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Laundry Files #1
Rapporto sulle atrocità
Nella gerarchia delle organizzazioni segrete inglesi, The Laundry – la Lavanderia – è l’Agenzia per eccellenza. Controspionaggio, sabotaggio, schedatura: non c’è attività che le sfugga, perché il fine supremo è ripulire la Terra da un nemico pericolosissimo. Artefici del caos, infiltrati che neppure dovrebbero esistere, “agenti” di potenze molto più oscure di quelle che una volta si annidavano oltre cortina. Ma da dove cominciare, e a chi affidare un incarico di tale responsabilità? Nelle due avventure racchiuse in questo volume – la seconda delle quali ha vinto il Premio Hugo 2005 nella categoria “Romanzo breve” – il compito spetta a Bob Oliver Francis Howard, il Bastard Operator from Hell, un uomo talmente ricco di risorse che non è bastato un solo romanzo per descriverne le gesta inenarrabili a difesa del continuum.
Copertina di Franco Brambilla
Copertina di Franco Brambilla
290 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
1881 people are currently reading
21865 people want to read
About the author
Charles Stross
177 books5,797 followersCharles 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.
SF Encyclopedia: http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/...
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_...
Tor: http://us.macmillan.com/author/charle...
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 Encyclopedia: http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/...
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_...
Tor: http://us.macmillan.com/author/charle...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,211 reviews
April 30, 2015
so there's all sorts of nerds in the world, right? so many different kinds and really they don't have a lot in common outside of their basic nerdiness. I was out for drinks last Friday and someone made some kind of joke about renaming a lesbian club "Aphrodite" and I responded that that doesn't make sense, it should be called "Artemis" or at least "Athena", some goddess who isn't so connected to the male gaze and men in general etc. then I proceeded to describe what each of those goddesses oversees, their hallmarks, and their various equivalents across other mythologies. sadly, I soon noticed glazed looks and averted eyerolls from the guys & gals around the table. being quite familiar with those sorts of looks, I quickly apologized about going off into nerd-land so I could avoid an onslaught of mockery. I guess my apology must have been pleasing because they responded with a chorus of comments along the lines of "Oh but we love our nerdy little mark" or some such attempt to lift my nerd spirits. sigh. I really should find nerdier friends.
the next day, thinking on that, I realized what kind of nerd I specifically am. I like the ancient world, and powers, and god-like beings, and strange cultures and forgotten civilizations. et cetera. magic and comics and mythology and that sort of stuff. I'm not a numbers or tech nerd and I'm definitely not a science nerd. I love science fiction, but I love it for its take on social and societal issues and I love it when it is all about the opera in space opera, rather than explaining in precise detail what "space" is.
so The Atrocity Archives is definitely for nerds, but not this kind of nerd, not me, no way. every frickin' scientific theory or paranormal doodad is explained in intense detail over the course of long paragraphs punctuated by exclamation points that seem excited about things I barely understand and certainly don't care about. this book was a chore to read and I skimmed through so much technobabble. ugh, I hate when I skim through a book because that's like forcing myself to read. the one thing in its favor was that I was amused by the breezy, casual tone of the narrative and the narrator's voice - it reminded me of the very few urban fantasy novels I've read. but besides that, the book was a bore to me.
this was a 1-star book for me but I'm not giving it that because it wasn't a bad book. I didn't like it but it's hard for me to blame the book for the two of us not being a good fit. I'm sure it's perfect for the right kind of nerd.
the next day, thinking on that, I realized what kind of nerd I specifically am. I like the ancient world, and powers, and god-like beings, and strange cultures and forgotten civilizations. et cetera. magic and comics and mythology and that sort of stuff. I'm not a numbers or tech nerd and I'm definitely not a science nerd. I love science fiction, but I love it for its take on social and societal issues and I love it when it is all about the opera in space opera, rather than explaining in precise detail what "space" is.
so The Atrocity Archives is definitely for nerds, but not this kind of nerd, not me, no way. every frickin' scientific theory or paranormal doodad is explained in intense detail over the course of long paragraphs punctuated by exclamation points that seem excited about things I barely understand and certainly don't care about. this book was a chore to read and I skimmed through so much technobabble. ugh, I hate when I skim through a book because that's like forcing myself to read. the one thing in its favor was that I was amused by the breezy, casual tone of the narrative and the narrator's voice - it reminded me of the very few urban fantasy novels I've read. but besides that, the book was a bore to me.
this was a 1-star book for me but I'm not giving it that because it wasn't a bad book. I didn't like it but it's hard for me to blame the book for the two of us not being a good fit. I'm sure it's perfect for the right kind of nerd.
July 24, 2015
Stross’ take on the urban fantasy is engaging but clunky in parts. The Atrocity Archives is first in currently seven book series–for those of you looking to sink your reading chops into an established series–that feature Robert Howard, computer programmer and now employee of Her Majesty’s Secret Supernatural Service. Bob found his way into the top-secret government organization when he did something precocious with a computer, and now he’s facing the unusual dilemma of being a stipend collecting desk-warmer or stepping into the dangerous supernatural spy business.
Well, we all know which he chooses, right?
His first international mission is to go to America and make contact with a British expatriate who is having trouble leaving the country. His decision-making sets a chain of events in motion, including landing him back in spy basic training. Without being too spoiler-ific, chasing down the perpetrators will require a stay in Amsterdam as well as a trip into another dimension.
It’s an entertaining premise that I haven’t really run into before in the urban fantasy/sci-fi genre. The blurb and reviews make much of it being “Lovecraftian.” I don’t know that I agree; there’s certainly the sense of evil/malevolence, and there’s an interdimensionality thing going on, but for the first part BIG GIANT SPOILERS AHEAD But that does mean that the “Lovecraftian” or supernatural element was a bit of an anti-climax, with significantly less authorial time devoted to developing the ambiance of its awful and destructive potential.
Then there’s the plot flow. You know when you first read the Anita Blake series and you were enjoying the mystery, the zombie raising to discover who the killer was, and all of a sudden its about her having sex with jaguars so your eyes drift past that part of the book until you get to the next murder scene? Well, it’s not about sex, but Stross has whole paragraphs that did that to me:
“The theorem is a hack on discrete number theory that simultaneously disproves the Church-Turing hypothesis (wave if you understand that) and worse, permits NP-complete problems to be converted into P-complete ones. This has several consequences, starting with screwing over most cryptography algorithms–translation: all your bank account are belong to us–and ending with the ability to computationally generate a Dho-Nha geometry curve in real time.”
Yeah, you’ll notice I’m not waving. And this little gem was from page 17. Thus my second problem with the book: there’s a whole lot of computer jargon that isn’t explained well, and moreover, isn’t actually necessary except as a device to prove how smart Bob/Stross is (for instance, the NP/P and Dho-Nha are terms which are not used outside of that paragraph). While I struggled through college physics, I’m a sci-fi reader, can use a computer perfectly well, thank you very much, and I still found sections largely incomprehensible. To make it worse, I couldn’t tell if Stross was being factual (I’m aware of Alan Turing and computers in general) and where the funky was stepping in (as opposed to the InCryptid series with its faux-bio-ecological descriptions)
So I skipped them. I tend towards skimming at times, so it didn’t bother me unduly, and didn’t much hamper the overall gestalt of the plot, but I imagine it would prevent a number of readers–particularly those with a predilection to digest every word–from enjoying it.
Oh yeah: he does the technobabble with organizational structure as well (something about when a department in the British government was was disbanded, remade and/or “disappeared” in 1945). He explains more of it in the Afterward, which rather convinced me he was just info-dumping his research instead of telling a cracking good story.
This rather sounds like I didn’t like it, doesn’t it? On the contrary–I did, but I’m aware that I put blinders on in order to enjoy it. I thought there was more depth to Bob’s characterization than one usually gets in this type of book, and better emphasis on action as part of a team. There’s moments of ordinariness, such as Bob negotiating with flatmates–and moments of escalating action that are appropriate for Bob’s lack of expertise. Setting is generally well done, giving atmosphere without diverting focus from the action. This book also had a short story at the end, “The Concrete Jungle” which I enjoyed even more, It includes a female Detective Inspector who redeems the general treatment of women in Atrocity.
I’ve already ordered the third book from the library–I’m skipping the second for now, as it’s billed as a “James Bond-esque” island sort of thing with sultry evil woman-creature, and that’s just too much for me to deal with, given an author I’m ambivalent about. This is one book that it’s better to choose with foreknowledge, as it is such a specialized read.
Well, we all know which he chooses, right?
His first international mission is to go to America and make contact with a British expatriate who is having trouble leaving the country. His decision-making sets a chain of events in motion, including landing him back in spy basic training. Without being too spoiler-ific, chasing down the perpetrators will require a stay in Amsterdam as well as a trip into another dimension.
It’s an entertaining premise that I haven’t really run into before in the urban fantasy/sci-fi genre. The blurb and reviews make much of it being “Lovecraftian.” I don’t know that I agree; there’s certainly the sense of evil/malevolence, and there’s an interdimensionality thing going on, but for the first part BIG GIANT SPOILERS AHEAD But that does mean that the “Lovecraftian” or supernatural element was a bit of an anti-climax, with significantly less authorial time devoted to developing the ambiance of its awful and destructive potential.
Then there’s the plot flow. You know when you first read the Anita Blake series and you were enjoying the mystery, the zombie raising to discover who the killer was, and all of a sudden its about her having sex with jaguars so your eyes drift past that part of the book until you get to the next murder scene? Well, it’s not about sex, but Stross has whole paragraphs that did that to me:
“The theorem is a hack on discrete number theory that simultaneously disproves the Church-Turing hypothesis (wave if you understand that) and worse, permits NP-complete problems to be converted into P-complete ones. This has several consequences, starting with screwing over most cryptography algorithms–translation: all your bank account are belong to us–and ending with the ability to computationally generate a Dho-Nha geometry curve in real time.”
Yeah, you’ll notice I’m not waving. And this little gem was from page 17. Thus my second problem with the book: there’s a whole lot of computer jargon that isn’t explained well, and moreover, isn’t actually necessary except as a device to prove how smart Bob/Stross is (for instance, the NP/P and Dho-Nha are terms which are not used outside of that paragraph). While I struggled through college physics, I’m a sci-fi reader, can use a computer perfectly well, thank you very much, and I still found sections largely incomprehensible. To make it worse, I couldn’t tell if Stross was being factual (I’m aware of Alan Turing and computers in general) and where the funky was stepping in (as opposed to the InCryptid series with its faux-bio-ecological descriptions)
So I skipped them. I tend towards skimming at times, so it didn’t bother me unduly, and didn’t much hamper the overall gestalt of the plot, but I imagine it would prevent a number of readers–particularly those with a predilection to digest every word–from enjoying it.
