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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
Stross is back in form with the sequel to Halting State, a grimly humorous cyberpunk police procedural set in Tomorrow's Scotland, where nobody knows what an honest job is anymore, and household appliances are murdering spammers.
I won't spoil the book, but Stross is at his best when he takes Big Ideas, twists them upside down, and shows you how they could happen. In Rule 34, he on the relationship between the police state and the Panopticon, and how at the end of the day, our system of laws requires a technological architecture capable of enforcing what the politicians put in place. Business, crime, and government are melding together in Stross' world, something which seems all too familiar given the revolving door between Wall Street, the White House, the CIA, and a shallow grave in Central Asia. And Detective Liz's memetic crime unit seems like something that we already need, given public hysteria about synthetic drugs like Spice and Bath Salts (or maybe we could, you know, legalize drugs that have a long history of Not Totally Fucking People Up, instead of putting police and black chemists in a Red Queen's Race, with ordinary drug users the losers.)
The style is dense, packed full of internet-speak and Scottish brogue, but it's Stross's native tongue and the style fits perfectly. It's a throwback to old-school cyberpunk eyeball kicks, and a welcome diversion from the usual fair. The soapboxes rants at the end are a new and useful perspective on security and power.
I won't spoil the book, but Stross is at his best when he takes Big Ideas, twists them upside down, and shows you how they could happen. In Rule 34, he on the relationship between the police state and the Panopticon, and how at the end of the day, our system of laws requires a technological architecture capable of enforcing what the politicians put in place. Business, crime, and government are melding together in Stross' world, something which seems all too familiar given the revolving door between Wall Street, the White House, the CIA, and a shallow grave in Central Asia. And Detective Liz's memetic crime unit seems like something that we already need, given public hysteria about synthetic drugs like Spice and Bath Salts (or maybe we could, you know, legalize drugs that have a long history of Not Totally Fucking People Up, instead of putting police and black chemists in a Red Queen's Race, with ordinary drug users the losers.)
The style is dense, packed full of internet-speak and Scottish brogue, but it's Stross's native tongue and the style fits perfectly. It's a throwback to old-school cyberpunk eyeball kicks, and a welcome diversion from the usual fair. The soapboxes rants at the end are a new and useful perspective on security and power.
3.25 Not a very enjoyable read, but then what did I except from a book with this title? It's complex and interesting enough and we even revisit a couple of characters from Halting State. Thankfully it doesn't dive all in to the most sordid and nauseating things it mentions, but the mentions are enough for me not reading any more Stross for a while. Not a bad take on the cyber-thriller, just not my cup of tea. Quarter bonus point for independent Scotland.
This is the latest Sword & Laser pick. It's based around the Internet meme Rule 34 that says if it exists, then there's a porn for it. The book is set in the near future in Scotland and there's a police force set up to make sure people aren't doing anything illegal in this regard. Overall, I thought the book was okay. It's definitely not my favorite S&L pick.
Most of the book is told from the point of view of one of 3 main characters. As you get further into the book, more characters are introduced. Just like the A Songs of Ice and Fire series, the name of the point of view character for that chapter is at the beginning. The problem is that I didn't care for most of the characters. And didn't care for the author's writing style either.
An odd thing about this book is that it's mostly written in the 2nd person point of view. I don't think I've ever read a book in this point of view before. Made up example: "You wake up. You get out of bed, take a shower, and put some clothes on. You grab your keys and head out the door." Weird, isn't it? The "you" isn't the reader, it's the point of view character for that chapter. I got used to it, and it didn't bother me after a while.
Something that did bother me was the Scottish dialect/vernacular. I've always hated reading dialogue written in the vernacular because it's makes for slow reading. In this book, there were words written in a Scottish accent and words that I didn't know the meaning of. Annoying.
I suggest passing on this book unless you're a fan of the author. I've heard that his earlier work is better, so check that out instead.
Most of the book is told from the point of view of one of 3 main characters. As you get further into the book, more characters are introduced. Just like the A Songs of Ice and Fire series, the name of the point of view character for that chapter is at the beginning. The problem is that I didn't care for most of the characters. And didn't care for the author's writing style either.
An odd thing about this book is that it's mostly written in the 2nd person point of view. I don't think I've ever read a book in this point of view before. Made up example: "You wake up. You get out of bed, take a shower, and put some clothes on. You grab your keys and head out the door." Weird, isn't it? The "you" isn't the reader, it's the point of view character for that chapter. I got used to it, and it didn't bother me after a while.
Something that did bother me was the Scottish dialect/vernacular. I've always hated reading dialogue written in the vernacular because it's makes for slow reading. In this book, there were words written in a Scottish accent and words that I didn't know the meaning of. Annoying.
I suggest passing on this book unless you're a fan of the author. I've heard that his earlier work is better, so check that out instead.
A clever little sci fi novel that only needs to extrapolate a few small steps in order to end up someplace recognizable and still foreign. To really enjoy it you probably have to have at least a passing knowledge of internet popular culture circa 2010.
I thought this book was fascinating but too short for the author to really explain his ideas. The ending seemed abrupt.
More quirky internet memes mixed into a fast paced near future tale.
I just finished re-reading Ready Player One, and the dark future it paints is a cake walk in comparison with the snap shot we get of Scotland in the not very distant future at all. I loved RPO it was a wild ride of 80's games, music, and movies and while it was a lot more fun to read then this, Rule 34 is clearly the better book. With lots of flawed and interesting characters and a frighteningly familiar world and great writing like "you don't need to mix the metaphor to drink the cocktail" and "they squawk and cackle like nuns at a wife swapping party". With writing like that you don't need a hero to cheer for, with Stross's real human characters the story comes alive and the killer is a surprise. Do the police always get their man?
Mistitled, and not up to the author's usual standard.
Stross writes the kind of books that I find I don't really appreciate fully until I give them a little time to sit, and then read them again. In some cases, years later I find I understand aspects of the world unfolding around me because of things I read in his books years ago - much of accelerando comes to mind.
Rule 34 is much the same thing. Halting State wasn't one of my favourites of his - I prefer his space operas and his Laundry novels - and neither will its loose sequel, Rule 34, be a favourite. Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it as Stross is always witty, to the point, original, and ahead of the game. Any fan of his will enjoy this book. He never disappoints.