Insurance is notorious for being one of the first things we think of when we hear about boring jobs. It has built up quite the reputation and it’s not something that’s going away soon. Insurance isn’t an exciting or glamorous job for the majority of people unless you are Tom Stranger. Tom is a man that looks so ordinary it’s like he was genetically engineered to be that way. He is the most ordinary-looking man with the most extraordinary job. He insures against interdimensional catastrophes. The book follows him through a day in his work life and does it in a way that is not only entertaining but will leave you laughing so hard you can’t breathe. It has a funny and interesting story, absurd characters, and some of the best humor in such a strange book.

Unlike probably any other book you’d pick up on the topic of insurance, this one makes it into something amazing with its story. Tom is a very serious man who is only focused on one thing, having the best customer service in the multiverse. He puts everything into his job to make sure his customers are happy and leave good reviews. He was genetically designed for the job and in a reality where anything could happen, he’s gonna need all the advantages he can get. There’s talking manatees, earth where Texas took control, and even earth that got overrun by giant purple man-eating aliens. They strip planets of their resources then throw a blackhole in the core just because they want to. Thankfully that earth was insured against such catastrophes by Tom Stranger so the earth was saved. The plot and setting are completely absurd but were done in a way that only added to the experience, especially with the characters the author thought up.

Insurance is a job that you meet people in, the entire job is based around people. That’s even more true when you’re traveling across dimensions and realities to try to ensure the best customer service possible. You never know when a catastrophe could strike. The characters Tom meets are usually variations of the same people, such as a failed fantasy author in one reality who bought Korea and founded Correia Tech in another reality. You can’t forget Tom’s dumb and sometimes very relatable intern, Jimmy Ducan. He’s a severe alcoholic college dropout who is constantly needing saving. Some people are real-life people exaggerated for comedy. Such as Chuck Norris being a jury between Tom and another insurance provider or Larry Correia being the failed author and founder of Korea Tech. Whether it is a spawn of demons from hell or a group of Comic-Con goers, the book never ceased to jab at them in some way.

The final thing that made this book so good was the ceaseless humor. Every chapter will have you, at the very least exhale sharply if not laughing hard enough to sprain a rib. A good amount of humor was just as whimsical and fun as the setting of the book. Even when it was taking jabs at real-life people and things it kept them to an appropriate level. 5 minutes or so of the first chapter was just devoted to half the characters talking about an earth where Firefly was canceled after one season and didn’t go on to have three movies and four books about it. Imagine living on an earth where firefly was canceled, those would be dark times indeed. The climax of the book managed to throw in a few good jokes at even the most serious parts which don’t always work in books so it caught me off guard when I finished reading it because it was actually such a great book.

Larry Correia’s ability to take something as boring and every day as insurance and turn it into a hilarious adventure with the combination of an interesting story, funny characters and some of the best off the cuff humor ever made this book into one of the best short stories I’ve ever read. If you ever find yourself not knowing what to read I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a good laugh. It is so full of references and jokes that even after reading it three times I still notice jokes that previously went right over my head. I guarantee you it will be some of the best couples of hours you’ll ever spend reading.