Whilst I appreciate Stross' desire to stretch himself as a writer, neither of those settings particularly resonate with me. One thing I have always liked about the Laundry Files is that it is steeped in a modern (for the time of writing of the book) setting. That being said, this actually worked for me. Hence the 4 stars. I did get a giggle out of him dropping the Prisoner into this but there is a bit too much re-statement that the Regency period was bad (for women in particular) that had the odd section dragging, for me. Still this fair rattled along entertainingly and provided a satisfactory resolution for these characters in this arc. Recommended.