Oh yeah: he does the technobabble with organizational structure as well (something about when a department in the British government was was disbanded, remade and/or “disappeared” in 1945). He explains more of it in the Afterward, which rather convinced me he was just info-dumping his research instead of telling a cracking good story.
This rather sounds like I didn’t like it, doesn’t it? On the contrary–I did, but I’m aware that I put blinders on in order to enjoy it. I thought there was more depth to Bob’s characterization than one usually gets in this type of book, and better emphasis on action as part of a team. There’s moments of ordinariness, such as Bob negotiating with flatmates–and moments of escalating action that are appropriate for Bob’s lack of expertise. Setting is generally well done, giving atmosphere without diverting focus from the action. This book also had a short story at the end, “The Concrete Jungle” which I enjoyed even more, It includes a female Detective Inspector who redeems the general treatment of women in Atrocity.
I’ve already ordered the third book from the library–I’m skipping the second for now, as it’s billed as a “James Bond-esque” island sort of thing with sultry evil woman-creature, and that’s just too much for me to deal with, given an author I’m ambivalent about. This is one book that it’s better to choose with foreknowledge, as it is such a specialized read.
September 22, 2017
Charles Stross’ 2004 publication The Atrocity Archives introduces readers to his Laundry Files and protagonist Bob Howard.
Taking inspiration from HP Lovecraft and Robert A. Howard (too much of a coincidence that his hero is named Bob Howard) Stross describes an urban fantasy world building where “The Laundry” is an ultra-secret British agency that deals with the paranormal and occult, kind of a British Men in Black.
Stross’ science and mathematics appear to be solid and he artfully mixes in concepts of extra-dimensional wizardry with physical science and technology. Howard, a non-Company man amidst an overly rigid bureaucratic system (kind of a running joke throughout the narrative) gets involved with a supernatural plot involving dimensionally trapped Nazis.
Inventive and often funny, Stross has a great idea and, though his delivery is sometimes stilted and overly complicated, he has crafted an entertaining concept.
Taking inspiration from HP Lovecraft and Robert A. Howard (too much of a coincidence that his hero is named Bob Howard) Stross describes an urban fantasy world building where “The Laundry” is an ultra-secret British agency that deals with the paranormal and occult, kind of a British Men in Black.
Stross’ science and mathematics appear to be solid and he artfully mixes in concepts of extra-dimensional wizardry with physical science and technology. Howard, a non-Company man amidst an overly rigid bureaucratic system (kind of a running joke throughout the narrative) gets involved with a supernatural plot involving dimensionally trapped Nazis.
Inventive and often funny, Stross has a great idea and, though his delivery is sometimes stilted and overly complicated, he has crafted an entertaining concept.
January 17, 2018
Update 1/17/18
This is the third read and since I keep getting more excited every time I read it, I'm breaking down and just plopping a big extra star on for sheer enjoyment.
I've decided this book is not only Spy Fiction with a Cthulhu twist with lots of super geeky math moments, but it's also Physics Porn. I've decided that I am exactly the right audience for this book. Or maybe I've become exactly the right audience. I want more. More. More. More. More. More. More.
I chuckle throughout the whole damn novel, and when I start realizing that I actually understand the physics porn, I get this huge giddy feeling. But that's not all this is. Not by a long shot. It's a fight with the damn administration. It's feeling stuck and deciding to follow your instinct to make the best out of things by doing the right thing. Even if it's becoming an active operative in a nightmare scenario. :)
This book, this series, is one of the biggest reasons why Charley Stross is one of my absolute favorite authors of all time. He's wicked smart, funny, and geeky to hell. :)
I can't recommend this enough. :)
Original Review:
This is the second time I'll be reading the Laundry Files to get to the new stuff I haven't. It has so many great aspects that bring those big smiles on my face, namely: Cthulhu hacking spy comedy. The first time I read it, I didn't realize these novels were all based individually on the style of different spy fiction authors, which will end soon and be based solely upon Charles Stross's style. It is an easy and fun read and tickles all my genre bones, so it, therefore, qualifies in some of very top lists for must-reads. That isn't to say the novel doesn't have it's dry spots, either in the admittedly authentic sounding military jargon or the specialized mathematical humor that may or may not be lost upon many readers; even so, the voice never falters and the humorous parts are definitely humorous. I will admit that I am a fanboy of his works and will always be skewed in his favor. Guilty pleasures, and all that.
This is the third read and since I keep getting more excited every time I read it, I'm breaking down and just plopping a big extra star on for sheer enjoyment.
I've decided this book is not only Spy Fiction with a Cthulhu twist with lots of super geeky math moments, but it's also Physics Porn. I've decided that I am exactly the right audience for this book. Or maybe I've become exactly the right audience. I want more. More. More. More. More. More. More.
I chuckle throughout the whole damn novel, and when I start realizing that I actually understand the physics porn, I get this huge giddy feeling. But that's not all this is. Not by a long shot. It's a fight with the damn administration. It's feeling stuck and deciding to follow your instinct to make the best out of things by doing the right thing. Even if it's becoming an active operative in a nightmare scenario. :)
This book, this series, is one of the biggest reasons why Charley Stross is one of my absolute favorite authors of all time. He's wicked smart, funny, and geeky to hell. :)
I can't recommend this enough. :)
Original Review:
This is the second time I'll be reading the Laundry Files to get to the new stuff I haven't. It has so many great aspects that bring those big smiles on my face, namely: Cthulhu hacking spy comedy. The first time I read it, I didn't realize these novels were all based individually on the style of different spy fiction authors, which will end soon and be based solely upon Charles Stross's style. It is an easy and fun read and tickles all my genre bones, so it, therefore, qualifies in some of very top lists for must-reads. That isn't to say the novel doesn't have it's dry spots, either in the admittedly authentic sounding military jargon or the specialized mathematical humor that may or may not be lost upon many readers; even so, the voice never falters and the humorous parts are definitely humorous. I will admit that I am a fanboy of his works and will always be skewed in his favor. Guilty pleasures, and all that.
August 30, 2015
Charles Stross is an author I want to like. I like his blogs, I like his personality and honesty (in so far as one can gauge such things based on the author's writings, interviews and such). The only snag is I am somewhat ambivalent about his fiction. I don't doubt that he is a talented writer of science fiction. He comes up with some great ideas and is quite popular within his chosen genre. Unfortunately from the three books I have read so far there is something about his fiction writing style that does not appeal to me. His prose style comes across as cocky, hip and chaotic. He often switches to infodump mode in the middle of his narrative, filling them with scientific terms, jargons, geekspeak, neologisms and general techno-babble. I often find it hard to distinguish the real and the imagined terms among them. Generally I find that his writing is lacking in clarity, often veering between flippant and technical and back, and this plays hell with his narrative. Yes, I imagine a lot of people find his writing clear as a bell, I can only speak for myself.
From the synopsis The Atrocity Archives should have been more fun than it turned out to be. Basically this is a spy thriller-sci-fi-supernatural horror hybrid, sort of a cross between le Carré spy fiction, The X-Files and Cthulhu Mythos. It is centered on a super secret British spy organization called The Laundry that "clean up" and protect the country from ghastly supernatural incursions from other dimensions. The edition of the book that I read contain two distinct stories the original short novel "The Atrocity Archives" and the novella "The Concrete Jungle", the later is more entertaining and tightly written than the former. There are multiple instances of excessive exposition in this book (TMI!), some of these infodumps are more interesting and comprehensible than others. Although the book is a mashup of several genres it reads more like sci-fi than anything else, all the supernatural elements have a scientific or pseudo-scientific basis. I like his little infodump about plutonium and nuclear bombs, learning something from fiction is always a bonus. His witticisms and sense of humour provide the element of levity I expected but this is less prominent than I thought it would be. I love the fun twist on the "You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs" idiom, and the satire of bureaucratic red tape in an office.
That stuff is gold! Extra points also for a Monty Python reference elsewhere in the book. For some reason the book is written in first person present tense, I imagine this is supposed to make the story seems more immediate and unpredictable, it does no harm I guess but does not really enhance the story for me. Characterization is on the flat side as the protagonist/narrator spends more time explaining technical details than expressing his feelings, some of the other characters are interesting but basically they are just there to move the plot along.
Previously I have read Stross' famous Accelerando which required two attempts, I could not follow much of the tech and became annoyed with it (and myself), then I read Singularity Sky which I quite enjoyed and found the prose to be more readable, sometime after that I read his Glasshouse which is brilliant and very readable, vastly superior to his other books that I have read so far.
I rate The Atrocity Archives 3.5 stars (4 stars for "The Concrete Jungle" novella).
From the synopsis The Atrocity Archives should have been more fun than it turned out to be. Basically this is a spy thriller-sci-fi-supernatural horror hybrid, sort of a cross between le Carré spy fiction, The X-Files and Cthulhu Mythos. It is centered on a super secret British spy organization called The Laundry that "clean up" and protect the country from ghastly supernatural incursions from other dimensions. The edition of the book that I read contain two distinct stories the original short novel "The Atrocity Archives" and the novella "The Concrete Jungle", the later is more entertaining and tightly written than the former. There are multiple instances of excessive exposition in this book (TMI!), some of these infodumps are more interesting and comprehensible than others. Although the book is a mashup of several genres it reads more like sci-fi than anything else, all the supernatural elements have a scientific or pseudo-scientific basis. I like his little infodump about plutonium and nuclear bombs, learning something from fiction is always a bonus. His witticisms and sense of humour provide the element of levity I expected but this is less prominent than I thought it would be. I love the fun twist on the "You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs" idiom, and the satire of bureaucratic red tape in an office.
"In the Laundry we supposedly pride ourselves on our procedures. We’ve got procedures for breaking and entering offices, procedures for reporting a shortage of paper clips, procedures for summoning demons from the vasty deeps, and procedures for writing procedures. We may actually be on track to be the world’s first ISO-9000 total-quality-certified intelligence agency."
That stuff is gold! Extra points also for a Monty Python reference elsewhere in the book. For some reason the book is written in first person present tense, I imagine this is supposed to make the story seems more immediate and unpredictable, it does no harm I guess but does not really enhance the story for me. Characterization is on the flat side as the protagonist/narrator spends more time explaining technical details than expressing his feelings, some of the other characters are interesting but basically they are just there to move the plot along.
