Fantasy

Quantum of Nightmares

Quantum of Nightmares

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-01-28 00:16:31
  • Update Date：2025-09-23
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Charles Stross
  • ISBN：0356516938
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

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

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Reviews

Zivan ，

The new management is scary。Trying to manage four kids with superpowers is funny。The combination is very entertaining。

JKD ，

A great cosmic horror comedy romp - the latest act of the Laundry Files really picking up steam！

Robert ，

I liked this more than the previous book in the series， mostly due to less time needing to be spent introducing the characters （and therefore more for the _story_）。 There were a few rough edges， but I'm now more optimistic about the rest of the series！ I liked this more than the previous book in the series， mostly due to less time needing to be spent introducing the characters （and therefore more for the _story_）。 There were a few rough edges， but I'm now more optimistic about the rest of the series！ 。。。more

Steve Hunt ，

Good butI 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！ Good butI 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！ 。。。more

Luiz Marques ，

Quantum of Nightmares， by Charles Stross， is another book in the Laundry series universe （Lovecraft horror/fantasy）， as it carefully points out in the cover， but it doesn't have what used to be the main characters - which I imagine are harder to use now that Bob is super powerful。 The Eater of Souls is only mentioned once in the whole book， as a major threat the government dangles。However， as in the last book， that doesn't make it worse， just different。 The gang from the last book is back （Eve， Quantum of Nightmares， by Charles Stross， is another book in the Laundry series universe （Lovecraft horror/fantasy）， as it carefully points out in the cover， but it doesn't have what used to be the main characters - which I imagine are harder to use now that Bob is super powerful。 The Eater of Souls is only mentioned once in the whole book， as a major threat the government dangles。However， as in the last book， that doesn't make it worse， just different。 The gang from the last book is back （Eve， Imp， Doc， Game boy， Wendy， Deliverator， etc）， and they have to undo a gigantic mess that was started by Rupert， before he disappeared in the end of the last book （it is still unknow if he actually died）。I really like the big plan - feels a little silly but pretty grandiose use of the author's rules for the reality。 。。。more

Dan Trefethen ，

Here's the latest in his series about sorcerers-from-Cthulhu-take-over-the-British-government。 This installment has a side of Sweeney Todd for an especially potent 'ick' factor。 I don't know if Stross intends to turn his readers into vegans， but if so， he did a pretty good job of it。 Here's the latest in his series about sorcerers-from-Cthulhu-take-over-the-British-government。 This installment has a side of Sweeney Todd for an especially potent 'ick' factor。 I don't know if Stross intends to turn his readers into vegans， but if so， he did a pretty good job of it。 。。。more

Aidan ，

A sequel to the spin-off from Stross’ longstanding Laundry Files series， Quantum of Nightmares doesn’t fully transcend its humble origins， but like a plucky social-climbing neo-Victorian （anti）hero， it rises above its station by virtue of sheer demented brio。 3。5/5， but rounded up out of goodwill。To be honest， it doesn’t seem like Stross has been having much fun lately （for very good reasons）， but it’s hard not to cackle at Quantum’s unhinged bad-Mary Poppins plot line or to see the relish Stros A sequel to the spin-off from Stross’ longstanding Laundry Files series， Quantum of Nightmares doesn’t fully transcend its humble origins， but like a plucky social-climbing neo-Victorian （anti）hero， it rises above its station by virtue of sheer demented brio。 3。5/5， but rounded up out of goodwill。To be honest， it doesn’t seem like Stross has been having much fun lately （for very good reasons）， but it’s hard not to cackle at Quantum’s unhinged bad-Mary Poppins plot line or to see the relish Stross takes in a deeply macabre Supermarket Sweeny Todd riff。 There's a bloody， carnivalesque mood that reminds me of the table-flipping nightmare-Brexit capers of The Delirium Brief， which remains the best recent Laundry-verse work。 Quantum never delivers the same giddy shocks， but especially in the middle third of the book it finds a horror-comedy groove that’s more than entertaining。Still， sequels demand continuity， and the obligatory throughline here to Imp， Eve， and the rest of the gang from Dead Lies Dreaming is by far the least interesting of the plots Stross serves up。 We’re thankfully spared the expository dynamics and occasionally-heavy-handed Peter Pan references that took up so much of the last book， but surprisingly little happens to move Imp and Eve’s story forward; Eve catches up with readers’ existing knowledge of how nasty her boss was/is， and Imp and his crew do some…useful support work？ Lounge around？ Play D&D？ It’s hard not to feel like Stross is marking time until the next book for these characters， bouncing our protagonists off extremely stock Nazi-cultist villains even as weirder， funnier action barrels ahead elsewhere。Quantum also has to visibly strain to tie all these pieces together by its end， which requires some risible coincidences and table-setting that bleed momentum exactly when the tension should be peaking。 A really solid conclusion might have excused this， but after all the prep work Stross chews through his final showdown too quickly to take it in。 It’s not quite one of Stross’ famous non-endings （*cough* Saturn’s Children *cough*）， but it does feel as though evocative imagery and sketched-in action beats are being used as placeholders for a rewrite that never came。 It's an unfortunate lapse， and anticlimactic enough that the nitpicks I'd almost swallowed down — five-year-olds don't nap and aren't toddlers， we only need one reminder Eve is a telekinetic who chucks pearls at people， who is this ominous Twilight Zone narrator anyways？ — rise back to the top while you're digesting it all。In the end， though， it's too much fun seeing Stross enjoying himself again， and it’s hard not to hope the last book in the series can somehow marry Quantum’s madcap nihilism and the haunting set pieces of Dead Lies Dreaming into a truly satisfying meal in spite of unpromising ingredients。 A bit like certain meat pies。 。。。more

