Fantasy

Quantum of Nightmares

Quantum of Nightmares

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  • Create Date：2023-03-07 06:51:53
  • Update Date：2025-09-14
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Charles Stross
  • ISBN：0356516946
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Summary

A unique blend of espionage thrills and Lovecraftian horror， Hugo Award-winning author Charles Stross's Laundry Files continues with Quantum of Nightmares。

It’s a brave new Britain under the New Management。 The avuncular Prime Minister is an ancient eldritch god of unimaginable power。 Crime is plummeting as almost every offense is punishable by death。 And everywhere you look， there are people with strange powers， some of which they can control， and some， not so much。

Hyperorganized and formidable， Eve Starkey defeated her boss， the louche magical adept and billionaire Rupert de Montfort Bigge， in a supernatural duel to the death。 Now she’s in charge of the Bigge Corporation—just in time to discover the lethal trap Rupert set for her long ago。

Wendy Deere’s transhuman abilities have gotten her through many a scrape。 Now she’s gainfully employed investigating unauthorized supernatural shenanigans。 She swore to herself she wouldn’t again get entangled with Eve Starkey’s bohemian brother Imp and his crew of transhuman misfits。 Yeah， right。

Mary Macandless has powers of her own。 Right now she’s pretending to be a nanny in order to kidnap the children of a pair of famous， Government-authorized superheroes。 These children have powers of their own， and Mary Macandless is in way over her head。

Amanda Sullivan is the HR manager of a minor grocery chain， much oppressed by her glossy blonde boss—who is cooking up an appalling， extralegal scheme literally involving human flesh。

All of these stories will come together， with world-bending results。。。

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Reviews

Larry ，

In a modern England where the government -- the "new Management" -- is controlled by an Eldritch horror， crime is down。 The authorities have taken a tough on crime stance that involves public executions， and displaying the heads of criminals in niches on spikes。 Sorcerers practice。 A class of transhumans have risen。 Employment records are permanent， and follow you from job to job。 Think HP Lovecraft meets the Marvel Universe represented as a D&D campaign。There are a LOT of characters。 It is not In a modern England where the government -- the "new Management" -- is controlled by an Eldritch horror， crime is down。 The authorities have taken a tough on crime stance that involves public executions， and displaying the heads of criminals in niches on spikes。 Sorcerers practice。 A class of transhumans have risen。 Employment records are permanent， and follow you from job to job。 Think HP Lovecraft meets the Marvel Universe represented as a D&D campaign。There are a LOT of characters。 It is not clear which ones to root for， because they are all dodgy in one respect or another。 Several plot lines weave together。 The horror and the violence escalate until the quarter of the book， which becomes a relentless orgy of chases， combat， culminating with the boss fight at the end。 If this were a movie set in the Marvel Universe， you would be deafened by the sound effects。 Marvel， not DC。 The characterizations and events are so exaggerated as to be almost ludicrous。 There are pop culture references that poke a bit of fun at the narrative。 If the book took itself too seriously， it would be an unending slog of horror， but humor takes the edge off of the horror。 No sex。 A LOT of violence。 But fun， if you like this sort of thing。 。。。more

Shannon Appelcline ，

I feel like I'm torturing myself with these latter-day Laundry Files， because they've gone *soooo* far off the rails。 We've lost our protagonist。 We've lost our setting。 We instead have a bunch of characters I don't like very much， and this story of theirs was so very， very slow。I mean it did come together in the end。 The way it dovetailed in the last few sections was quite clever。 But it literally took me two months to get there because I just wasn't that excited。Sigh。 I really liked the Laundr I feel like I'm torturing myself with these latter-day Laundry Files， because they've gone *soooo* far off the rails。 We've lost our protagonist。 We've lost our setting。 We instead have a bunch of characters I don't like very much， and this story of theirs was so very， very slow。I mean it did come together in the end。 The way it dovetailed in the last few sections was quite clever。 But it literally took me two months to get there because I just wasn't that excited。Sigh。 I really liked the Laundry in its early days。 。。。more

