Call number
Series
Genres
Publication
New York, NY : A Tom Doherty Associates Book, 2018.
Pages
364
Description
"The arrival of vast, alien, inhuman intelligences reshaped the landscape fo human affairs across the world, and the United Kingdom is no exception. Things have changed in Britain since the dread elder god Nyarlathotep ascended to the rank of Prime Minister. Mhari Murphy, recently elevated to the House of Lords and head of the Lords Select Committee on Sanguinary Affairs (think vampires), finds herself in direct consultation with the creeping chaos, who directs her to lead a team of disgraced Laundry personnel into the dark heart of America. It seems the Creeping Chaos is concerned about foreign relations. A thousand-mile-wild storm system has blanketed the midwest, and the President is nowhere to be found. In fact, for reasons unknown the people of America are forgetting that the executive branch ever existed. The government has been infiltrated by the shadowy Black Chamber, and the Pentagon and NASA have been refocused on the problem of summoning Cthulhu. Somewhere, the Secret Service battle to stay awake, to remind the President who he is, and to stay one step ahead of the vampiric dragnet that's searching for him" --… (more)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2018-10-30
Physical description
364 p.; 8.7 inches
ISBN
9781250196088
Similar in this library
User reviews
LibraryThing member paradoxosalpha
"We fight on so that something that remembers being human might survive." (199)
The ninth of the Laundry Files novels allegedly begins a new plot arc, and it does conspicuously shift focus to characters that have previously been more peripheral to the series. But its enjoyment is still highly
Without serious spoilering, since all of this is clear in the opening chapter, I can say that this book delivered two unexpected features right off. First, the narrating character switches to Mhari Murphy, who was introduced in the very first book, but has never before occupied the role of storyteller-diarist. Second, most of The Labyrinth Index takes place in the United States. I doubt Charles Stross has read The Last Days of Christ the Vampire (and I'm not sure whatever became of my copy, read back in the 1980s), but there are some interesting points of conceptual contact between the two books.
As a commentary on the current state of American politics, the Stross novel is a bit oblique. In the contemporary Laundryverse USA under conditions of ongoing Nazgul-based coup, it is magically forbidden to think of the American Presidency, whereas in the "real" Trumplandia it is required that we think about it all the time. In any case, he still manages to highlight the extent to which the Imperial Presidency of the 21st-century has all of the power and most of the institutional and cultural vices of an actual monarchy.
It was no surprise that I wolfed this book down in a couple of days. The story is consistent with the level of increased gloom established in the immediately previous volume, and it is dedicated to the author's father, who seems to have died while it was being written. The bleakness is not completely unrelenting, though. As usual, there is some real wit in the writing, and in the end the state of affairs is not markedly worse than the beginning. Indeed, under some definitions of the word, the book would qualify as a "comedy."
The ninth of the Laundry Files novels allegedly begins a new plot arc, and it does conspicuously shift focus to characters that have previously been more peripheral to the series. But its enjoyment is still highly
Show More
dependent on prior familiarity with the concepts and broad narrative that Stross has worked up in the previous volumes. Some exposition in the opening chapter is pitched just about right for returning junkies like me, who haven't had a fix since The Delirium Brief was published a year earlier, but it's not sufficient to ramp up real appreciation for the setting and character motivations here.Without serious spoilering, since all of this is clear in the opening chapter, I can say that this book delivered two unexpected features right off. First, the narrating character switches to Mhari Murphy, who was introduced in the very first book, but has never before occupied the role of storyteller-diarist. Second, most of The Labyrinth Index takes place in the United States. I doubt Charles Stross has read The Last Days of Christ the Vampire (and I'm not sure whatever became of my copy, read back in the 1980s), but there are some interesting points of conceptual contact between the two books.
As a commentary on the current state of American politics, the Stross novel is a bit oblique. In the contemporary Laundryverse USA under conditions of ongoing Nazgul-based coup, it is magically forbidden to think of the American Presidency, whereas in the "real" Trumplandia it is required that we think about it all the time. In any case, he still manages to highlight the extent to which the Imperial Presidency of the 21st-century has all of the power and most of the institutional and cultural vices of an actual monarchy.
It was no surprise that I wolfed this book down in a couple of days. The story is consistent with the level of increased gloom established in the immediately previous volume, and it is dedicated to the author's father, who seems to have died while it was being written. The bleakness is not completely unrelenting, though. As usual, there is some real wit in the writing, and in the end the state of affairs is not markedly worse than the beginning. Indeed, under some definitions of the word, the book would qualify as a "comedy."
Show Less
LibraryThing member jsburbidge
Stross returns to the roots of the Laundry Files here: the previous few books had moved away from the original espionage themes, but in this book they are back with a vengeance: insertion of clandestine agents into enemy territory with an active -- not merely information-gathering -- remit.
Mhari is an effective narrator for this stage of the series arc. She's probably less self-deceiving than any of the previous narrators -- she has to deal with the implications of her current state in such a way that anything other than very short-tern self-deception is very, very difficult -- but also has less expertise than, say, Bob or Mo, so her perspective is more limited.
