THE MANAGEMENT STYLE OF THE SUPREME BEINGS is an amusing new novel from an author I've been reading for years. It's well-written, playful, and with well-drawn characters. If you're familiar with the author's oeuvre, then I'm sure you'll have a good idea of what to expect from TMSOTSB. Recommended.

What if God decided to cash in and retire? In The Management Style of Supreme Beings, God, after consulting with his son Jay, decides to sell out to the Venturi brothers, a sort of galactic holding company. If this sounds like a silly set-up for a novel, you're right. If you think it sounds extremely blasphemous, well, it's all in good fun. This is not a Christian novel, by any means, but I like to think even God might get a chuckle out of it.



Holt's characters include many we know, like God, Jay, the guy in the red suit at the North Pole (turns out he's a god of thunder), Uncle Gabe (the angel Gabriel), and, of course, the devil himself. But the star of the show is Jay's little brother, Kevin, who lives in his famous brother's shadow and can't seem to do anything right.



The Venturis introduce a new cash-based moral code. When you sin, a representative instantly appears and hands you a bill. If you can't afford to pay the penalty, you wind up in their debtor's prison. Needless to say, sinning (and crime) plummet, but people are miserable. Kevin sets out to change things up, but not like his brother did. Meanwhile, the red-suited guy isn't too happy with the current arrangement, either, and God and Jay question whether they should have retired in the first place.



Holt writes this as silly as you might expect, and has plenty of good lines that you might not expect. Reflecting on the origin and current state of the world, Holt notes that "the eighth day, so legend has it, Dad, Jay, and Uncle Ghost spend hiding from the product liability lawyers." Later, when Uncle Gabe is offering counsel to Kevin, he is offering parting words: "I was about to say, God be with you, but he's on Sinteraan [another planet where God is on a fishing trip with Jay], so you can forget that. You're on your own now." The book abounds with this sort of joke.



It's a romp, where the plot takes a back seat to the characters, and it's fun to read, even if it's rather shallow. As a Christian, I felt a little bit like I should have been offended, but it is still pretty funny.





Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

4.4 stars
This is the first official Tom Holt book I've read and finished. I liked his novella The Devil You Know written under his pseudonym KJ Parker but DNF his The Good, the Bad and the Smug (not to my taste). He has been likened to the esteemed Sir Pratchett so I was curious to how the comparison would hold up.

The premise here is that God and his sons (yes, there are two sons) decide to sell the 'family business' to the Venturi brothers from Mars. Just to clarify though, God as written here is the Judaeo-Christian God, so all throughout the book are sly references to apple orchards, smiting, miracles such as walking on water and replicating bread/fish, angels, the heaven/hell paradigm. Jay, the older son, is pretty much Jesus and the reliable dutiful son whereas Kevin, the younger son, is the screw-up. There's also Uncle Nick (Mr Lucifer to his lackeys), Uncle Rafe and Uncle Gabe - you get the idea. God is tired, he wants to retire to go fishing and travel the galaxy.

Of course, the fishing is not normal everyday fishing: "Sinderaan fish exist in five dimensions: unless you play them just right, they can easily slip into the past and refuse to take the bait, or zoom forward into a future where your line snags on a submerged rock." In this aspect, Tom Holt's writing is more similar to Douglas Adam's, specifically his Dirk Gently and Hitchhiker's Guide series.

Satirical humor is sprinkled liberally throughout with the subjects of business corporations, religion, hell, human behavior and relationships. After the Venturi brothers take over the world, there is no more right/wrong, heaven/hell, reward/punishment system. Instead, all the 'sins' are punishable with a monetary fine so the decision process of performing bad deeds becomes a question of affordability. Hell, previously filled with investment bankers and bureaucrats, becomes obsolete and is turned into an amusement park. The only fly in the ointment is one of the old elusive gods who lives in the Arctic and travels by reindeer (very reminiscent of 'The Hogfather' by Terry Pratchett).

Tom Holt makes a special effort to subvert tropes like 'hero saves girl.' However, he does give in to stereotypes such as the wise old Asian man in the corner who dispenses sage advice to the hero (Terry Pratchett has a similar omniscient old monk in his books fulfilling the same purpose). The book operates under the unspoken assumption that the whole world's faith falls under the blanket jurisdiction of a Judeo-Christian God who has the authority to 'sell' it off en-masse. When the Venturi brothers address all the world leaders, Tom Holt remembers to write that they are hearing the message all in their individual languages but neglects to remember they all have different faiths and religions.