Nigel ，

A fake nanny kidnaps the superpowered children of a pair of superpowered cops， which turns out to be a spectacularly bad idea。 This ties in with the fallout from the previous book， where the dead guy turns out to have laid a series of cunning traps for his murderer/succesor， while also pushing through the purchase of a high street Tesco-like mob in order to inflict gruesome fates on hapless low-level employees for the purposes of making sacrifices to his evil god。 It's funny and fast moving， tho A fake nanny kidnaps the superpowered children of a pair of superpowered cops， which turns out to be a spectacularly bad idea。 This ties in with the fallout from the previous book， where the dead guy turns out to have laid a series of cunning traps for his murderer/succesor， while also pushing through the purchase of a high street Tesco-like mob in order to inflict gruesome fates on hapless low-level employees for the purposes of making sacrifices to his evil god。 It's funny and fast moving， though some of the jokes get a flagged a bit too repeatedly in case anyone missed them， with lots of endearing characters and clever twists and nasty satirical ideas。 。。。more

Kimberly ，

I love Charlie Stross， and loved all the laundry Files books。 I love the world and the people and the edginess of the magic and stories that Mr。 Stross has created。 But this book， （the second under New Management） was just too much for me to enjoy。 I hate that， because I really enjoy the main characters and want to know more about them and what they get up to next。 Much of the writing and dialog are， as always with Mr。 Stross， funny， engaging， and bringing an unexpected picture to mind。 I laugh I love Charlie Stross， and loved all the laundry Files books。 I love the world and the people and the edginess of the magic and stories that Mr。 Stross has created。 But this book， （the second under New Management） was just too much for me to enjoy。 I hate that， because I really enjoy the main characters and want to know more about them and what they get up to next。 Much of the writing and dialog are， as always with Mr。 Stross， funny， engaging， and bringing an unexpected picture to mind。 I laugh out loud， save some quotes， totally enjoy so much of the writing。 But the subject / dystopian world we are now in really give me pause。 I am hoping for more fun in his next installment。 。。。more

Boulder Boulderson ，

I was a bit iffy about the first of this new series in the post-Laundry Files， but having just re-experienced it （via Audible this time）， I enjoyed it a lot more the second time and this second novel in the series is an excellent one also。 Probably by this point， you know if you like the series， but it's great and you should like it or the Eater of Souls will come for you。。。 I was a bit iffy about the first of this new series in the post-Laundry Files， but having just re-experienced it （via Audible this time）， I enjoyed it a lot more the second time and this second novel in the series is an excellent one also。 Probably by this point， you know if you like the series， but it's great and you should like it or the Eater of Souls will come for you。。。 。。。more

Hannah Bryan ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Delighted by the intersection of stories coming together。 An excellent way of having Rupert return that I would never have guessed。

Will ，

I was unsure about the new management series as first， but this was disturbing and solid。 Mary Poppins with super heroes and eldritch horrors。

Kelley ，

Disappointing。 I loved the first few books in the series， but once the metahumans/superheroes entered， it's been a slog。 Just not as much fun as before。 The cleverness is gone。 Disappointing。 I loved the first few books in the series， but once the metahumans/superheroes entered， it's been a slog。 Just not as much fun as before。 The cleverness is gone。 。。。more

John Campbell ，

Love the Laundry FilesCharles Stross is one of my favorite authors， and the world he’s created in the Laundry Files is infinitely fascinating。 Really enjoyed this adventure！

