The Annihilation Score

By: Charles Stross

Narrated by: Elle Newlands

Hugo Award-winning author Charles Stross presents the next case in The Laundry Files. Dominique O'Brien - her friends call her Mo - lives a curious double life with her husband, Bob Howard. To the average civilian, they're boring middle-aged civil servants. But within the labyrinthian secret circles of Her Majesty's government, they're operatives working for the nation's occult security service known as the Laundry, charged with defending Britain against dark supernatural forces threatening humanity.

Mo's latest assignment is assisting the police in containing an unusual outbreak: ordinary citizens suddenly imbued with extraordinary abilities of the superpowered kind. Unfortunately these people prefer playing superpranks instead of superheroics. The mayor of London being levitated by a dumpy man in Trafalgar Square would normally be a source of shared amusement for Mo and Bob, but they're currently separated because something's come between them - something evil. An antique violin, an Erich Zann original, made of human white bone, was designed to produce music capable of slaughtering demons. Mo is the custodian of this unholy instrument. It invades her dreams and yearns for the blood of her colleagues - and her husband. And despite Mo's proficiency as a world-class violinist, it cannot be controlled....

©2015 Charles Stross (P)2015 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"A weirdly alluring blend of super-spy thriller, deadpan comic fantasy, and Lovecraftian horror." ( Kirkus Reviews)

Building to a great climax

Loved it, though with stross changing his style again it was a bit of an adjustment. Brilliantly written and leaves the story in a very interesting place

it lacked structure but not characters

The main issue is this book presentation is almost all tell and no show. While there is various moment s of character s interacting they too are abstracted, and the reader gets the cliff notes. The main character was while involved with the main plot, was not responsible for it's reveal. The main character was almost entirely passive. And she was a damsel in distress at the climax, which I only knew was approaching because I knew how many chapters there were. The main character is deep and interesting she just wasnt the most interesting for the events happening in this book. And to be fair our previous protagonist, Bob would have been more boring during this time period too.

Good narrator to capture Dominique

This is not a Bob Howard story. This is a Mo story.

The character perspective and voice are very different from the rest of the series (which is probably also why Gideon Emory is not narrating) so if you are a Bob fan rather than a Laundry fan or a Stross fan you may need to manage your expectations.

That said, it is still a good listen. And I think the change of perspective was needed after the events concluding The Rhesus Chart.

Good book

This is the good story I don't get all the hate. It fits with the rest of the series.

a solid, if plodding entry

a few inspired moments, but the climax is a bit underwhelming and the premise isn't utilized to its full potential. it bears the hallmarks of an artist spinning his wheels