4.0
The Nightmare Stacks
ByPublisher Description
The Laundry Files’ “fast-paced blend of espionage thrills, mundane office comedy and Lovecraftian horror” (SFX) continues as Hugo Award-winning author Charles Stross assigns a day trader to a permanent position on the night shift...
After stumbling upon the algorithm that turned him and his fellow merchant bankers into vampires, Alex Schwartz was drafted by the Laundry, Britain’s secret counter-occult agency that’s humanity’s first line of defense against the forces of darkness. Dependent on his new employers for his continued existence—as Alex has no stomach for predatory blood-sucking—he has little choice but to accept his new role as an operative-in-training.
For his first assignment, Alex is dispatched to Leeds to help assess the costs of renovating a 1950s Cold War bunker for use as the Laundry’s new headquarters. Unfortunately, Leeds is Alex’s hometown, and the thought of breaking the news to his parents that he’s left banking for the Civil Service, while hiding his undead condition, is causing him more anxiety than learning how to live as a vampire secret agent preparing to confront multiple apocalypses.
Alex’s only saving grace is Cassie Brewer, a drama student appearing in the local goth festival who is inexplicably attracted to him despite his awkward personality and massive amounts of sunblock.
But Cassie has secrets of her own—secrets that make Alex’s nightlife behaviors seem positively normal...
After stumbling upon the algorithm that turned him and his fellow merchant bankers into vampires, Alex Schwartz was drafted by the Laundry, Britain’s secret counter-occult agency that’s humanity’s first line of defense against the forces of darkness. Dependent on his new employers for his continued existence—as Alex has no stomach for predatory blood-sucking—he has little choice but to accept his new role as an operative-in-training.
For his first assignment, Alex is dispatched to Leeds to help assess the costs of renovating a 1950s Cold War bunker for use as the Laundry’s new headquarters. Unfortunately, Leeds is Alex’s hometown, and the thought of breaking the news to his parents that he’s left banking for the Civil Service, while hiding his undead condition, is causing him more anxiety than learning how to live as a vampire secret agent preparing to confront multiple apocalypses.
Alex’s only saving grace is Cassie Brewer, a drama student appearing in the local goth festival who is inexplicably attracted to him despite his awkward personality and massive amounts of sunblock.
But Cassie has secrets of her own—secrets that make Alex’s nightlife behaviors seem positively normal...
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities43 Reviews
4.0
Summer
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Eol
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Austin Otono
Created 6 months agoShare
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“Outstandingly good.”
Andy Dickinson
Created 8 months agoShare
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Marc Lucke
Created about 1 year agoShare
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“I have to say that I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. I've loved this series for years, but I was wary of this book, as I knew this is when Stross sort of formally breaks with Bob as his main protagonist and focuses on new characters; specifically Alex, the vampire.
I disliked Alex in the last book and was completely disinterested in reading stories focused on him. I also had heard that this is the book where the existence of the Laundry becomes public knowledge in the UK, and I wasn't keen on losing some of the intrigue and secrecy so present in the first few entries in the series.
As it turns out, this change of pace and focus might have been what the series needed, as this was actually some of the most fun I've had reading The Landry Files so far. Alex developed into a much more interesting and relatable character than I'd anticipated, and the elevation of Pinky & the Brain from third-tier NPCs to major supporting characters was excellent. I loved Stross' take on the Fair Folk, and the detailed descriptions of their tools--"magic so advanced it's indistinguishable from technology"--was very cool.
The Laundry Files is one of my go-to 'smart fun' series out there and it holds a special place in my heart. If this is an indication of the new direction Stross is going in with it, I'm definitely going to keep devouring these books.”
About Charles Stross
Charles Stross, born in 1964, is a full-time science fiction writer and resident of Edinburgh, Scotland. He is the author of seven Hugo-nominated novels, including Accelerando, Neptune’s Brood, Saturn’s Children and The Laundry Files series, and winner of three Hugo Awards for best novella. Stross has had his work translated into more than twelve languages. He has worked as a pharmacist, software developer, and tech-industry journalist.
Other books by Charles Stross
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