Equoid by Charles Stross is a Hugo winner, in a year that’s had quite a bit of controversy. Initially, I was impressed by the story, but the more I think about it, the less I am. Intelligent, articulate, and witty, it has undercurrents that are dark and disturbing.
It’s hard not to see echoes of Larry “Lord of Hate” Correia in Charles Stross’ Equoid
End comparison. Stross’s hero is a government bureaucrat who calls in the artillery , while Correia’s protagonists usually ARE the artillery, and while they both have different means to accomplish the same ends, they are very different voices.
In Stross’s Equoid, Bob Howard is a computer geek that works for a secret British government agency. It’s his job to look into the things that go bump in the night, as well as to file the appropriate paperwork to deal with it. It’s a soul crushing job–and that’s just a comment on the paperwork.
This week Howard has been sent out in to the countryside to look into a rumor about unicorns, and lest you keep that fond smile on your face, be warned that unicorns in this construction are anything but rainbows and sparkles. Rather, the threat of a unicorn infestation is a Lovecraftian horror that would drown the world and end humanity.
It’s just another day for Howard, though.
If you pick this up, note that it’s not the first in the series, but this is one of those times when you can jump in mid-stream and never miss a beat. Equoid by Charles Stross is winner of the 2014 Hugo in the novella category, I picked it up primarily for that reason, but, due to how much I enjoyed it, I suspect that I’ll go back and find others in the Laundry series, of which it is a part, as well. Stross has a style that is equal parts intelligent, relying on a reader’s knowledge and reading outside the story, and humorous.
If you like British humor–heavy in sarcasm and dripping with grim humor–you might enjoy dipping into Equoid. Bonus points if you’ve any taste for Lovecraft. Be warned, though, that there are some disturbing aspects to the story–especially if you like unicorns.
Related articles
- Book Review: Equoid by Charles Stross (themself.org)
- Equoid, a Laundry Novella, by Charles Stross (Hugo Nom) (littleredreviewer.wordpress.com)
- Hugo Reviews 2014 – Novellas (thealexandrian.net)
- Hugo recommendations: Best Novella (voxday.blogspot.com)
- Hugo Awards post-game analysis (obsidianwings.blogs.com)
Equoid
Laundry Files, #2.9
Science fiction/fantasy
Tor Books
October 16, 2013
Kindle
32
The "Laundry" is Britain's super-secret agency devoted to protecting the realm from the supernatural horrors that menace it. Now Bob Howard, Laundry agent, must travel to the quiet English countryside to deal with an outbreak of one of the worst horrors imaginable. For, as it turns out, unicorns are real. They're also ravenous killers from beyond spacetime...
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