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songwind's review against another edition
3.0
It was a little hard to decide how to rate this book.
In many ways, it's an excellent Laundry novel. Poking fun at government bureaucracy, portents of the end of the world, etc. We're back in the head of Bob Howard, former IT monkey and gofer, now Eater of Souls andDeeply Scary SorcererDetached Special Secretary. I think Stross handled the change in Bob's circumstances quite well. As the Eater, he's no longer in the position of being a light snack for the things they come up against, and his time with Johnny and Persephone in [b:The Apocalypse Codex|12393566|The Apocalypse Codex (Laundry Files, #4)|Charles Stross|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1318285337s/12393566.jpg|17374689] has left him better able to handle physical threats. So the problems instead are more internal (keeping the Eater in check), political, and existential.
The main secondary theme of this novel is government privatization and corruption. That's played fairly well, too.
Where the wheels start to come off is agency.
The real kick in the pants is that even those three end up being bailed out by a sketchily set-up deus ex machina at the end.
All in all, I didn't dislike the book at all - but it was definitely a step down from the middle books of the series in terms of quality of execution.
In many ways, it's an excellent Laundry novel. Poking fun at government bureaucracy, portents of the end of the world, etc. We're back in the head of Bob Howard, former IT monkey and gofer, now Eater of Souls and
The main secondary theme of this novel is government privatization and corruption. That's played fairly well, too.
Where the wheels start to come off is agency.
Spoiler
Bob himself, despite being the primary POV character, accomplishes almost nothing. The things he does accomplish are mostly planned and ordered by the Senior Auditor. And Johnny ends up doing most of the heavy lifting there. Mo, Mary and Seph accomplish more - which is fine, but maybe they should have been the focus of the novel rather than Bob, like the last 2.The real kick in the pants is that even those three end up being bailed out by a sketchily set-up deus ex machina at the end.
All in all, I didn't dislike the book at all - but it was definitely a step down from the middle books of the series in terms of quality of execution.
davidsandilands's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
thatoneguyjm's review
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
quietdomino's review against another edition
3.0
Accidentally began reading the series here, but not a problem, as its cross section of anxiety over Brexit/ anxiety over free ranging necromancers works even out of context.
callofkahuna's review against another edition
3.0
Would have liked this book more if Cassie hadn't been in it. She's a perfect example of the MPDG. No more of her, please.
arachnichemist's review against another edition
5.0
Wow wow wow. That was the best one yet. Do NOT read the summary for book 9 before reading this as it is spoilertastic. This book changes everything and sets up a new direction for the world going forward. It gets right to the action after about 30 pages and doesn't let up much. Without too much in the way of spoilers this book focuses on making deals with the devil in order to survive the new world. This series is definitely going a dark direction.
pcody_mit's review against another edition
3.0
A somewhat disappointing sequel from one of my favorite authors.
It took me a while to pinpoint why I disliked this book, until I realized the overwhelming sense of political despair comes straight from headlines. This book takes a page from the post-Brexit/post-Trump political despair, and the change in tone made it a struggle to finish.
This book has very graphic horror elements, more than I could stomach. I liked the previous books use of conceptual horror and other memes, but Delirium Brief had overly detailed descriptions of events that belong in NC-17 horror movies.
It took me a while to pinpoint why I disliked this book, until I realized the overwhelming sense of political despair comes straight from headlines. This book takes a page from the post-Brexit/post-Trump political despair, and the change in tone made it a struggle to finish.
This book has very graphic horror elements, more than I could stomach. I liked the previous books use of conceptual horror and other memes, but Delirium Brief had overly detailed descriptions of events that belong in NC-17 horror movies.
jmkemp's review against another edition
5.0
Bob is back, and the whole Laundry series just levelled up a couple of notches. I'm a major fan of Charlie Stross and have read his entire output. The Laundry is right up my street (being a civil servant with more than a passing interest in IT). This novel even more so, because it gets into other areas that I've got a professional interest in too.
In terms of broad storyline, the Delirium Brief brings back some old characters and uncovers secrets that were compartmented away from Bob in the earlier stories. It also shows more of the inner workings and rationale for the Laundry that Bob wouldn't have either known about or cared much about if he had known.
The Delirium Brief of the title is a file passed to the Laundry by the US Postal inspectorate. They've got an occult watching brief and have been taken out by internal rivals just as the story starts. The file is shared because the Laundry might be about to share the same fate.
In parallel Mo and Bob are trying to work on their marriage. We see more of how they are becoming powerful in their own ways, and how they try to deal with it and support each other. It's an interesting meta story laying across several of the recent novels.
There's an end of days feel to the entire book. Even the ending isn't quite a we saved the world again. It's more of a case of survival and wondering if that can work again.
In terms of broad storyline, the Delirium Brief brings back some old characters and uncovers secrets that were compartmented away from Bob in the earlier stories. It also shows more of the inner workings and rationale for the Laundry that Bob wouldn't have either known about or cared much about if he had known.
The Delirium Brief of the title is a file passed to the Laundry by the US Postal inspectorate. They've got an occult watching brief and have been taken out by internal rivals just as the story starts. The file is shared because the Laundry might be about to share the same fate.
In parallel Mo and Bob are trying to work on their marriage. We see more of how they are becoming powerful in their own ways, and how they try to deal with it and support each other. It's an interesting meta story laying across several of the recent novels.
There's an end of days feel to the entire book. Even the ending isn't quite a we saved the world again. It's more of a case of survival and wondering if that can work again.
therafa's review against another edition
5.0
I am glad that The Laundry Files are on track again. I didn't like the last couple of books as much but this one is great and left me with a hunger for more. Can't wait to see how everything keeps going down the drain and what other unspeakable creatures loom in the dark waste waters of this Armageddon.