Previously I have read Stross' famous Accelerando which required two attempts, I could not follow much of the tech and became annoyed with it (and myself), then I read Singularity Sky which I quite enjoyed and found the prose to be more readable, sometime after that I read his Glasshouse which is brilliant and very readable, vastly superior to his other books that I have read so far.
I rate The Atrocity Archives 3.5 stars (4 stars for "The Concrete Jungle" novella).
June 13, 2022
“We remain convinced that this is the best defensive posture to adopt in order to minimize casualties when the Great Old Ones return from beyond the stars to eat our brains.”
Charles Stross's The Atrocity Archives (Laundry Files, #1) was a fun read (the scattered Cthulhu references added to the entertainment). I liked the humor inherent in a bureaucracy battling demons and forestalling the coming apocalypse (while making sure timesheets are filled out properly). It felt a little less light-hearted when Nazis and the occult were woven into the plot. Even if this strengthened the plot, I enjoyed it a little less because, frankly, my enjoyment of The Atrocity Archives wasn't tied to the plot. 3.5 stars.
Charles Stross's The Atrocity Archives (Laundry Files, #1) was a fun read (the scattered Cthulhu references added to the entertainment). I liked the humor inherent in a bureaucracy battling demons and forestalling the coming apocalypse (while making sure timesheets are filled out properly). It felt a little less light-hearted when Nazis and the occult were woven into the plot. Even if this strengthened the plot, I enjoyed it a little less because, frankly, my enjoyment of The Atrocity Archives wasn't tied to the plot. 3.5 stars.
June 19, 2019
I wasn't sure if I'd like this book or not, but I did end up enjoying it. The only reason I didn't give it 4 stars was there was too much technical jargon that I didn't understand. But all in all an ok read.
January 27, 2008
Every so often I come across a book so laden with obscure references that only my own particular predisposition to trivia sees me through to the other side. Charles Stross has accomplished just such a feat with The Atrocity Archives, a bewildering, fascinating, and very funny look inside the bureaucratic world of top-secret British occult espionage.
If I had to capture the tone of the Atrocity Archives in one sentence, I'd describe it as three parts Men In Black, two parts The Office, and two parts of the "Lovecraft Mythos." The stories (as the book is actually comprised of two separate narratives) center on The Laundry, the ultra-secret branch of Her Majesty's Government responsible for keeping the Things Beyond Our Reality from invading and destroying the world. The comedy of the book draws heavily from the juxtaposition of supernatural horrors (from Nazi occult torture engines to bodysnatching dimensional travelers) with the mind-numbing dreariness of government office politics (from paper clip audits to matrix management).
The brilliance of Stross' world is also the thing most likely to confound the average reader: the book's reliance on a tightly-woven tapestry of fairly obscure esoterica. The reader has half a chance of being on top of the constant references if they (a) have read the complete works of H.P. Lovecraft, (b) have also read the complete works of Lei Deighton, (c) have taken at least one upper-level computer science course, (d) have a broad familiarity with mythological creatures from a half-dozen cultures or more, (e) have read A Brief History Of Time once or twice, (f) know their way around the lexicon of a Crowley-style occultist, (g) know twentieth-century European history fairly well, and (h) watched the Saturday morning cartoons of the mid-90s. But even that might not be enough.
Like Men in Black, The Atrocity Archives is an action comedy at heart, so knowing the background of every little tidbit being thrown the reader's way isn't necessary. The books does a good job of holding the reader's hand while explaining the basics of modern magic (which turns out to be a mix of applied mathematics and physics) and the alternate history surrounding the occult cold war currently raging. But the references come so fast and furious that I honestly don't know how this books would look to the uninitiated. Which is a shame, because (knowing what I know) the story is consistently engaging and often hilarious.
I enjoyed Stross' world quite a bit, and I can firmly recommend it to anyone who would also enjoy it. The only trouble is that, as richly borrowed as that world is, I'm not exactly sure who, precisely, to recommend it to.
If I had to capture the tone of the Atrocity Archives in one sentence, I'd describe it as three parts Men In Black, two parts The Office, and two parts of the "Lovecraft Mythos." The stories (as the book is actually comprised of two separate narratives) center on The Laundry, the ultra-secret branch of Her Majesty's Government responsible for keeping the Things Beyond Our Reality from invading and destroying the world. The comedy of the book draws heavily from the juxtaposition of supernatural horrors (from Nazi occult torture engines to bodysnatching dimensional travelers) with the mind-numbing dreariness of government office politics (from paper clip audits to matrix management).
The brilliance of Stross' world is also the thing most likely to confound the average reader: the book's reliance on a tightly-woven tapestry of fairly obscure esoterica. The reader has half a chance of being on top of the constant references if they (a) have read the complete works of H.P. Lovecraft, (b) have also read the complete works of Lei Deighton, (c) have taken at least one upper-level computer science course, (d) have a broad familiarity with mythological creatures from a half-dozen cultures or more, (e) have read A Brief History Of Time once or twice, (f) know their way around the lexicon of a Crowley-style occultist, (g) know twentieth-century European history fairly well, and (h) watched the Saturday morning cartoons of the mid-90s. But even that might not be enough.
Like Men in Black, The Atrocity Archives is an action comedy at heart, so knowing the background of every little tidbit being thrown the reader's way isn't necessary. The books does a good job of holding the reader's hand while explaining the basics of modern magic (which turns out to be a mix of applied mathematics and physics) and the alternate history surrounding the occult cold war currently raging. But the references come so fast and furious that I honestly don't know how this books would look to the uninitiated. Which is a shame, because (knowing what I know) the story is consistently engaging and often hilarious.
I enjoyed Stross' world quite a bit, and I can firmly recommend it to anyone who would also enjoy it. The only trouble is that, as richly borrowed as that world is, I'm not exactly sure who, precisely, to recommend it to.
January 17, 2018
This was fun!
The Atrocity Archives is the first in Charles Stross' The Laundry Files books. The Atrocity Archives is an actual archive in Amsterdam where occult and bizarre objects are kept. And Laundry is the name of a super top secret organization in Her Majesty's government charged with stopping stupid people from accidentally inviting god-like creatures into our realm and thus destroying Earth.
The first thing I noticed about this book was the author's style. The MC is a guy working for "IT" in Laundry but, naturally, that doesn't mean the usual computing stuff. We're talking interdimensional portals and such. Nevertheless, it is a rather boring job so he volunteers for "field work". The guy is a nerd and I really liked how authentic the author made the dialogue - there is no euphemism or peeping when he swears, he describes even yucky daily routines or gory details and it's great.
Even greater is the author's sense of humour. He doesn't go slapstick, he's not laying it on too thick, but there is the unterlying dry British humour when he speaks about interdepartmental rivalries, bureaucratic warfare about supposedly unnecessary expenses during a world-saving operation and such.
Apart from the MC and his weird work space, we're also introduced to Mo O'Brien, who was just as delightful as Pinky and Brains or Bob's later boss (I really like him). You have other dimensions, the leftovers from the SS's experiments, frost giants, some Middle Eastern fanatics ... but it's really about how the administration can ruin your day when you only come into work at 10am after pulling another all-nighter. Or the debrief after the annoyingly stupid accountant meets an untimely end. Or simply: Monday. We've all been there. ;)
I really enjoyed this first adventure and will definitely stick with the series.
The Atrocity Archives is the first in Charles Stross' The Laundry Files books. The Atrocity Archives is an actual archive in Amsterdam where occult and bizarre objects are kept. And Laundry is the name of a super top secret organization in Her Majesty's government charged with stopping stupid people from accidentally inviting god-like creatures into our realm and thus destroying Earth.
The first thing I noticed about this book was the author's style. The MC is a guy working for "IT" in Laundry but, naturally, that doesn't mean the usual computing stuff. We're talking interdimensional portals and such. Nevertheless, it is a rather boring job so he volunteers for "field work". The guy is a nerd and I really liked how authentic the author made the dialogue - there is no euphemism or peeping when he swears, he describes even yucky daily routines or gory details and it's great.
Even greater is the author's sense of humour. He doesn't go slapstick, he's not laying it on too thick, but there is the unterlying dry British humour when he speaks about interdepartmental rivalries, bureaucratic warfare about supposedly unnecessary expenses during a world-saving operation and such.
Apart from the MC and his weird work space, we're also introduced to Mo O'Brien, who was just as delightful as Pinky and Brains or Bob's later boss (I really like him). You have other dimensions, the leftovers from the SS's experiments, frost giants, some Middle Eastern fanatics ... but it's really about how the administration can ruin your day when you only come into work at 10am after pulling another all-nighter. Or the debrief after the annoyingly stupid accountant meets an untimely end. Or simply: Monday. We've all been there. ;)
I really enjoyed this first adventure and will definitely stick with the series.
June 8, 2014
Dudes, I finally did it! I finally read a Charles Stross novel that didn't leave me feeling vaguely disappointed that I didn't enjoy it more! Apparently this is the series for me, of his work. So far.
Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
December 16, 2015
Bullet Review:
I've basically been reading this for 3 months. I'll make progress and then I'll find ANY excuse to drop the book. The ONLY thing keeping me going back is the fact I agreed to buddy read this with a friend - and in the same time I got over 1/3 of the way, she couldn't manage past the first chapter.
DNF at 39%.
Full Review:
I have come to fully accept that there will be books that other people ADORE that I just won't like. This doesn't mean the book is bad (though sometimes I will say it does) nor does it mean those who love it are bad (shocker I know - I don't hate you guys, nor the author! Wish fans, though, would be half as respectful to me and my opinions); it ONLY means *I* don't like it. I don't know why I keep feeling the need to say this, but if there is a book I feel like I have to defend my choice to DNF because it was boring as hell, it is this book.
Bob works at The Laundry, a paranormal IT Crowd. Bob is a desk jockey but has been given a couple of field assignments - one, in California, he really stumbled upon something, including nearly the only woman (or at least not b!tchy or psycho woman) in the book, Dominique "Mo", who, not coincidentally, gives Bob pantsfeels.
And that's about the extent to what I could ascertain was going on. Bob stumbled upon something that sounded VERY SUSPICIOUSLY like moar evul Nazis and a rift and I am done with this book.