There is a lot of action in many settings: hell, Arctic, Siberia, London, Sinderaan, Mediterranean, other planets etc. but the plot itself was not difficult to follow. There are a lot of witty ideas crammed into this book e.g. the divine helpline whose number is hidden in obscure hieroglyphics. At the end of the day, satirical humor is highly subjective. Christians who hew to the scripture closely may not be so amused. Those who like the vein of humor as I've outlined above should give it a try.

Note: Although I was approved by Netgalley and the publishers for this book, it got archived before I had a chance to download it. I obtained this copy with my own means.

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"...do you believe in Santa Claus?"
Kevin paused for a moment before answering. "You mean, does he exist? Yes, he does."
Jersey's eyes opened wide, but he didn't say anything.
"You sound awfully sure," Lucy said. "That's, um, unusual in a grown up."
"Well, yes. Do you believe in the internal combustion engine?"
"What? I mean, well, yes. It's not something you need to believe in. It's just there."
Kevin nodded. "They're both equally miraculous or equally mundane, depending on whether you happen to know for sure."
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I wasn't sure about this one at first... It started great, then slowed up a bit - which is what I've noticed about Tom Holt in the past. I struggle with him - he devises brilliant storylines that draw me right in but the build up takes time, and sometimes he loses me in the process. I'm SO glad I stuck with this one though - it was truly excellent!

The concept of a universe for sale to the highest bidder seems so sadly, hilariously, tragically possible right now... The world is an increasingly uncertain place, it seems, and things like faith and responsibility do seem to be rather up for grabs. Under Holt's manipulation, those worries are transformed into a brilliantly cynical, thoroughly entertaining, deftly manipulated, surprisingly thought-provoking tale about the price of certainty and the costs of belief. He is a very talented author - that was no surprise. He is facile with language, playing with words and phrases and concepts that are commonplace and turning them on their heads to convey his particular brand of theology (and ideology) in a manner that feels wholly original and refreshing. By taking issues like our contemporary obsession with materiality and comfort, or the relentless search for certainty and cost-effectiveness, to logical - and absurd - conclusions, he points out how foolish such quests can be without making it feel like he is making fun of us (even though he probably is)... There's brilliance in layering life lessons like this - and it makes for a devastatingly fun(ny) read too.

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"To Whom it May Conserve. They have predictive text software in Hell; they also have the people who designed it."
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"That's crazy," Snib exploded. "That's stupid."
"Not stupid," the Red Lord said. "Frivolous. There's a difference. It's a crucial one, and you'll never understand it as long as you live."
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If you are looking for a book that satirizes religion without getting too damn dark, THE MANAGEMENT STYLE OF THE SUPREME BEINGS is perfect for you. It makes you think without drowning the reader in morality. It is such a fun read that the 400 pages fly by.

Our hero is Jersey Thorpe, an Indiana Jones type character who is a bit full of himself but quite good at discovering the biggest secrets left behind by previous civilizations. Unfortunately for him, the question of “is there a God?” is answered pretty clearly when God sells the planet to the Venturi brothers, who value money over actual right and wrong. They don’t want your soul, they just want your checkbook.

This book has a great HITCHHIKERS GUIDE TO THE GALAXY vibe, with just enough nonsense and planet hopping to keep things interesting. Despite the uncertainty and silliness, there is never confusion, and I never had to re-read in order to figure out how we had gotten where we were.

This book is timely and fun, with characters that range from hyper-intelligent fish to God himself, and everything in between. THE MANAGEMENT STYLE OF THE SUPREME BEINGS is easily the funniest book I’ve read all year.

If you like British fantasy/satire like Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams you'll be sure to like this book and will be happy to overlook its flaws.

The premise of the book is simple God the Father and Jesus decide to retire and to accept a buyout from another group of Supreme Beings who have a more money-grubbing view of management. It appears to be going well except for a few renegades, God's other son, and a leftover God.

Difficulties and predicaments happen. God gets bored with retirement and decides to return to Earth.

Besides the extremely dodgy theology, the biggest problem with the book is the ending. There is lots of build-up for it and the climax starts out looking promising but it just kind of fizzles out.

In spit of that I really enjoyed this book.

