Status
Available
Call number
Series
Publication
Ace Books (New York, 2012). 1st edition, 1st printing. 336 pages. $25.95.
Description
"For outstanding heroism in the field (despite himself), computational demonologist Bob Howard is on the fast track for promotion to management within the Laundry, the supersecret British government agency tasked with defending the realm from occult threats. Assigned to External Assets, Bob discovers the company--unofficially--employs freelance agents to deal with sensitive situations that may embarrass Queen and Country. So when Ray Schiller--an American televangelist with the uncanny ability to miraculously heal the ill--becomes uncomfortably close to the Prime Minister, External Assets dispatches the brilliant, beautiful, and entirely unpredictable Persephone Hazard to infiltrate the Golden Promise Ministry and discover why the preacher is so interested in British politics. And it's Bob's job to make sure Persephone doesn't cause an international incident. But it's a supernatural incident that Bob needs to worry about--a global threat even the Laundry may be unable to clean up.."--… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member paradoxosalpha
As a testimony to how much I've enjoyed Stross' Laundry series, I've been accelerating my reading, with a shorter time spent between each pair of volumes as I've continued. Alas, with the fourth and most recent book, that trend must come to a halt. And this is really the first one where he uses the
In previous stories, our computational thaumaturge "Bob Howard" has often found himself at desperate, even lethal, odds with managers in his "deep black" occult intel organization. And at the beginning of this novel, he finds he is to become one. But this story does not confine itself to office backstabbery, however sorcerous. Bob's new managerial role involves tagging along to a Colorado Springs outing, where the Laundry discovers that some, er, enhanced Christian Evangelicals are preparing to wake "Jesus" (they think) and bring It to Earth for dinner. As Bob observes, "There is a certain point beyond which any sufficiently extreme Calvinist sect becomes semiotically indistinguishable from the Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh" (215).
The style of this book is a change from the earlier volumes, incorporating greater amounts of third-person omniscient perpsective to cover the activities of new-and-interesting characters Persephone Hazard and Johnny McTavish, as well as some villain eavesdropping. This choice sits somewhat awkwardly in what has become even more explicitly a first-person memoir by Bob, but the whole thing is written so entertainingly, and the pace of events is so brisk, that it is easy to forgive.
The silver lining to the cloud of having to wait for the next book in this series is that I'll probably use the window to get around to some of Stross' non-Laundry novels, like Accelerando or Saturn's Children.
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ending to taunt the reader of big things to come. In previous stories, our computational thaumaturge "Bob Howard" has often found himself at desperate, even lethal, odds with managers in his "deep black" occult intel organization. And at the beginning of this novel, he finds he is to become one. But this story does not confine itself to office backstabbery, however sorcerous. Bob's new managerial role involves tagging along to a Colorado Springs outing, where the Laundry discovers that some, er, enhanced Christian Evangelicals are preparing to wake "Jesus" (they think) and bring It to Earth for dinner. As Bob observes, "There is a certain point beyond which any sufficiently extreme Calvinist sect becomes semiotically indistinguishable from the Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh" (215).
The style of this book is a change from the earlier volumes, incorporating greater amounts of third-person omniscient perpsective to cover the activities of new-and-interesting characters Persephone Hazard and Johnny McTavish, as well as some villain eavesdropping. This choice sits somewhat awkwardly in what has become even more explicitly a first-person memoir by Bob, but the whole thing is written so entertainingly, and the pace of events is so brisk, that it is easy to forgive.
The silver lining to the cloud of having to wait for the next book in this series is that I'll probably use the window to get around to some of Stross' non-Laundry novels, like Accelerando or Saturn's Children.
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LibraryThing member PaulBaldowski
Bob Howard continues his mildly inept manhandling of otherworldly horrors, coming up against evangelism running rampant in Colorado and threatening the fair shores of Blighty. Paired up with a couple of contractors engaged by External Assets, Bob spends most of the story in the States - with his
Better than Jennifer Morgue, in my opinions, and comparable with The Fuller Memorandum, Codex does, however, feel like a retread of old ground. I also found some nagging sense of repetition in the storytelling that left me wondering whether Stross wrote the book as a serial. I didn't make notes of the bits that bothered me - they seemed to be elements around character description and references to the nature of Bob's mission that used the same terms and references again and again like we might have forgotten what's going on since we left the last chapter behind.
