Jennifer Government, Max Barry

In the world of Max Barry's Jennifer Government: no one has their own surname anymore, just the name of the company you work for; the world is carved into corporate markets and nothing, not even human life, is important as sales. Sounds grim but it's gratifyingly sharp and funny.

Lowly Hack Nike can't believe his luck when company execs John Nike and John Nike offer him a chance to move up out of merchandising into the the rarified strata of marketing. Unfortunately, the new position requires him to shoot teenagers who try to buy the product.

Jennifer Government is funny, very funny, and sarcastic as hell. Not surprising given its setting and subject matter, but it's really a story, not the lecture on consumerism it sounds like, and it's told well, cleanly and clearly. It assumes the reader already knows these things are bad, then it runs on to the things we're really there for: character and plot. Barry does a good job of not telling us who the characters are and he shows us through action that moves along at a good clip. Jennifer Government is surprisingly light and pleasant for a book about a future devoured nearly whole by capitalism, and very enjoyable to read.

For a weekend of the complete rejection of crass consumerism, enjoy this with Frederick Pohl and CM Cornbluth's masterful classic, "The Space Merchants."