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thearbiter89's review against another edition
3.0
I was prepared for this not to be a grand continuation of the slowly climaxing main storyline of the Laundry Files series, having been forewarned by the author that it was more of a side-story in the time of the New Management.
But it is a slight side story indeed - a riff off Peter Pan that honestly doesn't really go anywhere with that particular allusion, stuffed with a bevy of new characters that I can't bring myself to care that much about, written with strictly functional prose and a breathless lack of regard for pacing (but those have never been his comparative advantages, anyway).
And I think Stross is verging too much into the magic without continuing to provide a sort of pseudo-scientific grounding to it - which I thought was the strength of the main series - that application of bureaucratic scientism onto the occult. Without those elements, it has the feel of nothing more than a generic urban fantasy, with a side of James Bond-ish intrigue thrown in.
All in all, not my favorite of his Laundry books, main quest or otherwise.
I give this: 3 out of 5 haunted books
But it is a slight side story indeed - a riff off Peter Pan that honestly doesn't really go anywhere with that particular allusion, stuffed with a bevy of new characters that I can't bring myself to care that much about, written with strictly functional prose and a breathless lack of regard for pacing (but those have never been his comparative advantages, anyway).
And I think Stross is verging too much into the magic without continuing to provide a sort of pseudo-scientific grounding to it - which I thought was the strength of the main series - that application of bureaucratic scientism onto the occult. Without those elements, it has the feel of nothing more than a generic urban fantasy, with a side of James Bond-ish intrigue thrown in.
All in all, not my favorite of his Laundry books, main quest or otherwise.
I give this: 3 out of 5 haunted books
gtbenathan's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Another highly enjoyable book in the laundry files. I think I'm going to enjoy the new management.
shawnwhy's review against another edition
5.0
havnt enjoyed a charles stross novel this much since accerlerando
the_lawyer_librarian's review against another edition
2.0
DNF 30%. Loved the characters, but the constant flow of information was distracting and confusing. Not one for me unfortunately!
orla_h's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
josephholsten's review against another edition
“…shot in the knee…”
I’m pretty sure Stross has decided that there is no such thing as too many literary references.
I’m pretty sure Stross has decided that there is no such thing as too many literary references.
milsy81's review against another edition
3.0
Found it to be slow starting and a little hard to get into these characters, but strengthened towards the end. 3 to 3.5 or so out of 5 on this one on it's own, but the ending leaves me interested to see both continuing growth both in the Laundry Files overall and in where this group of characters go.
chukg's review against another edition
5.0
Good as ever, this one is more of a caper novel in the 'new' reality of the Laundry Files, none of the main characters carrying over. There are a couple of good new main characters (I'm not sure if they'll be continuing in later books) and we get a look at more of the world under the New Management. While there are some terrible things in this book, it felt a little more 'fun' than some of the bleaker main sequence books, also the characters are a bit more diverse and there's a bit of queer romance (although this is definitely not any kind of love story). I'm looking forward to the next one.
onceandfuturelaura's review against another edition
3.0
Nyarlathotep is Prime Minister, Santa has been executed in front of a toy store, and an obscenely rich man who had backed a different Great Old One for Number 10 is after the Necronomicon makes the very clever decision to hire a team of people who have a very good reason to never grow up.
Life goes on, for most, on the other side of the negotiated apocalypse. A bit more outsourcing, a lot more skulls on display. People find a way to accommodate life under Lovecraftian Capitalism. Shades of James Bond, Peter Pan, Marvel, DC, and Doctor Who abound.
But as high as the stakes were, it just seemed like a side quest of a bunch of non player characters. I liked them well enough, but I wasn't invested in any of them enough to really feel their peril, loss, or triumph. They are, all of them, participating in a system that will kill them dead, dead, and deader, and all the good things in the world with them. But unlike Bob or Mo, I just didn't feel them. Also, Angleton let the freaking Necronomicon abide??? Heads should roll.
Life goes on, for most, on the other side of the negotiated apocalypse. A bit more outsourcing, a lot more skulls on display. People find a way to accommodate life under Lovecraftian Capitalism. Shades of James Bond, Peter Pan, Marvel, DC, and Doctor Who abound.
But as high as the stakes were, it just seemed like a side quest of a bunch of non player characters. I liked them well enough, but I wasn't invested in any of them enough to really feel their peril, loss, or triumph. They are, all of them, participating in a system that will kill them dead, dead, and deader, and all the good things in the world with them. But unlike Bob or Mo, I just didn't feel them. Also, Angleton let the freaking Necronomicon abide??? Heads should roll.