Fun story mixing fantasy with contemporary technology that veils a social critique. The target reader is probably teenager as many of the dialogues are a rich with cute twists of language that can get a bit tedious. Full of interesting ideas, strong characters, good dramatic drive...

What is not as good is the narrative structure that is the parallel story of four situations that converge to a shared explanatory end. But the different scenes are so far apart and a bit lacking in intrinsic story arc that as a reader I felt I was waiting to understand how things related before deciding to really invest into the story. ( )

This series reminds me of waking up in a hotel room while on a business trip. I first try to remind myself where I am and how I got there, which was very difficult in this book. Then I think about what will happen, which for this book is where it gets better.

Overall, interesting characters in a situation that’s gotten farther and farther from our reality kind of works, but it’s a struggle. While I look forward to the next book in the series, I also look forward to the end of the series. ( )

My initial reaction to the "New Management" spin-off series was a mixed bag. It certainly demonstrated that there was still "life" in Stross' basic concept, but I wasn't quite sold on this new collection of characters who labor in the shadow of Britain's new eldritch overlord. Well, this installment was truly a blast, as the gang introduced in "Dead Lies Dreaming," particularly Eve Starkey, have discovered that their problems have only just begun. While Eve needs to truly free herself from the snares of her erstwhile employer, several new characters are introduced. One, Amy Sullivan, is the long-suffering subordinate of her uber-blonde boss, who just happens to be a cult priestess. The other is one Mary McCandless, who "volunteered" for the job of kidnapping the children of two high-profile super-powered cops; nothing could possibly go wrong with that! The point being is that all three of these arcs come together in the best set-piece climax that Stross has come up since "The Nightmare Stacks." I'm now looking forward with a lot of enthusiasm to "Season of Skulls."

I would note that in this book Stross is layering on the body horror as thickly as he did in "Equoid." ( )

This is the second book of the spinoff series, and it picks up right after the end of the previous book. There is some backstory given but you will miss some backstory on the minor characters in this book. There are two storylines that intersect by the end of the book. The first is Eve dealing with a poison pill that her missing boss put in her new hire paperwork. The second has the four children of two superheroes being kidnapped and the kidnapper finding out that the kids have powers as well. I won’t say how the two storylines meet by the end, but it does make sense.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss ( )

Like "Dead Lies Dreaming," another children's lit-framed story branching off "The Laundry Files" since the New Management, Nyarlathotep, assumed control of UK government. Mary (not Poppins) steps in as nanny for the four Banks children (not Jane and Michael, but yes to the twins) who, like their parents, turn out to have metahuman abilities. Meanwhile, Wendy and the Lost Boys are on the case of cultists who have taken over a supermarket which is industrializing human sacrifice.

Why I picked it up: I like the series enough to keep going, although I liked it better when it was just bureaucrats and hackers against the Lovecraftian meltdown.

Why I finished it: Gideon Emery is a great reader. Bonus points for pronouncing geas correctly.

I'd give it to: Someone already invested in the series; I'm not sure this holds up as a standalone. ( )