“Bob has been unintentionally working his way up in the Laundry, the secret British agency where computer scientists, mathematicians, and physicists have, by accident, become sorcerers. For every case he’s been on, Bob has sort of bumbled his way into a successful outcome just by using his brains and creativity. Now he’s being groomed for a leadership position, so he needs some people skills. A lot of his preparation involves sitting in boring management training classes and seminars where he has to use role-playing to learn how to navigate the upper levels of the British government’s bureaucracy. This is not fun for Bob. He’s also learning more about how the Laundry functions and he’s surprised to discover that the agency uses “External Assets” when they need something done that is too politically sensitive for a government agency. In this case, the delicate issue is that the Prime Minister has become chummy with a wacky TV evangelist from Colorado Springs. Why is Pastor Schiller trying to get in with the PM? The Laundry suspects something fishy is going on, so they dispatch Persephone Hazard, an External Asset with an unsettling past. Bob is sent to Colorado Springs to monitor her activities and make sure she doesn’t embarrass the Crown… and, of course, he discovers that the something fishy is more than fishy; it’s tentacled, too.”
For the most part, The Apocalypse Codex, the fourth novel in the Laundry Files, plays out like the three previous tales -a playful, nerd filled, silly joke ride through a bizarre universe where demons, sorcerers and things from other realms are trying to break into our world. Stross fully takes on the American fundamentalist Christianity, and tears them a new hole, both for their plotting and in general, a more social commentary look at them. He’s bound to find some his fans a bit pissed off at his remarks. But this is a British science fiction writer (whom seem generally to be atheists) who probably see (via our many “entertainment” channels) certain evangelical Christians reject science, believe the earth is six thousand years old, dress their daughters in long dresses that cover every part of their bodies, and are trying to take over the world. I think the British look at religion less as war for souls, and more something they do on Sunday out of tradition.
Unlike the previous tales, a lot less of The Apocalypse Codex is told through the traditional first person narrative, as it includes Bob narrating third person views, as well as other perspectives, like each member of the free-lance team, the administrator who gives Bob this mission, and some opposing operatives and even Schiller himself. It’s a bit weird, but I can also understand why Stross did this, mostly, I think, because he was introducing some more world-building not previously expounded upon in the three earlier books. It’s sort of like he looked at the trajectory of the series and needed to start dropping more stuff for later volumes. We’ll see, as I go through them.
So I enjoyed the book, even though Stross's maths = magic and Cthulhu tale seemed more designed as a set up for the fifth book than an episodic adventure.
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