If you could sum up The Atrocity Archives in three words, what would they be?
Cold-war, love, bureaucracy
Who was your favorite character and why?
It has to be the protagonist. His journey is that of the classic fairy-story hero, and he is likeable!
Which character – as performed by Jack Hawkins – was your favourite?
As above
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The revelation of the relationship between the protagonist's two male room mates.
Any additional comments?
It is a well crafted, intelligent appraisal of how the British Secret Service would deal with the supernatural. It has a Fifties, Cold War feel, layered with the twenty-first century's real-world worries.
It is very gripping - a dynamic writing style, with real characterisation that grounds the very strange events into our recognisable real world. Only quibble is Stross's failure to fully characterise the female characters - a not uncommon problem with male authors, and Stross's women tend to fall into stereotypes; sex object(albeit with brains), bimbo or ball-breaker.
Charles Stross channels Ben Aaronovitch and Terry Pratchett in his younger period, and achieves somnething that is uniquely his own voice. He doesn't stray too far into the horror/torture/gross genre, but keeps it grounded with comedy, current references and the human drivers of love, loss and learning.This book is in two distinct parts - I believe they were originally published separately, but the repetition of setting back story isn't too cumbersome, and it all hangs together well.I'm definitely looking for more of his work.