CURRENTLY READING:
Book 2 of the #LaundryFiles by @cstross.
Nothing beats a book that starts with Lovecraftian horrors blended with CIA ‘black operation’ Project Azorian.
laundryfiles
Having read the prior two #LaundryFiles books by @cstross, I finally looked into what a Memex device was / is / could have been. The funniest thing is I can say that I have played a part in creating a database analogous to one in function.
For a year I worked for minimum wage for a company that created fully-cross-indexed blocks of PDFs for various legal cases. If a document referred to a specific river, we created a link to the index’s notation of that river.
… / 1 of 2
Edited 100d ago
Had to email Cubicle 7 support but they were very helpful and the final books arrived today!
#LaundryFiles #ttrpg
Been wanting to read The Laundry Files by @cstross for quite some time and finally started The Atrocity Archives. So good! I’m going to be burning through this series!
Very much enjoying this.
Past the ½-way, the story structure @cstross is referencing — and references to others in the same series — is clear to the reader. This is no knock-off or parody in any manner, however; merely a pondering of “what if you put that guy in *this* situation?” It’s incredibly well-done.
References to other great works — especially a mid-’30s German mesmer — are also intelligently included.
This is a work of great skill.
Edited 123d ago
Finished this the other night. Excellent 3rd entry in the #LaundryFiles series by @cstross.
Comparisons to John le Carré’s work are justified by content — book №2 was Bond-themed — but this is Stross’ own work throughout. We learn so much more about characters’ reality and histories than one might in others’ works. As well, this is now a team of Bob and Mo.
Mr Stross is clearly hitting his authorial stride with confidence at this point.
Very highly recommended.
★★★★★
I’m just barely past the ½-way point of this by @cstross and it is already fantastic.
There is a scene involving a vicar, a bureaucrat, and an intern who happens to be a v̶a̶m̶p̶i̶r̶e̶ sorry, a person with PHANG. It is hilarious due to — in equal parts — social norms, office politics, and marginalized communities.
Some may find the story disjointed and slow to start, but it merely needs the time and space to create the foundation of the action.
Excellent.
★★★★★
I read @cstross's essay, linked to below, recently, having read the novel which appeared in the pages before it. I thought it prophetic, and clearly the man himself has as well. It’s really thoughtful, and very much deserves to be read today, two decades after its creation.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m headed back to his site to learn where in the line of #LaundryFiles books I should read “A Conventional Boy” (Tor, 2024).
[EDIT: read before book currently reading]
https://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2026/06/rule-by-bond-villains.html
Edited 42d ago