Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion

This is a Buddy Read for The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross starting January 8, 2023.

Excited to re-read this series, and see other people read it...

Spot!!!

In.

Will try to be here!

Started a bit early since we've got Side Jobs starting on the 9th 🤪
Am intrigued by the setting/world so far... for some reason it's really reminding me of Monster? Maybe because of the relationship between Bob and Mary, who reminds me of the succubus from that book..

I'm still not entirely sure what's going on, but I like the use of techno jargon for the bizarre things the Laundry deals with..

Tonari no Emily wrote: "Started a bit early since we've got Side Jobs starting on the 9th 🤪
Am intrigued by the setting/world so far... for some reason it's really reminding me of Monster? Maybe because of ..."

Been awhile since I read Monster... I remember the Judy opening in a Sam's Club / Costco type grocery/warehouse store...

It's a pretty good comparison I think... especially later on... altho, I think I'm actually thinking of another relationship that hasn't been introduced yet?... Bob & Mo...

The series I usually compare this to is Threshold, by Peter Clines... starts with 14... has similar worldbuilding/rules, regarding (view spoiler)[magic and the permeable fabric of reality... all has to do with world population... Laundry Files adds on a layer of technology... magic programming... (hide spoiler)]

You guys are KILLING me! I want to read this one so badly!

Tonari no Emily wrote: "Started a bit early since we've got Side Jobs starting on the 9th 🤪
Am intrigued by the setting/world so far... for some reason it's really reminding me of Monster? Maybe because of ..."

Oh funny. I'm starting some of the Side Jobs stories first lol I'll be back here in a few days :)

Starting!!

My audio book says it is split into two parts: The Atrocity Archives and the Concrete Jungle. Can anyone shed a little light on that?

Also just enjoyed the little quote at the very start: (view spoiler)[Green Sky at Night, Hackers' Delight.

Or is that the chapter title? Just made me smile, because it's always nice when one gets a reference... though my brain was like, wait, what do hackers have to do with sailors and storms? (hide spoiler)]

Nirkatze wrote: "Starting!!

My audio book says it is split into two parts: The Atrocity Archives and the Concrete Jungle. Can anyone shed a little light on that?

Also just enjoyed the little quote at the very sta..."

The Concrete Jungle

I included the short stories in the optional BR list, appended to the next BRs... so 1.5 and 2, 2.5 and 3, 7.5 and 8...

Nyssa wrote: "You guys are KILLING me! I want to read this one so badly!"

We are all such bad influences on eachother with squeezing these books in xD

Tonari no Emily wrote: "We are all such bad influences on eachother with squeezing these books in xD"

It's the squeezing in or trying to play catch-up, that's hard.

If I don't read a book every day, right now, I'm falling behind :D

SAME lol
I'm trying my best

Timelord Iain wrote: "If I don't read a book every day, right now, I'm falling behind :D"

Tonari no Emily wrote: "SAME lol
I'm trying my best"

I don't know how you two do it!

1.4x is about as fast as I'm willing to listen to audiobooks. Any faster, I find that I start to lose words, inflections, and meaning. It enters the realm of background noise (which was my initial stumbling block to audiobooks before I started reading along).

I know I won't keep it up for long, but RN I'm enjoying jamming as many as I can in xD

I've worked myself up to 2.5-3X. I will slow it down depending on the book if it's more nuanced/needs more of my attention. Or the narrator is a naturally fast-talker... But for "popcorn" reads, I like that they go by pretty fast...
I slowed this one down to 2x since I've got a new world and concepts to work with, and there are some jokes/one-liners I can miss easily..

Do you still read along or did you get into audiobooks like that? (I just can’t get my brain to absorb audio :( )

Olivia wrote: "Do you still read along, or did you get into audiobooks like that? (I just can't get my brain to absorb audio :( )"

I have to read along.

I started with short stories -- the Amazon Original Stories, to be exact, as they come with the audio version.