I preferred The Atrocity Archives and The Fuller Memorandum, for sure - although, I did like the continuity references peppered throughout. The sense that Bob has come a long way in the last ten years with all these references gives the loyal reader a sense of knowing involvement. We have made that journey with him and join Bob in his fight against the imminent CASE NIGHTMARE GREEN.
I'd cautiously welcome another volume, though I'd ask Stross to pause a moment and gather his original thoughts before setting about it.
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wife Mo far out of frame - and new oversight of his activities by a bounder called Lockhart. Angleton remains on the sidelines, as do The Auditors - with plenty of ties-in references to all previous books and occurrences in the series.Better than Jennifer Morgue, in my opinions, and comparable with The Fuller Memorandum, Codex does, however, feel like a retread of old ground. I also found some nagging sense of repetition in the storytelling that left me wondering whether Stross wrote the book as a serial. I didn't make notes of the bits that bothered me - they seemed to be elements around character description and references to the nature of Bob's mission that used the same terms and references again and again like we might have forgotten what's going on since we left the last chapter behind.
I preferred The Atrocity Archives and The Fuller Memorandum, for sure - although, I did like the continuity references peppered throughout. The sense that Bob has come a long way in the last ten years with all these references gives the loyal reader a sense of knowing involvement. We have made that journey with him and join Bob in his fight against the imminent CASE NIGHTMARE GREEN.
I'd cautiously welcome another volume, though I'd ask Stross to pause a moment and gather his original thoughts before setting about it.
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LibraryThing member nnschiller
Another solid Laundry Files novel. Stross shows no signs of slowing down w/ his IT / Administrative Bureaucracy / Espionage / Horror novels. Bob Howard continues to grow and evolve as a character. This really makes me happy, because as a computer geek, public servant, IT stereotype, it would be
The Evangelical cult as a villain was played with an admirably dexterous hand. It would be really easy just to dog-pile on the fundies and sling every over-the-top stereotype in their direction (like, say, in Rapture of the Nerds) but in this case, Stross is careful to show that the bad guys are crazy schismatics and even includes a rather sane and normal set of religious believers to balance the score.
I like almost everything about this entry in the Laundry Files. The only reason it got a 3 rather than a higher score is that I'm trying to counter a bit of ratings inflation. This is a solid genre series written on a really professional and solid formula. It's just not quite as original and resonant as his Halting State / Rule 34 novels or other work he's done. I've got no complaints and I want to read more of Bob Howard's adventures. Heck, I bought this one twice (one a signed copy from Transreal Fiction in Edinburgh, the other I picked up w/ Audible credits) with no regrets.
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really easy to play his character for yucks. Stross, instead, show personal and professional growth with each new edition.The Evangelical cult as a villain was played with an admirably dexterous hand. It would be really easy just to dog-pile on the fundies and sling every over-the-top stereotype in their direction (like, say, in Rapture of the Nerds) but in this case, Stross is careful to show that the bad guys are crazy schismatics and even includes a rather sane and normal set of religious believers to balance the score.
I like almost everything about this entry in the Laundry Files. The only reason it got a 3 rather than a higher score is that I'm trying to counter a bit of ratings inflation. This is a solid genre series written on a really professional and solid formula. It's just not quite as original and resonant as his Halting State / Rule 34 novels or other work he's done. I've got no complaints and I want to read more of Bob Howard's adventures. Heck, I bought this one twice (one a signed copy from Transreal Fiction in Edinburgh, the other I picked up w/ Audible credits) with no regrets.
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LibraryThing member MikeRhode
Enjoyable although the series may be getting a bit long in the tooth. I also read this one with something akin to double vision since two of the main characters were essentially renamed comic strip characters Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin.