I read for enjoyment, and wading through page upon page of technobabble jargon IS. NOT. FUN. I'm an engineer, but even engineers like to turn off their brains once in awhile. (Also, I'm mechanical, not computer or software, so I couldn't follow ANY of the computer jargon.) I know if you've read some reviews, that may come as an astonishment because there have been books where my brain could NOT turn off, and I picked out all the problems and questions I had. This book, on the other hand, just made my brain turn off and switch to the comics that my coworker gave me - at least I was making progress through them.
And in a nutshell: That's all, folks. The book was boring, full of technobabble, and there were a grand total of three women, one who was a nutjob and somewhat abusive, the other a harpy b!tch boss, and the last the one Bob wanted to nail. I don't really feel an inclination to keep pushing myself when I know my reading Buddy isn't enjoying herself either.
There's more to life than finishing EVERY book that comes in my path. Such as prepping to b!tch about the newest Star Wars movie. (Because we all know, the biggest haters of Star Wars are hardcore Star Wars fans.)
I've basically been reading this for 3 months. I'll make progress and then I'll find ANY excuse to drop the book. The ONLY thing keeping me going back is the fact I agreed to buddy read this with a friend - and in the same time I got over 1/3 of the way, she couldn't manage past the first chapter.
DNF at 39%.
Full Review:
I have come to fully accept that there will be books that other people ADORE that I just won't like. This doesn't mean the book is bad (though sometimes I will say it does) nor does it mean those who love it are bad (shocker I know - I don't hate you guys, nor the author! Wish fans, though, would be half as respectful to me and my opinions); it ONLY means *I* don't like it. I don't know why I keep feeling the need to say this, but if there is a book I feel like I have to defend my choice to DNF because it was boring as hell, it is this book.
Bob works at The Laundry, a paranormal IT Crowd. Bob is a desk jockey but has been given a couple of field assignments - one, in California, he really stumbled upon something, including nearly the only woman (or at least not b!tchy or psycho woman) in the book, Dominique "Mo", who, not coincidentally, gives Bob pantsfeels.
And that's about the extent to what I could ascertain was going on. Bob stumbled upon something that sounded VERY SUSPICIOUSLY like moar evul Nazis and a rift and I am done with this book.
I read for enjoyment, and wading through page upon page of technobabble jargon IS. NOT. FUN. I'm an engineer, but even engineers like to turn off their brains once in awhile. (Also, I'm mechanical, not computer or software, so I couldn't follow ANY of the computer jargon.) I know if you've read some reviews, that may come as an astonishment because there have been books where my brain could NOT turn off, and I picked out all the problems and questions I had. This book, on the other hand, just made my brain turn off and switch to the comics that my coworker gave me - at least I was making progress through them.
And in a nutshell: That's all, folks. The book was boring, full of technobabble, and there were a grand total of three women, one who was a nutjob and somewhat abusive, the other a harpy b!tch boss, and the last the one Bob wanted to nail. I don't really feel an inclination to keep pushing myself when I know my reading Buddy isn't enjoying herself either.
There's more to life than finishing EVERY book that comes in my path. Such as prepping to b!tch about the newest Star Wars movie. (Because we all know, the biggest haters of Star Wars are hardcore Star Wars fans.)
February 10, 2013
A genre bending debut from Stross that takes its cues from Rankin and Holt as well as Morgan and Stephenson, Deighton and Le Carre - Highly recommended.
Read on the plane from London to Vienna and whilst being bored to tears by Vienna
So Vienna is dull, a complete waste of time for anyone looking for a vibrant, friendly and warm city. On the plus side it gave me the chance to sit in the sun drinking coffee and finish reading this great book.
I'd always thought Stross would be a difficult read, hence the lateness in coming to the guy, but this was a highly enjoyable introduction to him. In his afterword he references Tim Powers as having previously written a book that plays with similar ideas but there's something about the concept that makes me think of Jim Butcher. A guy who works in a government office that deals with supernatural happenings wants to get out in to the field and do some wetwork manages to save the day by the end. It's the first in a series of books and one that I will happily continue to read now I've dipped my wick so to speak.
Stross is known for his attention to detail in the science fiction field and even here in this light hearted fantastical novel that is plain to see. He ladels on the humour in a completely deadpan manner that fellow Brit Ben Aaronovitch could only dream of doing in his similar sounding series, and his world building is done so well that you hardly notice it happening yet by the end of the novel you are ready for more from The Laundry.
Structure wise, this book contains two stories, one slightly longer than the other, and this only serves to enhance the similarity to The Night Watch which also came a few years before this was published.
I can pick no faults other than the first story was a little short and the second story not necessary. If you haven't given this series or author a go yet you can't really go wrong with the first book in The Laundry Files.
Read on the plane from London to Vienna and whilst being bored to tears by Vienna
So Vienna is dull, a complete waste of time for anyone looking for a vibrant, friendly and warm city. On the plus side it gave me the chance to sit in the sun drinking coffee and finish reading this great book.
I'd always thought Stross would be a difficult read, hence the lateness in coming to the guy, but this was a highly enjoyable introduction to him. In his afterword he references Tim Powers as having previously written a book that plays with similar ideas but there's something about the concept that makes me think of Jim Butcher. A guy who works in a government office that deals with supernatural happenings wants to get out in to the field and do some wetwork manages to save the day by the end. It's the first in a series of books and one that I will happily continue to read now I've dipped my wick so to speak.
Stross is known for his attention to detail in the science fiction field and even here in this light hearted fantastical novel that is plain to see. He ladels on the humour in a completely deadpan manner that fellow Brit Ben Aaronovitch could only dream of doing in his similar sounding series, and his world building is done so well that you hardly notice it happening yet by the end of the novel you are ready for more from The Laundry.
Structure wise, this book contains two stories, one slightly longer than the other, and this only serves to enhance the similarity to The Night Watch which also came a few years before this was published.
I can pick no faults other than the first story was a little short and the second story not necessary. If you haven't given this series or author a go yet you can't really go wrong with the first book in The Laundry Files.
June 25, 2010
4.0 to 4.5 stars. Incredible concept realized by an outstanding author. Combine James Bond, H.P. Lovecraft, the X-files and science fiction and you get the Atrocity Archives, the first book of the Laundry series. The Laundry is an ultra top secret British agency in an alternate version or our modern world that battles supernatural forces right out of the Cthulhu mythos. Yes, it is as good as it sounds. RECOMMENDED!!!!
August 6, 2017
3,75 / 5
Stross nos mete de lleno en la actividad de la Lavandería, un centro de operaciones secretas del gobierno inglés contra aquello que atenta nuestro mundo. Tanto en nuestro planeta como también en otras dimensiones. Aquí conocemos a Bob, un geek de la informática que trabaja como funcionario en la Lavandería arreglando todos los problemas informáticos de la misma, hasta que pasa a ser un agente activo de campo. Pero no todo es acción como en una película de espías. Como todo funcionario que se precie, la agencia imaginada por Stross está plagada más de burocracia y papeleo que de otra cosa. Una misión en la universidad de Miskatonic tras un accidentado curso de formación en “Demonología computacional” para principiantes será el eje de partida que cambie la vida de Bob como agente de la Lavandería.
Esta primera entrega de "Los Expedientes de la Lavandería" está formada por la novela publicada por entregas en Spectrum "El archivo de atrocidades", la novela corta ganadora del Hugo en 2005 La jungla de cemento, el epilogo En la Fabrica del Miedo, y un necesario glosario de acrónimos sobre agencias secretas. Una novela que se nota al principio ciertos aires de su serialización en entregas, pero que cierra perfectamente su historia y deja con ganas de más, mucho más.
Bastante densa por momentos, con conceptos matemáticos por doquier, fragmentos y personajes históricos interesantes, o referencias informáticas potentes. Stross no se corta un pelo y te obliga a buscarte la vida si quieres entender todo. Más que un defecto es todo un reto, aunque a veces se pase de listillo con sesudas explicaciones innecesarias que cortan el ritmo. Stross no tiene miedo a plantarte un infodump de tres pares de narices cuando le parezca bien y necesario.
Buscando símiles con la historia lo primero que se me viene a la cabeza es todo un Fringe, Expediente X o MIB. Pero le tenemos que sumar criaturas lovecraftianos o leyendas griegas, un nivel de matemáticas (o magia como se llama aquí) bastante más alto, y una cantidad de burocracia insufrible. Gran parte de la diversión es saber encontrar esas referencias reales o historicas, ver cómo les ha dado la vuelta y las ha encajado en su historia.
Stross se monta toda una coctelera de elemento donde sale un tecno-thriller de espías, con toques de ciencia ficción, de fantasía urbana bastante cargado de horror cósmico. Pero también humor, sátira y crítica social. Una gran apuesta para una nueva editorial como es Insolita que aterriza pisando fuerte.
Reseña más extensa: http://boywithletters.blogspot.com.es...
Stross nos mete de lleno en la actividad de la Lavandería, un centro de operaciones secretas del gobierno inglés contra aquello que atenta nuestro mundo. Tanto en nuestro planeta como también en otras dimensiones. Aquí conocemos a Bob, un geek de la informática que trabaja como funcionario en la Lavandería arreglando todos los problemas informáticos de la misma, hasta que pasa a ser un agente activo de campo. Pero no todo es acción como en una película de espías. Como todo funcionario que se precie, la agencia imaginada por Stross está plagada más de burocracia y papeleo que de otra cosa. Una misión en la universidad de Miskatonic tras un accidentado curso de formación en “Demonología computacional” para principiantes será el eje de partida que cambie la vida de Bob como agente de la Lavandería.
Esta primera entrega de "Los Expedientes de la Lavandería" está formada por la novela publicada por entregas en Spectrum "El archivo de atrocidades", la novela corta ganadora del Hugo en 2005 La jungla de cemento, el epilogo En la Fabrica del Miedo, y un necesario glosario de acrónimos sobre agencias secretas. Una novela que se nota al principio ciertos aires de su serialización en entregas, pero que cierra perfectamente su historia y deja con ganas de más, mucho más.
Bastante densa por momentos, con conceptos matemáticos por doquier, fragmentos y personajes históricos interesantes, o referencias informáticas potentes. Stross no se corta un pelo y te obliga a buscarte la vida si quieres entender todo. Más que un defecto es todo un reto, aunque a veces se pase de listillo con sesudas explicaciones innecesarias que cortan el ritmo. Stross no tiene miedo a plantarte un infodump de tres pares de narices cuando le parezca bien y necesario.
