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Halting State (Ace Science Fiction) By Charles Stross ( Ace )
Release Date: 2008-06-24
Average Customer Rating:
List Price: $7.99
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Product Description
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.
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 A great idea with poor execution. ( cpavlica )
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!!
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A great heist book ( mavin1620 )
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.
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 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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Writing style that frustrates ( kdraizin )
I am not usually the type to put a book down without plowing through the pages til the end before writing a review. Unfortunately I will never make it to the end with this book. The premise of the book is intriguing and the plot summary refreshing. However the tech lingo is so highly inbedded in long verbose sentences that require so much thought and re-reading that the enjoyment of the story is lost. Also, reading from the second person makes reading even more taxing.
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Good Extrapolation about the Future
I had never read any Charles Stross before. I found this to be a great book, well written with a nice, flowing style. The ideas about what the future will bring in the next few decades were believable and interesting, as was the story. A good read. I recommend it.
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