Overtime (edition 2009)

A nice little short story just right for the week after Christmas. Currently free for the Kindle at Amazon, so why not? ( )

Set in Stross' The Laundry series, this is an amusing take on what really happens when you hang stockings by the chimney. I enjoyed it. ( )

Summary: "Overtime" by Charles Stross is a Christmas story in full Lovecraftian sci-fi transition. Bob Howard works for a secret alien- and magic-monitoring branch of the government, and is stuck in the office over the holidays, putting in time as the Night Duty Officer. He expects it to be nothing more than several days of sitting around being bored, but then he receives a dire warning about an unspeakable horror from beyond the stars. Something's coming down the chimney this Christmas, but it's sure as heck not jolly ol' St. Nick.

Review: This story was a fun and fast (and seasonally-appropriate) read. Its narrator wasn't super-well developed, mostly defaulting to "brash but reluctant action hero." Stross apparently has an entire series of books starring this character, but in short story form, the quick attempts to give him depth beyond the action of the story didn't really work for me. Regardless, the story moves along at a good clip, and has everything you'd expect from a Christmas tale: boring office Christmas parties, prophecies and paradoxes, action and snarky humor, and the terrifying Filler of Stockings.

Recommendation: Overall, a fun antidote to some of the more sickly-sweet Christmas fare out there, and since it can be read (or downloaded to the Kindle, or listened to) for free, it's definitely worth a shot. ( )

Set in the Laundry series, where a super-secret British government agency, the
Laundry, protects against extra-dimensional horrors summonable using computers. Bob Howard, their lowly sysadmin, gets dumped with the job of nightwatchmen at the Laundry over the Christmas break. The office party is as dreary as ever but an unusual photocopy momento jars Bob into realising something is amiss. Great fun but little depth. ( )

This was a great little story. I am very interested in reading the Laundry stories by Charles Stross now, they sound very interesting. If they are anything like this story I will be very happy. ( )