Review: The Jennifer Morgue
Title: The Jennifer Morgue
Author: Charles Stross
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 6 September 2007
Price: £6.99
Review Copy
The Jennifer Morgue is a sequel to The Atrocity Archives and takes place a couple of years after the events in original. Bob Howard has had a promotion to the lowest grade that carries significant managerial responsibility and in the Laundry it’s not always a good thing to have responsibility.
Bob’s mission is stop a megalomaniacal software billionaire from retrieving the device know as ‘the Jennifer Morgue’ though he thinks he’s just sitting in a on a meeting for Andy.
In my last review I said that Bob Howard was not James Bond, well now he kind of is. TJM is a homage to Ian Fleming (TAA was a homage to Len Deighton). The pace is unrelenting as with all good action adventures. There are Stross spins on Bond Gadgets and Bond Girls with one having a sex/death/demon issue and a link to Bob’s brain.
Stross has a vast (over)active imagination. It can get a little confusing when all his ideas cascade over one and other. Luckily this isn’t frustrating but is challenging especially if you have a habit of skim reading.
Stross has created characters and a twist on the world that I could spend books and books in. Geeks aren’t usually heroes, and don’t usually do heroic things – they aren’t usually that interesting but Stross has made geek great.
It’s a packed read that’s quirky, funny and frightening and sometimes all three at the same time..
As an extra there is a bonus short story included. It’s a tease really as I now want to read another little tale from Bob’s day-to-day life.
In the next one I’d love to see the horrors a bit more horrific just to see how far Bob can cope and I want to know more about the origins of his boss Angleton. And if I’m being picky I’d like to have the pace toned down a little bit to have more time to digest stuff.
Though there might be quite a wait for the next one. Not that I mind I need a bit of time to re-read the first two too see the what bits I missed the first time round .
sounds good. another thing to add to the list. you know the more book blogs I read the longer my list gets. not a good thing for my bank account.
I stopped adding up the amount of money I spend on books - though I don’t drink a lot and I don’t smoke so this is my addiction. A book is a better than a pack of cigs any day.
[...] enjoyed reading Charles Stross (see here and here). They even made my books of the year. Halting State from Orbit has had some great reviews like [...]
Glad you enjoyed this one
I really enjoyed The Jennifer Morgue myself and I can’t wait for more Laundry books! (Checks: it’s been over 6 months since I last reviewed Stross! No! Surely not!) 
~Chris
The Book Swede
I’m hoping he does do more. I’ve got Halting State begging me to read it. I’ve just got to get in the place where my brain will accept a second person narrative. I get easily confused!! LOL
I enjoyed it too hope he does more.
Halting state is good but not something for a skim read.
Reading The Clan Coporate at the moment 3rd book in Merchant Princes saga
More fantasy than sf but without the usual dwarves and stuff.