There’s a decent occult/sci-fi novel series called the Laundry Files wherein people sometimes stumble across or come up with forbidden mathematics that actually functions as a form of occult spellcraft. They then get forcibly drafted into this secret government organization that works to protect the world from extraterrestrial threats, occult creatures like vampires and succubi, and the lovecraftian horrors from the depths of the oceans or the fridge fringe edges of space. They’re like the men in black crossed with Lovecraft crossed with a British comedy about monotonous office life and bureaucracy. It’s a pretty entertaining series. Highly recommend.
I’d like to add the audiobooks are quite good for those who listen! They’re a very fun series (I’ve “only” been through the first 6, quite a few more after I checked.)
Yeah, I listened to them on audiobook myself. Also about 6 of them, give or take, oddly enough. I have been doing audiobooks a ton the last few years, as I rarely have time to just sit down and read. Perfect for when you’re doing menial tasks that aren’t mentally engaging. Doing dishes, driving, going grocery shopping… audiobook.
I’ve been on the Dungeon Crawler Carl series lately which is another great series that’s also weird as hell. Weirder even than the Laundry Files by far. A half naked protagonist fighting for his life with his girlfriend’s cat in tow, meth head llamas, and a dungeon-controlling AI with a thing for feet, just to name a few things from early in the first book. And the narrator for Carl sounds a lot like Patrick Warburton. Thoroughly recommend if that sounds like your kind of thing.
I also need to recommend, as you seem to be a brid of my feather, using audible and a kindle together to trade off between daytime story listening and nighttime reading in bed. I know Amazon is evil, and there are a lot of issues in particular with audible’s payment structure towards indie authors, but God damn do they offer a compelling service. I picked up a new-gen Paperwhite last prime day and my bedtime routine and travel bag has been irrepreably changed.
I’d love to hear more about what you’ve been listing to!
Edit: I didn’t make it clear above but Amazon will track your progress between the audiobook and the Kindle book and sync them.
Amazon will track your progress between the audiobook and the Kindle book and sync them.
I did not know that. That is actually a nice feature. I used to jump back and forth between ebook and audiobook on my phone but it was a pain to find your spot again when you swap if you didnt do it at a chapter change.
I was looking as a Kindle the other day for night time reading but wasn’t sure if I wanted to do it or not. I dont know if i can trust it to just be an ereader. I bought a cheap fire tablet for my wife a few years ago and found out too late that it was a cheap vehicle for ads. Apparently I bought the wrong one. They have a more expensive model that is ad free, but I didn’t know about it at the time.
I’m jaded about buying amazon tech now. Not just for anti-competitive, anti-union stuff (which unfortunately is not just an Amazon problem), but the products themselves not just being a product you buy and own. They make their product into a tool to inundate you with ads and get you to consume more. Feels like you are getting tricked. Do you have ads on your paperwhite?
Also, since you asked, I’ve been on a LitRPG kick lately. Two series in particular. Well… two authors/settings in particular. The first is He Who Fights With Monsters by Shirtaloon. An aussie nihilist smart-ass finds himself naked and hairless in a new world that operates on RPG rules, gains abilities, saves some people, joins an adventuring party and guild, pisses a lot of people in power off, and has to constantly grow stronger to keep those people in power from controlling or destroying him. I like the world, there is a lot of laughs, fantastically descriptive fights, epic world-ending stakes and even some really deeply emotional stuff in later books. He publishes the stories chapter by chapter on a website, then compiles them into books, then they get recorded into audiobooks. As a result, there are a few times where the story was noticably disjointed or retreads the same point a bit that I think is due to these chapter releases and disconnected edits. But I love the characters, even if the protagonist is an ass with plot armor sometimes. Good dumb fun.
The other ones I ran through recently are all by the same author and in the same setting and even happen (nearly) contemporaneously, but they are 3 separate series. The Good Guys, The Bad Guys, and The Grim Guys, all by Eric Ugland. They have some overlapping side characters/events, but they are each largely contained to their own narratives. They are also LitRPG series, so as you would expect, the setting is another world with gods, monsters, and magic that operates on a RPG-like system with character sheets, levels, skills, etc. In The Good Guys, a dude who had lived his life doing awful things gets a second chance in this fantasy world and somewhat reluctantly becomes a hero, a leader, and an overpowered pile of muscle. In The Bad Guys, a serial burgler with a soft spot for kids gets a chance in this new world to make something of himself. Though he planned to be the best rogue he could be, he ends up more along the lines of a Robin-hood figure, using his criminal skills to help others that depend on him. And in The Grim Guys, two best friends and partner ghost hunters are brought to this new world to be monster hunters in service to a patron goddess. They basically become the Winchesters from Supernatural, an observation that is actually made by themselves in the story.
I’m caught up on all those series waiting for more and nearly caught up on the Dungeon Crawler series too. Don’t know yet what I’m picking up after.
There’s a decent occult/sci-fi novel series called the Laundry Files wherein people sometimes stumble across or come up with forbidden mathematics that actually functions as a form of occult spellcraft. They then get forcibly drafted into this secret government organization that works to protect the world from extraterrestrial threats, occult creatures like vampires and succubi, and the lovecraftian horrors from the depths of the oceans or the
fridgefringe edges of space. They’re like the men in black crossed with Lovecraft crossed with a British comedy about monotonous office life and bureaucracy. It’s a pretty entertaining series. Highly recommend.Somewhere near the borders of known space, shrouded by darkness and a two-week-old carton of milk, they lurk… the moldy leftovers!
