ankh_hpl | My Goodreads review: The Rhesus Chart

The Rhesus Chart by Charles Stross

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

If you’re a Laundry loyalist – and I am – you’ll want to read this one no matter what. The Rhesus Chart is absolutely essential to the ongoing eldritch history of Bob Howard and the approach of CASE NIGHTMARE GREEN (aka When the Stars Turn Right), & the ending is heartbreaking. The arcane history of the Laundry (who knew it went back to Elizabethan times?) is also fleshed out in some detail, as is the very complicated relationship between Bob & his boss Angleton. Full points for world-building here.

That said, however, this was far from my favorite Laundry File. No matter how well-justified in Lovecraftian terms, vampires – sorry, PHANGS – just do not fit well into this dark SF universe. Or at least, they didn’t for me. I have no problem whatsoever with urban fantasy, & regard it as a favorite guilty pleasure – but I wasn’t prepared for elder vampire duels in Laundry London.

I’m really sorry not to be able to rate this one higher. Stross’s style is as darkly witty as ever, and Bob’s relationship with his wife Mo (and her sanguinary violin) gets some much-needed attention. PHANGS or no PHANGS, I’ll be preordering the next File.

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