Waffles ，

I liked this， but didn't love it。 I don't hate children， but the ones in this story were annoying。 It felt like Splatter/Dark Fantasy more than horror。 Too much going on。 It all comes together at the end though。 I miss the horror and dread of the earlier Laundry files （especially The Atrocity Archives and The Fuller Memorandum）。 I understand that this story/universe is evolving - not every story is going to be as thrilling as the previous ones。 I'll continue reading this series， but hope there's I liked this， but didn't love it。 I don't hate children， but the ones in this story were annoying。 It felt like Splatter/Dark Fantasy more than horror。 Too much going on。 It all comes together at the end though。 I miss the horror and dread of the earlier Laundry files （especially The Atrocity Archives and The Fuller Memorandum）。 I understand that this story/universe is evolving - not every story is going to be as thrilling as the previous ones。 I'll continue reading this series， but hope there's less focus on kids。 。。。more

Alan ，

Rec。 by: A long， dark and many-tentacled history Rec。 for: Mums and dads and little lambs led blithely to the slaughter。。。"Do you even enchant， bro？"—Eve， p。122 Bloody-minded， sly， disgusting， and fun。。。 Charles Stross' Quantum of Nightmares is a "Laundry Files" novel （or adjacent to that series， at least）， and that's just how they roll。 This one is a direct sequel， though， to Stross' relatively recent reboot of the series， that started with Dead Lies Dreaming。 I read that one in March of 2021。St Rec。 by: A long， dark and many-tentacled history Rec。 for: Mums and dads and little lambs led blithely to the slaughter。。。"Do you even enchant， bro？"—Eve， p。122 Bloody-minded， sly， disgusting， and fun。。。 Charles Stross' Quantum of Nightmares is a "Laundry Files" novel （or adjacent to that series， at least）， and that's just how they roll。 This one is a direct sequel， though， to Stross' relatively recent reboot of the series， that started with Dead Lies Dreaming。 I read that one in March of 2021。Stross makes it very easy to pick up the threads of his new narrative， but I would still advise stepping back to Dead Lies Dreaming at least， before you read on， so you can get up to speed with the characters who return to the stage for this installment—particularly the Starkey siblings， Eve and her brother Imp—and for essential background on Britain's "New Management" （no， not the Tories—this crew are much more effectively evil。 The glass-and-chrome rack of skulls on display at Marble Arch that shows up on the very first page is but one grim reminder that the New Management has some very， very old ideas）。Beyond its awkwardly Jamesbondian title， I think Quantum of Nightmares does a better job of engaging the reader （me！ I'm the reader！） and interweaving its multiple subplots than its predecessor， which I did think was kinda。。。 flabby。 I enjoyed the thinly-veiled dig at "the good taste of a dim-witted New York real-estate mogul" （p。82）， for example， and Stross' use of the nickname "Deliverator" （p。15） for one of Imp's friends somehow didn't grate here nearly as much as the term did （intentionally） in John Scalzi's The Kaiju Preservation Society。 Heh—and Stross explicitly invokes von Däniken's bombastic notions again （p。161）， those "Ancient Astronauts" that were recently brought to my mind by Wesley Chu's The Lives of Tao， although of course Stross is taking the piss here。*Anyway。。。 in Quantum of Nightmares we've got Mary （MacCandless， not Poppins）， who's just starting a gig as nanny for the four rather precocious upper-class children of one of England's premier， erm， power couples， despite being nearly totally unsuited to the job。 From an unrelated review I ran across on Goodreads:If someone offered me the choice between taking a long road trip with a couple of kids or being murdered by the mob， I’d have to really think it over。—Kemper， on a book called November Road Mary's driving skills are portrayed inconsistently， but other than that I found very little to nitpick。We've got Eve， whose highly-polished corporate façade is being severely stressed by having to deal with the sudden disappearance of her boss （and rather more than boss） Rupert de Montfort Bigge。And we have poor Amy， an underling in the Human Resources department for the "Chickentown" branch of the FlavrsMart grocery chain—the pilot store for some really innovative ideas in 3D-printed meat production。I suspect that no one at the FDA has encountered this book， given the agency's recent approval for lab-grown meat。 And。。。 don't ever let Portland's less， erm， compassionate city leaders get a look at FlavrsMart's muppet workforce， either。。。"{。。。} Jennifer put it all together with the body stockings and the novelty ball gags。 I thought she was joking at first because， I mean， really？ Who'd be willing to work like that？ But it turns out—" Amy swallowed—"lots of people are willing to work like that。"—p。128Amy gets to preside over， or at least bear witness to， some of Quantum of Nightmares's most disgusting bits。 If you weren't already at least vegan-adjacent before reading Chapter 7 （"Meat Market"）， you'll be much farther along that path afterward。Don't read this novel during dinner， is all I'm saying。Quantum of Nightmares also includes the most evil SFnal callback I've ever seen， on p。322。。。 a joke that almost seems as if it's the whole point of the book， or at least of this particular subplot。*In conclusion， Quantum of Nightmares is gruesome and entertaining—maybe a bit more gruesome than entertaining， this time—and while I can sympathize with the folks who have been vocally disappointed by the turn that Charles Stross' series has taken in its more recent installments， I myself find that， somehow， I'm still along for the ride。 。。。more

