List Price: $27.99 Details

Save: $10.70 (38%)

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns

FREE delivery Monday, February 13 if you spend $25 on items shipped by Amazon

In Stock.

As an alternative, the Kindle eBook is available now and can be read on any device with the free Kindle app. Want to listen? Try Audible.

[{"displayPrice":"$17.29","priceAmount":17.29,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"17","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"29","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"ppbW3CIyAjHjklb6KPY8%2FY3x9fmBofhHA9AbtXf%2F0aMB8PAYOkajhHn2qWAL7tCowBAYOyaFYMQlFJHEBEXYrCFc0iG%2BoHVFm0ptBeTDinvvSvfAjv%2B9Num%2BTYjHVDMk0esSJr5OUZdMDbOJ7zn%2F7w%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW"},{"displayPrice":"$8.99","priceAmount":8.99,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"8","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"99","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"VORFxGQg1jXogRBwxTbA9D9aXep6R2KdtpkmdJYVunskjCAFy%2BiAiSSzla7lFJOx84YPLGWpQxaTg5bQUt1Lm38hn8Wwe5gJ3pCXJ100Y3vlkb5OxOQ361ghFQrXo2%2FCffQcUiaHnN1dPo16duzOFPrrC6v3S02Yc80AD2fRlneRPfGfeQ3idbdq1dTqPonH","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED"}]

$$17.29 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Secure transaction

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Details

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Return policy: Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

Add a gift receipt for easy returns

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime

FREE delivery Wednesday, February 15 if you spend $25 on items shipped by Amazon

Select delivery location

Used: Good | Details

Sold by Jnwsk

Fulfilled by Amazon

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Have one to sell?

Sell on Amazon

Other Sellers on Amazon

Added

Not added

$12.58
+ $4.49 shipping

Sold by: big_river_books

Added

Not added

$17.07
& FREE Shipping

Sold by: SHAHIKA

Added

Not added

$17.09
FREE Shipping on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon.

Sold by: Warehouse_Department

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See this image

Follow the Author

Charles Stross

Quantum of Nightmares (Laundry Files, 11) Hardcover – January 11, 2022

by Charles Stross (Author)

1,296 ratings

Book 11 of 12: Laundry Files

Editors' pick Best Science Fiction & Fantasy

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$14.99

—

Audible Audiobook, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$0.00

Free with your Audible trial

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$17.29

$12.58

$5.95

Paperback

"Please retry"

$15.46

$11.67

$19.68

Kindle
$14.99 Read with Our Free App
Audiobook
$0.00 Free with your Audible trial
Hardcover
$17.29

32 Used from $5.95 30 New from $12.58
Paperback
$15.46

1 Used from $19.68 5 New from $11.67

Enhance your purchase

A unique blend of espionage thrills and Lovecraftian horror, Hugo Award-winning author Charles Stross's Laundry Files continues with Quantum of Nightmares.

It’s a brave new Britain under the New Management. The avuncular Prime Minister is an ancient eldritch god of unimaginable power. Crime is plummeting as almost every offense is punishable by death. And everywhere you look, there are people with strange powers, some of which they can control, and some, not so much.

Hyperorganized and formidable, Eve Starkey defeated her boss, the louche magical adept and billionaire Rupert de Montfort Bigge, in a supernatural duel to the death. Now she’s in charge of the Bigge Corporation―just in time to discover the lethal trap Rupert set for her long ago.

Wendy Deere’s transhuman abilities have gotten her through many a scrape. Now she’s gainfully employed investigating unauthorized supernatural shenanigans. She swore to herself she wouldn’t again get entangled with Eve Starkey’s bohemian brother Imp and his crew of transhuman misfits. Yeah, right.

Mary Macandless has powers of her own. Right now she’s pretending to be a nanny in order to kidnap the children of a pair of famous, Government-authorized superheroes. These children have powers of their own, and Mary Macandless is in way over her head.

Amanda Sullivan is the HR manager of a minor grocery chain, much oppressed by her glossy blonde boss―who is cooking up an appalling, extralegal scheme literally involving human flesh.

All of these stories will come together, with world-bending results...

"For all of Stross's genuine ability to spook and dismay, The Laundry Files are some of the most tremendously humane books I've ever read."
―Tamsyn Muir, author of Gideon the Ninth and Harrow the Ninth

Print length

368 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Tordotcom
Publication date

January 11, 2022
Dimensions

5.78 x 1.31 x 8.44 inches
ISBN-10

1250839378
ISBN-13

978-1250839374
See all details

Frequently bought together

+
+

Total price:

To see our price, add these items to your cart.

