Charles Stross that I've seen tends to the good but straight sci-fi. The Atrocity Archives might not be to your personal taste, but probably deserves a mention over here.

It's hard, as always, to avoid spoilers, but this refuses to fit neatly into the slots alright. If pushed for categorisation other than "weird" I'd say it was a satire on bureaucracy/geek/spook/Lovecraftian cross-over at least.

Apparently it's also his first book to be published, but don't let that put you off. Stross is a Brit, speaking as a fellow Brit I found some of his stuff hilarious too, but it might not cross the pond that well.

Yeah, this is fairly good. Tim Powers Declare might qualify as weirder?

Possibly, but then a huge chunk of Tim Powers books probably ought to be in the weird section anyway IMO. It was more of a surprise to me to find Charles Stross over here - I know him mainly as a hard(ish) sci-fi (with a strong geek streak) author. The geek is still there in this, but the rest of the mix was both fun and surprising.

The long essay at the end of the book actually contains his memories of being told NOT to read Declare until he'd finished. I can see why - they are similar in the areas they handle - but I also agree with his analysis that they're different in tone and (obviously for me) both well worth reading.

I'm American, and I loved it.

(I found that it crossed the pond just fine, but then, I'm a bureaucrat, too....)

I enjoyed The Atrocity Archives a great deal, and am now looking for the sequel, The Jennifer Morgue.

I particularly recommend this series for anyone who has worked in IT.

Maybe you are one of the small minority with a passport, Bob? :-)

I still haven't come across the second one, either.

Loved the book, for whatever that's worth. It's Lovecraft meets The Office by way of MI5.

Loved both books! They translated just fine, even though I'm not a bureaucrat. Although I do have a passport...8^}

If you go to sfbc.com, they released an affordable omnibus edition of ATROCITY ARCHIVES & THE JENNIFER MROGUE, plus 2 novellas and lots of extras under the title ON HER MAJESTY'S OCCULT SERVICE. I thought the whole project was fantastic (then again I have always been a 007 fan and this was like kicking Bond into horror territory). It doesn't hurt that Stross is a fantastic writer, either.

another thumbs up for "The Atrocity Archives" - very funny and computer savvy. Liked it a lot better than "Accelerando."

Have yet to read "The Atrocity Archives" but loved "The Jennifer Morgue". I do think it helps to be in IT or a bureaucrat, makes some of the inner dialog more enjoyable.

This looks pretty good. I find it amusing that the protagonist's name is "Bob Howard". :) I'll definitely pick it up if I come across it on the cheap.