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13th out of 93 books
—
6 voters
Overtime (Laundry Files #2.5)
by
Charles Stross (Goodreads Author)
Introduced to readers in the novels The Atrocity Archive and The Jennifer Morgue, the Laundry is a secret British government agency charged with preventing dark interdimensional entities from destroying the human race. Now, in "Overtime," the Laundry is on a skeleton staff for Christmas—leaving one bureaucrat to be all that stands between the world and annihilation by the...more
Kindle Edition, 25 pages
Published
(first published December 2009)
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It starts out slow, likely due to the need to introduce the reader into this world (which is the subject of a few novels by the author), but it finishes strong. For people who aren't familiar with the other works, it can be a bit confusing, but one will eventually pick things up.
It's about a guy who works for a UK governmental agency that handles paranormal threats (of the Lovecraftian variety) and has to work over Christmas (but for triple pay!).
It does an excellent job of portraying the offic...more
It's about a guy who works for a UK governmental agency that handles paranormal threats (of the Lovecraftian variety) and has to work over Christmas (but for triple pay!).
It does an excellent job of portraying the offic...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Now this is the sort of office related horror I missed when I was reading The Apocalypse Codex.
Also contains a perfectly accurate description of the English (and Irish) Christmases
I can’t say I’ve ever been big on the English Suburban Christmas. First you play join-the-dots with bank holidays and what’s left of your annual leave, to get as many consecutive days off work as possible. Then instead of doing something useful and constructive with it you gorge yourself into a turkey-addled stomach-b...more
Also contains a perfectly accurate description of the English (and Irish) Christmases
I can’t say I’ve ever been big on the English Suburban Christmas. First you play join-the-dots with bank holidays and what’s left of your annual leave, to get as many consecutive days off work as possible. Then instead of doing something useful and constructive with it you gorge yourself into a turkey-addled stomach-b...more
This was a short story which was only a buck plus won an award so I figured why not. The preview also discussed the paranormal so I was a bit anxious to give it is try. However, this ended up being like one of those award winning movies that I would ask myself, 'how did that win?'. The story centers around an office for those hunting paranormal events. Santa ends up being one of these events. This sounds like a great premise but I found my mind wandering off and the story for what ever reason ju...more
Supershort review, since this is only a novelette written for a Christmas Tor compilation, but since it’s written in one of the best universes ever (The Laundry Files, in case there was room for doubt) I had to leave a comment about it.
The Laundry started with The Atrocity Archives and followed up brilliantly with The Jennifer Morgue which was a wonderful satire of good old James Bond movies.
In case you want the short-and-dirty, these novels are very geeky. It’s based on the idea that Plato’s ca...more
The Laundry started with The Atrocity Archives and followed up brilliantly with The Jennifer Morgue which was a wonderful satire of good old James Bond movies.
In case you want the short-and-dirty, these novels are very geeky. It’s based on the idea that Plato’s ca...more
Original post at One More Page
I think Overtime is the only Christmas-themed book I have in my Kindle, and I really scheduled to read it in December. I have never heard of Charles Stross before, but who am I to deny myself of a free ebook, right?
In Overtime , Bob Howard ends up being the night shift guard on duty on Christmas -- he didn't want to, but he wasn't able to file his holiday leave so he was left with no choice. Bob was prepared for an uneventful night alone in his temporary office, bu...more
I think Overtime is the only Christmas-themed book I have in my Kindle, and I really scheduled to read it in December. I have never heard of Charles Stross before, but who am I to deny myself of a free ebook, right?
In Overtime , Bob Howard ends up being the night shift guard on duty on Christmas -- he didn't want to, but he wasn't able to file his holiday leave so he was left with no choice. Bob was prepared for an uneventful night alone in his temporary office, bu...more
This is an entertaining short story (and free download) in Charles Stross's Laundry series. A civil servant in a secret British organization dedicated to keeping eldritch horrors at bay is the only one who can prevent the Bringer of Gifts from ending the world on Christmas Eve. It reminded me a lot of the Buffy episode "The Zeppo." Stross is in love with cleverness, so there are lots of geeky in-jokes, but I got them and found them amusing. I may go read his "Laundry" novels now.
