Dal Pages

Viall, Grace. (2026). (Mostly) human resources. Alcove Press.

Annotation:

Alexys Keane never wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps, just to be near them. When Alexys started working for Entity, a “research” organisation responsible for tracking and dealing with monsters and cryptids all over America, she had every intention of remaining safely behind her desk in the HR Department. Unfortunately, adventure runs in the family. When one of the Wardens that she oversees goes missing on an unsanctioned investigation, Alexys is dragged from safety and into the dark and hair-raising woods of the Appalachian mountains. With only the help of Entity’s handsome but antagonizing Director of Research and Cataloguing, Nic, can Alexys find her missing Warden, or will she meet the same deadly fate as her father?

Discussion:

I think that (Mostly) Human Resources exemplifies some of the pitfalls that the adrenaline genre can encounter. There were places where I felt really worried for the main characters, but the main feeling that I experienced while reading this novel was frustration. Given how heavily the plot relies on the reader’s understanding of the Appalachians as a spooky and scary place, it was tough to believe that the main character (whose job is at least partially knowing this) could be as repeatedly surprised by the level of danger as she was.

I suppose it must be difficult to strike the balance between over-preparedness and newborn-infant-levels of unpreparedness in a “suddenly called to adventure” novel, but not as difficult as these characters made it seem. Especially as the call to adventure actually gave several hours of warning. The adventure genre classic of dropping your characters unexpectedly in the wilderness is a much more efficient way to explain a lack of preparedness, which certainly would help with my buy-in.