The Apocalypse Codex
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
For outstanding heroism in the field (despite himself), computational demonologist Bob Howard is on the fast track for promotion to management within the Laundry, the supersecret British government agency tasked with defending the realm from occult threats. Assigned to External Assets, Bob discovers the company (unofficially) employs freelance agents to deal with sensitive situations that may embarrass Queen and Country.
So when Ray Schiller—an American televangelist with the uncanny ability to miraculously heal the ill—becomes uncomfortably close to the Prime Minister, External Assets dispatches the brilliant, beautiful, and entirely unpredictable Persephone Hazard to infiltrate the Golden Promise Ministries and discover why the preacher is so interested in British politics. And it’s Bob’s job to make sure Persephone doesn’t cause an international incident.
But it’s a supernatural incident that Bob needs to worry about—a global threat even the Laundry may be unable to clean up…
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The fourth novel (after 2010's The Fuller Memorandum) in Stross's series about the Laundry, a British mystical intelligence agency, continues its fun blend of Lovecraftian horror, espionage, and office satire. Everyman geek Bob Howard has been promoted to the Laundry's Externalities department, an obscure branch dealing with outside contractors. His boss, Lockhart, assigns him to manage Persephone Hazard and Johnny McTavish, two mystically talented field agents investigating suddenly powerful U.S. evangelist Ray Schiller. Complications arise ranging from conflicts with U.S. spy agencies, extradimensional parasites, a Bible with some disturbing additional chapters, and the requisite zombies. Stross augments his style, expanding the narrative voice beyond Bob's own while remaining true to earlier works in the series. Some fans might miss Bob's wife, Mo (largely offscreen after the book's first third), but the new characters and setting allow Stross additional opportunities for political and technological snark in the midst of this solid spy/horror story.
Customer Reviews
Charles Stross Is, As Usual, Brilliant
I've read few authors capable of evoking the terror of H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos in a matter that is not only highly original, but remarkably entertaining.
Another winner
Charlie Stross has knocked another story out of the park. "The Apocalypse Codex" masterfully blends sci-fi, horror, and espionage thriller with just a dash of mundane real world paperwork. It's been fun and a pleasure to watch Bob Howard grow and develop. The world he inhabits is terrifying and funny at the same time. Granted, he takes shots at Christian believers, and for some that can become a nuisance. For myself, I found the hodge-podge incorporation of Christian doctrines and liturgical practices distracting. It reflected a casual indifference to what actual Christian practice loos like: had he been more deliberate about limiting himself to just the common patois of Midwestern Christian idiom, the book would have been far more convincing.
In the end, Stross' fiction has a lovely blend of Fleming and Lovecraft about it. Bravo for another great adventure.
Very good
I’ve been reading these in order and so far this has been my favorite. Bob Howard is a truly interesting protagonist.
I recommend this book.