Eventually, there were 80 pages of links. Every time he read something even remotely related, it got dropped into the file. He first created the file for The Warehouse in 2012. It becomes a repository for links, stray thoughts, and anything he deems useful for the story. When Hart comes up with an idea that, as he says, “has legs,” he creates a Google Doc.

“I remember feeling that very viscerally.” “I thought there’s a book here,” Hart said. As Hart read about the danger, stress, and dehumanization endured by such workers, he got angry.

A self-described news junkie, he was reading a 2012 article in Mother Jones titled “ I Was a Warehouse Wage Slave.” It followed a somewhat undercover journalist applying to be and then working as a picker at a warehouse for an online retailer. Hart knows exactly when he first had the idea for The Warehouse. “I was looking for a bigger sandbox to play in.” “I love that idea of exploring social issues through a utopia/dystopia setting,” Hart said. He enjoyed writing the McKenna mystery thriller series, but after five installments, he was ready to spread his wings. Hart’s books prior to The Warehouse consist of the Ash Mckenna series, the short story collection Take-Out, and Scott-Free, co-authored with James Patterson. Hart kindly shared these insights in his refreshingly frank manner, and walked through how he crafted such an engrossing dystopian tale. As an author of over a half-dozen novels and an experienced journalist, he knows more than a few. Hart weaves a propulsive narrative with speculative reportage using all his tricks of the trade. Set in a future so close you can almost hear its drone swarms coming, the book explores what life could look like if trend lines on the erosion of worker rights and the environment continue unabated. Rob Hart’s tour de force novel combines a thought-provoking premise with impeccable storytelling. This is the premise for the 2019 dystopian thriller, The Warehouse. Most horrific of all is that we may opt into such a dystopian future for the sake of convenience. What’s more terrifying than zombies, vampires and dragons? A company like Amazon usurping democracy and running warehouses the size of cities with a private police force.

Rob hart the warehouse