Finished this the other night. Excellent 3rd entry in the #LaundryFiles series by @cstross.
Comparisons to John le Carré’s work are justified by content — book №2 was Bond-themed — but this is Stross’ own work throughout. We learn so much more about characters’ reality and histories than one might in others’ works. As well, this is now a team of Bob and Mo.
Mr Stross is clearly hitting his authorial stride with confidence at this point.
Very highly recommended.
★★★★★
#TIL that Arthur Ransome — illustrator of “Swallows & Amazons” — was also an intelligence agent in pre- and post-revolutionary Russia.
Why?
Because I’m reading @cstross’s “The Fuller Memorandum,” have got about half-way through it, and am enjoying it immensely. I’ve also learned that Roman von Ungern-Sternberg was (in every sense) an ugly mo-fo, been reminded of Helena Blavatsky’s life, and learned a Soviet agronomist believed in genetics.
#BooksTodon #LaundryFiles
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Ransome
Here’s my problem with the art.
I do not wish to see what @cstross’s protagonist looks like, I want to imagine it in my head. That way, unless the person is specifically described in exquisite detail, I — like any other reader — can make them look like me. Equally, I do not wish to see exactly what the Evil Dæmon™ looks like, because I can make them far uglier in my mind than what you see there.
Symbolic, expressionist, impressionist, even (bleah) fauvist art is preferable.
While not microfiche, as the Memex in @cstross’s book used, it’s analogous to it. PDFs are electronic versions of physical documents, as microfiche are photographic representations of paper documents. The Memex system then links between points in the documents to allow the reader to go back and forth, akin to looking up a word’s definition in a glossary or other reference, like HTML.
I look forward to further learning how the #LaundryFiles are my biographical records.
Having read the prior two #LaundryFiles books by @cstross, I finally looked into what a Memex device was / is / could have been. The funniest thing is I can say that I have played a part in creating a database analogous to one in function.
For a year I worked for minimum wage for a company that created fully-cross-indexed blocks of PDFs for various legal cases. If a document referred to a specific river, we created a link to the index’s notation of that river.
… / 1 of 2
I have now completed @cstross’s “The Jennifer Morgue.” I see now the purpose of the James Bond Trope structure, and it is perfect. Sending it up, certainly, but also pointing out its class- and gender-based weaknesses.
I do worry about the characters, given the end of “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.’
I also wonder about @Menhit’s reaction to the climactic scene.
Very highly recommended.
★★★★★
@baltakatei I’m aware that @cstross’s output is considerable. The #LaundryFiles change around 10 or so (haven’t go anywhere near that, obviously), so if it takes a turn away from my tastes, I was planning on looking elsewhere in his œvre for something. Therefore, thank you for the suggestion of trying the “Saturn's Children” series, as maybe an android-based society exploring economics might be my thing. I mean, honestly, it might!
¯\(°_O)/¯
I’ve just realized this is only №2 in the #LaundryFiles series. The fact that №1 has a short story/novella (depending on your definition) in addition to the novel is likely to be part of my confusion.
Yet, I have already fully dedicated myself to reading all of @cstross’s work in this series. It doesn’t take long for me to become obsessed, it would seem.
But, damn, he’s good!
Very much enjoying this.
Past the ½-way, the story structure @cstross is referencing — and references to others in the same series — is clear to the reader. This is no knock-off or parody in any manner, however; merely a pondering of “what if you put that guy in *this* situation?” It’s incredibly well-done.
References to other great works — especially a mid-’30s German mesmer — are also intelligently included.
This is a work of great skill.
CURRENTLY READING:
Book 2 of the #LaundryFiles by @cstross.
Nothing beats a book that starts with Lovecraftian horrors blended with CIA ‘black operation’ Project Azorian.
That Old Guy with the Beard
