• Season of Skulls by C.Strass

    From Bobbie Sellers@21:1/5 to All on Sun Sep 1 10:48:19 2024
    Season of Skulls by Charles Stross
    Found at the SFPL-Main as of Wednesday August21
        I have completed reading a new Charles Stross novel
    and it really holds your attention. This is set in the world
    and in adjacent irreality where the Black Pharaoh has taken
    control of the UK and sidetracked the personnel of the Laundry
    to do clean up of sorcerers who resist his hellish reign.
        No Laundry Files personnel on stage but hungry musical
    instruments are in evidence. Evelyn Starkey, Wife of Rupert Bigge,
    Baron of Skaro and initiate of the Mute Poet (a Mexican deity) who
    like the Black Pharaoh loves the power that comes from human sacrifice,
    is the main character attempting to track her insane husband on the
    dream roads.
    She is his PA and runs his immense business for him but suffers
    under multiple geasa, forced to his will and nastily trapped into a
    marriage where he can force her will to his ends even more. Both
    she and hubby are powerful sorcerers. He is attempting to get the
    Mute Poet to be triumphant in a contest with the Black Pharaoh by
    founding and directing cults of the Mute Singer in the past.
        This was very amusing and Stross has the knack for
    drawing you into his work.
        This is set in the same Universe as the Laundry Files
    where magic is best worked by computer as humans suffer
    deleterious parasitism when they do magic. Not too good
    for the computers either as I recall.

    bliss
    --
    b l i s s - S F 4 e v e r at D S L E x t r e m e dot com

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  • From Scott Dorsey@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Mon Sep 2 16:51:51 2024
    Bobbie Sellers <[email protected]> wrote:
    This is set in the same Universe as the Laundry Files
    where magic is best worked by computer as humans suffer
    deleterious parasitism when they do magic. Not too good
    for the computers either as I recall.

    I just read it last week, mostly because it was mentioned here and I
    had not heard of it. I wouldn't give it a huge rave, but I do like the
    idea of a gothic romance with Lovecraftian horrors added. I have now
    ordered other books in the same universe.
    --scott
    --
    "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

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  • From Default User@21:1/5 to Bobbie Sellers on Tue Sep 3 05:50:30 2024
    Bobbie Sellers wrote:

    Season of Skulls by Charles Stross

    I posted my review some time back. Unfortunately, it's not possible to
    give a GG link anymore.


    Brian

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