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defrogStill readin’. Still reviewin’. Lucky you.
The Apocalypse Codex by Charles Stross
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I generally like whatever Stross writes, but the Laundry Files – which blend espionage, IT and Lovecraftian horror – are by far my favorite Stross books. This is the fourth in the series, and whereas previous Laundry novels incorporated espionage influences like Harry Palmer and James Bond, this one is a homage to the Modesty Blaise novels. Laundry agent Bob Howard moves up the career ladder by way of External Assets (sort of the Laundry’s version of the Impossible Mission Force). His mission: supervise two freelance agents (Persephone Hazard and Johnny McTavish, who are dead ringers for Blaise and Willie Garvin) investigating a megachurch evangelist with suspiciously charismatic powers who is working his magic on No. 10. As you’d expect, things go wrong. It delivers pretty much what I’d expect from a Laundry novel, and it’s a lot of fun. Some may be bothered by the trope of yet another Christian preacher villain, but in the context of the Laundry universe – where the only supreme beings in town are the Great Old Ones – Stross at least gives it a different twist.
The Damned Busters by Matthew Hughes
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
This is one of those books that should work for me, but for some reason just didn’t. The book-jacket set-up is great: mild-mannered-to-the-point-of-being-emotionally-unavailable actuary Chesney Anstruther accidentally summons a demon from Hell and refuses to sign the customary deal, causing Hell to go on strike, which has consequences on Earth. Chesney finally negotiates a deal to become a superhero with powers on demand from a sidekick demon with a Cagney fixation. It's a nice twist on the superhero genre, but while the superhero scenes are rather fun, everything else – from Chesney’s day job and personal life to the Heaven/Hell angle – falls flat more often than not. The result is a pretty uneven book. I will say that Hughes does a great job portraying Chesney as a complete social maladroit who understands numbers better than he does people. But it's not really enough to carry the whole book. Other comic-book fans might enjoy this, but it wasn't really for me.
Waiting Period by Hubert Selby Jr.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Selby’s final novel about a suicidal war veteran who tries to buy a gun to kill himself. A computer glitch delays approval of the purchase for a few days, during which he has a revelation: why kill himself when he could be killing people who deserve it – starting with the VA clerk who denied him his benefits? The story is told in the psychotic stream-of-consciousness internal dialogue that Selby does so well (with intermittent commentary from a mystery character who watches and approves of his development into a righteous serial killer), and it does a pretty good job of expressing the fears and anger that drives the man to kill. But somehow it lacks the impact of Selby’s best books, if only by comparison. It also feels unfinished, as though Selby didn’t follow the story to its logical conclusion. That may have been the point, but it does feel anticlimactic.
The Sour Lemon Score by Richard Stark
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The 12th book in the Parker series, which varies the formula by focusing not on the heist, but the double-cross that opens the story. George Uhl decides a four-way split isn’t enough, especially when the take turns out lower than expected. When Uhl starts gunning down the crew, Parker gets away. So does Uhl, and Parker spends the rest of the story ruthlessly tracking him down. Apart from that, it’s more of the same, but in a good way, and with an unusual (by Parker standards) twist ending.
Spy Line by Len Deighton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The second book in the second Bernard Samson trilogy, in which Samson manages to get out of the trouble he got into in Spy Hook, and is sent to Vienna to pick up a package from a stamp auction. As usual, what is supposed to be a straightforward assignment turns out to be far more complicated – in this case, to the point of taking one of the central points of the series storyline and turning it completely on its head. This installment really delivers the goods as a spy yarn, to include some genuine surprises and an exciting ending, albeit one that raises more questions for the next installment, which I’m looking forward to reading.
Hooked,
This is dF
The Apocalypse Codex by Charles StrossMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I generally like whatever Stross writes, but the Laundry Files – which blend espionage, IT and Lovecraftian horror – are by far my favorite Stross books. This is the fourth in the series, and whereas previous Laundry novels incorporated espionage influences like Harry Palmer and James Bond, this one is a homage to the Modesty Blaise novels. Laundry agent Bob Howard moves up the career ladder by way of External Assets (sort of the Laundry’s version of the Impossible Mission Force). His mission: supervise two freelance agents (Persephone Hazard and Johnny McTavish, who are dead ringers for Blaise and Willie Garvin) investigating a megachurch evangelist with suspiciously charismatic powers who is working his magic on No. 10. As you’d expect, things go wrong. It delivers pretty much what I’d expect from a Laundry novel, and it’s a lot of fun. Some may be bothered by the trope of yet another Christian preacher villain, but in the context of the Laundry universe – where the only supreme beings in town are the Great Old Ones – Stross at least gives it a different twist.
The Damned Busters by Matthew HughesMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
This is one of those books that should work for me, but for some reason just didn’t. The book-jacket set-up is great: mild-mannered-to-the-point-of-being-emotionally-unavailable actuary Chesney Anstruther accidentally summons a demon from Hell and refuses to sign the customary deal, causing Hell to go on strike, which has consequences on Earth. Chesney finally negotiates a deal to become a superhero with powers on demand from a sidekick demon with a Cagney fixation. It's a nice twist on the superhero genre, but while the superhero scenes are rather fun, everything else – from Chesney’s day job and personal life to the Heaven/Hell angle – falls flat more often than not. The result is a pretty uneven book. I will say that Hughes does a great job portraying Chesney as a complete social maladroit who understands numbers better than he does people. But it's not really enough to carry the whole book. Other comic-book fans might enjoy this, but it wasn't really for me.
Waiting Period by Hubert Selby Jr.My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Selby’s final novel about a suicidal war veteran who tries to buy a gun to kill himself. A computer glitch delays approval of the purchase for a few days, during which he has a revelation: why kill himself when he could be killing people who deserve it – starting with the VA clerk who denied him his benefits? The story is told in the psychotic stream-of-consciousness internal dialogue that Selby does so well (with intermittent commentary from a mystery character who watches and approves of his development into a righteous serial killer), and it does a pretty good job of expressing the fears and anger that drives the man to kill. But somehow it lacks the impact of Selby’s best books, if only by comparison. It also feels unfinished, as though Selby didn’t follow the story to its logical conclusion. That may have been the point, but it does feel anticlimactic.
The Sour Lemon Score by Richard StarkMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The 12th book in the Parker series, which varies the formula by focusing not on the heist, but the double-cross that opens the story. George Uhl decides a four-way split isn’t enough, especially when the take turns out lower than expected. When Uhl starts gunning down the crew, Parker gets away. So does Uhl, and Parker spends the rest of the story ruthlessly tracking him down. Apart from that, it’s more of the same, but in a good way, and with an unusual (by Parker standards) twist ending.
Spy Line by Len DeightonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
The second book in the second Bernard Samson trilogy, in which Samson manages to get out of the trouble he got into in Spy Hook, and is sent to Vienna to pick up a package from a stamp auction. As usual, what is supposed to be a straightforward assignment turns out to be far more complicated – in this case, to the point of taking one of the central points of the series storyline and turning it completely on its head. This installment really delivers the goods as a spy yarn, to include some genuine surprises and an exciting ending, albeit one that raises more questions for the next installment, which I’m looking forward to reading.
Hooked,
This is dF
