Science news and science current events, research and discoveries.
Top science news articles and science current events stories from the past week.
Science Resources
Science RSS News Feeds
Earth, Life and Space Science RSS News Feeds.
|
 |
 |
 |
| View Larger Image | Halting State
by Charles Stross
| | List Price: | $24.95 | | Price: | $16.47 | | You Save: | $8.48 (34%) |  | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours | | | | | Sales Rank: | 115990 | | Studio: | Ace Hardcover | | | Binding: | Hardcover | | Number Of Pages: | 368 | | Publication Date: | October 02, 2007 | | Publisher: | Ace Hardcover |
| |
EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
In the year 2018, Sergeant Sue Smith of the Edinburgh constabulary is called in on a special case. A daring bank robbery has taken place at Hayek Associates, a dot-com startup company that's just been floated on the London stock exchange. The suspects are a band of marauding orcs, with a dragon in tow for fire support, and the bank is located within the virtual reality land of Avalon Four. For Smith, the investigation seems pointless. But she soon realizes that the virtual world may have a devastating effect in the real one-and that someone is about to launch an attack upon both... |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 46 reviews)
|
Satirical Gimmicks didn't save it 
The second person perspective is annoying and distracting at the best of times and completely ruins the narrative at others. It was an attempt to bring back the 1st and 2nd generations of role-playing video games when they game told you what you were doing, and it annoyed me then too. The most interesting chapter is the bit about the digital heist. The rest of the book seemed to go on and on about which character done it. The chapter character switches made it impossible for me to care one way or another about any of the characters. Skip this one. There is far better sci-fi satire/cyber-punk.
August 14, 2008 | |
A really pleasant surprise 
I encountered to this book in the course of an hour-long hunt through cross-references ("people who bought this book also bought..."), best-seller lists, etc. looking for something new and good in the vein of William Gibson, Neal Stephenson, etc. - a work by an author who really gets how the present works and the near future is likely to work, and can be truly, literarily creative with it. I ordered it expecting something decent, and found that I had received a real gem. Not only is the tech background super-solid (it helps if you're a sysadmin, but if not, no worries), but the writing is great - the dialog and internal monologues are as sardonic and humorous as, say, Elmore Leonard, Carl Hiaason, or John Sandford. Finally, dear God, it's set in Scotland and reads like Ian Rankin tartan noir. What's not to like?
July 26, 2008 | |
Entertaining; 3.5 Stars 
An enjoyable and moderately satirical novel set in the near future. Stross' theme is the penetration of information technology into everyday life, so this book is set in future Scotland where there is constant monitoring of daily life, where police have immediate access to enormous databases, and where the lines between virtual reality and conventional reality are increasingly blurred. Stross presents a fairly clever plot which is largely a traditional espionage thriller adapted cleverly to a world of virtual reality, role playing games, and information technology espionage. Like several of Stross' books, the reworking of a traditional genre device is done very well and provides an opportunity for some satire. Characterization and writing are competent, as usual.
July 26, 2008 | |
Fun and Games 
Here's a book that's great fun. It's not one of the great books, but I can't picture a science fiction fan that won't enjoy it.
Like several of Stross' books it blends technology, expanded into the future, and economics. In this case it is computer gaming on a mega scale, tied into a rather classic genre mystery novel. Quite simply, a theft takes place in a game, and the heroes set out to find out who-done-it. There is a pleasant recognition that this society may be the way the world's heading.
Stross often seems to try to set himself a literary task in his writing, and this time it's telling the story from the second person point of view of three different individuals whose lives become linked by the crime. What happens is predictable but the nerd in us will love the way he intertwines the story with technical aspects of on-line gaming (and other computer technology) carried out to the ultimate degree. Moreover, each of three main characters is likable so that we root for them right from the beginning. By rotating between the points of view of these characters the author is able to hold to hold back critical information for a little while, and then, again and again, give us the burst of pleasure that comes from recognizing what's going on.
Along the way Stross gets to satirize many aspects of society from the way policepersons think to the long term consequences of a united (and divided) Europe. At the same time, we recognize that many aspects of human behavior, like organizational politics, never seem to change.
Have some fun. Read "Halting State".
July 24, 2008 | |
Remarkable, possibly prophetic
As a fan and sometime inhabitant of Second Life, my first reaction to this book was a solid "Whoa!" The basic premise is that a robbery has taken place in a virtual setting. How did the criminals get in? Of what value is the stolen treasure? Amazingly, millions of dollars are at risk. This book has an interesting structure as it flashes viewpoints from a police sergeant (Sue), an accounting auditor, a programmer, as folks try to figure out the who, what, where, when, and if (was it a crime?)of this crime. The ramifications for both finance, national borders, future warfare, etc are enormous. And, amazingly, it is all plausible! I recommend this book to anyone who loves science fiction, virtual reality, and doesn't mind an interesting narrative style. good job, Mr. Stross!
July 09, 2008 | |
SIMILAR PRODUCTS |
| |
|
|
|
|
