The Atrocity Archives (Laundry Files, #1) in Building a SciFi/Fantasy Library

Aug 13, 2007 Peggy rated it it was amazing

If you toss Neal Stephenson, H.P. Lovecraft, and Len Deighton in a pop-culture blender and hit frappe, The Atrocity Archives is the smooth and tasty result. It’s fast-paced and very, very funny. You like spy stories? It’s in there. Hacker nerds with a nose for trouble? In there. Tentacled nasties? Evil Nazi’s? It’s all in there, baby, and it’s all done right.

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Jan 18, 2015 Tani rated it really liked it

Shelves: male-author, scifi, horror, 2015-novels

I went into this thinking it would be far heavier on the humor, and lighter on the theoretical mathematics. No idea where I got that notion, but it's what I thought. Once I got over it, I enjoyed the book a lot more. If you're going to read it, be prepared for lots of discussion of advanced mathematics and secret government agencies, most of which I had to take on faith because my own understanding did not extend that far.

I liked Bob as a main character - he's knowledgeable in some ways, but st ...more

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Jan 20, 2011 Bryan457 rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: spies-n-special-agents, urban-fantasy, alien-invasion, computer, horror, cthulhu

Bob Howard works for a secret British security agency called The Laundry, dedicated to supressing knowledge of how to open inter-dimensional gates, which could lead to demon possession or let one of the great old ones into our world to enslave us all or maybe eat our brains.

4 star story and world building, but it seems like more than 20% of the book is confusing references to things British or IT geek that I am unfamiliar with and have no knowledge of and were not explained. This made at least ...more

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Sep 05, 2008 Tracey rated it really liked it

Shelves: re-read, owned-etext

Previously Read Aug 2008

Speculative fiction - what if magic were just another aspect of mathematics/physics and governmental organizations (and their interminable bureaucracy) were tasked with keeping the Extra-Dimensional Beings at bay?

Think Neal Stephenson+Tom Holt+good spy/suspense fiction (more Ludlum than Clancy, I guess) and a good dose of parody/satire & you've got the two stories in this book. The essay that explains the rationale behind the stories is also quite good reading. ...more

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Oct 23, 2007 Andy Karlson rated it really liked it

Fun!!! Len Deighton meets Office Space meets an IT Helldesk meets HP Lovecraft. Some part of me had been waiting to read this book my whole life. Yeah, it didn't flow exactly right, and it trod the unintelligible-due-to-extreme-nerdiness line at times (see Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicromnicomiconnon and Baroque Trilogy) but what a great idea for a novel! Big fun for Big Ol' Nerds. ...more

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Jan 11, 2010 Derek rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Amusing, clever and I believe I understood all the references - so I must be right there in the target demographic.

I was slightly thrown by the second story, but only because I didn't realise there were two stories in there. I'm straight off now to read the Jennifer Morgue. ...more

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