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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
twisted look at panopticon law enforcement in a future where smuggling via nanoassembly is common
I think I might be reading books out of order again. If this is the second book in a series, though, I can say that I read it without any trouble catching up to where we were or what was going on. I'm sure characters were developed in the first book, but this one seems to stand alone. I'll probably track down the other at some point, but this is not one of those cases where I'm cursing my general lack of ability to read things in order.
Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
Rule 34 is set in the same world as Halting State with many of the same characters. It does not have the same plot though -- the chaos and memedropping that was so prevalent during Halting State seems to be turned down, and it's evident that everyone involved has grown up since those times.
The characterization is strong, and you can tell instantly whose POV you are reading from simply by the contractions and things that different people notice. Liz is analytical and always on the lookout for what is "appropriate". Anwar thinks he's very clever. And the Toymaker... well, the less said about him the better.
There's only so much I can say about this, except that it has the neatest solution for ending spam that I've ever seen. Recommended.
The characterization is strong, and you can tell instantly whose POV you are reading from simply by the contractions and things that different people notice. Liz is analytical and always on the lookout for what is "appropriate". Anwar thinks he's very clever. And the Toymaker... well, the less said about him the better.
There's only so much I can say about this, except that it has the neatest solution for ending spam that I've ever seen. Recommended.
I excitedly came back to the near future world of Halting State. Instead I was served a warmed over pastiche, an empty husk of an exciting novel, devoid of the charm of the earlier work.
It is hard to enumerate just what's wrong here. Stross tries and tries, and sometimes it nearly comes good. The overwhelming mood of the book is one of failure, of glimpsing success, tantalisingly close. It is still a decent workmanlike system of a book, but it fails to engage the reader in its own intentions.
It is hard to enumerate just what's wrong here. Stross tries and tries, and sometimes it nearly comes good. The overwhelming mood of the book is one of failure, of glimpsing success, tantalisingly close. It is still a decent workmanlike system of a book, but it fails to engage the reader in its own intentions.
DI Liz Kavanaugh is head of the Rule 34 squad, a sort of punishment for something that went wrong several years ago. It's up to her and hers to police internet porn in an independent Scotland. Anwar Hussein was a small-time Internet fraudster who's spent time behind bars and is trying to go straight, for the sake of his family. The Toymaker is wondering who's killing all the folk he's trying to recruit to his large scale organised crime Operation.
Like its predecessor, [b: Halting State|222472|Halting State (Halting State, #1)|Charles Stross|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1442097389s/222472.jpg|930563] this book is told entirely in the second person, a technique that I've never been very fond of, but there are solid reasons for that in this book, as Stross sets out in the crib sheet for the book on his blog (note: obviously spoilers at that link!). And I got used to it as well; I think it feels most icky when we're in the head of the gangster, the Toymaker, who's creepy as all hell.
For me, this book is at its strongest when it's doing the police procedural thing, with lots of cool future-tech extrapolated from the early 21st century. At times, though, the pace of new ideas being thrown at you gets a little overwhelming (it feels a bit like [a: Cory Doctorow|12581|Cory Doctorow|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1361468756p2/12581.jpg] at times) when the ideas outpace the story. Mostly, though, Stross keeps a handle on that and the book is certainly thought-provoking, not least in its ideas on different kinds of AI.
Like its predecessor, [b: Halting State|222472|Halting State (Halting State, #1)|Charles Stross|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1442097389s/222472.jpg|930563] this book is told entirely in the second person, a technique that I've never been very fond of, but there are solid reasons for that in this book, as Stross sets out in the crib sheet for the book on his blog (note: obviously spoilers at that link!). And I got used to it as well; I think it feels most icky when we're in the head of the gangster, the Toymaker, who's creepy as all hell.
For me, this book is at its strongest when it's doing the police procedural thing, with lots of cool future-tech extrapolated from the early 21st century. At times, though, the pace of new ideas being thrown at you gets a little overwhelming (it feels a bit like [a: Cory Doctorow|12581|Cory Doctorow|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1361468756p2/12581.jpg] at times) when the ideas outpace the story. Mostly, though, Stross keeps a handle on that and the book is certainly thought-provoking, not least in its ideas on different kinds of AI.
A bit like Halting State, in that it was a good story but it became confusing - plot reveals didn't satisfy and the ending was murky. Very clever piece of future-crafting, just not a fantastic story.
Hmm...probably more to do with my tastes than the book.
I do enjoy other works by Stross.
Hmm...probably more to do with my tastes than the book.
I do enjoy other works by Stross.
Ehhhh. It's a crime novel except IN THE FUTURE OMG. It's not even WEIRD crimes like the cover claims.
I'm always kind of touch and go with Charlie Stross. I liked this one more than his recent novels, but I think that might be because I kept thinking I was reading a William Gibson novel.
Difficult at first to get over the use of the second person of the singular in the narrative, but then it becomes sort of a noir tell of 'whodunnit' and it's like Raymond Chandler's grandchild telling a story in the near future.
The world Stross builds is complex and most of the dumping of information comes as if you already knew all of it, which makes it hard to follow, but it's so intelligently built and so near and plausible, you easily believe it.
I found the conclusion a bit cliched but the interesting core of the book is not who did it, but how the story is told. And it's told magnificently.
The world Stross builds is complex and most of the dumping of information comes as if you already knew all of it, which makes it hard to follow, but it's so intelligently built and so near and plausible, you easily believe it.
I found the conclusion a bit cliched but the interesting core of the book is not who did it, but how the story is told. And it's told magnificently.
You’ve never really known what to think of stuff written in second person. Too often it is a distracting gimmick; almost always it fades into the background after a while, not really changing things about the story being told.
Thus, it was with a sense of strained amusement you started Rule 34, the sequel to a book you remember liking quite a lot. A multiple-viewpoint book, all told from second person? You were ready for it to be labored, difficult to read, not as good as you had hoped.
And then you fell in.
So soon after The Night’s Dawn, an example of the interconnected-thread thriller done so right is a balm. Everything ties together satisfyingly well, even after you missed an important clue as to one character’s identity. Even better, the absolute end provided yet another twist. The pleased buzz between your ears after the ending indicates that Rule 34 is one of the best books you’ve read so far this year.
Thus, it was with a sense of strained amusement you started Rule 34, the sequel to a book you remember liking quite a lot. A multiple-viewpoint book, all told from second person? You were ready for it to be labored, difficult to read, not as good as you had hoped.
And then you fell in.
So soon after The Night’s Dawn, an example of the interconnected-thread thriller done so right is a balm. Everything ties together satisfyingly well, even after you missed an important clue as to one character’s identity. Even better, the absolute end provided yet another twist. The pleased buzz between your ears after the ending indicates that Rule 34 is one of the best books you’ve read so far this year.