The Fuller Memorandum

By Charles Stross

Oleg said I probably wouldn't like this and he wasn't far wrong. The Fuller Memorandum is the third novel featuring Stross's (alter ego?) character Bob Howard in his ongoing quest to protect the United Kingdom, against her Britannic Majesty's spiritual and arcane enemies, and its pretty much on a par with the two previous books, only less entertaining as the plot is run-of-the-mill and the story telling follows a typical British modern style which seems to place a big emphasis on protagonists having pointless run ins with lesser characters, usually with the sort of bitchy comments that prompt me to wonder if perhaps Stross uses his writing as a form of stress relief.

Some of the idea's are good as always, but these get dropped in favour of the afore mentioned bitchiness, so instead of Howard following leads into the spirit world, or a development of the idea that the British establishment has a means to wage inter dimensional war, we get Howard and his co workers bitching at each other in board meetings, followed by Howard playing one upmanship with some bitchy card board cut out cultists, the whole culminating in an anti climactic battle in a grave yard crawling with zombies. Don't worry about spoilers, you can't read this book and not know whats going to happen next. Every plot twist is sign posted long before you reach it.
2/5