Trish ，

Charles Stross has still got it。Eve has taken over Rupert's operation and is suddenly uncovering that not only was she （view spoiler）[secretly married to him （hide spoiler）] thanks to her brother not paying attention， good old Rupert was also a much bigger threat than we all believed。 Think bishop-of-a-satanic-cult-that-loves-to-sacrifice-humans kinda threat。 Naturally， not even she can handle this level of shit by herself， especially since we don't know for sure what's happened to Rupert and i Charles Stross has still got it。Eve has taken over Rupert's operation and is suddenly uncovering that not only was she （view spoiler）[secretly married to him （hide spoiler）] thanks to her brother not paying attention， good old Rupert was also a much bigger threat than we all believed。 Think bishop-of-a-satanic-cult-that-loves-to-sacrifice-humans kinda threat。 Naturally， not even she can handle this level of shit by herself， especially since we don't know for sure what's happened to Rupert and if he could come back or left a few magical traps for Eve。 Thus， Imp and his gang are back - and are more entangled with the events unfolding in this book than they/we originally thought， too。 I mean， who could expect Eve's problem， the next generation of superheroes （meta-humans， Officer Friendly has unfortunately disappeared under mysterious circumstances）， kidnapped super-children AND human sacrifices being related？ *snickers*And then there is the weird 3D printing of meat in this creepy future under the New Management that has Wendy investigating the disappearance of people for her company （it is ironic that she and her boss， privately employed thieftakers are more like cops than any actual ones）。 Oh， but let's better not mention the dragons she encounters in HR。 No， this is not a metaphor。 Muhahahahahahahahahaha。Yes， all is connected。 Yes， all of it in a dark-magic kind of way。 Right down to a creepy castle complete with an asshole-butler on an island off the coast of England that is its own legal realm。References to Doctor Who and Terry Pratchett are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the deliciously sarcastic writing this author is pampering us with。 I mean， we even get a cross between Missy and Mrs。 Poppinswith one hell of a Hermione-like handbag - I WANTZ ONE （minus the "corrections" it keeps making）！ We also get loads of snide remarks about retail， big supermarket chains as well as current political dos and don'ts （not preaching， but discretely， darkly humorously pointing out the problems the author sees in RL）。 Which makes the board meeting one of my favourite scenes in the entire book。 *cackles*I have to admit that I didn't love this quite as much as the last one， but I still chuckled frequently and the particular/peculiar magic system created for this world is always a delight。 Not to mention that when things are finally converging， the confrontation is VERY rewarding and 。。。 explosive。 *lol* 。。。more

Gary Fisher ，

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 of Charles Stross' popular "Laundry Files" series， but Stross himself has warned his readers it's not that at all， though it exists in the same 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 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 of Charles Stross' popular "Laundry Files" series， but Stross himself has warned his readers it's not that at all， though it exists in the same 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 subtle 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 the "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。 。。。more

