CONVENTIONAL BOY

Stross's excellent 13th installment in his Laundry Files series (after Season of Skulls) comprises a gleefully nerdy novella and two bite-size stories. In 1984, at a time when role-playing games were viewed as potentially satanic, Derek Reilly and his teenage D&D group were swept up by the Laundry, Britain's ultrasecret anti-occult agency, and taken to Camp Sunshine, where Derek has lived to middle age. When he learns that the campers will all be relocated during an upcoming renovation, Derek manages to escape to a gaming convention. His time at camp has taught him to recognize magical activity, so he's the one gamer present who's prepared to deal with a cultish LARP group attempting to conjure their deity into existence under the cover of role-playing. Stross follows this great bit of fun with two short adventures featuring mid-level Laundry agent Bob Howard. In "Overtime," Bob works as a night duty officer over the Christmas holiday and must wrangle with Santa Claus, and in "Down on the Farm," he investigates mysterious activity at the Laundry's secure mental health unit. This is urban fantasy with its tongue firmly in its cheek, and it reads a bit like Terry Pratchett trying his hand at Lovecraftian horror. The result will delight newcomers and longtime fans alike. (Jan.)