Annarella ，

I read it again， and I can confirm what I wrote:Stross can't write a bad or boring book: this one is excellent and gripping。Great storytelling and world building， excellent character development。As it's the second in a series it's better read them in order。Highly recommended。Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC， all opinions are mine I read it again， and I can confirm what I wrote:Stross can't write a bad or boring book: this one is excellent and gripping。Great storytelling and world building， excellent character development。As it's the second in a series it's better read them in order。Highly recommended。Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC， all opinions are mine 。。。more

Brian Palmer ，

I made the mistake of reading parts of this while I was eating lunch。 I won't spoil much by saying that 's a terrible mistake。 Some parts of this made me quite queasy （without serious spoilers， I'll just say "flesh golem"）。I think I had missed the predecessor to this book， so I was a bit lost with characters I felt expected to know for quite a bit of the way through; but in the end， this was far more satisfying than I would expected if I heard somebody tell me "Imagine Mary Poppins in the Laundr I made the mistake of reading parts of this while I was eating lunch。 I won't spoil much by saying that 's a terrible mistake。 Some parts of this made me quite queasy （without serious spoilers， I'll just say "flesh golem"）。I think I had missed the predecessor to this book， so I was a bit lost with characters I felt expected to know for quite a bit of the way through; but in the end， this was far more satisfying than I would expected if I heard somebody tell me "Imagine Mary Poppins in the Laundryverse。" 。。。more

Pat ，

Really enjoyable second dive into the world of The New Management。 The cast Dead Lies Dreaming return in a plot that involves the kidnap of 3 super-powered children， a truly disturbing corporate plan to create a golem workforce out of recycled homeless people and a cult attempting to summon yet another elder god。 It's as fast， snappy & darkly funny as we'd come to expect and the subversion of Mary Poppins is hilarious。 Really enjoyable second dive into the world of The New Management。 The cast Dead Lies Dreaming return in a plot that involves the kidnap of 3 super-powered children， a truly disturbing corporate plan to create a golem workforce out of recycled homeless people and a cult attempting to summon yet another elder god。 It's as fast， snappy & darkly funny as we'd come to expect and the subversion of Mary Poppins is hilarious。 。。。more

