Halting State (Ace Science Fiction)
Now in paperback—from the author of Saturn’s Children.In the year 2018, a daring bank robbery has taken place at Hayek Associates. 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. But Sergeant Sue Smith discovers that this virtual world robbery may be linked to some real world devastation.
Product Details
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. This brilliantly conceived techno-crime thriller spreads a black humor frosting over the grim prospect of the year 2012, when China, India and the European System are struggling for world economic domination in an infowar, and the U.S. faces bankruptcy over its failing infrastructure. Sgt. Sue Smith of Edinburgh's finest, London insurance accountant Elaine Barnaby and hapless secret-ridden programmer Jack Reed peel back layer after layer of a scheme to siphon vast assets from Hayek Associates, a firm whose tentacles spread into international economies. The theft is routed through Avalon Four, a virtual reality world complete with supposedly robbery-proof banks. As an electronic intelligence agency trains innocent gamers to do its dirty work, Elaine sets Jack to catch the poacher. Hugo-winner Stross (Glasshouse) creates a deeply immersive story, writing all three perspectives in the authoritative second-person style of video game instructions and gleefully spiking the intrigue with virtual Orcs, dragons and swordplay. The effortless transformation of today's technological frustrations into tomorrow's nightmare realities is all too real for comfort. (Oct.)
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From Bookmarks Magazine
Reviewers expressed shock and awe at Charles Stross’s imagined future, because it’s just a bit too probable. Even his minor details, such as clothing with RFID tags that can speak to washing machines, are mind-bending. Overall, Halting State is a fast-paced, tightly plotted, and highly intelligent novel. While some of it may read as gibberish to a less in-the-know crowd (it’s helpful to know such gamer slang as "nerfed"), the tech-savvy will rejoice. One reviewer thought the plot became convoluted at the end with a too-neat resolution. But others, like Cory Doctorow in BoingBoing, commented, "This is a book that will change the way you see the way the world works."
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.
About the Author
Charles Stross is a full-time writer who was born in Leeds, England in 1964. He studied in London and Bradford, gaining degrees in pharmacy and computer science, and has worked in a variety of jobs, including pharmacist, technical author, software engineer, and freelance journalist.
Customer Reviews
A great idea with poor execution.
The first few chapters, I loved. I liked the characters. I was even okay with the second person viewpoint, while they were actually themselves. The story got very difficult to follow once they entered the virtual world, because Stross made it almost impossible to follow who was who and where they were. The worlds changed at a moments notice. That might be interesting if you were actually in the game, but trying to explain, from two different characters, their multiple virtual worlds was beyond unwieldy. I spent far too much time rereading, flipping back to the beginning of chapters to see who was talking. It became so convoluted that it was no longer entertaining.
I don't think this book will ever be rewritten, as others have suggested, but maybe he has a similar book in him that he will be able to execute in a better style. The moral of this story is to always read the poor reviews as well as the good in great detail before purchasing!!
A great heist book
This story creates an intersection of high-tech gaming and high-tech finance, creating a highly engaging SF and mystery heist book. Don't let the second person narrative get to you, for it really brings the reader deeper into the book, although it takes some getting used to.
Stross understands what he is writing about from first hand experience in the high-tech world, and he understands finance and economics. It is one of the few books I have read lately that warrants a second read.
Believable Near Future
This is what real SciFi is all about (believable futures). If a writer can convince me what they are writing about can really happen, I am hooked. I am going read more of Charles Stross.
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