The Fuller Memorandum (The Laundry Files)
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Book Description
The third book in the 'Laundry' series - the world's only science fiction/ dark comedy/ Cold War/ IT/ Lovecraftian Horror/ spy novels!
Product Description
Bob Howard is an IT specialist and field agent for the Laundry, the branch of Her Majesty's secret service that deals with occult threats.
Overworked and underpaid, Bob is used to his two jobs overflowing from a strict nine to five and, since his wife Mo has a very similar job description, he understands that work will sometimes follow her home, too. But when 'work' involves zombie assassins and minions of a mad god's cult, he realises things are spinning out of control.
When a top-secret dossier goes missing and his boss Angleton is implicated, Bob must contend with suspiciously helpful Russian intelligence operatives and an unscrupulous apocalyptic cult before confronting the decades-old secret that lies at the heart of the Laundry: what is so important about the missing Fuller Memorandum? And why are all the people who know dying . . . ?
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I really enjoyed this instalment of Bob Howard and the Laundry, picked it up and 5pm put it down finished at 2am. Gripping narrative which kept me turning pages way past the time I wanted to be asleep. A markedly dark work, with very black humour and a seriously nasty narrative concerning attempts to accelerate the end of the world and a traitor within the laundry. As usual, the characterisation, both of human protagonists and organisational gestalt is excellent, if we had an occult intelligence agency I imagine it would function exactly as Stross imagines the Laundry to work.
With each instalment and story, Bob Howard grows as a character in terms of complexity, capability and human failings yet never ceases to be utterly believable, in particular some of the domestic scenes are extremely well drawn with his wife, Mo, being much more fleshed out as a character in her own right.
I can't praise this book highly enough, it's a great work. I can't wait for the next volume.
With each instalment and story, Bob Howard grows as a character in terms of complexity, capability and human failings yet never ceases to be utterly believable, in particular some of the domestic scenes are extremely well drawn with his wife, Mo, being much more fleshed out as a character in her own right.
I can't praise this book highly enough, it's a great work. I can't wait for the next volume.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The book is hard to classify; is it Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Urban Science Fiction or as is suggested in the blurb on the front cover of the book is it a Lovecraftian Spy Thriller? Even after reading the book I'm hard pressed to say. I'd say it's Urban something because of the setting, but since I haven't read any Lovecraft I can't say whether Lovecraftian spy thriller isn't an apter description. It has an undeniably high spy level though. When Bob sits down with Panin for a pint and a civilised little chat, it's classic spy and I kept expecting them to suddenly whip into action all James Bond-like. But it's spy mixed with the paranormal, which we see on the first job Bob goes on in the book. At this job his PDA gets fried in a thaumathurgical mishap and this led to the scene which had me laughing out loud at the book for the first of many times, the buying of the Jesus Phone.
Because make no mistake the book is hilarious; it had me laughing out loud, reading passages to my husband and itching to get back to it whenever I had to put the book down. The references are fab, there are a lot of allusions to well-known modern day phenomena, such as the book Bob reads on the train "a novel about a private magician for hire in Chicago" (sound familiar anyone?) or the new iPhone Bob buys to replace his PDA. That scene where he goes and buys the iPhone had me in stitches. As someone who really wants an iPhone next time I need a new mobile phone, I completely understood the lure of the Jesus Phone as Bob put it. I loved the fact that Stross attributed the lure of the iPhone to it being designed by an intuitive magician who put a glamour on it.
The Dutch references in the book made me laugh too. I especially loved the bit where Bob has a meeting and one of the attendees is called Franz Gustaffson, who is presented as the representative for the Dutch Intelligence Service, AIVD. Right at the point where I was getting grumbly about such an obviously non-Dutch name for a Dutchie, Bob throws out a line about his dad being Danish, hence the weird name. And I seriously loved that. No one else might appreciate that but a fellow Dutch person, but I loved the Dutch elements in the book.
There were some typically British things that had me puzzled a little such as the ESB that Bob drinks in the pub. I actually had to Google that to find out that it was Extra Special Bitter! In fact the language and atmosphere of The Fuller Memorandum exudes Britishness, which would seem obvious for a novel set in London, but often in novels set in the 'real' world, the only thing that places it in a particular location is the fact we're told it takes place there. Not this book though and I really appreciated that.
Starting out as a fun and interesting read, The Fuller Memorandum ends up a real page turner. I couldn't put it down for roughly the last third of the book. I loved the rollercoaster ride to the ending; the twists and turns kept me reading and the ending was both satisfying and frustrating as it left me wanting to read more about The Laundry. While Stross plans on writing more Laundry novels, no date for those has been set, so until then I'll have to be satisfied with reading the first two Laundry books, The Atrocity Archives and The Jennifer Morgue and the two short stories that were published on Tor.com.
Because make no mistake the book is hilarious; it had me laughing out loud, reading passages to my husband and itching to get back to it whenever I had to put the book down. The references are fab, there are a lot of allusions to well-known modern day phenomena, such as the book Bob reads on the train "a novel about a private magician for hire in Chicago" (sound familiar anyone?) or the new iPhone Bob buys to replace his PDA. That scene where he goes and buys the iPhone had me in stitches. As someone who really wants an iPhone next time I need a new mobile phone, I completely understood the lure of the Jesus Phone as Bob put it. I loved the fact that Stross attributed the lure of the iPhone to it being designed by an intuitive magician who put a glamour on it.
The Dutch references in the book made me laugh too. I especially loved the bit where Bob has a meeting and one of the attendees is called Franz Gustaffson, who is presented as the representative for the Dutch Intelligence Service, AIVD. Right at the point where I was getting grumbly about such an obviously non-Dutch name for a Dutchie, Bob throws out a line about his dad being Danish, hence the weird name. And I seriously loved that. No one else might appreciate that but a fellow Dutch person, but I loved the Dutch elements in the book.