Buscando símiles con la historia lo primero que se me viene a la cabeza es todo un Fringe, Expediente X o MIB. Pero le tenemos que sumar criaturas lovecraftianos o leyendas griegas, un nivel de matemáticas (o magia como se llama aquí) bastante más alto, y una cantidad de burocracia insufrible. Gran parte de la diversión es saber encontrar esas referencias reales o historicas, ver cómo les ha dado la vuelta y las ha encajado en su historia.
Stross se monta toda una coctelera de elemento donde sale un tecno-thriller de espías, con toques de ciencia ficción, de fantasía urbana bastante cargado de horror cósmico. Pero también humor, sátira y crítica social. Una gran apuesta para una nueva editorial como es Insolita que aterriza pisando fuerte.
Reseña más extensa: http://boywithletters.blogspot.com.es...
September 27, 2018
This novel, the first in the "Laundry Files" series, is a blend of science fiction and fantasy. The story follows computer scientist Bob Howard into a job he has fallen into, in a top-secret British intelligence service. Bob has a wide range of talents in mathematics, computers, and engineering. He has learned how to conjure spirits from another universe, using scientific/magical techniques that are kept top secret.
The plot is amazingly silly, yet there are some truly hilarious scenes scattered throughout the story. Bob continually gets into trouble with the bureaucratic bean-counters in his intelligence agency, for ridiculously absurd reasons. For me, these run-ins with the bureaucrats were a highlight of the book.
Charles Stross' writing style sparkles. He has a wonderful way with words, especially mixing up highly technical science and engineering concepts with magical themes. While I didn't care much for the story itself--it is just too absurd--the writing style is so invigorating and remarkable.
The plot is amazingly silly, yet there are some truly hilarious scenes scattered throughout the story. Bob continually gets into trouble with the bureaucratic bean-counters in his intelligence agency, for ridiculously absurd reasons. For me, these run-ins with the bureaucrats were a highlight of the book.
Charles Stross' writing style sparkles. He has a wonderful way with words, especially mixing up highly technical science and engineering concepts with magical themes. While I didn't care much for the story itself--it is just too absurd--the writing style is so invigorating and remarkable.
January 9, 2023
*** 4.00 ***
"... “Horror fiction allows us to confront and sublimate our fears of an uncontrollable universe, but the threat verges on the overwhelming and may indeed carry the protagonists away. Spy fiction in contrast allows us to believe for a while that the little people can, by obtaining secret knowledge, acquire some leverage over the overwhelming threats that permeate their universe.”..."
I must be weird, because I am noticing more and more how much I appreciate the Sci-Fi based on Paranormal, Physics, some Math and some alien and Nazi lore and some monster Lovecraft sprinkled in. What gave me a kick was the premise that Alan Turing solved a theorem, the answer of which is the gateway to using math to create portals to other time and space parallel dimensions. The Laundry Organization is the one who deals with the complications of occult presences and practices in our world, mainly in Britain where it originates. They are also a big government bureaucracy and our main character Bob is having just as much trouble dealing with it as he is dealing with the supernatural malice.
"... “Because, you see, everything you know about the way this universe works is correct—except for the little problem that this isn’t the only universe we have to worry about. Information can leak between one universe and another. And in a vanishingly small number of the other universes there are things that listen, and talk back—see Al-Hazred, Nietzsche, Lovecraft, Poe, et cetera. The many-angled ones, as they say, live at the bottom of the Mandelbrot set, except when a suitable incantation in the platonic realm of mathematics—computerized or otherwise—draws them forth. (And you thought running that fractal screen-saver was good for your computer?)”..."
I found this fun and easy reading, but it might get a tad technical in small doses, so I wouldn't let that stop you form giving it a try. I am surely planning on sticking with the series and was told, on good authority, that the series really finds its stride starting with book 2. I can't wait:)
"... “Horror fiction allows us to confront and sublimate our fears of an uncontrollable universe, but the threat verges on the overwhelming and may indeed carry the protagonists away. Spy fiction in contrast allows us to believe for a while that the little people can, by obtaining secret knowledge, acquire some leverage over the overwhelming threats that permeate their universe.”..."
I must be weird, because I am noticing more and more how much I appreciate the Sci-Fi based on Paranormal, Physics, some Math and some alien and Nazi lore and some monster Lovecraft sprinkled in. What gave me a kick was the premise that Alan Turing solved a theorem, the answer of which is the gateway to using math to create portals to other time and space parallel dimensions. The Laundry Organization is the one who deals with the complications of occult presences and practices in our world, mainly in Britain where it originates. They are also a big government bureaucracy and our main character Bob is having just as much trouble dealing with it as he is dealing with the supernatural malice.
"... “Because, you see, everything you know about the way this universe works is correct—except for the little problem that this isn’t the only universe we have to worry about. Information can leak between one universe and another. And in a vanishingly small number of the other universes there are things that listen, and talk back—see Al-Hazred, Nietzsche, Lovecraft, Poe, et cetera. The many-angled ones, as they say, live at the bottom of the Mandelbrot set, except when a suitable incantation in the platonic realm of mathematics—computerized or otherwise—draws them forth. (And you thought running that fractal screen-saver was good for your computer?)”..."
I found this fun and easy reading, but it might get a tad technical in small doses, so I wouldn't let that stop you form giving it a try. I am surely planning on sticking with the series and was told, on good authority, that the series really finds its stride starting with book 2. I can't wait:)
July 15, 2010
*This is an audio Ebook by the way. It's what I had access to through the library, but then I like audio books as well as text, at least for some fiction.*
I'd never heard of these... they ended up on my "to be read list" because someone "here" had read them. I keep adding books faster than I can read them. (Thank you Stephen).This is actually Atrocity Archives and The Concrete Jungle in one "volume" (are Ebooks volumes?).
I don't know if I can accurately describe these/this books/book. The influence of H.P.Lovecraft is obvious, but that could be misleading. In a world where it's been discovered that what was accomplished "in the past" by sorcerers and sorceresses can now also be accomplished by "technology" etc. things can get, dicey. This seems to be especially true of computer "hackers", mathematicians, and other somewhat innocent techies, thinkers, geeks, and nerds. When someone accidentally stumbles on some of these "discoveries" red lights (figuratively speaking of course) go off at the "Laundry" and the person is "swept up". Generally speaking you then, agree not to go near your studies, computers etc. again...or you go to work for the Laundry. Our hero Robert, decided to work for the Laundry...
Who are the Laundry? Well, they are the ones who keep tentacled horrors from, OUT THERE, from eating us....or our universe. There are infinite universes after all.
Well, never mind. I like these and will continue to try and track them down.
By the way...this is very close to a 5...I just can't quite rate it up there with some of the top rated books. Still, at least 4.5.
I'd never heard of these... they ended up on my "to be read list" because someone "here" had read them. I keep adding books faster than I can read them. (Thank you Stephen).This is actually Atrocity Archives and The Concrete Jungle in one "volume" (are Ebooks volumes?).
I don't know if I can accurately describe these/this books/book. The influence of H.P.Lovecraft is obvious, but that could be misleading. In a world where it's been discovered that what was accomplished "in the past" by sorcerers and sorceresses can now also be accomplished by "technology" etc. things can get, dicey. This seems to be especially true of computer "hackers", mathematicians, and other somewhat innocent techies, thinkers, geeks, and nerds. When someone accidentally stumbles on some of these "discoveries" red lights (figuratively speaking of course) go off at the "Laundry" and the person is "swept up". Generally speaking you then, agree not to go near your studies, computers etc. again...or you go to work for the Laundry. Our hero Robert, decided to work for the Laundry...
Who are the Laundry? Well, they are the ones who keep tentacled horrors from, OUT THERE, from eating us....or our universe. There are infinite universes after all.
Well, never mind. I like these and will continue to try and track them down.
By the way...this is very close to a 5...I just can't quite rate it up there with some of the top rated books. Still, at least 4.5.
February 4, 2018
3.5*
After years of being aware of Stross’s Laundry Files books, I finally dived in :0)
This first instalment introduces Bob Howard, a hacker turned agent for a secret British government agency dealing with all the weird and wonderful things that go bump in the night. Don’t think James Bond but rather an ‘IT guy’ working for Men in Black / X Files but with a lot more geekery, maths, and mind-numbing bureaucracy, in triplicates, where computers can summon Lovecraftian demons! Somehow, Bob keeps being thrown into minor investigations that quickly turn major, spiral out of control and endanger the very fabric of the world!
There is a lot of stumbling around, tons of computer jokes, plenty of paperwork and red tape, but also courage and determination. It is fun however even if the cast is mostly stereotyped (with a few entertaining idiosyncrasies) and the plot on the thin side. I guess it all depends if you like this type of story, humour, British-ness, and especially technobabble. There is a LOT of it!
I’ve been told that these are pastiches too, this one of ‘The Hunt for Red October’ (seen the film too long ago to remember but the gist of it), while the next one is of our favourite 007 spy. Yep, I’ve been entertained enough to want to carry on :0)
After years of being aware of Stross’s Laundry Files books, I finally dived in :0)
This first instalment introduces Bob Howard, a hacker turned agent for a secret British government agency dealing with all the weird and wonderful things that go bump in the night. Don’t think James Bond but rather an ‘IT guy’ working for Men in Black / X Files but with a lot more geekery, maths, and mind-numbing bureaucracy, in triplicates, where computers can summon Lovecraftian demons! Somehow, Bob keeps being thrown into minor investigations that quickly turn major, spiral out of control and endanger the very fabric of the world!
There is a lot of stumbling around, tons of computer jokes, plenty of paperwork and red tape, but also courage and determination. It is fun however even if the cast is mostly stereotyped (with a few entertaining idiosyncrasies) and the plot on the thin side. I guess it all depends if you like this type of story, humour, British-ness, and especially technobabble. There is a LOT of it!
I’ve been told that these are pastiches too, this one of ‘The Hunt for Red October’ (seen the film too long ago to remember but the gist of it), while the next one is of our favourite 007 spy. Yep, I’ve been entertained enough to want to carry on :0)
July 25, 2012
I'm about 140 pages into this and so far my opinion is rather low. If it's meant to be funny, it's not particularly so. Certainly there is no sense of dread or horror as pertains to Lovecraft's body of work that Stross seems to be paying homage to - though I think he was aiming for something far more slapstick - perhaps a Douglams Adams/Terry Pratchet take on the Cthulhu mythos. Thus far, Stross isn't succeeding in my view. It may also be that the main hero - Bob Howard, strikes me as just the sort of smug "ubernerd" personality, full of high self-regard - that I tend to find rather toxic and am apparently somewhat allergic to. Nonetheless, I soldier on.
