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A review by feoh
Quantum of Nightmares by Charles Stross
It pains me to give a Stross book a 3 star review, but sadly there are elements of this book that just don't hang together very well, and it's glaring enough that no amount of warm fuzzies I have for Stross will fix it.
While I am tremendously fond of Eve, her brother Imp, and his merry band of scallywags, I felt like their part in the story wasn't nearly as large as I'd have liked it to be, and while I enjoyed them when they came to the fore, they couldn't save the story from the god awful plot which felt stitched together from the results of some kind of Lovecraftian Horror Theme Generator.
To add insult to injury, this book leans into the SERIOUSLY gross/disgusting horror side of things as hard as it possibly can, to the point where a few others I discussed it with found seriously disturbing, disquieting, and off-putting generally.
Sure, The laundry Files books (of which this series of an offshoot) have always had borderline horror elements, but this is over the top in a way I find distinctly unpleasant.
So, I'm still a huge fan of Mr. Stross and his work, and I will probably read the next one in the series anyway, but this book makes me sad.
While I am tremendously fond of Eve, her brother Imp, and his merry band of scallywags, I felt like their part in the story wasn't nearly as large as I'd have liked it to be, and while I enjoyed them when they came to the fore, they couldn't save the story from the god awful plot which felt stitched together from the results of some kind of Lovecraftian Horror Theme Generator.
To add insult to injury, this book leans into the SERIOUSLY gross/disgusting horror side of things as hard as it possibly can, to the point where a few others I discussed it with found seriously disturbing, disquieting, and off-putting generally.
Sure, The laundry Files books (of which this series of an offshoot) have always had borderline horror elements, but this is over the top in a way I find distinctly unpleasant.
So, I'm still a huge fan of Mr. Stross and his work, and I will probably read the next one in the series anyway, but this book makes me sad.