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Charles Stross

Escape from Yokai Land (Laundry Files, 12) Hardcover – March 1, 2022

by Charles Stross (Author)

1,079 ratings

Part of: Laundry Files

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Regular readers of Charles Stross's Laundry Files might have noticed Bob Howard's absence from the events of The Nightmare Stacks, and his subsequent return from Tokyo at the start of The Delirium Brief.

Escape from Yokai Land explains what he was doing there.

Bob's been assigned to work with the Miyamoto Group, checking the wards that lock down Japan's warded sites―a task previously handled by his predecessor Dr. Angleton, the Eater of Souls. This mostly involves policing yokai: traditional magical beings, increasingly grown more annoying and energetic.

But then Bob's simple trip turns into a deadly confrontation with the ultimate yokai. It's massively powerful. It's pink. And it says "Hello."

Print length

96 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Tordotcom
Publication date

March 1, 2022
Dimensions

6.34 x 0.51 x 8.13 inches
ISBN-10

1250805708
ISBN-13

978-1250805706
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

CHARLES STROSS (he/him) is a full-time science fiction writer and resident of Edinburgh, Scotland. He has won three Hugo Awards for Best Novella, including for the Laundry Files tale “Equoid.” His work has been translated into over twelve languages. His novels include the bestselling Merchant Princes series, the Laundry series (including Locus Award finalist The Dilirium Brief), and several stand-alones including Glasshouse, Accelerando, and Saturn's Children.

Like many writers, Stross has had a variety of careers, occupations, and job-shaped catastrophes, from pharmacist (he quit after the second police stakeout) to first code monkey on the team of a successful dot-com startup (with brilliant timing, he tried to change employers just as the bubble burst) to technical writer and prolific journalist covering the IT industry. Along the way he collected degrees in pharmacy and computer science, making him the world’s first officially qualified cyberpunk writer.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tordotcom (March 1, 2022)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 96 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250805708
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250805706
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.34 x 0.51 x 8.13 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #650,368 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #7,153 in Dark Fantasy
- #24,565 in Paranormal & Urban Fantasy (Books)

Customer Reviews:
1,079 ratings

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Charles Stross

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Charles Stross, 50, is a full-time science fiction writer and resident of Edinburgh, Scotland. The author of six Hugo-nominated novels and winner of the 2005, 2010, and 2015 Hugo awards for best novella, Stross's works have been translated into over twelve languages.

Like many writers, Stross has had a variety of careers, occupations, and job-shaped-catastrophes in the past, from pharmacist (he quit after the second police stake-out) to first code monkey on the team of a successful dot-com startup (with brilliant timing he tried to change employer just as the bubble burst).

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5

1,079 global ratings

5 star		42%
4 star		33%
3 star		17%
2 star		4%
1 star		3%

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LA in Dallas

The Hello Kitty monster

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 4, 2022

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Escape from Yokai Land is a fun little novella in Charles Stross's Laundry Files series. Unlike the recently released Dead Lies Dreaming and Quantum of Nightmares, which are advertised on the covers as being Laundry Files books but aren't really -- (Stross has explained on his blog that they are the first novels in a spin-off series, Tales of the New Management), Escape from Yokai Land is a bona fide Laundry Files story. It is told in the first person by Bob Howard. Several other characters from The Laundry Files are mentioned or show up briefly at the beginning.

However, most of the book is about Bob's work in Japan, most of it with a Japanese woman/thing named Dr Yoko Suzuki, who is a member of Japan's occult secret services. Bob has been called in to clean up a mess left behind by his predecessor James Angleton in Japan. Bob, as the new Eater of Souls, is the best the Laundry has to offer. And Angleton, it appears, left a stink behind him, managing to piss off his Japanese hosts royally, so Bob is kind of in a trap, but also kind of in a position to come out smelling like a rose, if only he can avoid being as bad as Angleton was.

Yokailand is a stand-in for Puroland, the (real) Hello Kitty theme park near Tokyo, which because of trademark issues Stross had to avoid mentioning by name. But it is obviously recognizable. In fact, the whole story is an indiscrete giggle at the absurd cuteness (Stross tends to use the British "twee" and "squee" to describe it). I'd be interested to know how Japanese readers respond to it.