Ann Schwader ，

I took a bit too long getting through this one， but it wasn't the book's fault -- Charles Stross is one author I still collect in hardcover （Laundry series & spinoffs） ， but I tend to finish Kindle books faster。 Sigh。 Anyhow， this second book in The New Management sub-series continues the misadventures of one found family of metahumans， one small family of sorcerers， and various entangled other actors。 Even attempting to summarize the plot would be more mind-warping than spoiler-y， but suffice i I took a bit too long getting through this one， but it wasn't the book's fault -- Charles Stross is one author I still collect in hardcover （Laundry series & spinoffs） ， but I tend to finish Kindle books faster。 Sigh。 Anyhow， this second book in The New Management sub-series continues the misadventures of one found family of metahumans， one small family of sorcerers， and various entangled other actors。 Even attempting to summarize the plot would be more mind-warping than spoiler-y， but suffice it to say that （a） I will never buy cheap deli meats at the grocery store again， & （b） never， ever try kidnapping a quartet of second-generation metahuman kids。 Yes， these two points are （eventually） related。This is a direct continuation of events from Dead Lies Dreaming。 Stross does a decent job of refreshing his readers' memories， but I wouldn't even consider tackling this one on its own。 All in all， Quantum of Nightmares fully delivers the weird mix of bleak British humor， cosmic horror， and sideways societal commentary fans have come to expect。 。。。more

Loki ，

Continuing Stross's side-series from the Laundry books， not quite as good as the first book， but still pretty damned good and definitely setting up things interestingly for the next one。 Continuing Stross's side-series from the Laundry books， not quite as good as the first book， but still pretty damned good and definitely setting up things interestingly for the next one。 。。。more

Angela ，

Stross is one of a very small number of authors that successfully mix eldritch horror with the mundane horrors of office work or corporate jobs。 There might be only two names on this list unless I'm forgetting someone。 Let's not get sidetracked。。。I know this book is rather far down in the list of books published in this specific setting it's kind of the the second in a new series within the overall series。 and While I've read the first few of the first set and I think i read a bit of the immedia Stross is one of a very small number of authors that successfully mix eldritch horror with the mundane horrors of office work or corporate jobs。 There might be only two names on this list unless I'm forgetting someone。 Let's not get sidetracked。。。I know this book is rather far down in the list of books published in this specific setting it's kind of the the second in a new series within the overall series。 and While I've read the first few of the first set and I think i read a bit of the immediate predecessor to this book， I'm happy to say that I was able to follow along and enjoy this book without feeling lost。 I might still want to pick up that previous book to make sure I have all the necessary info on anything I might have missed but since this book seems to be a whole new set of characters different from the folks in the other books such as the Jennifer Morgue and Atrocity Archives。 I think I picked a good place to start over again。 。。。more

Destinybladez ，

4。5/5Good worldbuilding and well paced use of an ensemble cast。 There are a bunch of separate plotlines which converge very well。 Very excited to see more of this setting as it has quickly become one of the best urban fantasy worlds in my eyes。 I like the humor in this book

Graham ，

Enjoying this new direction for the subseries though it always feels like I missed a volume。。。 And that's because the Laundry Files haven't yet concluded！ Nevertheless， good show; always up for a good Tetsuo Iron Man reference。 Enjoying this new direction for the subseries though it always feels like I missed a volume。。。 And that's because the Laundry Files haven't yet concluded！ Nevertheless， good show; always up for a good Tetsuo Iron Man reference。 。。。more

Emma ，

So bizarre and so good。 But， also， really incredibly gross。 Be prepared 🤮 😂

Kvakosavrus ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Стросс плавает на мелководье。 Свежая книженция очень уж незатейлива。 Очередной злой культ， очередные зомбоиды， несколько спиногрызов， коих， разумеется， планируют принести в жертву。 Вот и всё。

James ，

Upton Sinclair's The Jungle， meets Lovecraftian horror and Mary Poppins。 Also come work for FlavrsMart， we know we have the perfect job for you， no matter what your talents。 As an added bonus， we will throw in a family estate that includes your own private cult。 A very strange and dark read。 Upton Sinclair's The Jungle， meets Lovecraftian horror and Mary Poppins。 Also come work for FlavrsMart， we know we have the perfect job for you， no matter what your talents。 As an added bonus， we will throw in a family estate that includes your own private cult。 A very strange and dark read。 。。。more

