Hi everyone! I am back again sooner than anticipated. I have a couple of novellas on my TBR pile to fill in the gaps between some of the longer books I read. I’m watching for new releases and other books to add to my pile. I am unsure if anyone would want this but I know some book-centric influencers put out their TBR list at the beginning of the year. I might do posts like that at the beginning of the year or the beginning of the month. I don’t typically do “reading goals” but I might like to give you all a sneak peek of what to expect from me as far as content. I think I have rambled enough now. Let’s talk about The Employees.

Content Warning: Some disturbing imagery. Brief discussion of infant loss, Brief discussion of sexual content, Some discussion of mental health issues

It’s the maiden voyage of the Six Thousand Ship. The crew consists of human and humanoid workers who all have complaints about the monotonous daily tasks. All of these complaints are carefully tracked by the committee. The voyage of the Six Thousand ship is put in jeopardy when they take on strange objects from the planet New Discovery. The objects begin to have strange effects on the human and humanoid crew members. Tensions begin to boil over, mutiny is on the horizon, and the entire voyage may fall apart.

The Employees is a strange, speculative novella that packs a punch with its chilling narrative and philosophical themes. I do love novels told through unconventional narrative structures. In this case, the entire story is told through statements from the different crew members. It does read rather poetically at times while giving glimpses of the horrifying consequences of the overall mission. Olga Ravn does a great job balancing ambiguity and the concrete aspects of the plot, like the fallout of bringing these mysterious objects onto the ship. I love how the novel questions what defines humanity and what makes someone human. The small details are what really set this novella apart. The Employees satisfied my need for surreal sci-fi, philosophy, and just a touch of horror.