March 5, 2015
Bob is a hacker who accidentally came to the attention of a super-super-no-for-real-secret British agency known as the Laundry, and was recruited into an intelligence agency that literally makes you sign your oath of secrecy in blood. The Laundry is dedicated to saving the world one day at a time from eldritch horrors who threaten to blot out the sun, and also to maintaining Total Quality Management and keeping Parliament from cutting back on their office supply budget. In other words, it's meant to be wacky Call of Cthulhu adventures as undertaken by Chuck. No sooner does he get back from a mission to Pluto to stop undead Nazis from summoning a Great Old One than Bob has to explain to his bureaucratic tyrant of supervisor why he didn't file a request for comp time when he didn't show up the next day during core office hours.
I liked this book better than Stross's space operas, though it did not have quite the genius of Accelerando. But it's a sort of weak Stephenson, the satire more reminiscent of Dilbert and User Friendly comic strips than the biting inventiveness that marks really good satire. I found it funny because I got a lot of the jokes which many readers will not, as they lean heavily into fairly esoteric computer science references, plus being an (ahem) civil servant myself, I know a bit about the spook shops that Stross is satirizing.
I don't think you need to be a CS geek or a federal employee to enjoy The Atrocity Archives. You do need to have some appreciation for British humor and Lovecraft, though. I enjoyed Stross's sharp skewering of government work (and yeah, I can totally believe that even a super-secret super-elite agency that literally saves the world on a routine basis still would not be exempted from bureaucratic and regulatory idiocy), but Bob himself was the sort of gormless Everyman character so popular in British urban fantasy (think Neil Gaiman) and on TV, who manages to execute very clever tricks to save the day and somehow manages to wind up with girls several orders of magnitude out of his league, and seems to be a wish fulfillment character for his nerd audience.
Fun, light, somewhat clever, would read more Laundry novels, but it's the kind of clever that can get old quickly if the author gives in to the tendency to let cleverness substitute for plotting and character development.
I liked this book better than Stross's space operas, though it did not have quite the genius of Accelerando. But it's a sort of weak Stephenson, the satire more reminiscent of Dilbert and User Friendly comic strips than the biting inventiveness that marks really good satire. I found it funny because I got a lot of the jokes which many readers will not, as they lean heavily into fairly esoteric computer science references, plus being an (ahem) civil servant myself, I know a bit about the spook shops that Stross is satirizing.
I don't think you need to be a CS geek or a federal employee to enjoy The Atrocity Archives. You do need to have some appreciation for British humor and Lovecraft, though. I enjoyed Stross's sharp skewering of government work (and yeah, I can totally believe that even a super-secret super-elite agency that literally saves the world on a routine basis still would not be exempted from bureaucratic and regulatory idiocy), but Bob himself was the sort of gormless Everyman character so popular in British urban fantasy (think Neil Gaiman) and on TV, who manages to execute very clever tricks to save the day and somehow manages to wind up with girls several orders of magnitude out of his league, and seems to be a wish fulfillment character for his nerd audience.
Fun, light, somewhat clever, would read more Laundry novels, but it's the kind of clever that can get old quickly if the author gives in to the tendency to let cleverness substitute for plotting and character development.
August 23, 2015
3.5
The Atrocity Archives consists of two stories connected only by the main character Bob Howard and his weird job. It is more of an introduction to this series than anything else.
And I liked it.
I admit that the mathematical-engineering-scientific stuff mostly went right over my head, but the way Lovecraftian themes are used is enough for me to continue the series.
The Atrocity Archives consists of two stories connected only by the main character Bob Howard and his weird job. It is more of an introduction to this series than anything else.
And I liked it.
I admit that the mathematical-engineering-scientific stuff mostly went right over my head, but the way Lovecraftian themes are used is enough for me to continue the series.
July 30, 2017
4,5
Divertidísima y excelente novela de ¿ciencia ficción?, ¿terror?, ¿fantasía? Qué más da. De lo más destacado de este año. Con muchas ganas del segundo.
Edición y traducción 10/10. Worth it total.
En breve reseña profundizando en el blog.
Divertidísima y excelente novela de ¿ciencia ficción?, ¿terror?, ¿fantasía? Qué más da. De lo más destacado de este año. Con muchas ganas del segundo.
Edición y traducción 10/10. Worth it total.
En breve reseña profundizando en el blog.
January 24, 2019
What did I think? Cyber-Lovecraftian.
Stross created an interesting world with The Atrocity Archives. It's got a Joe Almost Regular who's been pulled into a world of no name agencies and supernatural horrors. Bob, our fearless hero comes across like a midlevel IT specialist with a few extra talents. While this is fun, Stross goes off the rails into the deep end of technogeek speak a few times. What doesn't sound like IETF babble makes a hard attempt at really magicking quantum physics, which doesn't need it since it already is. This is all to say that a bit of the lingo and namedropping concepts into the imaginary fictional leaps are fun, but dense.
This is actually two stories hobbled together, not perfectly, but definitely sequentially. The Atrocity Archive is longer and definitely just more than The Concrete Jungle, more story, more geeking, more misogyny--sorry, dude. But yeah, there's some issues with interpersonal relationships with women. Since I wasn't in it for the romance, frankly, I think it would have been stronger without those storylines because they sounded bitter--but I guess if your audience are going to be maladjusted males, then having a bit of poor me and bash here or there makes them feel better. I hope this dies out in later books. I read some shorts and thankfully they didn't have any of that so I'm hoping it wasn't just the abridged format that necessitated their absence.
The pacing was a bit off and I felt like it repeated in places or filled in with irrelvancies in a few spots. That said, as the first in a new series it does offer promise. And the Terry Gilliamesque 'Brazil' feel to bureaucracy was entertaining. I'll be checking out the next one.
Quote for a taste of Stross, this is very intuitive to me, so if it isn't, then there maybe parts that will be gobbledygook.
**Note: In viewing other reviews, it has come to my attention that Concrete Jungle is a standalone short, Atrocity Files 1.5, and as such it seems cobbled on because it was. The book I read was a compilation edition of the two works.
Stross created an interesting world with The Atrocity Archives. It's got a Joe Almost Regular who's been pulled into a world of no name agencies and supernatural horrors. Bob, our fearless hero comes across like a midlevel IT specialist with a few extra talents. While this is fun, Stross goes off the rails into the deep end of technogeek speak a few times. What doesn't sound like IETF babble makes a hard attempt at really magicking quantum physics, which doesn't need it since it already is. This is all to say that a bit of the lingo and namedropping concepts into the imaginary fictional leaps are fun, but dense.
This is actually two stories hobbled together, not perfectly, but definitely sequentially. The Atrocity Archive is longer and definitely just more than The Concrete Jungle, more story, more geeking, more misogyny--sorry, dude. But yeah, there's some issues with interpersonal relationships with women. Since I wasn't in it for the romance, frankly, I think it would have been stronger without those storylines because they sounded bitter--but I guess if your audience are going to be maladjusted males, then having a bit of poor me and bash here or there makes them feel better. I hope this dies out in later books. I read some shorts and thankfully they didn't have any of that so I'm hoping it wasn't just the abridged format that necessitated their absence.
The pacing was a bit off and I felt like it repeated in places or filled in with irrelvancies in a few spots. That said, as the first in a new series it does offer promise. And the Terry Gilliamesque 'Brazil' feel to bureaucracy was entertaining. I'll be checking out the next one.
Quote for a taste of Stross, this is very intuitive to me, so if it isn't, then there maybe parts that will be gobbledygook.
Look, it's the intersection between thermodynamics and information theory, right? Information content is inversely proportional to entropy, entropy is a measure of how well randomized a system is--that's one of the core assumptions of magic, right? That you can transfer energy between universe via the platonic realm of ordered information--mathematics.
**Note: In viewing other reviews, it has come to my attention that Concrete Jungle is a standalone short, Atrocity Files 1.5, and as such it seems cobbled on because it was. The book I read was a compilation edition of the two works.
May 19, 2013
Imagine that mathematics and magic are the same thing. Also imagine that all those people in madhouses in Lovecraft, H.P. stories are right and there are other universes where ancient malevolent entities are just waiting for an invitation to visit for a quick massacre of humanity before breakfast...
...plainly all nations would have a secret agency dedicated to protecting the public and keeping them blithely unaware of the outrageously dangerous world they really live in.
Enter Bob Howard, junior occult spook in the Laundry, Britain's most secret and most magical intelligence agency, armed with a palm pilot and a pigeon's foot, ready (OK, not very ready) to protect us from whatever sinister forces are abroad, whether they be terrorists, possessed people or Nazis from another dimension.
Great fun if all this nonsense sounds fun to you, probably really bad if it doesn't.
...plainly all nations would have a secret agency dedicated to protecting the public and keeping them blithely unaware of the outrageously dangerous world they really live in.
Enter Bob Howard, junior occult spook in the Laundry, Britain's most secret and most magical intelligence agency, armed with a palm pilot and a pigeon's foot, ready (OK, not very ready) to protect us from whatever sinister forces are abroad, whether they be terrorists, possessed people or Nazis from another dimension.
Great fun if all this nonsense sounds fun to you, probably really bad if it doesn't.
March 16, 2017
on to book 2!
November 22, 2014
I keep trying Stross' work, because I've read other novels of his and I know that there are some elements which interest me, some things which I do keep turning the pages for. I was actually more interested in The Atrocity Archive and "The Concrete Jungle" than I have been in most of his other books, which is a start, but I'm afraid a lot of it went over my head (not geeky enough) and some of it went under (fart jokes).
All in all, the alternate history conjured up here is interesting, though I can't really talk about the mathematics, geometry, etc, because I can't write down my own phone number without transposing a digit or two. That somewhat hobbles the story, because I think there's humour and worldbuilding there that I just. don't. get. Which is unfortunately how Stross has made me feel before.
I don't think I'll be reading any more of this series, though I quest on in my attempt to find a Stross book I genuinely enjoy. It seems like he has cool ideas, and it's not like it's his writing style that throws me off -- I just don't feel like enough of a nerd!
All in all, the alternate history conjured up here is interesting, though I can't really talk about the mathematics, geometry, etc, because I can't write down my own phone number without transposing a digit or two. That somewhat hobbles the story, because I think there's humour and worldbuilding there that I just. don't. get. Which is unfortunately how Stross has made me feel before.
I don't think I'll be reading any more of this series, though I quest on in my attempt to find a Stross book I genuinely enjoy. It seems like he has cool ideas, and it's not like it's his writing style that throws me off -- I just don't feel like enough of a nerd!
