The Fuller Memorandum by Charles StrossMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
Jacket Blurb: Computational demonologist Bob Howard catches up on filing in the Laundry archives when the top secret Fuller Memorandum vanishes - and his boss, suspected of stealing the file. Bob faces Russian agents, ancient demons, a maniacal death cult, and finding the missing memorandum before the world disappears next.
I'm right on the fence between this was somewhat enjoyable once I got into it, or, this was a slog with to many info-dumps. Unfortunately, I'm leaning toward this was a bit of a slog. Which is unfortunate because I really enjoyed the first two books and I was so looking forward to reading this one.
Premise of the book is Bob Howard manages to become entangled in a magical mystery web of intrigue, spies, and cultists after his boss disappears. Mo, his wife and agent with the laundry, is the bearer of a very scary weapon in the way of a violin made of bone is drawn into the ruckus by default. When Bob is kidnapped, Mo has to rally the forces and go forth to do some serious ass-kicking.
IF I had skipped Bob's numerous info dumps into why the world should be afraid of the sleeping god or magic spillover or why magic worked the way it did with computers (which was a cool concept), I might have enjoyed this more. As it was, hoping for a gleaning of humor, insight, or foreshadowing, I read on and found I just wasn't enjoying myself. I found the the plot sluggish, the quirky humor that I liked in one and two far and few between, and the premise for the bad guys tenuous at best.
But I do enjoy the whole idea of the Laundry, toiling away with computers and magic as a barrier between mere mortals and things far older than humans. I like Bob and Mo, Angelton is cool, and the supporting cast fun.
Ultimately, this installment really didn't work for me. Recommended with reservations.
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