Then at some point last year, I tried a novella and then an entire novel.

If I don't focus on the words as I listen, the audio starts to sound like the adults in a Charlie Brown cartoon.

I listen while I drive, do housework, crochet, play mindless games... Sometimes I do have to backtrack, but honestly my mind can wander while I'm reading too...

Just decided to join this one. I remember hearing about the series sometime last year and thought it sounded good but didn't get farther.

As far as audiobooks go I tend to listen to them at 2x. I tried one at 2.4 and felt sick. My mind couldn't keep up. I have found that I can't do audiobook alone for a buddy read and either have access to both or only do print.

I'm pretty sure, early in the series, the short stories do the most to explain CASE NIGHTMARE RAINBOW, The Laundry's binder / playbook of apocalypse scenarios...

I'm with Emily on audiobook playback speeds...

You don't just jump to top speed, you increment... it's easier with apps like Hoopla, Speechify, and Audible, where you can increment by 0.1x at a time, or even 0.01x if you have a slider...

And slow narrators help you fiddle around...

You can also start a book at slower speeds until you're used to the world, and slowly ramp up...

I generally listen at 2.7x speed these days... altho sometimes I drop to 2x, 2.2x, or 2.5x... rarely do i go to 3x or higher...

A few years ago I did everything at 3x, then dropped back to 2x for a year or 2 after covid started... then in the past year I started ramping back up to 2.2/2.5/2.7x...

I've never really done audio+print, but I also started doing audiobooks so I could listen at work, 9 years ago...

Nyssa wrote: "I don't know how you two do it!

1.4x is about as fa..."

I feel that... I'm trying to train my brain to get used to higher speeds, but I'm not doing great so far... I'm trying this at 1.8x, but I should be at 1.4x or less. I'm probably only absorbing about half of what is going on...

But hey, I'm in Chapter 6 right now, and I think I just figured out what the title refers to... I'm enjoying the office humor, which actually reminds me of Andrea Vernon, and Bob's roommates are pretty amusing. I have to disagree with the Brain though--(view spoiler)[in order for something to be an omelet, it has to have more than just egg in it--at least cheese! And unless he plans on teleporting the cheese into the egg, just cooking the egg doesn't count. He's just scrambling egg. (hide spoiler)]

I like the voices, but I don't think the narrator does lady voices very well...

Curious about Mo... (view spoiler)[I'm starting to think she's not going to last the book--death, traitor, leave, transfer, something--in a proper James Bond way, to leave poor Bob free to crush again in another book... but that could just be the whole secret agent aspect playing games with my trope-filled mind. She's fun so far though. (hide spoiler)]

Book 2 in this series is what made me love the series... not gonna say much about it tho, cause I don't want to spoil it :D

Chapter 10--I love how Ms. Brody thinks Bob is a menace because he can't fill out a time sheet properly... rather enjoying all of the office humor...

Finished! I should probably turn down the speed... I'm not sure I followed the story very well! But it was funny...

Just went through the Concrete Jungle--slowed speed to 1.6 and got a little better. I rather liked the cop lady, and the ending was very satisfying.

It’s amazing what small speed changes can do… they don’t seem significant…

Nyssa wrote: "Olivia wrote: "Do you still read along, or did you get into audiobooks like that? (I just can't get my brain to absorb audio :( )"

I have to read along.

I started with short stories -- the Amaz..."

I have the exact same problem... either my brain goes off and makes a shopping list and I just hear bla bla bla, or I just don't absorb the info.

May I ask why you're doing it like that? Do you hope that one day you can do audio without reading along?

I wish audio worked better for me because I genuinely have so much time I spend walking dogs, exercise, cooking, etc. where I could read instead of not lol

But I also need subtitles to absorb television info properly...

Anyway, I just started this.

I tried once before and didn't get very far. I really enjoy the office humour!

Some people do text + audio because they absorb the info and the narrator can read faster than you alone,..

Thank you :) I hadn’t considered that. Makes sense and I’ll have to try.

