Title: The Jennifer Morgue
Author: Charles Stross
Publisher: Golden Gryphon
Year Published: 2006

First Line: The guys from the “A” and “B” crews have been sitting on their collective ass for five weeks, out in the middle of nowhere.

Bob Howard is James Bond for the Generation H4X0RZ. Set in the same universe as The Atrocity Archive (reviewed here), the exploits of the secret agent of the occult are continued with a much longer, and more robust adventure. It isn’t technically a sequel, but without reading the former, the history and depth of the relationship between Bob and Mo, his fiancé, are lost. Still, the nature of their relationship is clear, and the book stands on its own very well.

The Jennifer Morgue is, without a doubt, a page turner for most of it’s 267 pages. While I am far from an aficionado of Ian Fleming’s books, I think that Stross draws the parallels very well, and creates in Bob Howard a reluctant hero that is very much not James Bond. His wit seems is almost self-deprecating and his charm undeniable in a “the geek shall inherit the Earth” kind of way.

Perhaps the single greatest exploration Stross embarks upon, however, is a connection he draws between Bob and Ramona, an alien possessed by a demon. Bob and Ramona become “entangled” by a form of advanced magic, and become physiologically entwined. They share thoughts, emotions, and physical conditions even when separated by great distances. The intimacy of this strange union reveals a depth of character work not often seen in genre novels. The journey the two of them take is remarkable, and I found myself utterly captivated by their evolving relationship.

And it’s a good thing, too, because without that relationship I would not have enjoyed The Jennifer Morgue nearly as much as I did. Though I still think the universe he has created is wonderful, Stross is very much a “Hard” Science Fiction author. His character work, as I mentioned, is as good as anything out there, but there is no mistaking that this book is about the occult technology of his universe. Indeed, there were whole chapters dedicated to explaining aspects of it that trudged onward with little or no actual advancement of the plot. Thankfully, these chapters were over and done with by about the mid-point of the novel, but they made the first half very tedious to get through.

The last half, though, and specifically the final 100 pages or so, make up for that tedium, and then some. The final action scenes, and then the denouement in the final chapter between Bob and his fiancé, are simply fantastic. I was a bit disappointed with how the relationship between Bob and Ramona ended after so intimate an adventure, but I think it was done as it was intentionally in order to heighten the final status of that relationship (yes, I left that purposely vague so as not to spoil anything).

Following the novel is a short story titled “Pimpf” which takes place, sensibly enough, once Bob has returned to The Laundry after the events of The Jennifer Morgue. It is a nice story and reveals a bit more characterization about Bob and, perhaps more importantly, more characterization on the inner workings of The Laundry, but I found it to be the least effective addition to the universe that I have seen. To me it seemed little more than a parody of selfish government in action, and it did little to advance the universe on the whole that Stross has created.

Also included in the hardcover edition is an essay titled “Afterword: The Golden Age of Spying.” Here, Stross goes into great detail on the history of the British spy thriller and espionage in general in the UK and US. I found it very interesting at first, but it quickly turned into a history lesson and I ended up not finishing it.

All in all, The Jennifer Morgue is an enjoyable read, especially for those interested in character and relationship development. The technical aspects, for my taste, are overdone, but I am not the technophile I once was and preferred to engage my Willing-Suspension-Of-Disbelief-O-Meter at a lower level than normal in order to remain interested. While additional books in this universe will likely not be at the very top of my To Buy list, they will undoubtedly find their way into my library all the same.

Next on the Reading List

American Gothic Tales edited by Joyce Carol Oates