(2.25 Stars)

This was a story written very much in the style of the HP Lovecraft Cthulhu mythos with various modern(ish) pop references thrown in. If you would like that, this could be the book/series for you.

Even though it is well written, it just isn't for me. Don't get me wrong, the story is ok, it just isn't *my* thing. Stross is an excellent writer, very detailed, and engaging, but the rest of the books are very far down on my "To Be Read" list.

The audiobook version also had a bonus novella (Concrete Jungle) included. ( )

A surprisingly fun mix of computer science, spy craft, bureaucracy and the occult. I liked the book's conceit that advanced algorithms are the key to eldritch magic, and feel targeted by the scene where two characters fangirl over an imaginary Knuth vol 4. ( )

Stross je geek i to se vidi. I pored hand-waving tehnologije i likova malo suviše stereotipnih, ova knjiga je više nego zadovoljavajuća za ubijanje toplih letnjih popodneva. Letnje štivo za štrebere. ( )

Fun! Fast-paced sci-fi novellas. ( )

This verson of the English writer (born and educated in Leeds, now resident in Scotland) Charles Stross's first novel in his Laundry Files series includes his Hugo winning novella The Concrete Jungle, and the author's afterword, in which he admired the spy thrillers by Len Deighton and the SF horror stories by H.P. Lovecraft. He has a background in gaming including playing and writing about live role playing games including D&D and the Call of Cthulu. He also has had experience in computer support. The Laundry files series uses the SF premises that magic has a scientific basis, that computers and networks can be used to summons beings from other dimension that manifest as demons and horrors, and that the UK, the US and other governments have secret occult intelligence agencies. He writes well about life in bureaucratic organizations with the experience of a worker and consumer. ( )