The Atrocity Archives

I have had some experience with Charles Stross and the Laundry Files, in that there a a couple of very enjoyable short stories over on tor.com about it. It was these short stories that led me to this first book in the series, with the added bonus of his 2005 Hugo award winning, and Locus nominated novellaThe Concrete Jungle.

This was a bit more "sciencey" than I expected it to be. I'm not sure if this series will really be a good fit for my "lite and fluffy" summer reading focus. But it was an enjoyable book and I definitely want to read more about The Laundry and the denizens that inhabit it.

I found Bob Howard to be a likable character, and found the occasional science/programmers "info drops" to be only slightly annoying. I blame this lack of annoyance on seeing every episode of "The Big Bang Theory." That show was the king on the info drop, but did it in such a funny way. This book sort of reminded me of that TV show, mixed with a little X-Files, and just a dash of Parks and Recreation (It might be a dash of The Office, but I can honestly say I have never seen an episode of that show. And I can do it with my head held high and unashamed.) It is this dollop of humor that really makes these books work. Now it does tend to be a bit of a dry humor, but Charles Stross is British.

All in all, I enjoyed this book, and I think I will enjoy this series, I'm just not sure if I will be enjoying it this summer, or this fall. Ah, first world problems are a beoch!