Jennifer Morgue

Funny as always, interesting to read, fast paced spy plot a la James Bond, actually, and especially. The antagonist hopes to secure his machinations by running a super hero geas, which works until it doesn't, of course. I especially liked the afterword about James Bond novels, which explains why this book feels so much like a Bond / Fleming spy novel. I will definitely read on in this series, but I liked the first book more, actually.

I met Stross in a crypt in London several years ago. He was unknown to me as an author, so I brashly asked him what he'd written. He politely told me "quite a lot" and he suggested I start with ... shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/06/review-the-jennifer-morgue/

This was a bit weird, and I don't mean the story, but the reading of it. On the one hand I read this funny, often hilarious, story about the nerdy protagonist being forced to re-enact a classic Bond (as in 007) plot and it's well written, too. Sometimes a little too detailed on the nerdy stuff ("looking for network interfaces", "corporate windows mono-culture with all the work-stations running the same service-pack") but since I understand all this, it's fun, also power-point bashing is good! But then something does not quite click with me. I tried to analyze what it was and came to the conclusion that I never once doubted the outcome. Just like in the Atrocity Archives the risk soon becomes too great to make the reader believe that the villain will be allowed with his plans. There is not even the option of a partial success for the villain. Also in the end I got kind of confused with what was happening when and where and who was still alive and what happened to the villain in the end, and where's the cat?

Also a little confusing: the totally unrelated - except for the protagonist - story about Neverwinternights in the back.

And why on earth or all the other realities was this thing named "Jennifer Morgue"?

Occult covert ops! I'm a sucker for this. The Black Chamber (US) teams up with The Laundry (UK) to fight occult baddies. I particularly love the merging of hi-tech geekery with the magick of various sorts. So many writers do the either/or thing here, presenting the argument that tech in some way limits a mage or shaman. Tech is a natural extension of magickal abilities, so it's enjoyable to read a good fusion of the two.

I've tried to read Stross in the past, and this is the first one I've finished. Others I've started and then gotten distracted from, and after completing this book, I really feel I should go back and give them another chance. This is fun book that blends modern day techo-geekery, espionage and the Cthulu mythos. On top of that it has fun poking some fun at the James Bond archetype, and there is a rather interesting little essay about the Bond in the back of the book. The essay isn't groundbreaking, but it's an interesting read.

The story itself is enormous fun. It's not a life-changing book by any means, but it merits the fourth star for the entertainment value alone and the fun of having the hero be computer geek wielding bootable Linux on a USB key. The Bond angle is a fun bit of play, with more than a little joking at that titan of pop culture's expense although it isn't really a full deconstruction of the Bond mythos, so if you're looking for profound statements in that regard you will be looking in the wrong place.

I did have one complaint and that was that the Stross takes an obvious short cut in the narrative. Most of the book is told in the first person, with the exception of the prologue, which takes place in the past. The prologue bit, I'm fine with. But there is a moment midway through the book where it shifts to third-person in order to show two other events, one in the past and one in the present. The worst part is that the author steps in as a new narrator speaking directly to the reader (for the only time in the book) and basically says, "Let's go look at these other things for a moment and come back." It's really irritating and takes you out of the story, and it felt like Stross was feeling lazy and couldn't think of another way of getting the related plot points into play. It's only a brief interruption though and things quickly get back on track.

Final conclusion: an enjoyable book, a quick read, and worth your time.