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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
http://www.unshelved.com/bookclub/2014-7-11#9780441020348
whoa. crazy complicated okay just crazy. This is a loose follow-up of Halting State - but I was hoping for something that involved Elaine Barnaby and Jack Reed. Instead it was a followup in Cop Space in Edinburgh. But it was cool and weird in surprisingly head-blowing ways which is kind of what I expect from Stross. Call it a 4.5 out of 5 - but read Halting State first - at the very least because it is in paperback.
Charles Stross's Rule 34 is a sequel to Halting State. It's not my favourite series of Stross's, but it's still an interesting look into the near future. I think it's meant to be a bit mind blowing, but for a reader like myself, immersed in talk about the always-connected, metadata-enhanced world Stross is talking about, and actively trying (in a very small way) to bring it about, I had a whole lot of "yeah, I can see it panning out that way" and "that's unlikely because..." moments as I read the novel. There is a cop story in there as well, but the novel is really about the affects of these technologies on people's lives.
Well worth reading, especially if you're not an internet nerd like me, since it is good preparation.
Well worth reading, especially if you're not an internet nerd like me, since it is good preparation.
I liked it. I didn't realize it was part of a series until I saw it listed here as #2 in the Halting State series so obviously it can stand alone. Reminded me of Neal Stephenson in that it just throws you into a crazy near future (50 or so years) setting and let's you figure it out as you go. The second person narrative was weird and distracting and I didn't get why it was told this way til the very end, when the final plot reveals made it make more sense. Probably a book that would benefit from a reread to see how things fit together better.
If you're not reading Charles Stross, you're missing out on some of the most plausible near-future science fiction available. Rule 34 is highly recommended.
I'm still not entirely sure if telling a story in the second person is clever or annoying. I felt both ways reading this book. I think it worked a little easier in Halting State with the MMO theme than in Rule 34. It didn't make sense until the very end of this book, but when it did it was with a satisfactory click, so I'm going to go with it.
There's a lot of things I like about Stross' works. A)He uses a diverse (internally and externally) cast of characters. We have a lesbian detective inspector and a closeted gay Muslim as our lead protagonists. It's fun to read a story set in future-Edinburgh too with all of the technicalities throwing a technological blanket over a World Heritage city. The theme of artificial intelligence and what it might do when "intelligence" blurs with "will" is one I'm particularly interested in right now, and Stross' picture is terrifying and fascinating. The line between Artificial Intelligence and Psychopath is a nerve-wracking one to walk.
The things I didn't care for were mostly the things I didn't understand. The tech-talk and political-talk bits both made my eyes glaze over and keep this one from being a personal favorite. Still, if you're looking for a slightly creepy futuristic thriller, this would be a great place to start. Halting State is set in the same universe, but aside from some references to how Liz ended up in her current department, there's really no need to read it first unless you are compulsive about reading things in order like I am.
There's a lot of things I like about Stross' works. A)He uses a diverse (internally and externally) cast of characters. We have a lesbian detective inspector and a closeted gay Muslim as our lead protagonists. It's fun to read a story set in future-Edinburgh too with all of the technicalities throwing a technological blanket over a World Heritage city. The theme of artificial intelligence and what it might do when "intelligence" blurs with "will" is one I'm particularly interested in right now, and Stross' picture is terrifying and fascinating. The line between Artificial Intelligence and Psychopath is a nerve-wracking one to walk.
The things I didn't care for were mostly the things I didn't understand. The tech-talk and political-talk bits both made my eyes glaze over and keep this one from being a personal favorite. Still, if you're looking for a slightly creepy futuristic thriller, this would be a great place to start. Halting State is set in the same universe, but aside from some references to how Liz ended up in her current department, there's really no need to read it first unless you are compulsive about reading things in order like I am.
I liked this a lot! Even though at the end it hit some heavy duty computer speak that I kind of took on faith. It's set in the same future state as Halting State, which I loved, and it definitely has a lot of the same elements. And it reminded me that, although I don't generally like traditional mysteries, I do very much enjoy a police procedural, especially when it's heavy on the details of how the investigation works.
I liked it. Techno-creepy with a side of social commentary. It always takes me a chapter or two to get used to the second-person narration, and the dialect takes a chapter or two longer.
I was highly amused by the dark humor around the potential direction various social trends could take.
I was highly amused by the dark humor around the potential direction various social trends could take.
Couldn't finished it. Love the Laundary Novels, enjoyed Halting State but this just did not hold my interest sadly. Far too slow to get going (if indeed it ever did).