Escape from Yokai Land by Charles Stross

Escape from Yokai Land (Laundry Files, #7.5)

by Charles Stross

Regular readers of Charles Stross's Laundry Files might have noticed Bob Howard's absence from the events of The Nightmare Stacks, and his subsequent return from Tokyo at the start of The Delirium Brief.

Escape from Yokai Land explains what he was doing there.

Bob's been assigned to work with the Miyamoto Group, checking the wards that lock down Japan's warded sites-a task previously handled by his predecessor Dr. Angleton, the Eater of Souls. This mostly involves policing yokai: traditional magical beings, increasingly grown more annoying and energetic.

But then Bob's simple trip turns into a deadly confrontation with the ultimate yokai. It's massively powerful. It's pink. And it says "Hello."

Reviewed by annieb123 on

5 of 5 stars

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Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Escape from Yokai Land is a novella in the Laundry Files by Charles Stross. Released 1st March 2022 by Macmillan on their Tordotcom imprint, it's 96 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

I love the sense of gonzo out-of-control wall-to-wall hysterical madness for which the Laundry Files are well known. This is more of the same, and featuring Bob (!!! YAY!). For readers who adore paranormal bureaucratic fantasy, this is the top shelf good stuff. For fans of Aaronovitch, Doctorow, Simon Green, and the other boys in the band - this is not derivative at all, but ticks the same boxes for me as the aforementioned. It's funny, full on chaos, darkly humorous, and absolutely full of malicious compliance and government incompetence. I also love the fact that there's deep nerdiness in the form of a math/physics/programming component to magic and that the agents are really smart (and very nerdy).

For readers who are not already invested in the series, it's convoluted, and this one won't work particularly well as a standalone. The series is up to 9 books plus tie ins in the form of the New Management series, so it's a great candidate for a very long weekend's binge read.

Four and a half stars. I recommend it to humorous SF fans unreservedly.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

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