The Recurring Cast
Character guide · 21 books · 2004 to 2023 · Mostly set in London

Charles Stross

Thriller and suspenseFantasyScience fictionHorrorSpy and espionageTechno and militaryUrban fantasyAlternate historyCosmic and folk horror

Charles Stross writes clever, satirical science fiction and fantasy. The Laundry Files mix office comedy, spy fiction and Lovecraftian horror at a secret British agency that defends against tentacled horrors with mathematics; the Merchant Princes follow a journalist who discovers her family can walk between worlds.

Best estimate, compiled from series guides, publisher descriptions and reviews where available, and from memory otherwise. Book level only, not chapter level. Minor includes cameos and brief references. Each book carries a confidence rating in its tooltip.

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Who appears in which book

Click a name to follow that character from book to book, or a book title to see its cast.

LLeadMMajor·MinorHas a note
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Charles Stross books in order

Each series in publication order, with its lead characters. Where the story runs in a different order, switch to Story order. Crossover books are marked and listed under their main series. Use My books to track what you have read.

Laundry Files

9 books · Set in LondonUrban fantasyCosmic and folk horrorSpy and espionage
  1. 1The Atrocity Archives2004With Bob HowardBuy on Amazon
  2. 2The Jennifer Morgue2006With Bob HowardBuy on Amazon
  3. 3The Fuller Memorandum2010With Bob HowardBuy on Amazon
  4. 4The Apocalypse Codex2012With Bob HowardBuy on Amazon
  5. 5The Rhesus Chart2014With Bob HowardBuy on Amazon
  6. 6The Annihilation Score2015With Mo O'BrienBuy on Amazon
  7. 7The Nightmare Stacks2016With Alex SchwartzBuy on Amazon
  8. 8The Delirium Brief2017With Bob HowardBuy on Amazon
  9. 9The Labyrinth Index2018With Mhari MurphyBuy on Amazon

New Management

3 books · Set in LondonUrban fantasyCosmic and folk horror
  1. 1Dead Lies Dreaming2019With Wendy DeereBuy on Amazon
  2. 2Quantum of Nightmares2022With Wendy DeereBuy on Amazon
  3. 3Season of Skulls2023With Wendy DeereBuy on Amazon

Merchant Princes

6 books · Set in BostonAlternate historyTechno and military
  1. 1The Family Trade2004With Miriam BecksteinBuy on Amazon
  2. 2The Hidden Family2005With Miriam BecksteinBuy on Amazon
  3. 3The Clan Corporate2006With Miriam BecksteinBuy on Amazon
  4. 4The Merchants' War2007With Miriam BecksteinBuy on Amazon
  5. 5The Revolution Business2009With Miriam BecksteinBuy on Amazon
  6. 6The Trade of Queens2010With Miriam BecksteinBuy on Amazon

Empire Games

3 books · Set in various placesAlternate historySpy and espionage
  1. 1Empire Games2017With Rita DouglasBuy on Amazon
  2. 2Dark State2018With Rita DouglasBuy on Amazon
  3. 3Invisible Sun2021With Rita DouglasBuy on Amazon

Characters

8 recurring and key characters, with the book each one first appears in.

The Laundry

The New Management

The Clan