The Rhesus Chart
Ratings28
Average rating4.1
15
Ratings28
Average rating4.1
The Hugo Award-winning author of The Delirium Brief reveals the secrets of The Laundry Files in an adventure of Lovecraftian horror and espionage hi-jinks... As a newly appointed junior manager within the Laundry—the clandestine organization responsible for protecting Britain against supernatural threats—Bob Howard is expected to show some initiative to help the agency battle the forces of darkness. But shining a light on what’s best left in the shadows is the last thing Bob wants to do—especially when those shadows hide an occult parasite spreading a deadly virus. Traders employed by a merchant bank in London are showing signs of infection—an array of unusual symptoms such as super-strength and -speed, an uncanny talent for mind control, an extreme allergic reaction to sunlight, and an unquenchable thirst for blood. While his department is tangled up in bureaucratic red tape (and Buffy reruns) debating how to stop the rash of vampirism, Bob digs deeper into the bank’s history—only to uncover a blood-curdling conspiracy between men and monsters...
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9 primary books15 released booksLaundry Files is a 15-book series with 9 primary works first released in 2002 with contributions by Charles Stross.
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Bob Howard continues to age with interest, as does his wife Mo. I'm both amused and saddened by events in this installment of the Laundry files. Of course, the good news is that Spooky seems to be getting along fine in his or her new circumstances. Or is Stross just setting us up for something terrible to be named later?
This time around, Stross tackles the issue of vampires within the world of the Laundry Files. On the face of it, this is a different horror trope than the ones typically seen in the series, although, of course, vampirism is cast within the context of the series' wider setting and, as such, makes perfect sense within it. Indeed, a key plot point (mentioned pretty much in the first sentence of the book) is that nobody within the Laundry actually believes in vampires. Which makes hard for to combat them effectively.
It's another good Laundry book, with the usual mixture of horror, action, and humour. A fair bit of the action takes place in the Laundry itself, so that we get to see a bit more of its higher-level workings. There's also a change from earlier books in that we see a larger proportion of events that take place when Bob isn't around - almost all of it still narrated in present tense, as Stross tends to prefer, but not so much in the first person. This helps by expanding the scope, as well as allowing us a better view of some of the characters that Bob doesn't interact with very much.
As for the vampirism itself, this is a clever take on the creatures that both utilises some of the familiar tropes while undercutting others. In most respects, they're clearly the vampires we're familiar with, but the explanation for them has a logical rationale, and some of the details differ accordingly (they're not literally ‘undead', for example).
Although Mo is away for most of the story, the toll that having to live through this is taking on the main protagonist is not ignored. Bringing back the vicar who appeared the previous volume as a new Laundry employee experiencing its world for the first time has a similar effect. While there are some background events that seem to be setting the ground for future developments, the larger plot arc of the series isn't much advanced here until the very end of the book when a large and dramatic change takes place.
Another fine plot in the series, more detail that sometimes is hard to track and although not as funny as the original book in the series, it still had me smiling now and again, which is good.
Well bloody hell. That didn't end the way I expected it to (and that's not a bad thing!). Unsurprisingly as Case NIGHTMARE GREEN continues to approach, the Laundry series continues to get darker. I don't want to say too much because this one in particular really needs to not have anything approaching spoilers. But argh! What I actually said when the audio ended (BTW the audio version kicks some serious butt) was “Well sh*t”. I cannot wait for the next one (late next year alas!). Well played again Mr. Stross!
