The Apocalypse Codex by Charles StrossMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
A very good entry to the "The Laundry Files" series! My favorite part of the series is the protagonist, Bob Howard - both his situation, of an IT guy conscripted to become a spy in a war against supernatural evil forces; and his attitude, ironic, sarcastic, self-deprecating, anti-authority, pro-institutions, and fiercely loyal, all at the same time! He is surprisingly relatable and enjoyable to read. This book, however, had a lot less of Bob Howard than previous books - that is, the story still centered on him, but it lacked his personality, his quirks, and the whole IT-guy-being-groomed-to-become-spy plot was very thin, he seemed to be a lot more spy than IT guy by this point. But I guess that's natural for the overall narrative - if he is being groomed to be a spy, then at some point he will become one. The story felt more of an action thriller than previous stories, specially because of the new characters, Persephone Hazard and Jonny Prince. They were more action hero type of characters, a lot more at home in a (occult) spy thriller. However, that is not to say that they necessarily made the story better - for example, the first chapter was all about them on a mission, and that was the worst part of the book - I thought it was a bit boring, nothing to do with the rest of the series, and the thought of dropping the book even crossed my mind. But then it shifted back to Bob, and it got much better. I also got the feeling that this was not a good stand-alone story, it was definitely something directed towards die-hard fans of the series. Also, it was definitely the most significant book of the series so far, really picking up the pace of the larger overall story. I also think that the story was definitely better and more well written than the book immediately preceding this one in the series.
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