LibraryThing member gbsallery
I do like a good blend of thriller and Cthulhoid gothic fantasy, and The Apocalypse Codex is just such a work. Therefore, I like it. A lot. Stross really has carved himself a distinctive niche, then set about filling it with diligence and panache. My only complaint is that I will now have to wait
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about a year for the next instalment; too long! Cthulhu f'taghn. Show Less
LibraryThing member Shrike58
If "The Fuller Memorandum" was about Bob Howard, our much-put-upon paranormal intelligence operative, learning to survive on his own, then this book is about Bob demonstrating whether he has the capacity to lead and command. This is all in the process of trying to reconnoiter an American
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evangelical minister trying to get access to the British Prime Minister, meaning the deployment of freelance assets. I was going to mark this book down a little more for feeling like the middle book in a series, but half-way through things go to hell in a hand basket very nicely. I also do begin to wonder if the "Laundry" series will take us through CASE NIGHTMARE GREEN, or whether that will be its own series. Finally, I wonder what paranormal intelligence would look like in a conservative Muslim state, if only due to Stross' throwaway reference to the Malaysian Presidential Guard. Show Less
LibraryThing member Rouge2507
I am a huge fan of Stross "Laundry" but I have to say that this one has been less fun than the others: less nerdy fun, citations and jokes (Bob is not as central to the story as in the other books), and more lovecraftian-style (CASE NIGHTMARE GREEN is coming, probably in the next book, according to
And there are parts that have been plainly cut-n-pasted from the older books (e.g. the Trafalgar Square one-legged pigeons)
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the author blog).And there are parts that have been plainly cut-n-pasted from the older books (e.g. the Trafalgar Square one-legged pigeons)
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LibraryThing member cajela
Great fun! This is the 4th in the "Laundry" series, in which British spy novels meet the Cthulhu mythos and nerd culture, with a dash of Yes Minister, and any other pop culture references that Stross feels like playing with. In this case, it's scary US fundamentalist preachers, Modesty Blaize, and
It's probably best to read this series from the beginning rather than start here. Agent Bob Oliver Francis Howard (yes, BOFH) has a history that's relevant to the plot. So if you're not already a Laundry fan, look for The Atrocity Archive first.
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some truly freaky parasites. Despite the humour, it also gets dark - necromancy, the end of the world, it's not pretty stuff.It's probably best to read this series from the beginning rather than start here. Agent Bob Oliver Francis Howard (yes, BOFH) has a history that's relevant to the plot. So if you're not already a Laundry fan, look for The Atrocity Archive first.
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LibraryThing member lpetrazickis
Ia ia Jesus fhtagn. Christian fundamentalists based in Colorado plot to raise Jesus from the pyramid in which he lies sleeping, and it's up to the British secret service to stop them.
The Apocalypse Codex is Stross' fourth novel set in his wonderful cross of espionage (think Tinker Taylor Soldier
I highly recommend this entry to the series, and I eagerly await the fifth tome.
The Apocalypse Codex is Stross' fourth novel set in his wonderful cross of espionage (think Tinker Taylor Soldier
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Spy) with Lovecraftian horror. There's a great immediacy to the prose, and the bureaucracy adds a wonderful verisimilitude to the events.I highly recommend this entry to the series, and I eagerly await the fifth tome.
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LibraryThing member nnschiller
Another solid Laundry Files novel. Stross shows no signs of slowing down w/ his IT / Administrative Bureaucracy / Espionage / Horror novels. Bob Howard continues to grow and evolve as a character. This really makes me happy, because as a computer geek, public servant, IT stereotype, it would be
The Evangelical cult as a villain was played with an admirably dexterous hand. It would be really easy just to dog-pile on the fundies and sling every over-the-top stereotype in their direction (like, say, in Rapture of the Nerds) but in this case, Stross is careful to show that the bad guys are crazy schismatics and even includes a rather sane and normal set of religious believers to balance the score.
I like almost everything about this entry in the Laundry Files. The only reason it got a 3 rather than a higher score is that I'm trying to counter a bit of ratings inflation. This is a solid genre series written on a really professional and solid formula. It's just not quite as original and resonant as his Halting State / Rule 34 novels or other work he's done. I've got no complaints and I want to read more of Bob Howard's adventures. Heck, I bought this one twice (one a signed copy from Transreal Fiction in Edinburgh, the other I picked up w/ Audible credits) with no regrets.