Mark ，

Well， I hope that let Charlie get a few things out of his system。 This book is fun， macabre， and sizzling with not-really-repressed rage。

L ，

Pan vs Poppins via Sweeney ToddOK， 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 compl Pan vs Poppins via Sweeney ToddOK， 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。I have no idea what the title Quantum of Nightmares refers to or how it relates to the content of the book。 。。。more

Annarella ，

Stross can't write a bad or boring book: this one is excellent and gripping。Great storytelling and world building， excellent character development。As it's the second in a series it's better read them in order。Highly recommended。Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC， all opinions are mine Stross can't write a bad or boring book: this one is excellent and gripping。Great storytelling and world building， excellent character development。As it's the second in a series it's better read them in order。Highly recommended。Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC， all opinions are mine 。。。more

Benjamin ，

more laundry is good laundryNothing new here， but nothing to dislike either。 Charlie is displeased with capitalism， as anyone with half a brain should be。 Action-packed occult conflict ensues。 It is what it says on the tin。 If you’re reading the Laundry Files， you’ll read this one as well， and you won’t be disappointed。

Karlo ，

Another fantastic entry in this series。 It was so much fun that I wish it was a 100 pages longer。

Bradley ，

Charlie Stross is going at it with fine verve， yet again。 New Management has ushered in a New World Order full of metahumans， cyborgs， brain-munched sorcerers， and a Lesser Evil installed in government to protect the world from the Greater Evil of the world-eating gibbering eternal horrors。We follow some very interesting， even rather hilarious， adventures involving meat pies， puppets， mind-blowingly evil children on a cross-country romp， deadly corporate traps， a Mute Poet God， and a not-quite-n Charlie Stross is going at it with fine verve， yet again。 New Management has ushered in a New World Order full of metahumans， cyborgs， brain-munched sorcerers， and a Lesser Evil installed in government to protect the world from the Greater Evil of the world-eating gibbering eternal horrors。We follow some very interesting， even rather hilarious， adventures involving meat pies， puppets， mind-blowingly evil children on a cross-country romp， deadly corporate traps， a Mute Poet God， and a not-quite-named-Kroger's grocery store involving cultists。 And it might be best not to mention HR。 Please。 Just don't mention HR。 Or the dragons。In other words， it's a Tuesday。 And as long as you're buying pizza， I'm rolling my dice。A great flood of characters， wonderful multiple plotlines that eventually slam together， and all the best feel of Stross's Laundry Files in a Brave New World （of Lovecraftian monstrosities）。 I look forward to these SO MUCH and they always carry me away。 。。。more

Bentgaidin ，

'Quantum of Nightmares' is Mary Poppins crossing paths with Sweeney Todd， by way of Lovecraft and superhero comics， the latest in Stross's magical dystopian Laundry Files books。 It's also just a good action thriller， with tangled plots gradually weaving together as some of the events of the last book start catching up with people。 （'Dead Lies Dreaming' is also a good jumping on point， and a great way to get started without going back through ten-odd previous volumes。） Of course， having prevented 'Quantum of Nightmares' is Mary Poppins crossing paths with Sweeney Todd， by way of Lovecraft and superhero comics， the latest in Stross's magical dystopian Laundry Files books。 It's also just a good action thriller， with tangled plots gradually weaving together as some of the events of the last book start catching up with people。 （'Dead Lies Dreaming' is also a good jumping on point， and a great way to get started without going back through ten-odd previous volumes。） Of course， having prevented one disaster still hasn't taken care of all the looming threats， so I'm really looking forward to what the next book does。 。。。more

Boyan ，

Yeah， this is the good kind of insane comedic horror。

Dees Dorszewska ，

Too much meat， too much repeating things， much too obvious， I miss the old Laundry Files。