What a bizarre idea. Thanks for the rec!
Gonna try to lay my hands on it, thanks, seems stupidly crazy and enjoyable
My library has it thanks!!
That sounds amazing. I’ll give that a read, thanks mate
Awesome my library app has it, thanks! Sounds right up my alley!
Sweet, Thanks.
I just checked The Atrocity Archives (first book in the series) out of my local library’s e-book program.
I’m looking forward to reading this.
First time seeing them mentioned online, Charles Stross is great
I’d like to add the audiobooks are quite good for those who listen! They’re a very fun series (I’ve “only” been through the first 6, quite a few more after I checked.)
Yeah, I listened to them on audiobook myself. Also about 6 of them, give or take, oddly enough. I have been doing audiobooks a ton the last few years, as I rarely have time to just sit down and read. Perfect for when you’re doing menial tasks that aren’t mentally engaging. Doing dishes, driving, going grocery shopping… audiobook.
I’ve been on the Dungeon Crawler Carl series lately which is another great series that’s also weird as hell. Weirder even than the Laundry Files by far. A half naked protagonist fighting for his life with his girlfriend’s cat in tow, meth head llamas, and a dungeon-controlling AI with a thing for feet, just to name a few things from early in the first book. And the narrator for Carl sounds a lot like Patrick Warburton. Thoroughly recommend if that sounds like your kind of thing.
I’ll definitely give them a listen!
I also need to recommend, as you seem to be a brid of my feather, using audible and a kindle together to trade off between daytime story listening and nighttime reading in bed. I know Amazon is evil, and there are a lot of issues in particular with audible’s payment structure towards indie authors, but God damn do they offer a compelling service. I picked up a new-gen Paperwhite last prime day and my bedtime routine and travel bag has been irrepreably changed.
I’d love to hear more about what you’ve been listing to!
Edit: I didn’t make it clear above but Amazon will track your progress between the audiobook and the Kindle book and sync them.
I did not know that. That is actually a nice feature. I used to jump back and forth between ebook and audiobook on my phone but it was a pain to find your spot again when you swap if you didnt do it at a chapter change.
I was looking as a Kindle the other day for night time reading but wasn’t sure if I wanted to do it or not. I dont know if i can trust it to just be an ereader. I bought a cheap fire tablet for my wife a few years ago and found out too late that it was a cheap vehicle for ads. Apparently I bought the wrong one. They have a more expensive model that is ad free, but I didn’t know about it at the time.
I’m jaded about buying amazon tech now. Not just for anti-competitive, anti-union stuff (which unfortunately is not just an Amazon problem), but the products themselves not just being a product you buy and own. They make their product into a tool to inundate you with ads and get you to consume more. Feels like you are getting tricked. Do you have ads on your paperwhite?
Also, since you asked, I’ve been on a LitRPG kick lately. Two series in particular. Well… two authors/settings in particular. The first is He Who Fights With Monsters by Shirtaloon. An aussie nihilist smart-ass finds himself naked and hairless in a new world that operates on RPG rules, gains abilities, saves some people, joins an adventuring party and guild, pisses a lot of people in power off, and has to constantly grow stronger to keep those people in power from controlling or destroying him. I like the world, there is a lot of laughs, fantastically descriptive fights, epic world-ending stakes and even some really deeply emotional stuff in later books. He publishes the stories chapter by chapter on a website, then compiles them into books, then they get recorded into audiobooks. As a result, there are a few times where the story was noticably disjointed or retreads the same point a bit that I think is due to these chapter releases and disconnected edits. But I love the characters, even if the protagonist is an ass with plot armor sometimes. Good dumb fun.
The other ones I ran through recently are all by the same author and in the same setting and even happen (nearly) contemporaneously, but they are 3 separate series. The Good Guys, The Bad Guys, and The Grim Guys, all by Eric Ugland. They have some overlapping side characters/events, but they are each largely contained to their own narratives. They are also LitRPG series, so as you would expect, the setting is another world with gods, monsters, and magic that operates on a RPG-like system with character sheets, levels, skills, etc. In The Good Guys, a dude who had lived his life doing awful things gets a second chance in this fantasy world and somewhat reluctantly becomes a hero, a leader, and an overpowered pile of muscle. In The Bad Guys, a serial burgler with a soft spot for kids gets a chance in this new world to make something of himself. Though he planned to be the best rogue he could be, he ends up more along the lines of a Robin-hood figure, using his criminal skills to help others that depend on him. And in The Grim Guys, two best friends and partner ghost hunters are brought to this new world to be monster hunters in service to a patron goddess. They basically become the Winchesters from Supernatural, an observation that is actually made by themselves in the story.
I’m caught up on all those series waiting for more and nearly caught up on the Dungeon Crawler series too. Don’t know yet what I’m picking up after.
Thank you i’ll search that 👍
Happy to share. Hope you enjoy.
I need to read this. Thanks for the book recommendation
I need to read this. Thanks for the book recommendation