Book #5 for the Hugo Nominee.
This was a delight to read. The story is set in independent Scotland in 2018. Everyone has direct and constant access to the web through their glasses and walk around in a constant twitch as they hammer away on virtual keyboards. Hayek Associates, a small start-up gaming company, has discovered their software has been infiltrated and the virtual bank they oversee has been robbed by a band of orcs and a dragon. Sergeant Sue Smith is first on this bewildering crime “scene”. Next to come along is Elaine, a sword wielding forensic accountant. She realizes she needs some additional help and has her current employer hire Jack, an unemployed gaming programer, to train her in the nuances of game space.
The chapters alternate between the three characters POV in second person. This worked...and it didn’t. You would be reading from Jack’s POV, chapter changes, POV changes, but it would take a couple pages to shift into the new character mentally. Personally, I liked Jack’s character, especially his constant reference to his “mummy lobe”. This was his overdeveloped sub-conscious that would cause him to blurt out things, be ultra honest and “do the right thing”.
Another aspect I really enjoyed was Sergeant Smith’s CopSpace capability. The police force had a overlay feature that could be dropped down on reality and allow them to see crime as it is happening, assess how honest people are answering questions, and access all sorts of files while out on the beat. Super cool.
Stross does throw a lot of gaming and computer abbreviations at the reader, and sometimes that got to be a bit much (since I am neither a gamer or a “graphic information specialist”). The story is fast paced and does throw a lot at the reader, and for once, I did not guess the ending ahead of time. There are a few niggling bits that were left unresolved, but I can live with those. This was as good as or better than Glasshouse. Check it out!
3 comments:
I really liked this one, too, and your observations are similar to my thoughts. The one thing I noted, though, was that I liked the first 290 pages--and it was a 350 page book.
In my opinion, it was by far the most entertaining of the Hugo nominated books, and I voted for it. Based on my previous record with Hugo votes, it probably hasn't got a chance in hell. My tastes and those of the other Hugo voters do not seem to align.
I forgot - I was going to link to your review: http://disorganizedasusual.blogspot.com/2007/11/halting-state-by-charles-stross.html
I thought Yiddish was pretty good, but the alternate reality just didn't contain enough "science" to bump it up in my ranking. This was good speculative science fiction that rolled right along.
You are the first one to notice my new title bar.
Yep...it's new.
I finally figured out how to get a photo in there. This one is just temporary to see if I could do it. I'll work up a nicer one when I get the creative details worked out in my mind.
Hope you have a GREAT weekend!
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