This short story/novella had a lot of build, which made it seem like it was going to be this awesome invasion story, dragged towards the end and was a bit of a let-down from the beginning. However, this is a definite read for Christmas and a wonderful alternative to the usual sappy Christmas story. Besides, you have to know if a paper-pusher stuck on night watch due to some bad luck can really save the world from... well, you won't believe it when you read the story!
Thing is, the Laundry series is so damned interesting that I'm willing to get past the slight belief-conflicts I have with "demons". I'm one of those people who thinks he's a well-thought-out christian, so I kinda believe there's a dark side. Stross turns the dark side into "bad things from other dimensions" that are brought into being through mathematics, well, I can get over it. Generally, I like the lightheartedness of the novels, and will read them all. Sigh.
A moderately amusing short story, Overtime reminded me a lot of a Dr. Who Christmas special. From its easily-consumable, single-episodic length to the undercover agency specializing in the supernatural, this Christmas tale comes complete with the threat of global annihilation and a dash of non-linear time theory. The only thing missing is David Tennant.
Another short story in the Laundry universe, one that's easier to follow if you don't know the background. As with Down on the Farm, it takes a little bit to understand what's going on, but the setting means that we already can guess some of the back story, and there's even a hint about the twist at the end. A quick read, but definitely an entertaining one.
A nice little twist on Christmas and Santa Claus. The background situation follows on from The Fuller Memorandum, but you don't really need to read that first.
A great short story with a psuedonatural/supernatural twist, taking place at Christmastime and involving Stross' "Laundry" organization. It reminded me in many ways of a cross between a Terry Pratchett 'Hogfather' and the Pratchett/Gaiman "Good Omens." A fun short read.
A Christmas Story about Lovecraftian horrors set in the "Laundry" universe created by Charles Stross? It really can't lose. This short story lives up to its inventive premise, hitting all the bases fast and delivering yet another snappy Bob Howard tale.
'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the Laundry,
Bob roams the halls, feeling quite jaunty.
Dreaming of Mo, and roasting chestnuts,
Instead he finds copies of cock-a-roach butts.
Bob roams the halls, feeling quite jaunty.
Dreaming of Mo, and roasting chestnuts,
Instead he finds copies of cock-a-roach butts.
My wife started reading this on her iPod Nook app which reminded me that I had not read this for a while. Gave me a short Bob Howard fix until I get hold of the newest book.
It was well written and humorous, but I probably would have enjoyed it more had I been familiar with the series already. Also, totally not the time for christmas themed books.
Cute occult action with a heavy dose of satire about the nature of bureaucracy. It may get me to get the other two books in the series.
A short, clever Christmastime story by one of my favorite sci-fi authors. It's set in the The Laundry, familiar from other Stross books. Let's just say some scary things can come down the chimney.
My copy of this ebook was made available as part of the 2010 Hugo Voter's Packet as a part of my membership to the 2010 WorldCon.
A nice little short story just right for the week after Christmas. Currently free for the Kindle at Amazon, so why not?
A fun short story set in the Laundry world. A Christmas party with a Cthulthu guest is always fun :)
FYI this novella is available freely to read on the Tor site.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Pretty good humorous take on the office X-mas party mixed with a little Cthulu-ness.
The Nightmare Before Christmas meets Get Smart meets H.P. Lovecraft
A fun diversion on the plane yesterday. Wells meets Kafka, sort of.
Short story about Bob from the Laundry. Not as good as the novels.
Fun. But it makes me want to eat mince pies.
I didn't know until too late that this short story is based on the Laundry series, which I haven't read.
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Charles David George "Charlie" Stross is a writer based in Edinburgh, Scotland. His works range from science fiction and Lovecraftian horror to fantasy.
Stross is sometimes regarded as being part of a new generation of British science fiction writers who specialise in hard science fiction and space opera. His contemporaries include Alastair Reynolds, Ken MacLeod, Liz Williams and Richard Morgan.
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More about Charles Stross...
Stross is sometimes regarded as being part of a new generation of British science fiction writers who specialise in hard science fiction and space opera. His contemporaries include Alastair Reynolds, Ken MacLeod, Liz Williams and Richard Morgan.
SF...more
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“Christmas: the one time of year when you can’t avoid the nuts in your family muesli.”
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Sep 07, 2010 10:02am