David Thornley ，

The latest in the Laundry Files series。 It will make a lot more sense if you read the preceding book （Dead Lies Dreaming） first， as this is a continuation of most of the main characters and some plots。 It's set in an urban fantasy dystopia， but has more playfulness than most of Stross's work， and is more fun to read。 One character kidnaps the four children of a superhero family without knowing that they， too， have superpowers， and gets involved。 One character is trying to get out of a real mess The latest in the Laundry Files series。 It will make a lot more sense if you read the preceding book （Dead Lies Dreaming） first， as this is a continuation of most of the main characters and some plots。 It's set in an urban fantasy dystopia， but has more playfulness than most of Stross's work， and is more fun to read。 One character kidnaps the four children of a superhero family without knowing that they， too， have superpowers， and gets involved。 One character is trying to get out of a real mess with a geas。 Another is trying to figure out what's going on in her supermarket chain， without having an idea how evil it is。 The plots tie together at the end nicely。 。。。more

Vivienne ，

My thanks to Little， Brown Book Group U。K。 - Orbit for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Quantum of Nightmares’ by Charles Stross in exchange for an honest review。 As the book was just released when I began reading， I combined with its unabridged audiobook edition。This is Book 2 in the New Management series set in the same alternative universe as Stross’ Laundry Files。 As this is a continuous story， I would encourage reading in order。 I am also wary of mentioning plot details that could be spoilers for My thanks to Little， Brown Book Group U。K。 - Orbit for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Quantum of Nightmares’ by Charles Stross in exchange for an honest review。 As the book was just released when I began reading， I combined with its unabridged audiobook edition。This is Book 2 in the New Management series set in the same alternative universe as Stross’ Laundry Files。 As this is a continuous story， I would encourage reading in order。 I am also wary of mentioning plot details that could be spoilers for Book 1 for those yet to read it。 However， I will note that thief-taker Wendy Deere， cyberpunk Imp and his sister Eve all return along with various new characters。 Chief among these is Mary Macandless， who is currently pretending to be a nanny in order to infiltrate the household of a pair of senior government superheroes and kidnap their children。 There was a Peter Pan motif to ‘Dead Lies Dreaming’， and here when on a windy morning Nanny Mary knocks on the door of No。 Seventeen where the Banks family resides， it’s clear that Stross is about to get playful with another iconic children’s character。 So while Mary adopted the persona of a stuffy， posh nanny in possession of an ‘interesting’ messenger bag; her inner monologue was much more earthy。 Her mission is complicated by the fact that the Banks children have powers of their own。 Their road trip adventures were hilarious。 Over the course of the novel the plot lines of Wendy， Eve and Imp， Mary and the Bankses came together。 Stross again impressed me with his skilful blending of multiple genres; there’s science fiction， cyberpunk， Lovecraftian horror， urban fantasy， and plenty of adventure - all infused with comedy。 I loved this and can hardly wait for the next book， ‘Season of Skulls’， due in 2023。 Meanwhile， I have a cluster of other titles by Stross awaiting my attention。A note on the unabridged audiobook edition: its narrator， Imogen Church， was beyond excellent， especially in terms of her voicing of Mary and the Banks children。 。。。more

BERNARD ANDREWS ，

Excellent twisted occult rompOf 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。 Excellent twisted occult rompOf 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。 。。。more

Seth Smith ，

Stross has done it again， delivered a sharp， witty and grim tale， set against the backdrop of a dark， but all too revealing， reflection of britain。

Kris ，

4。5 stars。 The spin-offs aren’t the same without Bob and Mo， and there’s some gross imagery in this book， but it’s still a great entry to the series。

Kate O'Hanlon ，

Stross continues to delight and disgust。

Carol ，

The best use of “Get away from her， you bitch！” since the original。

TC ，

Recommended。Review posted at Tzer Island book blog:https://www。tzerisland。com/bookblog/2。。。 Recommended。Review posted at Tzer Island book blog:https://www。tzerisland。com/bookblog/2。。。 。。。more