There is a good reason that comedic fiction is not a very common genre – it is devilishly difficult to write without becoming self-gratuitous and unoriginal. Luckily for Tom Holt, he’s right on the mark for his newest comedic science-fiction fantasy novel, The Management Style of the Supreme Beings.

It is a simple premise for a story that is explored imaginatively and humorously. To summarise, God is tired of managing the Earth so he decides to sell the business to the alien family business, the Venturi brothers. With this new management comes a whole new system of justice that does wonders for the economy, crime rate, and world peace. However, despite this, the citizens of Earth are more miserable than ever.

Here, in its sci-fi based, metaphysical dissection of morality and reason, Holt’s novel excels. The story assumes the existence of higher beings and simultaneously treats them with irreverence, effectively humanising them. So as readers we begin to wonder – if morality comes from beings that are just as flawed as us, then why is their moral system any better than our own?

In comes Jersey Thorpe, the archetypal Indiana Jones-type adventurer. In more traditional fiction, this stereotype of the charismatic, hyper-masculine hero has a broad set of skills that help him save the day and win the heart of the love interest. But when this stock character ends up in a story like this one that doesn’t play to traditional conventions, these strengths are comically rendered useless. After all, not every attractive female is a damsel in distress. Not every antagonist is a one-dimensional villain with an overly complex, ineffectual evil scheme.

Sometimes it is the love interest who saves the day, or perhaps the antagonists are merely two misguided brothers trying to look out for each other. Jersey’s naivety to the workings of this world is played to great comedic effect, using the same fish-out-of-water trope that makes The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy so memorable and funny.

This constant subversion of familiar tropes keeps us on edge, as the story takes unpredictable yet still believable twists. Much of this stems from the story’s strange blend of science fiction and fantasy – it is a little bit of both, but does not quite embrace either fully. By referencing these two genres in such unique ways, an ensemble of flat, formulaic characters gradually develop into confident, fully realised individuals.

However, with all this focus on character building, the plot itself starts to get a little messy towards the middle. The subplots take over so much that the main storyline starts to fade into the background. When this main plot becomes the focus once again a little before its resolution, you would be forgiven for flipping back to earlier in the book to try and recall the recent events leading up to this moment.

While the novel could have delivered a little more on its plot development and abrupt resolution, overall it is successful at what it sets out to achieve. The Management Style of the Supreme Beings is genuinely one of the funniest books that I’ve read in recent memory. While it doesn’t reach the heights of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Tom Holt’s knack for characterisation and incorporating philosophy into his story ranges from subtly witty to downright hilarious.

Funny look at deities

I loved this book. It managed to talk about religion (basically Christianity) without proselytizing but with a great sense of humor. I had read “Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal” by Christopher Moore and I enjoyed the first half of the book but then it lapsed into theology. This didn’t happen with the Tom Holt book which was thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish.

This was interesting and held my attention, tho I felt it could have used a bit more polish. Wont stop me from being on the lookout for more from this author!

The Management Style of the Supreme Beings by Tom Holt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

This was a very funny surprise. I mean, the title itself is quite droll and I expected a lot of dry sarcasm and satire, but what didn't know could really fill a book. This one, in fact.

I'm so happy I finally got around to reading Tom Holt. I mean, I've seen his name in the bookstores and he's apparently very popular with folks, but I kept skipping right past him, not having a clue.

Well, now I do! Who knew that god and his son and his ne'er-do-well second son were running a business like anyone else, that Old Nick on the flipside is just an employee like anyone else? Or that papa was tired and wanted to sell the business? That the Old Ghost was a doddering old fool messing up our weather?

Delicious. Delightful. So Droll.

And we've got great characters all around. The second son, Kevin, has a good heart, but he never seems to get things right. There's heaven's call center clerks, an Indiana Jones knock-off named Jasper who just hit it big in an ancient tomb that had an 1-800 number, and a ex-walmart employee who picks up the slack in a downsized hell... and this is just the barest beginnings of a setup. Just wait for the story.

(It's a real hoot.)

Suffice to say, a Jolly Old Man plays a very big part in the tale, from scaring the bejesus out of martians to running a private elvish military, and all the while, credit cards are dinging and Hell is now run by Disney.

I'm frankly amazed and amused and I think it's WELL PAST TIME I went ahead and read EVERYTHING by this guy. It's a real pleasure and more than funny... it's even philosophical! :)

Woot!