Must read for nerds.

Would you consider the audio edition of The Atrocity Archives to be better than the print version?

Narrator is great. I put him on 1.25x because I like it so but even on standard 1x he's good. Impression of different character voices is done well, no problem with recognising who's speaking at the given moment.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Well, obviously Bob. Mostly because it's easy for me to see myself as him. Pinky and Brain aren't far from that "favorite character" trophy either, especially the Brain. But in Bob I can imagine me, if Cthulhu-like monsters were real.

Which character – as performed by Jack Hawkins – was your favourite?

Moe. I don't know why but it's the best impression of woman voice from a man I ever heard. Easy to recognise properly but without trying too much which often results in stupid sound. Narrator nails it.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I'd love to.

Any additional comments?

Are you a nerd? Do you love programming? Played Call of Cthulhu tabletop RPG or enjoyed reading Lovecraft's stories? Fun of science? Do you laugh at references to hacker culture and enjoy reading essays such as The Jargon File?

You'll definitely love it.

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I always knew maths was slightly evil

Fantastic! Great performance, amazing story. Len Deighton meets HP Lovecraft and a sense of humour.

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7 people found this helpful

Started weak, but improved as things got hectic

Nearly stopped listening during first act because character Bob did nothing but whine about his poor me life, had a typical tedious relationship problem, moved into turgid touchy feely white knighty romance with boring character and grr, sigh. Then the paranormal squadron of the SAS came into it and things got more fun. I'll read the next one and hopefully the trend will continue.

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Brilliant!

If the British civil service ever have to lock horns with Lovecraftian horrors, this is how I imagine it will play out. With interdepartmental back biting and oversight commitees.

The premise of these stories is outrageous. The bureaucracy all too believable.

If you enjoy cold war spy thrillers and/or Cthulu like horror. This is the book for you.

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Don’t start if you like a complete series

Having read the Peter Grant series I was looking for something similar and this wasn’t bad. A good story that wasn’t obvious. I enjoyed the sympathetic characters and sarcasm.

However, reader beware. The whole series is not, I repeat, not, available as audiobooks.

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Most enjoyable

This was recommended by a friend and the synopsis was intriguing so I took a chance. Very glad I did! I will say that it won’t appeal to everyone but if you like a bit of occult geeky spy stuff then dive in. It has the grimy feel of a Len Deighton with the geeky edge of the IT crowd and a nice knife of horror slipped in there. Sure I felt a twinge if Andy McNab at times too (I like his stuff so not a criticism!).

Recommended!

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Squamous and Nerdy

In the Atrocity Archives, we meet Bob Howard who works for the Laundry. It's not a story about getting your whites white but about a secretive part of the British secret service that deals with magic.

The things that set this apart from your usual spy-novel-with-twist are the way that in the universe of the Laundry, magic and extra-dimensional threats of a distinctly Lovecraftian nature are essentially complex mathematics and what was once the preserve of savant mathematicians and thaumaturgists is now enabled by computer hackers with a sideline in human sacrifice. I can only imagine how dark GamerGate gets in this universe...

The hacker element allows Howard to be a sarcastic, semi-unwilling but an enthusiastically nerdy protagonist and his struggles with middle managers and the tiresome bureaucracy of the Laundry will call out to anyone who's worked in an office or call centre, as much as the other elements will play to fans of Lovecraft or William Gibson.

Stross's delivery is probably not for everyone, being very blunt, self-aware and tending towards data dumps of exposition and geek talk but it worked brilliantly for me and I'll be working my way through the rest of the series in due course.

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Hardcore Nerdporn

If you like science, computers and Lovecraft you will love this. Lots of very technical descriptions in the narrative and a very imaginative story. The characters are a bit thin. Also suitable for YA.

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Great

came across this book, never read or heard of the author, before.
The story sounded intriguing so I took a chance. never regretted it.
A great storyline and read brilliantly can't wait to read the next book.

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Rollercoaster fun !

Fun piece of fantasy/ sci-fi for fans of the ‘Rivers of London’ series. Wry humour about bureaucracy combined with a cracking story and highly creative ideas. Narrator is clear, well matched to the story, and lively but if you’re a Scot (like me) you will cringe at his somewhat uncertain accents voicing the Scots characters!

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