So, a lot of fun, but not deep.

3 people found this helpful

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Peter Newman

Wonderful story, but short

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 11, 2022

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I loved this book but it is just a novella, don't pay too much for it.

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Bob Is Back

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 2, 2022

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"Escape From Yokai Land" is a flashback to the early, fun days of the Laundry series. To get the issue of cost out of the way, yes it is high priced for a novella. But I was so glad to hear Bob's acid takes on his job and experiences again that I didn't much care.

We now get to find out what Bob was up to during the events of "The Nightmare Stacks," and in fact the start of the novella contains a subtle bit of foreshadowing when Bob refers to "anomalous readings near Malham Cove." This is where the climax of "Nightmare Stacks" takes place. Briefly, Bob is posted to Japan to (a) check a list of warded sites that his predecessor Angleton previously dealt with and (b) help with an outbreak of newer anomalies which appear to be escalating.

As always, Bob is stuck squarely behind the eight ball despite his new status as the Eater of Souls. Author Charles Stross accomplishes this in a few clever and inventive ways: Bob doesn't speak Japanese; his hosts have not-so-fond memories of Angleton, who apparently went old-school British on them; and Angleton's notes, an essential resource, are first missing and then, when found, prove to be unreadable. Once again Bob has to rely on his skills and smarts to save the day.

I've never been a fan of Hello Kitty or the kawaii aesthetic, and Bob's reactions to same are utterly hilarious, starting with his hotel room. My only complaint is that the novella's brevity limits our time with our hero. I hope Mr. Stross will provide us with more prequel stories in the future. Recommended.

6 people found this helpful

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Rachael Mayo

Pricey for a novella, but still a fantastic story

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 29, 2022

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Bob Howard is back for a brief romp through yokai-infested Japan. We've missed Bob terribly since the Laundry Files has started to introduce some new characters over the last four books, so it was good to see him out and about, dealing with the fallout of Code Nightmare Green in a place outside of Great Britain. This was a well-wrought, quick read, and I do recommend it for anyone who is a fan of the Laundry Files. The only drawback is the price - for a novella, it seems rather high. I might recommend the Kindle version if you are dying for a Bob-fix. But if you like the physical books as I do, you still will want this one for your collection.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 5, 2022

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Bob Howard, that is - anti-hero, host for an ancient evil known as the Eater of Souls, and employee of that famous British civil service organisation, The Laundry. There are shenanigans involving an animated Hello Kitty, subtle allusions TWICE to Harlan Ellison’s most grotesque short story AND more obviously to a famous old SF story....

And it’s too short. Charles Stross brings back Bob Howard, and puts him in an adventure that took me maybe 40 minutes to finish (I had ice cream in the middle to make it seem longer), and leaves me wanting MORE. I like the Laundry technocyber magic far more than I liked the two most recent books - Charles, please go back there? Please???

One person found this helpful

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Jamie C

Nothing much meat in the sandwich; not what you hoped for

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 12, 2022

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Stross' Laundry Files series is legendary, and for most of its run has been excellent, witty, high-quality sci-fi. Readers built up quite an affinity for his protagonist(s)… who dropped out in the last few books with an unsatisfying and unexplained absence, as if the author is unable to sustain a plot line with a POV character who's a grownup, or at least over 29.
This unexpectedly-short novella (novelette? hors d'oeuvre? spitball?) was hyped as the return of the once-lead character Bob.
But it's short, formulaic, and a flashback, which doesn't tie in at all to or further any of the narrative of the series. If you wanted to know what happened to Bob, or his agency, or any of their life arcs professionally or personally, this hastily-scribbled side yarn won't tell you a darn thing. The big bad is a monochromatic, one-line joke, a distinct downgrade from Stross' usual nuanced characters, villains and monsters. Goodbye kitty.

2 people found this helpful

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PAS

5 star story, 1 star price

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 7, 2022

Verified Purchase

Others have made the same point so I don't want to belabour it, but really when the price of a book suggests you're buying another novel in a series now up to about 10 in number, must I really check the number of pages to be sure I'm not buying a short story?

None of the Laundry novels are long, but they're novels, not novellas. I'm not sure this one even qualifies as a novella.

