Review: The Rhesus Chart, by Charles Stross

Last updated on: July 15, 2014 at 3:00 am by willduquette

Review: The Rhesus Chart, by Charles Stross 2014-07-07T20:00:41-05:00 willduquette

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Rhesus Chart, Charles Stross’ latest outing in “The Laundry Files”, came out on the 1st of July, and I’d devoured it by midnight on the 3rd.

Here’s the background, if you’re not a hopeless computer/Lovecraft geek. Bob Howard, once a budding British maths student, is now an employee of a shadowy British secret service office called “The Laundry”, whose task it is to preserve the British public from having their minds and other body parts devoured by Lovecraftian horrors from other dimensions. You see, it seems that mathematics simply is magic, and when you bring computers into the mix your chances of accidentally turning London into a suburb of R’Lyeh go way up. Part-Dilbert, part James Bond, Howard is an expert in computational demonology; you might call him the sysadmin from hell. (His wife, a combat epistemologist, plays an Erich Zann violin that simply to die for.)

Our Bob has dealt with all kinds of cosmic nasties over the years, but never that pet sparkly bugaboo of modern culture, the vampire. In this, the latest outing in the series, Stross rectifies that lack. Or rather, he would, if vampires existed. Because they don’t, you know. Everyone at the Laundry knows that, in fact is utterly sure of it. They couldn’t possibly exist.

Or could they?

The Rhesus Chart has the plusses and minuses of the previous entries in the series; on the plus side, it’s funny, clever, horrific, and funny, and on the minus side, Stross seems to have it in for religion. I say seems, because it’s always dangerous to infer an author’s views from a work of fiction; and then, it’s all first person narration and it’s quite clear that in Bob Howard’s world none of the great religions can possibly be true. If that’s going to bother you, look elsewhere.

Woof Guide to Literature

charles stross

the rhesus factor

Previous Post

July 14, 2014

Embrace the Cloud—But Not Too Tightly

Next Post

July 16, 2014 Poodle Skirts

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Admin App o' the Morning Ask the Dogmat Believing Thomas Bits of Fiction Blasts from the Past Bootstrapping the Interior Life Catholic Mom Christian Living Deep Thoughts from the Doghouse Dominicana Evangelii Gaudium Interviews It Was A Dark and Stormy Night Links to This and That Lumen Fidei Meme Watch On Writing Operation Gratitude Pedant Errant Photography Quill Random Barkings S'Mary's World Shakers of Salt Software Development The Dog Whistler The Dogmat Sez Third Orders Thomas Aquinas Uncategorized Vikings at Dinos Woof Guide to Cinema Woof Guide to History Woof Guide to Literature Woof Guide to Obscure Catholic Music Woof Guide to Philosophy Woof Guide to Popular Music Woof Guide to Technology Woof Guide to Theology Words I Wish I'd Written Works For Me

Select a Month September 2016 August 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Where does the Bible say, "do to others as you would have them do to you"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Leviticus Luke Judges Revelation