Timelord Iain wrote: "Some people do text + audio because they absorb the info and the narrator can read faster than you alone;.."

^^^Exactly this!!^^^

I would love to be able to do audio alone so that I could concentrate on other things, like chores, but I don't see it happening any time soon, to be honest.

I also use subtitles to help absorb TV shows. 

Funnily enough, I always have the subtitles on too! But that was mostly because I lived in a very loud household and I couldn't hear the TV without blasting it which would just add to the noise...

Finished as well! I'm intrigued about the setting and setup with this book, but I think I need more to really get into the series. Hoping #2 will do that!

Re Mo (view spoiler)[ I really did not think she would last the book either, Stross put her through the wringer! (hide spoiler)]

I think my favorite thing about these was the office hero and the eccentric characters introduced like Pinky and The Brains xD

I really enjoyed the description in Chapter one when he is in the bushes and there is a sudden sensation (view spoiler)[ like bees throbbing around his bladder. (hide spoiler)]

To be honest, I had no idea what was going on for chapter 2 and was a bit bored until I went back and read the intro to the book and then read on and poor Fred.

Haha! I listen to audiobooks mostly because I drive so much, but I also ALWAYS have the subtitles on TV and while watching movies. The combination makes me absorb things much better. I wonder why the majority of us here do that?

Just started and am also intrigued by the Green Sky at Night, Hackers Delight... I guess it is a reference to the night vision gaggles.

I use subtitles on TV because TV/show/movie volume relativity is horrendous... gunshots will wake your neighbors, and music sometimes, but dialogue is like whispering down a tunnel, sometimes...

I'm intrigued by you guys' thoughts and the James Bond comment, and curious to see what you think about book 2, which leans into that element more, with a UF/sci-fi bent...

Tonari no Emily wrote: "Finished as well! I'm intrigued about the setting and setup with this book, but I think I need more to really get into the series. Hoping #2 will do that!

Re Mo [spoilers removed]

I think my favo..."

I'm a big fan of Pinky and the Brain... the animated mice, and the side characters here...

My gf didn’t believe me when I said that I absorb better with subtitles and made me watch a new show without and after 5 episodes I still didn’t know any of the characters’ names and then we watched one Sith and I knew everything. It’s weird.

Choko wrote: "Haha! I listen to audiobooks mostly because I drive so much, but I also ALWAYS have the subtitles on TV and while watching movies. The combination makes me absorb things much better. I wonder why t..."

I'm another one who always keeps subtitles on the TV--and I absorb information better when I see than hear it too. I'm trying to train my listening to be better though! I know if I work hard enough at it, I should get better.

@Olivia--I'm the same though--I have a really hard time remembering names if I don't see them written down... I have to make a real effort to catch them. That's why a lot of my descriptions will end up being "that person who did such and such" when I do the audiobook....

The "green sky at night, hackers' delight" could be night vision goggles--but I was thinking of the old sailor's adage: "Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in morning, sailor's warning."--where a red sky/clear sunset at night meant clear weather to follow, and safe sailing during the night, while a red sky in the morning suggested that a storm was on the way...

Cool website that gives a little more information and history: (https://www.loc.gov/everyday-mysterie...)

Timelord Iain wrote: "I use subtitles on TV because TV/show/movie volume relativity is horrendous... gunshots will wake your neighbors, and music sometimes, but dialogue is like whispering down a tunnel, sometimes...

I..."

The James Bond thing--I was thinking of part of Lois McMaster Bujold's foreword essay in Miles in Love--she compares romances written by women to those written by men:

I have noticed a curious bifurcation in outcome in the way romances are written by women and written by men. The popular romances by men—Love Story, The Bridges of Madison County, every James Bond tale ever penned, even the film named above—end with the woman either lost or dead. And the man free to love, or at least to have sex, again. Romances (in the modern genre sense) written by women end with the couple alive, together, and in a committed and at least potentially fertile relationship, ready to turn to the work of their world. In other words, men’s romances are about love and death; women’s romances are about love and life.

