Pimpf

by Charles Stross

In this short story from 2006, Bob Howard must rescue an intern who's stuck in a video game.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Demons, Computers

24 pages, Hardcover

First published October 17, 2017

About the author

Charles David George "Charlie" Stross is a writer based in Edinburgh, Scotland. His works range from science fiction and Lovecraftian horror to fantasy.

Stross is sometimes regarded as being part of a new generation of British science fiction writers who specialise in hard science fiction and space opera. His contemporaries include Alastair Reynolds, Ken MacLeod, Liz Williams and Richard Morgan.

SF Encyclopedia: http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/...

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_...

Tor: http://us.macmillan.com/author/charle...

Reviews

[Ken Richards · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short supplementary tale in the Laundry Files. Bob Howard acquires a new intern, promptly loses him in a massively on-line RPG and, given said intern's Mum is a potentate in HR, must embark on a quest to free said victim for the virtual clutches of a 20th level sorceress in her castle. Hi jinks ensue.

[david james · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short story set in the Laundry Files world of Charles Stross, about a wet behind the ears intern who manages to get himself stuck inside a development stage, demon trapping, MMORPG.

Fairly simple and straightforward short story but stands as a complete story rather than just an extract, and has a beginning, middle and end, that so many short stories lack. You can read it without having read any of the Laundry Files, and it would make sense, but it helps if you have at least read one of the LF books (preferable the first one, The Atrocity Archives) to give you more background.

A solid 3.5 which I've rounded up to 4 as the short story does tie in well to the first two Laundry Files books I've just read.

[Dbdude99 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute short story about Bob rescuing his new, rookie apprentice from a diabolical video world.

[Sotiris Kosmas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short story set in the Laundry files universe which proved underwhelming with it's overly specific references to gaming culture

[Seth Kaplan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun short story set in The Atrocity Archives universe that adds some nice flavor to the Laundry in a tale reminiscent of the Otherland series by Tad Williams.

[Karmakosmik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Altro racconto breve di Stross legato al ciclo della Lavanderia, e vale più o meno lo stesso discorso fatto per "Equinoide", idee geniali ma non perfettamente eseguite. Nel caso di Newbie, l'idea che un RPG come Neverwinter Nights venga usato per catturare mostri e/o entità di altre dimensioni è geniale, così come altre piccole trovate come l'orco queer e tutti i riferimenti diretti al videogioco in questione. Forse avrebbe potuto avere uno sviluppo più articolato e meno buttato in caciara nel finale. Cmq decisamente più riuscito di "Equinoide".