The Atrocity Archives, by Charles Stross
The Atrocity Archives is a wonderful change from what I've been reading lately.
If you've followed my regular blog (Jay's Life), you know that I like roleplaying, and I like playing the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game. The Atrocity Archives is a lot like a good Call of Cthulhu adventure setting.
The basic idea is that mathematics has actual power in the universe, and the right theorems can open gates to other realities. The most critical theorem was developed by Alan Turing, and is generally called the Turing-Lovecraft Theorem. How can you not love this book?
Okay, so math has power and the Turing-Lovecraft Theorem can open gates to other realities. The problem is that everything lurking in those other realities is nasty, and would like nothing better than to get into our reality and cause no end of trouble. Minor powers from these other realities would be hard to contain, while one of the major powers could devastate the Earth.
The book reads a lot like The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump, by Harry Turtledove. There are superficial similarities in the plot and setting, although magic in Turtledove's book was widespread, and in Stross' book the main character is part of an organization designed to keep the truth from being revealed to the public at large. The writing style is a bit like what I remember from Turtledove's book, too, so if you like either book you'll probably enjoy the other one.
The main character does make a lot of in-jokes that require a certain background to appreciate. The audience that will get the most out of the in-jokes seems to be computer scientists who have played Call of Cthulhu (or read Lovecraft's stories). If you're not either of those, you may be mystified by some of the references, and probably won't get as much enjoyment out of the book.
Also, the book is a light parody of bureaucracies (light because bureaucracies really are that insane), so some of the acronyms used are deliberately vague. The author includes a glossary of acronyms at the back of the book, but knowing what an acronym stands for isn't the same as knowing what it means.
Since the main story in the book is shorter than a regular novel, they've included a second story in it as well, The Concrete Jungle. The second story has the same premise as the first, and follows the same main character through another of his assignments.
If you've followed my regular blog (Jay's Life), you know that I like roleplaying, and I like playing the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game. The Atrocity Archives is a lot like a good Call of Cthulhu adventure setting.
The basic idea is that mathematics has actual power in the universe, and the right theorems can open gates to other realities. The most critical theorem was developed by Alan Turing, and is generally called the Turing-Lovecraft Theorem. How can you not love this book?
Okay, so math has power and the Turing-Lovecraft Theorem can open gates to other realities. The problem is that everything lurking in those other realities is nasty, and would like nothing better than to get into our reality and cause no end of trouble. Minor powers from these other realities would be hard to contain, while one of the major powers could devastate the Earth.
The book reads a lot like The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump, by Harry Turtledove. There are superficial similarities in the plot and setting, although magic in Turtledove's book was widespread, and in Stross' book the main character is part of an organization designed to keep the truth from being revealed to the public at large. The writing style is a bit like what I remember from Turtledove's book, too, so if you like either book you'll probably enjoy the other one.
The main character does make a lot of in-jokes that require a certain background to appreciate. The audience that will get the most out of the in-jokes seems to be computer scientists who have played Call of Cthulhu (or read Lovecraft's stories). If you're not either of those, you may be mystified by some of the references, and probably won't get as much enjoyment out of the book.
Also, the book is a light parody of bureaucracies (light because bureaucracies really are that insane), so some of the acronyms used are deliberately vague. The author includes a glossary of acronyms at the back of the book, but knowing what an acronym stands for isn't the same as knowing what it means.
Since the main story in the book is shorter than a regular novel, they've included a second story in it as well, The Concrete Jungle. The second story has the same premise as the first, and follows the same main character through another of his assignments.
posted by Jay | 5:24 PM
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