I would also throw in the modern TV romance--keep the couple onscreen dancing around each other but never actually getting together...for at least five seasons. Then get them together but constantly try to tear the apart...

I'm curious to see how the Laundry Files fall on that spectrum--will it be one or two star potentials, or a new sidekick for each story?

I just started chapter 5 and personally I hope that the relationship with Mhari gets thrown out the door so there is a hope for love and life.

Was interesting to read what you shared with Lois McMaster Bujold's foreword essay, Nirkatze.

RachelG. wrote: "I just started chapter 5 and personally I hope that the relationship with Mhari gets thrown out the door so there is a hope for love and life.

Was interesting to read what you shared with Lois Mc..."

Yeah Mhari was kind of horrible!

I didn't realize Mary was Mhari, when you guys were posting earlier... wooooow... I'm dense, lol... this puts a whole new spin on things later in the series... I didn't realize Bob/Mhari were a thing... I completely scrubbed it from my memory...

I also kinda thought it was confusing, if Stross was reusing similar character names like that...

I'd say more, but I've already probably said too much :D

Nirkatze wrote: "Timelord Iain wrote: "I use subtitles on TV because TV/show/movie volume relativity is horrendous... gunshots will wake your neighbors, and music sometimes, but dialogue is like whispering down a t..."

This is SO true! I'm not sure I can think of pure romances written by men... But when romance is included in stories, so often the women die or the relationship ends dramatically...

Timelord Iain wrote: "I didn't realize Mary was Mhari, when you guys were posting earlier... wooooow... I'm dense, lol... this puts a whole new spin on things later in the series... I didn't realize Bob/Mhari were a thi..."

I had no idea Mhari was spelled like that! lol

RachelG. wrote: "I just started chapter 5 and personally I hope that the relationship with Mhari gets thrown out the door so there is a hope for love and life.

Was interesting to read what you shared with Lois Mc..."

Dittoing everyone here--thank you for the spelling of Mhari... and yeah, that is not cool how she uses Bob...

I decided earlier today to switch to the audiobook so I could play games on my phone while listening but I still have the kindle version still so I can go back and look things up. I knew that Mhari was spelled weird so I had to look it up.

I am in Ch. 2, and Bob mentioned in passing, how now that he and Mhari hooked up again after he got drunk (I agree with Nirkatze, that internally scrambled and cooked egg is NOT an omelet!), that she hadn't yet moved out and he hadn't told her to, but at least she didn't threaten him with commiting suicide if he breaks up with her, like she did the previous time and he told her "vertically, not horizontally", obviously referring to how a person should slice their veins most effectively... Her threat is one of the biggest no-nos I have for any relationships!!! WTF??? Why is he even giving her an umpteenth chance? I hate that emotional blackmail shit! I don't understand people who do it, and even more so, because I know people who have done it in real life. I am of Bob's school of response to this - do whatever you want, I am not taking responsibility for it. I currently have two girlfriends who are staying with their husbands, because they threaten to kill themselves if the women leave them. On the other hand, I am acquainted with a lady, whose son did the same thing to his wife and actually went through with it, leaving a video of himself saying that the wife said she didn't believe him, so he shot himself to prove he meant it... He was 26 years old with two babies... Now the mother blames the wife... It just makes me exasperated and angry! It is nobody's issue but the person who does it, and if I even have an inkling of the potential of someone to use those tactics, I stay away from them as far as I can go! Bob needs out right now! What is he doing? You are perpetuating a problem and making it worse just because it is easier not to do anything???? No!

Sorry for the ranting, this was just one sentence in the book, but it made me really mad at Mhari... She obviously needs some emotional help. I wonder how the organization they are both working for hasn't tested her out of it, since most have a certain psychological profile they are supposed to fit in...

I am enjoying the book otherwise though, this is just a minor thing that caught my sensitive spot:)