That said, Mr Stross has always been cool about DRM, and no doubt has lost more than a few quid along the way as a result. I am happy to see him make a crust from another excellent chapter in the series. I would have bought it anyway, frankly. But I'd've felt a bit better about it if I'd known up front that it was over in 81pp.

16 people found this helpful

Steve X

£7.29 for that - you have to be kidding me!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 7, 2022

Verified Purchase

OK, so first out - it's the return of Bob, who is a much more endearing character than anyone in the New Management series, so there's that.

But once you get beyond that point - this is a very slight story, limited in detail and plot, not brilliantly edited, and feels like it was dashed off in a lunchtime. After waiting years for this, it was really, really substandard and very disappointing.

12 people found this helpful

Thomas Pegg

A decent novella at the price of a full book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 6, 2022

Verified Purchase

I'm not going to go full internet rage monster and give this 1 star because I feel taken advantage of, but I am going to post this in the hopes people are at least making an informed decision - if you are happy paying the price of a book for a solid but brief visit to Bob Howard land then this will suit you fine, if you feel this is rather too much to pay for a short story/novella then I would hold off until it is reduced in price or wrapped into a larger collection.

Having been a little disappointed by the recent, albeit enjoyable, move away from the main Laundry Files arc I was really looking forward to this and simply assumed that the standard pricing meant a standard book length. Caveat emptor I suppose.

Anyway the story is well written and any LF fan will enjoy it.

10 people found this helpful

Jon

Too short, too repitetive

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 8, 2022

Verified Purchase

Not impressed. REALLY not impressed. For Stross, this is well under par. I'm giving it a bonus third star because I've enjoyed so many of the stories and every writer has ups and downs, but it honestly doesn't deserve it.

First of all, this isn't a book. It's a novella, bordering on a short story. To be selling it for the price of a novel is outrageous. I thought my Kindle was glitching when the % complete was jumping up in 5% increments, but no, it really is that short.

Even as a short story, it's kinda lame. It feels like Pratchett in his mid-career slump, rinsing and repeating the same motifs over and over without much imagination. It's movies that think, it's guns that think, it's music that thinks...

Well, _Yokai_ is Laundry Files with a Japanese soundtrack. There's no real attempt to convey the unique Japanese environment or culture that others do better. Stross is good at his cybergeek horror, but he's no Murakami.

Lastly, and most importantly, the payoff is REALLY disappointing. This isn't much of a a spoiler because, unless this is your first Bob Howard experience, you already know the words, but you can stop reading now if you want.

Stross *desperately* needs to find a new gimmick for Bob, because every plotline now builds up to "...and then I ate its soul and it was yuck and then we went home."

That's a really lazy cop-out, and when that's the climax of a short story I'm paying book-money for, quadruply so. Not only is the Eater of Souls schtick boringly repetitive now, it's getting worse because of how poorly he's exploring it.

He always highlights just how gross it is to be eating a malignant soul, but at no point does the nausea overwhelm the protagonist in any way. He's always _on the verge_ of throwing up, but never actually puking his guts out, much less and getting his ass handed to him as a result, which would make it a LOT more interesting. I mean, come ON, eating cultist soul makes him feel poorly, and eating GIANT FREAKING JAPANESE MONSTER soul makes him feel...wait for it...full.

Full.

Bob never seems to actually experience a downside that a) make the tired MacGuffin a bit more interesting or b) would make him _not_ resort to the trite deux-ex-machine resolution which would ALSO make the story more interesting. He suffers no physical or metaphysical side effects, no social stigma from those around him, no psychic burden. It's just a perfect weapon that solves every problem without consequences. There's so much Stross could do with this as a theme, but no. He feels full.

Look, if you're a Stross fan, and I am, you're going to buy this and read it regardless. But this isn't even one of his best short stories, and it makes me sad to be sitting here disliking the prospect of seeing Bob again. He deserves so much better, and so do we.

10 people found this helpful

Bernard A

Great read but too short for the price

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 1, 2022

Verified Purchase

Loved it all the way to the end. . . at which point I was left disappointed with the length (less than 100 pages) given the price is that of a full length book.

12 people found this helpful

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