February 18, 2016
I don't usually rate a book if I don't end up finishing it, but I am going to make an exception here. I gave up on The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross after just 74 pages, because reading this book is less fun than having my nails pulled out by pincers one agonising inch at a time.
Usually, giving up on a book and leaving it unrated can mean two things: either the character(s)/premise/plot is not grabbing me or that the writing style is too difficult to get through. I leave it unrated because I may come back to reading it again one day (Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny, for example). But rating a book a mere one star after just 74 pages? Well, that says something about the book itself. I tossed this book across the room—literally—after giving up on it because it was too painful to read. Normally, such a drastic act is attributed to blind hate, but things are different this time because I have figured out exactly why I detest this book so much: the writing style.
First-person narratives do not bother me (much), especially when it is done right. When you write in a first-person narrative, the protagonist is essentially talking to himself. Even then, our protagonist here comes off as a pompous, wise-cracking computer hacker who cannot stop talking about obscure Lovecraftian references, computer science jokes, existential/religious debates, and mathematical theorems. You get a sense that, yes, Stross, the author, knows his shit. When he writes about "a calculus of belief" or "a theory for deriving confidence limits in statements of unsubstantiated faith", he isn't just pulling them out of his ass. But here's the problem: it reads as if Stross swallowed a Thesaurus and he's showing off just how many big words he can regurgitate. Look at me! Look at all these big words that I know! And it's not just the language that is convoluted, it's the fact that REAL PEOPLE DO NOT TALK LIKE THAT. Even if the story is set in some alternate universe, these people are essentially human, and humans do not talk that way unless they are pompous sons of bitches. And because the entire story is told from a first person perspective—which is just fine in my books—it is incredibly strange for a protagonist to talk to himself the way he does.
Here's a random list of tough words that Stross throws at you because FUCK YOU: electrophoresis, flocculated, agglutinates, polymerisation, 'autodarwinate', degaussed. WHAT THE BLUE FUCK. And all of that in one single paragraph! You may argue, OK, Stross is trying to develop a character, and all the above words were used by Brains, a character who is nerdy and does experiments in his home. So of course he uses big words because, hey, that's all he knows. Fine, but the protagonist talks like that too! Every once in a while, the plot stops at the red light while an express train of big words cross the road, and we as readers have to slog through long paragraphs of tiresome scientific/mathematical theorem that Stross has on the back of his hand and FUCK YOU IF YOU DON'T. I don't hate science. In fact, I love science, but if you are a knowledgeable person who cannot somehow get his point across in a digestible, easy-to-understand manner, then what's the point of you telling a story? You are the AUTHOR, and you are to tell a STORY. If you want to work a particular mathematical theorem into the plot, have the character explain it in a way that we can understand. Your complete disregard of readability is appalling and LAZY. We BOUGHT your book, so the basic decency is to TELL A STORY. This isn't a TEXTBOOK.
Another thing that really bothered me about the writing style is the way it constantly broke the rhythm of the reader. Words are strung together in a way to break the cadence of the reader's reading experience, making sure that nothing is absorbed by the time the paragraph ends. In 2012, New York Times writer Helen Sword wrote an article on "Zombie Nouns", or nominalisations that zap life and meaning out of sentences. She begins the article with the following example: Take an adjective (implacable) or a verb (calibrate) or even another noun (crony) and add a suffix like -ity, -tion or -ism. You’ve created a new noun: implacability, calibration, cronyism. It sounds impressive, which is why lawyers, academics and business writers love using them in sentences. The problem comes, however, when you realise that they cannibalise active verbs and suck the life out of adjectives. She provides an example of a sentence that is filled with nominalisations:
As you can see, it reads like a random bunch of words strung together, and you as a reader have to struggle through it like a staggering zombie. Then, she eliminates most of these "zombie nouns" and, suddenly, the sentence springs back to life and has MEANING:
That's one of the biggest problems with The Atrocity Archives and, I suspect, Stross' writing as a whole. While in principle he isn't spamming nominalisations in every sentence, the problem is the same. If you can tell a story in 20 pages, don't stretch it out to 150. Towards the beginning of the book, the protagonist, Bob, has a dead spy in his motel room, and he is concerned that the motel owner wouldn't be too pleased to find a dead body there. Instead of saying JUST THAT, with simple, direct language, here's the exact quote from the book:
Who the fuck writes like that? A better question: who the fucks THINKS to himself like that?The dialogues between characters are unnatural, and even the internal dialogues that the protagonist have with himself are unnatural. No one talks like that, and no one speaks with this kind of broken-down cadence.
Still not convinced? Here's another direct quote from the book. Try figuring out what in the world the protagonist is talking about:
I know Cthulhu, so I know what the fuck he is referring to when he mentions the "waggling tentacles on chin". But Stross, what the fuck is a "squamous"? And what the hell is a "rugose"? I'm sure they are real words, but FUCK, why make things so convoluted? He loves twirling his moustache while writing these unnatural sentences and dialogues, making his writing sound smarter than it actually is. And this writing is sprinkled throughout the book, even in the more action-oriented scenes! And it's not like everybody knows who Cthulhu is, or the fact that it has tentacles growing out of its chin. So such references—and there sure are a lot of them—are going to fly by COMPLETELY.
Like I said, painful, painful, painful. I haven't given up on a book this soon in a very long time, and what a disappointment! You would think that a Lovecraftian story with elements of espionage would be a shoo-in to the year's Top 10 books, but no! The Atrocity Archives is, as its name clearly suggests, ATROCIOUS. And don't let the ratings on Goodreads and the reviewers tell you anything different. There is a strange camaraderie among fans of SFF genre that because the genre itself is less-than-mainstream, everything written by every author is the next best thing. If a book has a fresh new premise or a fresh new take on an old trope, it is automatically beloved and embraced by the community.
BUT WHY? What about the story? What about the writing? What about the characters? Are those not important anymore? When did SFF become a slave to "fresh new ideas"? There is nothing wrong with fresh new ideas, but when the only thing going for your book is "I wonder what would happen if you combine Lovecraft with James Bond", then you are standing on very weak foundations. Yet, for some reason, that is more than enough for fans of the genre to tout Stross as the next best thing, and I am frankly quite sick of the trend. Critical analysis of books seem to have gone out of the window, and readers seem to be settling for sub par and mediocre works of genre fiction at best. The Atrocity Archives is a good example of how a fresh new idea has taken precedence over what makes a story TRULY MATTER, and it is sad. It's SAD, and FUCKING FUCK.
Usually, giving up on a book and leaving it unrated can mean two things: either the character(s)/premise/plot is not grabbing me or that the writing style is too difficult to get through. I leave it unrated because I may come back to reading it again one day (Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny, for example). But rating a book a mere one star after just 74 pages? Well, that says something about the book itself. I tossed this book across the room—literally—after giving up on it because it was too painful to read. Normally, such a drastic act is attributed to blind hate, but things are different this time because I have figured out exactly why I detest this book so much: the writing style.
First-person narratives do not bother me (much), especially when it is done right. When you write in a first-person narrative, the protagonist is essentially talking to himself. Even then, our protagonist here comes off as a pompous, wise-cracking computer hacker who cannot stop talking about obscure Lovecraftian references, computer science jokes, existential/religious debates, and mathematical theorems. You get a sense that, yes, Stross, the author, knows his shit. When he writes about "a calculus of belief" or "a theory for deriving confidence limits in statements of unsubstantiated faith", he isn't just pulling them out of his ass. But here's the problem: it reads as if Stross swallowed a Thesaurus and he's showing off just how many big words he can regurgitate. Look at me! Look at all these big words that I know! And it's not just the language that is convoluted, it's the fact that REAL PEOPLE DO NOT TALK LIKE THAT. Even if the story is set in some alternate universe, these people are essentially human, and humans do not talk that way unless they are pompous sons of bitches. And because the entire story is told from a first person perspective—which is just fine in my books—it is incredibly strange for a protagonist to talk to himself the way he does.
Here's a random list of tough words that Stross throws at you because FUCK YOU: electrophoresis, flocculated, agglutinates, polymerisation, 'autodarwinate', degaussed. WHAT THE BLUE FUCK. And all of that in one single paragraph! You may argue, OK, Stross is trying to develop a character, and all the above words were used by Brains, a character who is nerdy and does experiments in his home. So of course he uses big words because, hey, that's all he knows. Fine, but the protagonist talks like that too! Every once in a while, the plot stops at the red light while an express train of big words cross the road, and we as readers have to slog through long paragraphs of tiresome scientific/mathematical theorem that Stross has on the back of his hand and FUCK YOU IF YOU DON'T. I don't hate science. In fact, I love science, but if you are a knowledgeable person who cannot somehow get his point across in a digestible, easy-to-understand manner, then what's the point of you telling a story? You are the AUTHOR, and you are to tell a STORY. If you want to work a particular mathematical theorem into the plot, have the character explain it in a way that we can understand. Your complete disregard of readability is appalling and LAZY. We BOUGHT your book, so the basic decency is to TELL A STORY. This isn't a TEXTBOOK.
Another thing that really bothered me about the writing style is the way it constantly broke the rhythm of the reader. Words are strung together in a way to break the cadence of the reader's reading experience, making sure that nothing is absorbed by the time the paragraph ends. In 2012, New York Times writer Helen Sword wrote an article on "Zombie Nouns", or nominalisations that zap life and meaning out of sentences. She begins the article with the following example: Take an adjective (implacable) or a verb (calibrate) or even another noun (crony) and add a suffix like -ity, -tion or -ism. You’ve created a new noun: implacability, calibration, cronyism. It sounds impressive, which is why lawyers, academics and business writers love using them in sentences. The problem comes, however, when you realise that they cannibalise active verbs and suck the life out of adjectives. She provides an example of a sentence that is filled with nominalisations:
The proliferation of nominalizations in a discursive formation may be an indication of a tendency toward pomposity and abstraction.
As you can see, it reads like a random bunch of words strung together, and you as a reader have to struggle through it like a staggering zombie. Then, she eliminates most of these "zombie nouns" and, suddenly, the sentence springs back to life and has MEANING:
Writers who overload their sentences with nominalizations tend to sound pompous and abstract.
