Friday, January 18, 2013

Stross, Charles: The Apocalypse Codex

Another book about the adventures of Bob Howard who has been promoted in the Laundry, the branch of the Secret Service dealing with the paranormal and other worlds.   As with the earlier books, one has to accept that there are monsters and that magic can defeat them while the normal everyday activities go on with the standard risks from guns and other hazards.   Howard uses an outward appearance of a bungler as a weapon as it makes people underestimate him.   Here, he is teamed up with two agents with greater powers who are decidedly superior in rank (not that he knows this) to deal with an evangelical cult based in Colorado whose leader is about to summon the Sleeper who feeds on human souls by the thousand and whose re-awakening will lead to the end of the world.   What transpires is definitely logical with none of the 'with one leap he was free' elisions that spoil lesser thrillers.   The path to final success is anything but straightforward but Stross keeps things moving and holds the attention effortlessly.   Well up to the earlier books in the series showing a development in Howard's career.

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