Skip to content

THE REGIONAL OFFICE IS UNDER ATTACK!

Written By:

Ian White
regional-office-attack

Imagine that your innocuous-seeming travel business was the cover for an ultra-top secret agency of deadly female super spies with ninja-worthy martial arts and weaponry skills (aka the Regional Office) and that you suspected it was soon to be attacked by the forces of evil. But the attack came sooner than you think. In fact, it’s happening right now.

 

That’s the jeopardy faced by Sarah O’Hara, who is about to have her finely honed talents for fighting and cunning tested to the limits. And somewhere inside the building, working her way John McClane-like through the Regional Office’s ventilation system, is her nemesis, a sassy young assassin called Rose who is determined to complete her mission at any cost. The Regional Office is about to be levelled (not a bad trick, considering most of it is already underground) and hyper-kinetic carnage, sexy killer teens, smart-mouthed one-liners and shameless nods towards Die Hard, Mission: Impossible, Charlie’s Angels and even Three Days of the Condor are the order of the day.

 

Manuel Gonzales’s novel is a rush of cinematic storytelling, with a twisted sense of humour, brilliantly cartoonish violence (there were several moments when The Regional Office is Under Attack! reminded this writer of a grown-up version of The Powerpuff Girls, which is in every way meant as a compliment) and video game energy. There are booby traps, explosions, deadly mechanical limbs, and a glorious subversion of action hero(ine) clichés, with more than a touch of the supernatural thrown in for good measure. It is a playground for movie geeks, perfectly paced and often laugh-out-loud funny, and an absolute delight from the first page to the last. But, unlike so many other attempts to ‘re-invent’ the superhero genre, the visual and verbal pyrotechnics are only window-dressing. This is, at its heart, a shrewdly thoughtful, faintly nostalgic adventure story that takes every genre convention apart, polishes it up, and plugs it back into a place we would never suspect. And when all its many explosions have finally dulled back into silence, The Regional Office is Under Attack! still leaves us with plenty to think about. Read it now before Hollywood cocks it up completely.

THE REGIONAL OFFICE IS UNDER ATTACK! / AUTHOR: MANUEL GONZALES / PUBLISHER: RIVERHEAD BOOKS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW


Ian White

You May Also Like...

chinese remake of anaconda drops trailer

ANACONDA Trailer Grants First Look At Remake Of 1997 Horror Flick

Three sequels and a spinoff-crossover film wasn’t enough for the 1997 creature feature Anaconda, which not only has a new movie in development, but is getting a Chinese remake! From
Read More
black widow star scarlett johansson in talks to lead new universal jurassic world film

Scarlett Johansson In Talks To Join JURASSIC WORLD Film

Another MCU star appears to be taking up the reins for Universal’s new Jurassic World movie: two-time Oscar nominee Scarlett Johansson is reportedly in talks to lead the franchise that
Read More

Exclusive Reveal! Titan Comics to Deliver Prehistoric Hysterics in First 2 DUMB DINOS Collection

Titan Comics have exclusively revealed to STARBURST that they’re gearing up to publish the first-ever collection of the hilarious cult digital comic strip 2 Dumb Dinos, and we’re not the
Read More

New Dates For Lovecraftian Key of Dreams

Key of Dreams has announced new spaces for its titular immersive luxury horror event. The critically acclaimed company is known for its overnight experiences that dunk you into a strange
Read More

FAB Café to Host Free Film Screening of New Indie Comedy SECRETS OF A WALLABY BOY

We’re well known for our championing of truly independent filmmakers here at STARBURST, so it’s doubly exciting to be writing about one of our own! After joining the crew in
Read More
colin farrell returns as oswald cobblepot in the penguin series trailer

Colin Farrell Returns In THE PENGUIN Trailer

Colin Farrell returns as Gotham City’s answer to Tony Soprano in the first trailer for Max series The Penguin, which spins out of the world of the 2022 DC film
Read More