Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I was very much looking forward to the next instalment of the Laundry Files, because a) it is LF; b) it would from Mo's PoV (after reading several dozen times about how unreliable Bob is as a narrator; and c) I wanted to see how would the author apply his wonderful wit and imagination to superheroes. As the review's title noes, I was disappointed on all counts. To me, what makes the entire series so interesting--and separates LF from the dozens of other paranormal series is its basic premise: high level computing equals high level magic. Yet in this instalment, smart phones are used for texting, computers for emailing, and all the magic comes from inherent abilities. Just like every other paranormal series. Strike 1. Secondly, increasing the pleasure of reading the series for me is the author's Dilbertian commentary on bureaucracy, garnished with highlights of the uniqueness of the British system. Yet in this instalment, witty insights and wry commentary are entirely lacking. Worse, he left in--and in fact increased--the actual bureaucratic activities going on. The book is filled with--and yes, it is nothing but filler--accounts of many meetings, the logistical trials of starting up a new directorate, and more meetings. Strike 2. Next is Mo. Instead of a competent operative full of agency, we get a cliché from a half century ago. A women envious of the looks of a younger woman, of the clothes of a richer woman, jealous of her husband's ex's (from a decade ago, before they were married), concerned about her clothes and approaching middle-age spread, who deals with the stress of her job by...having a good cry. A single moment of competency at the very end of the book does not, for me, make up for how she was portrayed during the rest of it. Strike 3 and you are out (yes I am an American). Lastly, making things even worse, the book does absolutely nothing to advance the arc of the series. It occurs in its own little bubble universe, where the devastating conclusion to the previous book seems to just be a plot device to justify getting Bob out of the way and making Mo start up a new office in a different location. As far as the overall series arc goes, the author could have skipped this novel completely, and covered it all by one sentence in his next effort: "Mo no longer carries the violin, and has been promoted." I hope he does better on the next one.