Show More
really easy to play his character for yucks. Stross, instead, show personal and professional growth with each new edition.The Evangelical cult as a villain was played with an admirably dexterous hand. It would be really easy just to dog-pile on the fundies and sling every over-the-top stereotype in their direction (like, say, in Rapture of the Nerds) but in this case, Stross is careful to show that the bad guys are crazy schismatics and even includes a rather sane and normal set of religious believers to balance the score.
I like almost everything about this entry in the Laundry Files. The only reason it got a 3 rather than a higher score is that I'm trying to counter a bit of ratings inflation. This is a solid genre series written on a really professional and solid formula. It's just not quite as original and resonant as his Halting State / Rule 34 novels or other work he's done. I've got no complaints and I want to read more of Bob Howard's adventures. Heck, I bought this one twice (one a signed copy from Transreal Fiction in Edinburgh, the other I picked up w/ Audible credits) with no regrets.
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LibraryThing member Punchout
Maybe I wasn't in the mood, around chapter 5 I wanted to throw the listening device out the car window.
LibraryThing member dgold
Ecellent follow on to The Fuller Memorandum. Bob Howard's job in the Laundry just got a whole lot tougher. Delightful book.
LibraryThing member VanishedOne
If you read Mr. Stross's blog, you know exactly what he thinks of religion, and how noisily he thinks it. Given that the plot of this novel is pretty much in the Breath of Fire II mould (a religious group which is not all it seems... but where there certainly is a supernatural entity receiving its
The opening is a bit clunky - a consequence of having to deal with the existence of three prior novels, not counting the short stories - and two new characters are introduced in a fairly lengthy and detailed scene where the descriptions of what they're doing with their parachutes, etc. might have felt more interesting if we'd acquired any emotional investment in them yet. It also remains to be seen how many loose ends are tied up in subsequent novels: I particularly have in mind Schiller's 'mortification', which seems mostly to be a device to help paint him as sinister... except that p. 235's reference to 'the thing that feeds between his legs' just vaguely hints that there's more to it than zealotry. Those qualms aside, however, it's another page-turner in the increasingly grand tradition of the series.
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prayers), one occasionally spots some angry Guardianista atheism poking its head through, but mercifully Stross is a good enough novelist to keep the lid on for the most part; there's only one passage that really qualifies as what TV Tropes would call an author filibuster. He even takes pains to include a 'good', ordinary vicar for balance's sake.The opening is a bit clunky - a consequence of having to deal with the existence of three prior novels, not counting the short stories - and two new characters are introduced in a fairly lengthy and detailed scene where the descriptions of what they're doing with their parachutes, etc. might have felt more interesting if we'd acquired any emotional investment in them yet. It also remains to be seen how many loose ends are tied up in subsequent novels: I particularly have in mind Schiller's 'mortification', which seems mostly to be a device to help paint him as sinister... except that p. 235's reference to 'the thing that feeds between his legs' just vaguely hints that there's more to it than zealotry. Those qualms aside, however, it's another page-turner in the increasingly grand tradition of the series.
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LibraryThing member listog
Great fun Modesty Blaise rotated through some dimensions and lovingly reconfigured as a Laundery "contractor".
LibraryThing member libgirl69
Another good title in the Laundry series. Bob is getting older and (sometimes) wiser. New characters, more Black Chamber but maybe some more Angleton would have been good. Well thought out plot line.
LibraryThing member DJ_Cliffe
What should be a routine job, as usuall, goes sideways for Robert Howard. The unreformed geek, computational demonologist, is being groomed for upper management in The Laundry. But he has his own reservations. Providing deniable oversight to a freelance witch and mayhem expert team, dealing with a
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deluded televangelist, and avoiding the American Black Chamber (not so much "cousin" as "psychotic ex-girlfriend") is all part of the job. Show Less
LibraryThing member orkydd
In 'The Apocalypse Codex' we find Bob Howard back on the job after that nasty business of 'The Fuller Memorandum'. And he has a promotion! Lucky Bob. He gets to go out in the field and wrangle some 'independent contractors' in pursuit of a Colorado Springs preacher. He's going to need all the help
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he can get..... Show Less
LibraryThing member Gwendydd
More of the same conspiracies, shenanigans, and nerd-boy fantasy as the rest of the series.
