Reviews

I enjoyed this overall but found it hard going. It's my first experience of Stross's work and maybe I should've started with something else? It's a mix of science fiction, heist story, fantasy, and so much more. The characters (both good and evil) are well drawn and I loved the world building. For me maybe a few too many characters and I got lost in the plot a few times. Overall I liked it but didn't love it

mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition

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3.0

Beginning of a new sub-series in the grand laundry series. Did pretty well with all new characters, or at least I think they are all new. And then it reached the completely going off the rails part of the story and instead just fizzled. Really didn't move the larger story along at all. Quirky and interesting characters as well as distasteful and somewhat irritating characters. I wanted more though this wasn't bad. 3.5 of 5.

bastibe's review against another edition

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5.0

A gripping book as ever, even though the Peter Pan references clearly flew over my head, and I miss the early, more light-hearted laundry universe. But perhaps that is more of a symptom of our current dark times and perhaps Stross' difficult years.

Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and its characters. Somehow it felt a bit like a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, what with its characters each having distinct superpowers that each were required at certain plot twists. It felt a little artificial in that way.

But in the other hand, it allowed for greater escalation and variety, which I enjoyed a lot. And I just love how Stross manages to write a classic science fictional "what if" extrapolation in this fantasy world. If all fantasy were as grounded and believable as this, I'd read much more of it.

Well done!

eol's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

kkehoe's review against another edition

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No rating again. Until this year I very rarely ever DNF'ed any books. However, all ng with a couple of others recently, this one was dropped as well. A total hairpin turn from everything I adored about this series, I just could not slog through because I had no skin in the game anymore with the new characters and NWO.

bearpolar's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

bakudreamer's review against another edition

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3.0

Alain Badiou described a new kind of feminine figure that's emerged in response to men becoming permanent adolescents. She's a cold, competitive, agent of power. Seductive and manipulative. Attesting to the paradox that in the new conditions of Capital, women can do better than men.

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