The Way We Live Now

The longer Paul works at TxDoGS, the more he begins to suspect that some of his colleagues may in fact not be quite human. He is increasingly possessed by the idea that there are zombies--actual, nonmetaphorical zombies--in his office. Kings of Infinite Space (the reference is to Hamlet) is social satire that slides smoothly and surreally into horror, and if it loses a little of its emotional heft in the process, you don't really miss it. The glee with which Hynes choreographs an in-office zombie-vs.-stapler fight scene is compensation enough.

Office Space notwithstanding, the life of the white-collar wage slave is chronically underchronicled, and one wonders, with all the suburban epics out there, why aren't there more office novels? Granted, with all the undead mayhem, there are moments when Hynes seems to lose track of what exactly he's trying to say about office life. Should we fear the zombified Dilberts that threaten Paul's sanity or pity them? After all, what office drone hasn't felt his or her humanity being leached away by carpeted walls and racks of low-hanging fluorescent lamps at $5.25 an hour? "You gonna let life, that bitch, grind you down, Paul?" a villainous cubicle dweller asks our hero. "You gonna stay whipped for the rest of your days? Are we not men?" Yes. More's the pity.