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songwind's review against another edition
4.0
After reading [b:The Atrocity Archives|101869|The Atrocity Archives (The Laundry, Book 1)|Charles Stross|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171481840s/101869.jpg|322252], I was pretty sure this would be a fun read. Both AA, and Stross' short story over at tor.com, , were excellent.
Stross does not disappoint. As usual, we follow the adventures of Bob Howard, Capital Laundry Services' favorite whipping boy. Also as usual, Angleton has sent Bob into a hairy situation without all the information, counting on Bob's native ability with thaumaturgy and computers to let him sort it out as he goes.
I don't want to give away too much about the plot, but it is entertaining, funny, and surprising in a few places. We see the return of Dr. Dominique "Mo" O'Brien and learn what she's been up to since the Laundry took her in. We get to see a lot more of the shadowy US operation, The Black Chamber. We also learn a surprising amount about the various types of Eldritch Horrors sharing this little ball of mud with us, and what the Benthic treaty was really about.
Stross does not disappoint. As usual, we follow the adventures of Bob Howard, Capital Laundry Services' favorite whipping boy. Also as usual, Angleton has sent Bob into a hairy situation without all the information, counting on Bob's native ability with thaumaturgy and computers to let him sort it out as he goes.
I don't want to give away too much about the plot, but it is entertaining, funny, and surprising in a few places. We see the return of Dr. Dominique "Mo" O'Brien and learn what she's been up to since the Laundry took her in. We get to see a lot more of the shadowy US operation, The Black Chamber. We also learn a surprising amount about the various types of Eldritch Horrors sharing this little ball of mud with us, and what the Benthic treaty was really about.
bookeared's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
jayraams's review against another edition
4.0
I recommend reading the first book first, though this book could be read on its own.
This book is an enjoyable read, with good characters and a fascinating magic system. For the nerdy Lovecraft fans, this is definitely worth the read.
This book is an enjoyable read, with good characters and a fascinating magic system. For the nerdy Lovecraft fans, this is definitely worth the read.
geekwayne's review against another edition
4.0
James Bond meets Cthulu with the most unlikeliest of heroes, a desk driving IT genius.
This is the second in The Laundry series, and while I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the first one, there is still much to recommend here. Playing around with the James Bond tropes was fun, and the death by Powerpoint scene was genius.
Stross has created another winner in the series here. Along with this, I read the short story PIMPF which I highly recommend. Bob gets a PFY (or pimply-faced youth) as an intern and before you know it, he has to save him from a video game plot. Lots of humor abounds.
This is the second in The Laundry series, and while I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the first one, there is still much to recommend here. Playing around with the James Bond tropes was fun, and the death by Powerpoint scene was genius.
Stross has created another winner in the series here. Along with this, I read the short story PIMPF which I highly recommend. Bob gets a PFY (or pimply-faced youth) as an intern and before you know it, he has to save him from a video game plot. Lots of humor abounds.
ithilwen22's review against another edition
3.0
What's better than a rollicking James Bond novel? A rollicking James Bond novel whose real protagonist is Bob Howard, and whose real villain is working for an eldritch abomination. Fun for the whole family! (But seriously-I loved the send up on the Bond genre.)
embereye's review against another edition
4.0
No idea when this was read, but I definitely read it at some point a year or two ago!
rollforlibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
This has a different tone to the first book... I felt that this one was better written but in other respects the first was stronger. I'm also not deadly keen on how female characters are portrayed in this series, there's nobody remotely relatable. Still, on the whole, it's a very enjoyable book and I like the combination of computer science and eldritch horrors...I'm interested to see where the series goes from here.
barium_squirrel's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0