There were some typically British things that had me puzzled a little such as the ESB that Bob drinks in the pub. I actually had to Google that to find out that it was Extra Special Bitter! In fact the language and atmosphere of The Fuller Memorandum exudes Britishness, which would seem obvious for a novel set in London, but often in novels set in the 'real' world, the only thing that places it in a particular location is the fact we're told it takes place there. Not this book though and I really appreciated that.
Starting out as a fun and interesting read, The Fuller Memorandum ends up a real page turner. I couldn't put it down for roughly the last third of the book. I loved the rollercoaster ride to the ending; the twists and turns kept me reading and the ending was both satisfying and frustrating as it left me wanting to read more about The Laundry. While Stross plans on writing more Laundry novels, no date for those has been set, so until then I'll have to be satisfied with reading the first two Laundry books, The Atrocity Archives and The Jennifer Morgue and the two short stories that were published on Tor.com.
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Ok - confession time, I truly believe that Charles Stross is up there as one of the best authors in F/SF right now and Laundry No.3 proves it with ease. Sitting on the edge of the urban horror/fantasy market, the Laundry novels are a gem - a mix of the horror and espionage genres.
Firstly it starts with a prologue that grips you like the rotting hand off of one of the series zombies. The first 1.5 pages are a masterpiece of funny, deeply scary prose that drag you straight into the Lovecraftian world of Bob Howard and the Laundry. New readers should probably start with the Atrocity Archives and The Jennifer Morgue but its not entirely necessary - and regardless I would defy any Laundry virgins reading this not to go out and grab the others asap.
From the excellent prologue the action never relents, as Bob, his wife and colleagues are dragged into another chilling and amusing tale - this time instead of the Nazi's of Atrocity or the Megalomaniac of Jennifer its more cold war based with mole hunts and Russians of dubious allegiance.
Stross pulls no punches the heroes may win but never without a cost, possibly the highest so far.... Stross conveys their underlying despair very well indeed.
I dont intend to post any spoilers but you will not be disappointed with either the plot, the pace or the atmosphere as CASE NIGHTMARE GREEN creeps closer.
If you buy one Horror/Espionage crossover in your life - buy this one. One of my books of the year.
Firstly it starts with a prologue that grips you like the rotting hand off of one of the series zombies. The first 1.5 pages are a masterpiece of funny, deeply scary prose that drag you straight into the Lovecraftian world of Bob Howard and the Laundry. New readers should probably start with the Atrocity Archives and The Jennifer Morgue but its not entirely necessary - and regardless I would defy any Laundry virgins reading this not to go out and grab the others asap.
From the excellent prologue the action never relents, as Bob, his wife and colleagues are dragged into another chilling and amusing tale - this time instead of the Nazi's of Atrocity or the Megalomaniac of Jennifer its more cold war based with mole hunts and Russians of dubious allegiance.
Stross pulls no punches the heroes may win but never without a cost, possibly the highest so far.... Stross conveys their underlying despair very well indeed.
I dont intend to post any spoilers but you will not be disappointed with either the plot, the pace or the atmosphere as CASE NIGHTMARE GREEN creeps closer.
If you buy one Horror/Espionage crossover in your life - buy this one. One of my books of the year.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
depressingly negative
Stross's writing is good. And the first book of his I read was certainly enthralling (the atrocity archive). Read more
Published 4 months ago by Dago
Stross Does It Again
If you know Stross' work, and the stories about The Laundry in particular, then The Fuller Memorandum is a must read. Read more
Published 10 months ago by J. Ritchie
Gripping Book
Everyone who likes science fiction should be reading Charles Stross- if indeed they haven't already! Read more
Published 12 months ago by Ursula
Darker Laundry
As a fan of the first two Laundry books, I was surprised to see the tone get darker as soon as the Fuller Memo started. Read more
Published 13 months ago by T. Dominic
Thoroughly Entertaining
Another very entertaining laundry novel from Charles Stross.
He does a very good job in blending the occult and the thriller elements. Read more
He does a very good job in blending the occult and the thriller elements. Read more
Published 13 months ago by The Emperor
Len Deighton's Bernard Samson
Great book. Great page turner. Quite witty. Quite dark.
But
I couldn't help but visualise in my mind that the character was Bernard Samson. Read more
But
I couldn't help but visualise in my mind that the character was Bernard Samson. Read more
Published 14 months ago by joppie
I was eaten by a Grue!
Bob is back!
As a 40-something professional nerd, Laundry novels are pure wish fulfilment for me. I love them, all the little geeky jokes. Read more
As a 40-something professional nerd, Laundry novels are pure wish fulfilment for me. I love them, all the little geeky jokes. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Verse
Worst in the series
The Fuller Memorandum had its moments but it is plagued by bad pacing and lots of repetition. The story is the usual Charles Stross conspiracy with a twist plot but it somehow... Read more
Published 17 months ago by David
The Fuller Memorandum
I had never heard of Charles Stross but am so glad that I know about him now.
The closest comparison I can think of is the writing of Douglas Adams with the Dirk Gently... Read more
The closest comparison I can think of is the writing of Douglas Adams with the Dirk Gently... Read more
Published 18 months ago by MissyChoo
The best 'Laundry' novel so far
This novel shows Charles Stross' hero coming to maturity.
The book is full of excellent jokes and situations familiar to anyone who has ever worked in computer support... Read more
The book is full of excellent jokes and situations familiar to anyone who has ever worked in computer support... Read more
Published 19 months ago by W. Black
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