LibraryThing member page.fault
After his last job as the tethered goat for a bunch of insane apocalypse-desiring cultists, Bob Howard, computational demonologist, is hoping for a little rest and relaxation so that he can try to shake his recent partial transformation into a demonic Eater of Souls. When he finally returns to work
Soon, he is embroiled in yet another cultist conspiracy: an American televangelist seems to be channelling a little too much Lovecraft in his sermons, so Bob is sent out to America to manage an off-the-books investigative team. He must battle with religious zealots, creepy creatures that crawl into brains and zombify their hosts, the terrifyingly harsh American equivalent to the Laundry, and (worst of all) rather a lot of bureaucracy. Can Bob make it through, save his assets, prevent the waking of a Lovecraftian sleeper, and, most difficult of all, can he keep all of his paperwork straight?
Somehow, this book fell a little flat for me. It's still a fun mixture of comedy and horror--but it's precisely the same mixture that I encountered in the last three books. I'm not sure why, but the series failed to make the transition from absurdist comedy to something with more depth. For me to really get sucked into a story, I have to genuinely care about the characters and feel anxiety for them; otherwise, the constant danger and disaster and damage just becomes something of a drag. I like Bob, I really do, but I don't think I particularly care about him, and the same holds true for most of the secondary characters. This general detachment was exacerbated in this book by the way that everyone around Bob kept harping on and on about how special and unique and intelligent he is. At one point, one character comments that one of his special talents is being underestimated. That talent must work overtime on me, because four books in, I still don't see what he's done to gain such respect and such a reputation as a rule-breaker. In the first book, he's a tech nerd with a few clever thoughts, in the second and third, he plays the Damsel in Distress, and in all the books, he sticks straight to the script that the Laundry gives him. Don't get me wrong; I found all that hilarious, but it means that the only indication of Bob's special talents comes from all the people around him telling him how brilliant he is. For me, part of the attraction of the stories was that Bob is a normal bloke, a tech nerd, who, despite being no one special, is forced into absurdly dangerous situations. I spent a large portion of the book musing on this, and what I see as unearned adulation tends to decrease whatever empathy I have for Bob.
I loved the portrayal of the incredibly evil American magical black ops--they get called the Nazgul!-- and the so-called American dialogue (I got the giggles every time Stross's "American" characters "shall," "shan't," or "shat"). As an ex-protestant/evangelical-Christian and current agnostic, I also somewhat enjoyed the portrayal of the frothing-at-the-mouth-crazy evangelists. However, I'd estimate a good 40% of the book is simply there to trash evangelical Christians, and it's not nice, rueful, kindly humour--it's got a nasty, mocking, vitriolic, hate-filled edge to it. My patience was repeatedly tried by multiple smug comments that characterized all evangelicals and even all Christians as obtuse, credulous idiots. I've always been a little mixed about the horror elements in these books--I don't like it when incidental characters die, and these books tend towards huge redshirt/zombie fodder ensembles. In this book, the horror and death elements significantly overshot my threshold. One reason for this may be the scant sympathy that Bob and Stross appeared to give the most of the hapless Christian sacrifices. The books also involve a lot less nerd/Lovecraftian humour and a lot more pop-culture stuff, which is a pro if you're not a computer scientist, but for me meant that a lot more jokes went whistling over my head, missing my comprehension zone by a mile.
Overall, Apocalypse Codex is a fun continuation to the series, but because I didn't feel that it significantly increased the depth, it fell a little flat for me. If you're looking for a little light Lovecraftian horror and won't get caught up in the death toll, take a look.
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at The Laundry, the top-secret ministry of magic, he thinks his wish has been granted--after all, how hard can his new leadership and resource management position be?Soon, he is embroiled in yet another cultist conspiracy: an American televangelist seems to be channelling a little too much Lovecraft in his sermons, so Bob is sent out to America to manage an off-the-books investigative team. He must battle with religious zealots, creepy creatures that crawl into brains and zombify their hosts, the terrifyingly harsh American equivalent to the Laundry, and (worst of all) rather a lot of bureaucracy. Can Bob make it through, save his assets, prevent the waking of a Lovecraftian sleeper, and, most difficult of all, can he keep all of his paperwork straight?
