Which FEMA you talking about?

I'm re-reading various SF novels by Englishman Charles Stross, including, today, the Merchant Princes series, which was published 2004-2010.

Early on, the main characters uncover a massive drug-smuggling operation in the U.S. and contemplate federal law enforcement reaction, including FBI, CIA and FEMA.

FEMA? Stopped me cold, kicked me out of the novel's world.

Sorry, bloke. While the Federal Emergency Management Agency is lumped into Homeland Security, it doesn't hunt criminals. Under GWB, it gave away public money by the handful, especially in Florida in 2004, and let people drown in 2005. With a change in President and philosophy, it's back to doing what it was created for: coordinate responses to disasters that overwhelm local and state capabilities.

One other nitpick about the Merchant Princes: The lead character is a woman who is aided by three other women and her mother. You can read for pages and pages and not find a prince anywhere.

Did the publisher not believe that the Merchant Princess series would sell books?

On the female side, the bloke's Laundry Files series finally added a novel narrated by the hero's wife, Mo, who has experiences more horrid than hubby Bob can even imagine. 

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