Charlie's interests have always lain on the spectrum of economic power /
governance / policing, not only in the latter part of the Laundry series
but also in the Halting State books and the world walker books. (The
Laundry starts out as an extension of hacker humour combined with the mild
satire of Yes, Minister, and it takes a little while to get more serious.)
Responding to Brexit, which is the nadir of government refusing to
govern, pretty much requires that its objective correlative be something
like the complete evacuation of the governing figures in favour of
something like the Black Pharaoh; a simple critique of slightly stupid
authoritarianism of the Cameronian variety, as on display in the last book,
was no longer up to the challenge. (When real life news leaders suggest,
however jokingly, that the PM is a robot engaged in failing the Turing
Test, you know you've passed into unknown territory.)
Given the intersection of Charlie's interest in economics and the likely
course of the UK over the next few years, he'll have plenty of real world
matter to feed a meditation on an even more complete collapse. (The effects
of CASE NIGHTMARE RAINBOW, especially outside the ambit of the Black
Pharaoh, are likely to be economically as well as politically / occultly
disrupting.)
no subject
Date: 2017-08-02 01:04 am (UTC)Charlie's interests have always lain on the spectrum of economic power / governance / policing, not only in the latter part of the Laundry series but also in the Halting State books and the world walker books. (The Laundry starts out as an extension of hacker humour combined with the mild satire of Yes, Minister, and it takes a little while to get more serious.)
Responding to Brexit, which is the nadir of government refusing to govern, pretty much requires that its objective correlative be something like the complete evacuation of the governing figures in favour of something like the Black Pharaoh; a simple critique of slightly stupid authoritarianism of the Cameronian variety, as on display in the last book, was no longer up to the challenge. (When real life news leaders suggest, however jokingly, that the PM is a robot engaged in failing the Turing Test, you know you've passed into unknown territory.)
Given the intersection of Charlie's interest in economics and the likely course of the UK over the next few years, he'll have plenty of real world matter to feed a meditation on an even more complete collapse. (The effects of CASE NIGHTMARE RAINBOW, especially outside the ambit of the Black Pharaoh, are likely to be economically as well as politically / occultly disrupting.)