Dr. Alex Schwartz is a socially awkward young mathematical genius with a background in high-end financial algorithms. He's also a vampire with no stomach for killing but a strong talent for magic, which happens in his case to be a function of mathematical reasoning.
Alex works for the Laundry, a hush-hush secret agency in Britain that deals with the supernatural. The organization has just begun a relocation process to Leeds, where Alex first encounters Cassie, an advance scout for a long-slumbering host of dangerous elf-like beings.
She has stolen the identity of a young university co-ed to get close to Alex, and what an adorable couple they make! Cassie may be First of Spies of the invading enemy, but she's also able to do one thing her malevolent father and stepmother cannot: feel empathy.
Soon Cassie is torn between her allegiance to her god-emperor father and her love for Alex. As the evil invaders prepares to destroy humanity and conquer Earth, Alex and Cassie must find a way to subvert the spells that hold her in check to her father's will--and save the world.
Even though this is a direct sequel to Stross's previous volume in the Laundry series, The Nightmare Stacks leads off in a new direction, one less about previous protagonist Bob Howard and more about this younger generation. The plot races along to a tremendous cliffhanger, one that will make readers look forward to yet another fantastic volume in this already delightful series of novels. --Rob LeFebvre, freelance writer and editor