Another short story set in the Laundry, like Overtime. In this one, our hero Bob is sent to check on the residents of the Funny Farm - Laundry agents who have gone mad from exposure to thaumaturgical energy. When he gets through enough layers of red tape to enter the most secure wing of the facility, he doesn't find a bunch of crazies... but there is an evil computer. This inspired me to start back at the beginning of the series and read the Atrocity Archives. Another Bob Howard story. This one seems to take place before the Fuller Memorandum, but the time is not easy to place as this series advances. While there's a brilliant One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest meets Lovecraft set up here and some great dialogue, the whole piece seems rushed and the ending a little too abrupt. Unlike the meal that Concrete Jungle and Overtime provided as two better Bob Howard stories, this one is more like a tasty but unsatisfying tapa plate. The titular "Funny Farm" is an interesting slice of the Laundry universe, and one alluded to in the other books, but the conclusion of Bob Howard's wild visit to it is a little half-baked. All the same, pitting Bob Howard against a demon trapped in an old mainframe computer with a bunch of lunatics in the crossfire is never really a bad idea.
What do You think about Down On The Farm (2000)?
This one is neat, about magic and math and robots and the hazards involved in mixing them.
—madhushree
Short story featuring Bob from the Laundry. Not as good as the novels.
—Paisley
Love this series. They're always good for a quick fun read.
—eridu
