Dead Lies Dreaming

London has changed. Magic is real, publicly acknowledged, and thoroughly inconvenient. In this fractured near-future, a hard-nosed detective and a crew of small-time criminals find themselves entangled in something far beyond their usual territory: a hunt for an ancient, forbidden grimoire whose very existence poses a threat to an already unstable world. Charles Stross builds his New Management series on the wreckage of the Laundry Files universe, and Dead Lies Dreaming drops readers into a city where the mundane and the eldritch have become uncomfortably familiar neighbors.

Gideon Emery brings a cool, sardonic edge to the ensemble cast, navigating Stross's sharp dialogue and dense world-building with precision. His voice suits the book's tone: wry without being flippant, tense without melodrama. At just over eleven hours, the pacing rarely lags, and Stross's intricate plotting rewards close listening. Fans of urban fantasy who want their magic served with cynicism and consequence will find this a particularly satisfying audio experience.