly out of control in flashy, funny ways.

The cast is large enough that not everyone makes an impression, trapped in scenes of lurking evil and lessons about the pillars of leadership, and as the events get ever-crazier the over-the-top ethos diminishes suspense or investment in the characters, who trend toward morbid caricatures, including Abigor’s minion Camilla, who acknowledges she’s “mired in groupthink” but, still, has her sights set no higher than Abigor’s position, in hopes of being “the first woman chair of the Summit Conference.” Kaczka’s social-satire-by-way-of-haunted-house is ambitious, making pulpy entertainment out of a gore-soaked, blunt skewering of late-stage capitalism. There’s a lot to digest here, but readers who appreciate unbridled mockery of self-proclaimed “management mastermind”s will be entertained.

Takeaway: Influencers and corporate-wannabes discover business is hell in thishorror-satire.

Comparable Titles: Lee Mountford’s Haunted: Hotel, Mona Awad’s Bunny.

Production grades
Cover: B-
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: B+
Marketing copy: A-