The Laundry Files
The Laundry Files by Charles Strossby Charles Stross
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 11 of 19 science fiction TV series by recommenders
Recommended as a fun, humorous sci-fi series where magic is a branch of mathematics, written by an ex-programmer. Some readers find later books moving to a revolving cast.
Recommended as a fun, humorous sci-fi series where magic is a branch of mathematics, written by an ex-programmer. Some readers find later books moving to a revolving cast.
10 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 10
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 10 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Fun, humorous sci-fi series
“Generally a fun series, but it seems to be moving towards a revolving cast that I'm less interested in continuing on with.”
Comment from 25 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: Books in 2025” “If you want an humourous take based on this notion, read the Laundry Files book series”
Comment from 5 Dec 2025 in “The US polluters that are rewriting the EU's human rights and climate law” “Try Charles Stross's Accelerando and the Laundry Files series if you need good sci-fi.”
Comment from 29 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” - Comment from 17 May 2026 in “Accelerando (2005)”
Praised as good reading
“Merchant Princes and Laundry series are good, but not at all along the lines of Banks.”
Comment from 16 May 2026 in “Accelerando (2005)” “really enjoyed what I read of Laundry Files”
Comment from 17 May 2026 in “Accelerando (2005)”
Other science fiction TV series people recommend
The four most recommended other science fiction TV series, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Star Trek: The Next Generation | 88 | 19 | 82% | 13 | — | Approved |
| Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | 59 | 9 | 87% | 11 | — | Approved |
| The Expanse | 51 | 12 | 81% | 13 | — | Approved |
| The Culture seriesby Iain M. Banks | 38 | 5 | 88% | 11 | — | Approved |
| The Laundry Filesby Charles StrossThis page | 10 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | Approved |
What people said
8 of the 11 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Try Charles Stross's Accelerando and the Laundry Files series if you need good sci-fi.”
“really enjoyed what I read of Laundry Files”
“I now recommended it as an onboarding guide for any big company”
“I haven't read those past the first novel. But I'm a big fan of everything else he's done.”
“Merchant Princes and Laundry series are good, but not at all along the lines of Banks.”
“Generally a fun series, but it seems to be moving towards a revolving cast that I'm less interested in continuing on with.”
“If you want an humourous take based on this notion, read the Laundry Files book series”
“Written by a ex-programmer, features a world where magic is a branch of mathematics”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.