That's one of the biggest problems with The Atrocity Archives and, I suspect, Stross' writing as a whole. While in principle he isn't spamming nominalisations in every sentence, the problem is the same. If you can tell a story in 20 pages, don't stretch it out to 150. Towards the beginning of the book, the protagonist, Bob, has a dead spy in his motel room, and he is concerned that the motel owner wouldn't be too pleased to find a dead body there. Instead of saying JUST THAT, with simple, direct language, here's the exact quote from the book:
There's a pithed spy in my hotel suite an my welcome mat is going to be withdrawn with extreme prejudice when his owners find out about it, just in time to get a cryptic phone call from my target who seem stop be in fear of her life.
Who the fuck writes like that? A better question: who the fucks THINKS to himself like that?The dialogues between characters are unnatural, and even the internal dialogues that the protagonist have with himself are unnatural. No one talks like that, and no one speaks with this kind of broken-down cadence.
Still not convinced? Here's another direct quote from the book. Try figuring out what in the world the protagonist is talking about:
"There's a weird smell in the kitchen and something that's, er, squamous and rugose"--a household catch-phrase, and we all have to make the obligatory Cthulhu-waggling-tentacles-on-chin gesture with our hands--"and yellow tried to eat my shoe. What's up?"
Brains stands up: "Behold"--he hiccups--"I am in the process of disproving a law of nature; to wit, that it is impossible to make an omelette without breaking eggs! I have a punning clan--"
I know Cthulhu, so I know what the fuck he is referring to when he mentions the "waggling tentacles on chin". But Stross, what the fuck is a "squamous"? And what the hell is a "rugose"? I'm sure they are real words, but FUCK, why make things so convoluted? He loves twirling his moustache while writing these unnatural sentences and dialogues, making his writing sound smarter than it actually is. And this writing is sprinkled throughout the book, even in the more action-oriented scenes! And it's not like everybody knows who Cthulhu is, or the fact that it has tentacles growing out of its chin. So such references—and there sure are a lot of them—are going to fly by COMPLETELY.
Like I said, painful, painful, painful. I haven't given up on a book this soon in a very long time, and what a disappointment! You would think that a Lovecraftian story with elements of espionage would be a shoo-in to the year's Top 10 books, but no! The Atrocity Archives is, as its name clearly suggests, ATROCIOUS. And don't let the ratings on Goodreads and the reviewers tell you anything different. There is a strange camaraderie among fans of SFF genre that because the genre itself is less-than-mainstream, everything written by every author is the next best thing. If a book has a fresh new premise or a fresh new take on an old trope, it is automatically beloved and embraced by the community.
BUT WHY? What about the story? What about the writing? What about the characters? Are those not important anymore? When did SFF become a slave to "fresh new ideas"? There is nothing wrong with fresh new ideas, but when the only thing going for your book is "I wonder what would happen if you combine Lovecraft with James Bond", then you are standing on very weak foundations. Yet, for some reason, that is more than enough for fans of the genre to tout Stross as the next best thing, and I am frankly quite sick of the trend. Critical analysis of books seem to have gone out of the window, and readers seem to be settling for sub par and mediocre works of genre fiction at best. The Atrocity Archives is a good example of how a fresh new idea has taken precedence over what makes a story TRULY MATTER, and it is sad. It's SAD, and FUCKING FUCK.
November 26, 2019
Two Funny Romps through a Fantasy Universe
Bob Howard works for The Laundry (aka Capital Laundry Services), a secret British agency in London. He does double duty as a systems administrator and a field agent specializing in thaumaturgy (that's magic to you guys). In either capacity he's very capable and he has an uncanny ability to attract trouble.
This book contains two novels.
In the first, the title novel, Bob is sent to California to extract a U.K. citizen who can't leave the U.S. for some reason. He's quite happy to get away from his roommates, Pinky and Brains, two genius slobs who do weird science experiments in his apartment and leave dirty dishes in the sink. He has no idea that the person he is sent to Santa Cruz to rescue, "Mo" (a.k.a. Dr. Dominique O'Brien) is a gorgeous red headed Scot and a very brainy professor in some quasi-mathematical/philosophical specialty. Mo doesn't know that her research is wanted by the bad guys, and her being in the wrong place at the wrong time doesn't help.
Suffice it to say that after a thwarted kidnapping and an unpleasant encounter with a reptilian creature that invades her apartment, Mo ends up being sucked through an interdimensional gate to a very cold planet in an alternate universe and it's up to Bob and his team mates to get her home safely (and possibly save London too). The resourceful Bob, armed with a "hand of glory" and a Palm Pilot, saves the day.
The "Atrocity Archives" of the title refer to a secret trove of Nazi war memorabilia locked in an Amsterdam cellar under the Rijksmuseum. The Nazis played with algemancy (pain magic) and that, it turns out, has something to do with the trouble Mo ends up in.
Part of the fun has to do with Stross's loathing for bureaucrats, for which I don't blame him. Bob splits his time between two sets of bosses---James Angleton (also the name of a former CIA chief in the U.S.), who's in charge of field ops, and aside from an occasional lecture, and a fondness for shrunken heads on his desk, isn't too bad; and Harriet and Bridget, a couple of loathsome, petty, nasty, hairsplitters, who only care about forms, time reporting, etc., and with whom Bob is perpetually in trouble (usually because he's late coming into the office because he's been out on a classified mission). Suffice it to say that they get what's coming to them.
In the second novel, "The Concrete Jungle", Bob gets involved in a strange case involving Gorgons, networked CCTV cameras, a dead cow, and nasty office politics. Actually he is called out to investigate a Code Blue at 4 am, and then gets dressed down by Harriet for coming into the office late.
Things escalate. A detective inspector, Josephine, is enlisted to help. Or rather she is placed under a geas (i.e., coerced to keep silent) and dragged in to help against her will. Zombies make an appearance.
Let's just say that Bridget and Harriet REALLY get what's coming to them in this story.
Gideon Emery does a wonderful job reading the audio.
Bob Howard works for The Laundry (aka Capital Laundry Services), a secret British agency in London. He does double duty as a systems administrator and a field agent specializing in thaumaturgy (that's magic to you guys). In either capacity he's very capable and he has an uncanny ability to attract trouble.
This book contains two novels.
In the first, the title novel, Bob is sent to California to extract a U.K. citizen who can't leave the U.S. for some reason. He's quite happy to get away from his roommates, Pinky and Brains, two genius slobs who do weird science experiments in his apartment and leave dirty dishes in the sink. He has no idea that the person he is sent to Santa Cruz to rescue, "Mo" (a.k.a. Dr. Dominique O'Brien) is a gorgeous red headed Scot and a very brainy professor in some quasi-mathematical/philosophical specialty. Mo doesn't know that her research is wanted by the bad guys, and her being in the wrong place at the wrong time doesn't help.
Suffice it to say that after a thwarted kidnapping and an unpleasant encounter with a reptilian creature that invades her apartment, Mo ends up being sucked through an interdimensional gate to a very cold planet in an alternate universe and it's up to Bob and his team mates to get her home safely (and possibly save London too). The resourceful Bob, armed with a "hand of glory" and a Palm Pilot, saves the day.
The "Atrocity Archives" of the title refer to a secret trove of Nazi war memorabilia locked in an Amsterdam cellar under the Rijksmuseum. The Nazis played with algemancy (pain magic) and that, it turns out, has something to do with the trouble Mo ends up in.
Part of the fun has to do with Stross's loathing for bureaucrats, for which I don't blame him. Bob splits his time between two sets of bosses---James Angleton (also the name of a former CIA chief in the U.S.), who's in charge of field ops, and aside from an occasional lecture, and a fondness for shrunken heads on his desk, isn't too bad; and Harriet and Bridget, a couple of loathsome, petty, nasty, hairsplitters, who only care about forms, time reporting, etc., and with whom Bob is perpetually in trouble (usually because he's late coming into the office because he's been out on a classified mission). Suffice it to say that they get what's coming to them.
In the second novel, "The Concrete Jungle", Bob gets involved in a strange case involving Gorgons, networked CCTV cameras, a dead cow, and nasty office politics. Actually he is called out to investigate a Code Blue at 4 am, and then gets dressed down by Harriet for coming into the office late.
Things escalate. A detective inspector, Josephine, is enlisted to help. Or rather she is placed under a geas (i.e., coerced to keep silent) and dragged in to help against her will. Zombies make an appearance.
Let's just say that Bridget and Harriet REALLY get what's coming to them in this story.
Gideon Emery does a wonderful job reading the audio.
September 10, 2017
Se me ha hecho bastante cuesta arriba su lectura. El meollo de la novela que da título al libro, el funcionamiento de esa organización prima hermana del MI6 encargada de lidiar con lo "sobrenatural" y todo lo que a esto atañe, apenas me ha interesado. Reconozco la labor de Stross a la hora de hibridar las historias de espías de los 60 y 70 con el universo esotérico-conspiranoico-lovecraftiano, con esa pátina de verosimilitud lograda al recubrir sus andamiajes con tecnología, teoría de la información, matemáticas, termodinámica... Pero no me ha llegado salvo los capítulos donde se atraviesa El Portal y se entra en un Castle Wolfenstein en una dimensión camino de la muerte térmica. Por fin el thriller se abre paso a lo grande y Stross logra los pasajes más acojonantes. No obstante una vez terminada la novela se incluye un relato largo, "La jungla de cemento", que regresa a la materia prima de la organización (burocracia, jerarquías de oficina, disgresiones, personajes livianos), sin aportarme nada de lo que salvaba El archivo de atrocidades por la mínima.
Quería hacer mención a las excelentes traducciones de la novela y el relato, entonadas de principio a fin a la hora de fijar el tono y trasladar las continuas referencias científicas y a la cultura popular. Además perfectamente ajustadas entre sí cuando han sido traducidas por personas diferentes. No puedo decir lo mismo de una corrección final que desluce un poco el resultado. Abundan erratas del tipo
Ha muerto y ha partido a reunirse con a su creador...
Les doy las gracias una vez más a los duendecillos...
Si nadie la puede ver pero tampoco rastrearla...
El problema que tienes tiene...
Quería hacer mención a las excelentes traducciones de la novela y el relato, entonadas de principio a fin a la hora de fijar el tono y trasladar las continuas referencias científicas y a la cultura popular. Además perfectamente ajustadas entre sí cuando han sido traducidas por personas diferentes. No puedo decir lo mismo de una corrección final que desluce un poco el resultado. Abundan erratas del tipo
Ha muerto y ha partido a reunirse con a su creador...
Les doy las gracias una vez más a los duendecillos...
Si nadie la puede ver pero tampoco rastrearla...
El problema que tienes tiene...
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