Charles Stross: A First Encounter

Mar 09, 2008 14:36


A number of my friends seem to like Charles Stross, and a couple of his novels came into the bookstore recently, so I gave them a go. Massive spoilers below.

The Merchant Princes )

books, sf, reviews

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radiotelescope March 10 2008, 15:46:49 UTC
I will repeat what I said on the MUD, which is that I would recommend a lot of Stross above the Merchant Princes series. Most of what he's written is standalone novels. (Sometimes sharing setting/characters with other novels, but still standing alone.)

_The Atrocity Archives_ is funny/creepy Lovecraftian/spy stuff. _Halting State_ is near-future whizbang gaming/spy stuff. _Iron Sunrise_ is far-future whizbang fate-of-the-galaxy adventure. With spies. The spies are obligatory, I think.

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jenfullmoon March 12 2008, 21:26:33 UTC
Hmm. I liked the first two books in this series (even if economics is not my thing), but I was distinctly not into the third, and it made me move this series onto the "Wait until it comes out in paperback" list. So after book 2 is probably a good place to stop.

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Me three, belatedly od_mind April 17 2008, 20:37:18 UTC
I, too, would definitely recommend The Atrocity Archive (and subsequent Laundry stories) ahead of the Merchant Princes. I'm going to continue to read the MP series, but at this point it's more like the fascination of watching a tractor-trailer jackknife on the highway. The last book didn't merely jump the shark (IMHO), it... well, words fail me. On the other hand, I like the (SPOILER!) steampunk world, so maybe I'll get to see more action there ( ... )

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