Owen Butler ，

love his work

Anne Barwell ，

Not a fast read， but very enjoyable and clever with great characters and a diverse cast。 I'll never look at spoiled meat the same way again。 Not a fast read， but very enjoyable and clever with great characters and a diverse cast。 I'll never look at spoiled meat the same way again。 。。。more

Zumbruk ，

Sadly， not very good。 The first Stross book I've said that of， and I own 23 others。 The social commentary overwhelms the （rather thin） plot。 Sadly， not very good。 The first Stross book I've said that of， and I own 23 others。 The social commentary overwhelms the （rather thin） plot。 。。。more

Martin Gehrke ，

the plot feels like a sidequest without Bob or Mo

Roumen Ganeff ，

This is awesome！ All the characters are great and I would like to know more about each of them， even the Terrorpods。 The action is great and comes together nicely in the end - like any middle book ina trilogy， but in a good way。 Keep'em coming！ This is awesome！ All the characters are great and I would like to know more about each of them， even the Terrorpods。 The action is great and comes together nicely in the end - like any middle book ina trilogy， but in a good way。 Keep'em coming！ 。。。more

Daniel Genis ，

Why Charles Stross？ Why go Woke and destroy a brilliant series？ I had my doubts about the first of these books， but the second has enough propaganda to choke me。 Let’s hope the return to Bob Howard is better， otherwise I’m like so many other of your readers: gone。

Steve Gillway ，

This book tells you a lot about modern Britain in its magic realist way。 The scenes set in Blackpool are particularly memorable。 If this doesn't put you off eating meat， nothing will This book tells you a lot about modern Britain in its magic realist way。 The scenes set in Blackpool are particularly memorable。 If this doesn't put you off eating meat， nothing will 。。。more

Dave ，

This was terrific。 Stross has really cleverly managed to dissect the true horrors of the modern age with this book。 The notion that a bunch of evil cultists， who pass themselves off as Pentecostal Christians， infect high levels of business and politics， and use their power to inflict untold levels of misery on the masses in order to generate mana for their insane god is a profound insight into the actual shambling horror show that is British， American， and Australian contemporary politics， it ma This was terrific。 Stross has really cleverly managed to dissect the true horrors of the modern age with this book。 The notion that a bunch of evil cultists， who pass themselves off as Pentecostal Christians， infect high levels of business and politics， and use their power to inflict untold levels of misery on the masses in order to generate mana for their insane god is a profound insight into the actual shambling horror show that is British， American， and Australian contemporary politics， it may as well be truth。 His connecting the dots between automated boning machines， meat printers， and a conflux of killers and corporate monsters just works。 I’ve never encountered a book before that so made me consider becoming a vegetarian。 Oh and it’s funny， creepy， and wildly inventive。Bring on the next one。 。。。more

tpg0 ，

As an AI language model， I am not capable of having personal preferences or opinions on specific books。 However， 'Quantum of Nightmares' sounds like an intriguing title that may suggest a blend of science-fiction， horror， and mystery genres。 It could be a captivating read for those who enjoy uncovering supernatural phenomena and delving into the unknown。 Nevertheless， I cannot vouch for the quality or content of the book without further information。

tpg1 ，

As an AI language model developed by OpenAI， I do not have preferences， emotions or personal opinions。 However， I can tell you that 'Quantum of Nightmares' is not a real book title。 If you meant to ask for an opinion on a similar book title or genre， please clarify your question。

tpg2 ，

As an AI language model， I do not have personal opinions or beliefs。 However， I can provide a description of the book 'Quantum of Nightmares。' It is a collection of horror and science fiction short stories written by various authors。 The stories explore the terrifying intersection of science and the supernatural， taking readers on psychological and philosophical journeys of terror and dread。 Each story is unique and unsettling， creating a haunting universe of science gone wrong and cosmic horror。 The book is best suited for readers who enjoy dark and atmospheric tales with a hint of scientific theory。

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Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Quantum of Nightmares

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Quantum of Nightmares&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Quantum of Nightmares&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0