Somehow, this book fell a little flat for me. It's still a fun mixture of comedy and horror--but it's precisely the same mixture that I encountered in the last three books. I'm not sure why, but the series failed to make the transition from absurdist comedy to something with more depth. For me to really get sucked into a story, I have to genuinely care about the characters and feel anxiety for them; otherwise, the constant danger and disaster and damage just becomes something of a drag. I like Bob, I really do, but I don't think I particularly care about him, and the same holds true for most of the secondary characters. This general detachment was exacerbated in this book by the way that everyone around Bob kept harping on and on about how special and unique and intelligent he is. At one point, one character comments that one of his special talents is being underestimated. That talent must work overtime on me, because four books in, I still don't see what he's done to gain such respect and such a reputation as a rule-breaker. In the first book, he's a tech nerd with a few clever thoughts, in the second and third, he plays the Damsel in Distress, and in all the books, he sticks straight to the script that the Laundry gives him. Don't get me wrong; I found all that hilarious, but it means that the only indication of Bob's special talents comes from all the people around him telling him how brilliant he is. For me, part of the attraction of the stories was that Bob is a normal bloke, a tech nerd, who, despite being no one special, is forced into absurdly dangerous situations. I spent a large portion of the book musing on this, and what I see as unearned adulation tends to decrease whatever empathy I have for Bob.
I loved the portrayal of the incredibly evil American magical black ops--they get called the Nazgul!-- and the so-called American dialogue (I got the giggles every time Stross's "American" characters "shall," "shan't," or "shat"). As an ex-protestant/evangelical-Christian and current agnostic, I also somewhat enjoyed the portrayal of the frothing-at-the-mouth-crazy evangelists. However, I'd estimate a good 40% of the book is simply there to trash evangelical Christians, and it's not nice, rueful, kindly humour--it's got a nasty, mocking, vitriolic, hate-filled edge to it. My patience was repeatedly tried by multiple smug comments that characterized all evangelicals and even all Christians as obtuse, credulous idiots. I've always been a little mixed about the horror elements in these books--I don't like it when incidental characters die, and these books tend towards huge redshirt/zombie fodder ensembles. In this book, the horror and death elements significantly overshot my threshold. One reason for this may be the scant sympathy that Bob and Stross appeared to give the most of the hapless Christian sacrifices. The books also involve a lot less nerd/Lovecraftian humour and a lot more pop-culture stuff, which is a pro if you're not a computer scientist, but for me meant that a lot more jokes went whistling over my head, missing my comprehension zone by a mile.
Overall, Apocalypse Codex is a fun continuation to the series, but because I didn't feel that it significantly increased the depth, it fell a little flat for me. If you're looking for a little light Lovecraftian horror and won't get caught up in the death toll, take a look.
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LibraryThing member lavaturtle
An exciting story about fighting cosmic horrors, that's also a well-targeted satire of right-wing American evangelism. Bob's an interesting and compelling protagonist.
LibraryThing member dukedom_enough
This is the fourth of Stross's Laundry Files novels, wherein Bob Howard works for that department of the British Government tasked with protecting the public against Lovecraftian threats from other dimensions. As a part of Her Majesty's civil service, the Laundry is forbidden from using any of its
The first three novels in this series were patterned after the books of, respectively, Len Deighton, Ian Fleming, and Anthony Price; Codex takes a cue from the "Modesty Blaise" stories of Peter O'Donnell. Persephone Hazard, the independent contractor that Howard must manage, is a fine Modesty-analog, and Stross spares the reader the leering 1960s attitude toward women that O'Donnell's books had. Again there's an excellent balance between horror, action, and levity, a balance that I imagine must be tricky to carry off.
The Laundry books, after the first, don't show the full range of what Stross can do, but satisfy nonetheless.