Andreas ，

Synopsis: Quantum of Nightmares is the sequel to Dead Lies Dreaming， set in an alternate London in the Laundry Files universe， but with a fresh start of characters and topics。The book takes up exactly at the point where it left Dead Lies Dreaming: Eve Starkey sent her boss Rupert into oblivion。 Now she's in charge of the company。 Searching through a secret stash she finds out that her boss has set up lethal magical and physical traps for her。 He wants to get back from literal hell through some o Synopsis: Quantum of Nightmares is the sequel to Dead Lies Dreaming， set in an alternate London in the Laundry Files universe， but with a fresh start of characters and topics。The book takes up exactly at the point where it left Dead Lies Dreaming: Eve Starkey sent her boss Rupert into oblivion。 Now she's in charge of the company。 Searching through a secret stash she finds out that her boss has set up lethal magical and physical traps for her。 He wants to get back from literal hell through some occult ritual involving human sacrifices。 The order's base where such a ritual will be conducted is located on one of the smaller Channel Islands modelled after Sark。 Rupert bought the island and profits from its feudal governance with mediaeval laws。 She gets help from her brother and his heist gang， the "Lost Boys"， just like in the first novel。There is also Wendy Deere who investigates a London-based supermarket chain。 They are testing bleeding-edge technology， robots automatically boning livestock and feeding the meat into a 3D printer which produces customer-specific meat products。Eventually they plan to have vats full of animal tissue culture in every branch， feeding it to 3D printers on the deli counter - meat products without animal cruelty and the risk of another Mad Cow Disease epidemic。 Just wait for those mincemeat golems （no， that's no joke） called "meat puppets" to replace the expensive human workforce！A third plot line involves Mary， stepping in as a nanny for the children of two superheroes who are about to leave for some super-urgent mission abroad。 Now， that one isn't a cute Poppins at all， but she has the mission to kidnap the kids。 If only the children wouldn't have powers of their own， the job would be far easier。The little girl's face was buried against the side of her neck like an infant vampire， but her quivering shoulders signaled manipulative sobbing rather than sanguinary suckling。 Review: Stross kept the comical style from the first novel， but strengthened the horror aspect by a multitude。 When it was light horror in the predecessor， it includes absolute disgusting details up to projectile vomiting here。 You have a sensitive stomach？ Do yourself a favor and don't dive into this novel's guts and bloods。 The synopsis's hint of meat production should be enough to figure out what I'm talking about。 If you get any Sweeney Todd vibes， that's totally intentional！There are a lot of funny situations and dialogues where I had to laugh out loud。 They just couldn't counter the super bad feelings I've got from the nauseating descriptions。Usually， when I soldier through such revolting parts and make it past the halfway-through mark， I continue to the end。 This novel had a special， extremely uncomforting and disgusting sentence at around 75% for me:Remember， work sets you free！ If anyone of you doesn't recognize this idiom， let me tell you that it's a Nazi slogan "Arbeit macht frei" at the entrance of concentration camps。This crossed a red line。 Coming out of nowhere， without context， this idiom isn't funny at all， and I consider it unacceptable to include it that way。 I could barely go on。 Mind you， the novel has its qualities。 It's a fast page-turner， a superhero thriller with Cthulhu vibes， just like the first volume。 But Stross turned up the volume of all the elements I hate， especially of horror and disgust factor。 If you like those and you're not especially sensitive about holocaust， then you will like this book。 。。。more

Glennis ，

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。 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 。。。more

simon tew ，

A spin off from the Laundry Files， it's better read after reading the first in the mini-series， and even better if you have read the all the laundry files so far。An excellent romp through a dystopian world， chillingly like our own， complete with Evil soulless Bureaucracies and Overlords， and a leavening of grim humour。 The protagonists are well drawn and very human as always。 Having had children， I can say mine would have behaved exactly the same given the circumstances。I hope some of the charac A spin off from the Laundry Files， it's better read after reading the first in the mini-series， and even better if you have read the all the laundry files so far。An excellent romp through a dystopian world， chillingly like our own， complete with Evil soulless Bureaucracies and Overlords， and a leavening of grim humour。 The protagonists are well drawn and very human as always。 Having had children， I can say mine would have behaved exactly the same given the circumstances。I hope some of the character's here get tied back into the main plot line somewhere along it， they have the makings of movers and shakers in the wider Laundry Files world。 。。。more

Eric ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 （view spoiler）[Mary Poppins meets Peter & Wendy meets Sweeney Todd meets the Laundry Files’ New Management meets… （hide spoiler）] Very funny in a horror context; loved it， again。 （view spoiler）[Mary Poppins meets Peter & Wendy meets Sweeney Todd meets the Laundry Files’ New Management meets… （hide spoiler）] Very funny in a horror context; loved it， again。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Quantum of Nightmares

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Quantum of Nightmares&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Quantum of Nightmares&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0