THE HEAP - SEAN ADAMS

THE HEAP

What a great cover - THE HEAP

- Sean Adams -

Even though I thought this book would be more about the day to day activities of going through a gigantic collapsed building it turned out to be much more than that. It was all about deception.

The heap is a pile of rubble from a 500 story building that collapsed. Workers are sorting through the debris, sorting it all out, recycling, upcycling, selling, reusing, all of that. They are also looking for a survivor. There is still at least one survivor in this pile of broken building - he was the radio DJ when the building was standing, and by some luck his equipment is still in working order and he is broadcasting to the world. The phone line still works as well, so people can call him.

The brother of this DJ is on the site digging for him, holding out hope to find him, talking to him once a day.

The heap, however, is just a big pile of problems...

We join the story awhile into the dig - it could be months, or years - the initial excitement has died down and we are left with the long term diggers. These 'workers' are made up of mostly lazy, drunken, unmotivated people who are too comfortable to leave for better pastures. There is a lot of drinking, lazing on the job, and passing the buck. The heap is an enabler for this situation.

As the story progresses an advertising agency contacts the brother of the buried DJ and asks him to read ads when he calls into the radio show. Again the heap is the conductor that motivates terribly unethical behavior.

When the brother of the buried DJ refuses to read the ads then things get worse. Not only are there threats, but it escalates to a situation where the brother of the buried DJ is taken right out of the equation. It is because of this heap. There is a much bigger scandal going on around this 'clean up' involving organized crime. This nefarious business is unraveled by a couple of the main characters and comes to a riveting climax. By the end of the story you will be turned upside down by all the deception that has taken place throughout the book. It's a fun ride and makes you want to read it again to see all the clues along the way.

Adams also had more to say throughout the book. He used the heap, and the idea of a giant 500 story building (a small city enclosed in itself) to investigate human behaviour, community, and leadership. He makes you think...

Overall, I'd say The Heap is something you need to go through.