Choose items to buy together.

by Charles Stross Hardcover
$17.29
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Get it as soon as Monday, Feb 13
by Charles Stross Hardcover
$17.99
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Get it as soon as Sunday, Feb 12
by Charles Stross Hardcover
$15.89
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Get it as soon as Monday, Feb 13

Charles Stross
1,079
Hardcover
53 offers from $4.80
Charles Stross
Hardcover
1 offer from $28.99
Charles Stross
1,236
Paperback
14 offers from $7.43
Charles Stross
50
Paperback
27 offers from $3.50
Charles Stross
1,075
Paperback
11 offers from $9.42
Charles Stross
1,130
Paperback
11 offers from $7.38

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 (January 11, 2022)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250839378
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250839374
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.7 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.78 x 1.31 x 8.44 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #568,415 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #6,612 in Dark Fantasy
- #22,771 in Paranormal & Urban Fantasy (Books)

Customer Reviews:
1,296 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Charles Stross

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

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

4.4 out of 5

1,296 global ratings

5 star		53%
4 star		35%
3 star		10%
2 star		2%
1 star 0% (0%)		0%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Leon Malinofsky

Vintage Stross

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 19, 2023

Verified Purchase

The integration of Lovecraft elements was delicious Combine that with quicksilver plot elements in a frankly science fiction world, with touches of outright magic and eldritch power, and Quantum of Nightmares is the powerhouse result

Helpful

LA in Dallas

Pan vs Poppins via Sweeney Todd

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 24, 2022

Verified Purchase

OK, let's start by clarifying what this book is. It is not really Book 11 in The Laundry Files, but rather Book 2 in The New Management Series. The New Management is a spin-off series that takes place in the world of The Laundry Files as we left it after the events of The Delirium Brief and The Labyrinth Index. The United Kingdom is now governed by the Black Pharaoh (who is Prime Minister), whose inclinations tend towards the medieval. The New Management is a completely new series with completely new stories and completely new characters. You won't see old friends Bob, Mo, Mhari, Alex, and Cassie here. (Stross has clarified on his blog that he will probably write one last Laundry Files novel to wrap up the old stories. But The New Management is not that.)

So, what IS Quantum of Nightmares about? Well, The New Management can be summed up as Lovecraftian horror takes on classic English children's literature. Dead Lies Dreaming was Peter Pan, with a truly terrifying Tinkerbell. The Peter Pan characters are major players still in Quantum of Nightmares, but they are joined by the Banks family and a nanny named Mary -- Yes! It's Mary Poppins! With a large dose of Sweeney Todd mixed in.

I thoroughly enjoyed Quantum of Nightmares. But I found it a bit disappointing in two ways, which accounts for the mere four-star rating. First, the horror was less imaginative than in Dead Lies Dreaming, which was built on fear and nightmare and lunacy. In Quantum of Nightmares, there's a lot of your basic biological gross-out action. I am a card-carrying biologist. Images of maggots in spoiled meat do not horrify me, or even disgust me. Decay is just recycling.

The second thing is that the magic of Quantum of Nightmares is conventional. The most truly innovative idea of The Laundry Files is that "Magic is a branch of Applied Mathematics". There is a detailed theory of magic, and most professional practitioners work with computers and other information technology. Hints of that perspective are still detectable in Quantum of Nightmares. For instance, this quote: "The Bishop sent me an email at the end of last week via an after-death service provider." However, Stross's creative theory of magic has all but vanished from Quantum of Nightmares, and that makes the book more like every other fantasy novel.

9 people found this helpful

Helpful

Dano from Chelsea

Modern times Runs amuck as magic lends a hand

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 24, 2022

Verified Purchase

A funny concept Goes the full distance when misplaced children combat Medieval cultists And honestly that's just the beginning. With it's London and surrounds you'll Have a pleasant change of scenery.

Helpful

We're Gonna Need a Bigger Laundry

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 25, 2022

Verified Purchase

The Laundry is closed, the Files have spontaneously burned, and the world has forever changed. The publisher is passing this book off as an installment in Charles Stross' popular "Laundry Files" series, but Stross himself has warned his readers it's not that at all, despite existing in the same fictional universe.

In an England now ruled by the New Management and spiced with what appear to be a large number of thaumaturgically adept "transhumans," Imp, GameBoy and the gang from "Dead Lies Dreaming" (in my opinion a prerequisite to and defacto first half of "Quantum of Nightmares") find themselves in a running battle with seriously Dark Forces. Meanwhile, Mr. and Mrs. Banks have engaged a new Nanny named Mary, who pops in with some rather amazing abilities to care for the four rebellious Banks children. There will be tears before bedtime, including some tears in the fabric of the universe.

All the usual Stross notes are played, including some rather extreme violence, a strong antireligious theme, and large servings of both slapstick and insider humor. The interwoven stories are well laid out and flawlessly executed (as are some of the characters) and the book is a fast-paced read. The next book in this "New Management" series, "Season of Skulls", is mostly written and will probably be published in January of 2023, according to Stross' blog, while another actual Laundry Files book (after the novelette, "Escape from Yokai Land", to be released on March 1, 2022) is still in process.

