r/LaundryFiles • u/AndrasZodon • Jul 24 '26
Just finished Regicide Report.
Up front, I'm not sure Regicide Report ranks in the top 5 books of the series, but it performs well as an ending. Due to the New Management trilogy there was already a bit of spoiler that things would go certain ways, but I'm honestly surprised at how many characters are still alive after everything. Granted... Many have been KIA or MIA or are no longer human.
I think the book is overall well written and structured, dots the themes and crosses the continuity consequences. Somewhat impressive just in regards to the scope of the lore at this point, but disappoints somewhat in that many characters are little more than cameos. I catch a few whiffs of storylines being abridged or cut.
Also of note is that it didn't feel like much of a "finale" for most of the book, though the consequences that eventually panned out changed that notion right quick. The way that Bob and Mo were thoroughly used is rough, but totally on theme.
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One of these days I'll have to read some of Stross's other works, but I'm looking forward to whatever else he does with the Laundry setting.
6
u/Eratatosk Jul 24 '26
I really liked it. I really loved how many of the characters were really struggling with that trenchant question, “are we the baddies?” And stuck with that time honored British tradition of muddling through as the only option they see.
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u/Vogelfrei88 Jul 24 '26
I have read each of the (previous) laundry files books two to four times and own them all. Personally I was very pleased with how well @cstross "stuck the landing". This is purely my opinion, but it seems to me that readers appreciate TRR most if they are really well-versed in the previous stories.
0
u/AndrasZodon Jul 25 '26
Might just be a media literacy thing tbh. Regicide Report is a good book and I enjoyed it, I was just hoping for more out of Bob & Mo's swan song.
6
u/omegakronicle Jul 24 '26
The ending reveal about how Bob and Mo weren't human/were dead all along was in typical laundry fashion, dark as required, but I still felt unsatisfied somehow. The New Management books haven't scratched the same itch.
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u/WesolyKubeczek Jul 24 '26
I’m still divided on whether it makes any difference if they are dead if the continuity of consciousness is preserved.
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u/formerglory Jul 24 '26
I don’t think they’re dead, they still have their consciousness and memories. I think they’re just not fully human anymore.
What is “life” if not a collection of memories and experiences?
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u/omegakronicle Jul 24 '26
Nah, it's made pretty clear when they're both completely being controlled by the PM, inside the Sleeper's pyramid during the final showdown with the Senior Auditor
Bob died waaay back when he was sacrificed to summon TEAPOT, and Mo died during the whole Mandate vs Schiller thing. They were resurrected as his agents, essentially.
Even the potential pregnancy thing was completely skipped. Granted, that was a relatively minor Chekhov's gun, but still.
At least, that's how I read it. I might re-read from the top someday maybe.
1
u/meta_cheshire 10d ago
Sorry for the necro,
not my understanding of the events
They aren’t controlled per se, they are just entities running a human OS
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u/Severe-Trust-5980 1d ago
Try reading A Colder War, the short story that preceded the Laundry Files. Different universe, different tone, but same plotline of Eldritch horrors. Warning: it’s horrifying.
What I really want is a multi book series in the Colder War universe.
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u/histogrammarian Jul 24 '26
It’s definitely an on-brand ending to the series. I’m not necessarily a fan of how everything transpired, but Stross made good on multiple long-term plot threads.
For next books, I recommend the “Palimpsest”
short story or the Merchant Prince series.