This book was recommended to me by friends in the civil service who recognised its world of form-filling and bureaucracy - for all that The Atrocity Archives deals with an imaginary (we hope!) intersection between mathematics and magic. There's no shortage of geeky references across a variety of fields - if, like me, you enjoy maths and physics and mythology and history, then this is an entertaining blend. 
 This book actually contains two short stories, one somewhat longer than the other, which felt a little unbalanced to me - I was slightly caught off guard by the big time jump between them. There is also quite a bit of repetition in places - characters treated as though they're being introduced for the first time, even though you've met them pages (or chapters) earlier. These are minor qualms about a debut novel and I'll definitely try later ones in the series.