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A .linq file consists of a header in XML, followed by the query text. The query text is not part of the XML document - it exists outside of it, after the XML root element's closing tag.

This makes it easy to edit the query using an ordinary text editor, as nothing needs to be escaped.

You can parse a .linq file as follows:

string data = File.ReadAllText (@"...");

XmlParserContext context = new XmlParserContext (null, null, null, XmlSpace.None);
Stream s = new MemoryStream (Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes (data));
XmlTextReader reader = new XmlTextReader (s, XmlNodeType.Element, context);
reader.MoveToContent ();
XmlReader r2 = reader.ReadSubtree ();
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder ();
using (XmlWriter w = XmlWriter.Create (sb)) w.WriteNode (r2, true);
var xe = XElement.Parse (sb.ToString ()).Dump ("Header");
int lineNumber = reader.LineNumber;

StringReader sr = new StringReader (data);
for (int i = 0; i < lineNumber; i++) sr.ReadLine ();
sr.ReadToEnd ().Trim ().Dump ("Query");

After taking a quick look at that package, I can see immediately what the problem is. In the InstallInternalLibrary() method, it starts a process like this:

ProcessStartInfo startInfo = new ProcessStartInfo("7zdec.exe")
{
	WorkingDirectory = AssemblyLocation,
	Arguments = "x mpfr_gmp.7z",
	WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden,
};
...

It should be doing this:

ProcessStartInfo startInfo = new ProcessStartInfo("7zdec.exe")
{
	WorkingDirectory = AssemblyLocation,
	Arguments = "x mpfr_gmp.7z",
	WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden,
	UseShellExecute = true
};
...

There was a breaking change in .NET Core - they changed the default for UseShellExecute from true to false.

Without UseShellExecute, it will work reliably only in .NET Framework. In .NET Core, it will fail unless the 7zdec.exe file happens to be in the current directory. As a workaround, you can force it to the current directory via the option in Query Properties > Advanced.