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Quantum of Nightmares (Laundry Files Book 11) by [Charles Stross]

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Charles Stross

Quantum of Nightmares (Laundry Files Book 11) Kindle Edition

by Charles Stross (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

1,289 ratings

Book 11 of 12: Laundry Files

Editors' pick Best Science Fiction & Fantasy

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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

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Print length

361 pages
Language

English
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On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

Tordotcom
Publication date

January 11, 2022
File size

3615 KB
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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.

--This text refers to the hardcover edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B099QJ6L88
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tordotcom (January 11, 2022)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 11, 2022
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3615 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 361 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0356516946

Best Sellers Rank: #194,482 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #609 in Superhero Fantasy eBooks
- #2,043 in Dark Fantasy Horror
- #3,106 in Dark Fantasy

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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

4.4 out of 5

1,289 global ratings

5 star		53%
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2 star		2%
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Leon Malinofsky

Vintage Stross

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

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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

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Dano from Chelsea

Modern times Runs amuck as magic lends a hand

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

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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.

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LA in Dallas

Pan vs Poppins via Sweeney Todd

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

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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.

8 people found this helpful

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We're Gonna Need a Bigger Laundry

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

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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

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JCND

Love the Laundry Files

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

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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!

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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

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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

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Kindle Customer

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

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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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