If you've enjoyed the Laundry Files series, this spinoff might interest you.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

JCND

Love the Laundry Files

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

Verified Purchase

Charles Stross is one of my favorite authors, and the world he’s created in the Laundry Files is infinitely fascinating. Really enjoyed this adventure!

Helpful

Daniel J Marner

The world of the Laundry Files somehow manages to get even darker. Still a great read.

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

Verified Purchase

Me: "I've read so many dystopian novels I can't be surprised or depressed by them any more."
Stross: "Hold my beer and watch this..."

Seriously. The GOOD guys work for the evil autarch and we are rooting for them over the worse guys. It's a dark place. Also, cannibalism and the corresponding meat processing are a major theme. So avoid this one if you're squeamish about that.
That said, Stross still rolls out clever and amusing twists in his Laundry Files books and this one certainly does not disappoint. Our protagonists are a power-grasping CEO, an amoral kidnapper and an HR Assistant. But we learn that there are some things the CEO won't do for power, the kidnapper actually has a (small) soft spot for kids, and the HR person... well, at least she doesn't enjoy her job. You end up rooting for them because you like them, not just because the bad guys are so much worse.
Don't start with this book if you haven't read previous Laundry Files books. It stands alone but I suspect you will be confused if you jump in without reading some previous books and you will definitely miss a lot of references. Start reading with Book 1 and watch as the world goes to hell in a handbasket. Or more accurately, as hell comes to Earth by the truckload.
This series has evolved a lot from the beginning but remains a "read on day one" selection. And, for some reason, we're getting another book in March!

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Kindle Customer

STRONG AND STABLE!! ALL GLORY TO THE NEW MANAGEMENT!!!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 15, 2022

Verified Purchase

Another wonderful book from Stross. The satire is getting stronger but looking at British politics and society how could it not be. All the wit and chaos you expect from the Laundry series. The horror is the recognisable 21st century Britain. Turning the unemployed into cheap food; there's a Tory manifesto promise right there. The cruelty is the point...

JUCHE BRITANNIA!! BREXIT MEANS BREXIT!! STRONG AND STABLE!! ALL GLORY TO THE NEW MANAGEMENT!!! IÄ! IÄ! CTHULHU PTHAGHN!!!

9 people found this helpful

Mr. S. RAFFERTY

Stross at his finest

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on June 14, 2022

Verified Purchase

Every time I read a book by Charles Stross it makes me question whether in fact our reality is that far removed from his fiction. No we dont have a tzompantli atop of Marble Arch but I do wonder whether our current government is protected by some powerful glamour. Data is the new magic and the more that we invest in technology so our lives are more manipulated and controlled without us even being aware of it. Mega-companies are the new church / cults with followers blindly following and buying anything and everything that they produce, blindly and unquestioningly. Back to the book, it is a fantastic progression into the world under the new management and how life could be under an ultra-authoritarian dictatorship where the poor have no voice. Almost a modern take on Soylent Green.

4 people found this helpful

Ian Bertram

All the fantasies of QAnon made flesh and turned up to 11

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 17, 2022

Verified Purchase

Although often funny this is a bitter Swiftian parody of our present situation. The first volume of the 'New Management' books was a big step away from the Laundry series, but this takes everything to a new level, taking all the fantasies of QAnon up to 11 or even higher.

3 people found this helpful

Kindle Customer

Good but

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 25, 2022

Verified Purchase

I still miss the laundry files, Bob and the crew. Simpler times maybe, but characters I actually liked.
Worth it if you're already invested though, part of the cult of the poet Stross perhaps!

3 people found this helpful

Bernard A

Excellent twisted occult romp

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 19, 2022

Verified Purchase

Of course anything by Charles Stross is pretty much guaranteed to be wonderful and this is no exception. I found it a little slow to begin, but as the pace picked up I was totally gripped. The New Management books lack the laugh out loud humour of the Laundry Files books, but it's witty, clever and often deeply horrific.

One person found this helpful

See all reviews

Buy new: $17.29$17.29 FREE delivery: Monday, Feb 13 on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon. Ships from: Amazon.com Sold by: Amazon.com

Buy Used: $8.99

Other Sellers on Amazon

Follow the Author

Quantum of Nightmares (Laundry Files, 11) Hardcover – January 11, 2022

Enhance your purchase

Frequently bought together

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Product details

Videos

About the author

Charles Stross

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries

Buy new:

$17.29

FREE delivery: Monday, Feb 13 on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon.

Ships from: Amazon.com

Sold by: Amazon.com

Buy Used:

$8.99