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extremely powerful, arcane techniques against elected officials. But the Prime Minister has become much too friendly with an oily, evangelist minister from America. And Bob has the seniority and proven performance for a probe into Raymond Schiller of the Golden Promise Ministries, who will turn out to be the high priest of a much older and more dangerous religion than Christianity.The first three novels in this series were patterned after the books of, respectively, Len Deighton, Ian Fleming, and Anthony Price; Codex takes a cue from the "Modesty Blaise" stories of Peter O'Donnell. Persephone Hazard, the independent contractor that Howard must manage, is a fine Modesty-analog, and Stross spares the reader the leering 1960s attitude toward women that O'Donnell's books had. Again there's an excellent balance between horror, action, and levity, a balance that I imagine must be tricky to carry off.
The Laundry books, after the first, don't show the full range of what Stross can do, but satisfy nonetheless.
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LibraryThing member PDCRead
Have read the odd Stross before, and picked this up before realising it is the fourth in a series.
The main character is a member of a very secret Uk government organisation called the Laundry. They deal with threats from the 'otherworld'. He is tasked with following a American evangelist who is
It is a fast paced, humourous thriller. Stross seems to of combined Yes Minister, the X files and the spy genre; before adding them to a blender! Intend to read the others in the series now.
The main character is a member of a very secret Uk government organisation called the Laundry. They deal with threats from the 'otherworld'. He is tasked with following a American evangelist who is
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taking a unhealthy interest in the prime minister. He heads off to America to try and work out what the American evangelist is up to, with the assistant of two other characters, before the action kicks off big time!It is a fast paced, humourous thriller. Stross seems to of combined Yes Minister, the X files and the spy genre; before adding them to a blender! Intend to read the others in the series now.
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LibraryThing member Glennis.LeBlanc
This one has Bob back in America trying to find out why a US preacher wants in tight with the UK government. I'm not sure if I'm want to keep reading the series since all the characters are convinced that the Old Ones will come and destroy life as we know it. This book kept banging you over the
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head with that fact even with Bob and his cohorts trying to stop the preacher from bringing back his version of Jesus. Overall it was a good story, I just don't want to think that everything they do is just make work before the end times. Show Less
LibraryThing member Fledgist
Bob Howard is thrust, once more, into contact with elditch horrors from the beyond. These are serious threats to both the British and American governments and he finds himself in Denver of all places. This one is Charlie's homage to Modesty Blaise (with asides to Spycatcher and Doctor Who).
LibraryThing member unsquare
Bob Howard, supernatural IT guy slash reluctant field agent, is a fun character to follow. Even still, I’ve been slow to read this series, which is now nine books long. In fact, I read book three in 2011 and originally started the series way back in 2007.
I think it helps to understand that the
This book felt a bit transitional, possibly because of that shift. From what I remember of the earlier books, Bob was generally at the forefront of the story, driving events and saving the day. In this volume, Stross introduces a few new viewpoint characters and Bob is in a more reactive role. He’s still the one narrating events or recording them for posterity, but he’s in over his head and oftentimes sidelined during action scenes.
From reading the summaries of the later books, it sounds like Bob isn’t always the primary viewpoint character, which makes sense if Stross wanted to open up the premise a bit. I’m still enjoying the series, but I’ll probably have to read another book or two to get an idea of where he’s taking it.
I think it helps to understand that the
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Laundry Files began as a parody of British spy novels, and then Stross either felt restricted by that premise or grew bored with it, so slowly but surely rejiggered it into something else, eventually turning it into a reliable yearly release.This book felt a bit transitional, possibly because of that shift. From what I remember of the earlier books, Bob was generally at the forefront of the story, driving events and saving the day. In this volume, Stross introduces a few new viewpoint characters and Bob is in a more reactive role. He’s still the one narrating events or recording them for posterity, but he’s in over his head and oftentimes sidelined during action scenes.
From reading the summaries of the later books, it sounds like Bob isn’t always the primary viewpoint character, which makes sense if Stross wanted to open up the premise a bit. I’m still enjoying the series, but I’ll probably have to read another book or two to get an idea of where he’s taking it.
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Awards
Locus Award (Finalist — Fantasy Novel — 2013)
Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year (Science Fiction and Fantasy — 2012)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2012-07-03
Physical description
326 p.; 6 inches
ISBN
9781937007461