maza's Full Review: Charles Stross - The Atrocity Archives
This is the first book publication of Charlie's short novel "The Atrocity Archive" with the associated novella "The Concrete Jungle" plus an introduction by Ken McLeod and a short essay by Charlie on the sources of inspiration for the concepts behind these stories. "The Atrocity Archive" was serialized in Spectrum SF a couple of years ago; "The Concrete Jungle" makes its first appearance in print here.
Bob Howard works for a shady British Governmental Organization(emphasis on 'shady') called the Laundry. They know things, and Things. They had Turing killed but too late to prevent his seminal work on contacting the Elder Gods and the Dungeon Dimensions via computer algorithms being bruited abroad. The Laundry is engaged in a never-ending quest to stuff the rabbit back in the hat while maintaining Total Quality Management standards and ISO9001 compliance in paperclip audits. When they have the time they prevent the world from being overrun by screaming nameless horrors on a weekly basis.
When his request to move into the active service division of the Laundry is approved after a lab experiment goes wrong, Bob finds himself in pursuit of a British lady academic whose mathematical research into luck is being co-opted by the American government. After that it's a rollercoaster ride of events driven by Secret History where nukes and biological weapons are the "lesser of two evils" cover story used to hide the horrific truth from the population at large.
"The Concrete Jungle" is a novella featuring Bob again, this time sent to investigate an extra cow which has mysteriously appeared in a herd of cattle in the middle of Milton Keynes. From there escalating layers of events reveal intrigues and office politics tied in with the real reason so many CCTV cameras are being installed in public places in Britain.
Geek nerd H4X0R d00d meets Len Deighton in a dark corner of a pub having a drink with Howard Phelps Lovecraft. It's an interesting idea, and Charlie just about makes it work with some effort. The geeknerdish stuff is nailed down tight of course, given Charlie's background, but I'm not sure about the bureaucratic world he layers between the algorithmic incantations and the Deep Ones who drive the plot. Too many infodumps interrupt the action although they are usually necessary and often entertaining in themselves. There are some in-jokes -- Knuth's fourth volume of "The Art of Computer Programming" makes an appearance alongside the Necrocomnicon and other dark tomes of occult lore. These asides are contrasted with moments of real nastiness such as the visit to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the scenes in the SS redoubt at the end of "The Atrocity Archive".
It could have been better, more focused. It's not a horror book although horrors abound. It's not a spy thriller either though governments contend in shadowy places away from the public gaze. Cyberpunk isn't a fit category although mindwarping technology is a constant theme of the storylines. The comic relief is bitsy and often heavy-handed; Charlie still hasn't learned how to do comedy very well, indulging himself a bit too often at the reader's expense. This is an omnibus in both senses of the word and it doesn't quite click.
Still, it's worth a read. There's a story and a plot and ideas abound. Bob's rather weary cynicism is tested by events and he grows as a character and a human being. A sequel of sorts, ˇJennifer Morgue˘, is going to be published real soon.
If you are Role-Playing fans, and especially fans of Pagan Publishing's Delta Green setting, then I definitely urge you to read this book. Even though the author claims no prior knowledge to the Delta-Green setting, there are many similarities. The author, being a roleplayer admits in his foreword that he discovered the DG setting by a recommendation of a fan. He even admits that he got intrigued by DG's setting enough to get back to roleplaying.
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