This is the third spec fic book in two months of which the author has indicated, in one way or the other, that it's a response to Trumpian America. (The others, for reference, are Steven Erikson's Rejoice, a Knife to the Heart and Miles Cameron's Cold Iron.) Stross manages to set up an America which is actually worse than the current reality, and a different kind of crisis, but he still highlights, thematically, the way in which the US has a quasi-monarchical focus on the Presidency, not merely in a constitutional sense, but in terms of the social and emotional response of Americans to the office.
As always, this is well-written, worth picking up for anyone reading the series, and a good example of how to blend black humour with an otherwise very dark story to make it readable and enjoyable.
Show More
However, this is no Longer the Bondian storytelling of The Jennifer Morgue where one could cheer for the Laundry in relatively good conscience. This is firmly in the shades of grey territory where the best thing that can be said for the narrator is that she serves a lesser evil: which isn't saying much when the greater evil in question is Cthulhu. As an installment of the Case Nightmare Green arc, this provides far more context to just how much trouble the world is in: the Black Chamber isn't the only threat on the horizon, and the Mandate's plans for the future aren't very pleasant, either.Mhari is an effective narrator for this stage of the series arc. She's probably less self-deceiving than any of the previous narrators -- she has to deal with the implications of her current state in such a way that anything other than very short-tern self-deception is very, very difficult -- but also has less expertise than, say, Bob or Mo, so her perspective is more limited.
This is the third spec fic book in two months of which the author has indicated, in one way or the other, that it's a response to Trumpian America. (The others, for reference, are Steven Erikson's Rejoice, a Knife to the Heart and Miles Cameron's Cold Iron.) Stross manages to set up an America which is actually worse than the current reality, and a different kind of crisis, but he still highlights, thematically, the way in which the US has a quasi-monarchical focus on the Presidency, not merely in a constitutional sense, but in terms of the social and emotional response of Americans to the office.
As always, this is well-written, worth picking up for anyone reading the series, and a good example of how to blend black humour with an otherwise very dark story to make it readable and enjoyable.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Shrike58
With this installment in Stross' long-running series of occult-intelligence thrillers we are now in full-fledged "Nightmare Green" territory with the action focused in Mhari Miller (now Baroness Karnstein). In the wake of the decapitation of the previous British government Fabian Everyman, aka The
Show More
Mandate, aka N'yar Lat-Hotep, is now the "New Management" and Mhari has been given the dirty job of finding out just what the hell is happening in the United States, which apparently has its own version of "New Management" in power; at least that's the official explanation. This could merely be a throwaway cover to get rid of some people who are no longer useful to the powers that be. If you've been following Stross up until this point you'll certainly want to read this novel otherwise go back to the start; those who have been reading from the start will be wondering what is the meaning of the hornet-like creature on the American cover package...it's probably nothing. Show Less
LibraryThing member rivkat
Told from Mhari the vampire’s semi-omniscient POV (she consults seers), the story picks up with the British government in thrall to the Black Pharaoh. Mhari and other politically wobbly operatives are sent to the US to find the President, since almost the entire country has forgotten him due to a
Show More
geas cast by the American occult spy agency, which would rather have Cthulhu in charge. And that’s just part of it. I can see why Stross might want to end the series—he has rather written himself into a corner, or rather into an insane geometry now that the stars have come right—but I’d read more. Show Less
LibraryThing member sarcher
Pushed the series plot forward, but only by a single click of the cog. Did the previous books have a similar lurid focus on sex acts? I'll have to keep that in mind as I reread. It's been a while since I've read the previous books.
It seems to be easier and easier for people to become (this world's
It seems to be easier and easier for people to become (this world's
Show More
verson of) vampires. Like, literally 25% of the characters in this book ended up there. Show Less
LibraryThing member macha
compulsively readable, like all The Laundry series (here The Laundry itself has been disbanded, though many of its denizens are still around, and its arcane bureaucracy has of course itself survived the cut). most of the plot takes the occult spooks to America, where the President has been
Show More
unaccountably forgotten. very funny, and it moves very fast. in these near-future novels, the espionage novel meets cyberpunk means Lovecraftian horror; it's all about high-tech magic and sometimes even elves, so throw fantasy into the mix too. if you've never read this series, why not? Show Less
LibraryThing member quondame
I rather like the balance of day-to-day life contrasted with the gibbering horrors of the other realms in the earlier books in this series, but that is pretty much gone and there are ever so few touchstones of normalcy in this version, which is a real loss. It's got the dark humor and the fast
Show More
pace, but it's all mechanics now. Show Less
LibraryThing member Glennis.LeBlanc
With the aftermath of the previous book firmly in place, Mhari is the main POV and the story uses lots of flashbacks using the personal diary of Mhari instead of her professional one. The main mission in this one is to save the President of the USA. The Sleeper is taking over America and through
Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley
Show More
magic has made people forget the third branch of government. The Black Pharaoh isn’t doing this for kindness but more to negate the power grab of one of his enemies. Mhari puts together a small team to go to the USA and capture him. Several members of the team are past minor characters of previous books so it was nice to see them again. Bob gets one scene in the book and Mo is just name checked. The story was good but for the most part there really isn’t a good guy you are rooting for anymore in the series. Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley
Show Less
LibraryThing member aeceyton
An excellent end to the series