Halting State - Charles Stross

Function lost in form

I was so angry about the time and money that I had wasted on this book that I broke a personal precedent to write this, my first book review. I normally read science fiction purely for pleasure and relaxation, and have never tried to play "English Major" with my selections.

I struggled through 150pp of Mr. Stross' book before I finally put it down in disgust. It was taking an extraordinary amount of time to read, and I could not remember from session to session who the characters were, and what the story was about.

The author's silly literary device of describing each character's activities in the second person was driving me crazy. (From the start of each of the first three chapters - each from the viewpoint of a different character: "You're four hours into your shift..."; " You are sitting...in an armchair"; "...so it's off to work you go"). If I broke in the middle of a chapter, and returned later, I would have no idea whose viewpoint I was now reading.

Such an affected approach - devoid of objective context or reference - is distracting enough, but the author further muddies the mess by over-using another literary card trick: long single-sentence rambles through dozens of loosely-connected thoughts. After 10 or 15 lines, and at least that many phrases, I would find myself with no clear idea of what point the writer just made. It reminded me of some of the more tedious legal documents that I encountered in my business career.

If you enjoy structure over content, and your intellect is tickled by unusual approaches to telling stories, then perhaps you may find enjoyment here. Personally, I like to flow with a book, caught up in its cadence, action, and characters. Reading this was like trying to flow down a river full of rocky rapids. "Halting State" is a good description of the book itself.

Latest novel (2008)

Better than "Glasshouse", and I thought "Glasshouse" was better than "Accelerando" (tighter, not so rambling). Good insights on what distinguishes our modern society from the societies of earlier times.

Somebody gets it right

Reality in fiction often means not blowing little things that will shatter the willing suspension of disbelief. As someone who had been involved in the gaming industry and corporate commerce I have often found the descriptions in genre fiction harder to believe than vampires and ET's. Stross doesn't just get the detail right, he gets the mindsets dead on. Now add in good characters, a honking great plot line and his usual twisted view of the world and I have a book I will reread many times.

Gibson meets Dick

Stross's writing tends to throw a massive amount of information at you. Unlike both Dick and Gibson he understands that wild and unbalancing ideas are more palatable when you have characters you actually like. There are a few extraneous plot points but Stross is a talented writer and he makes you root for his characters.

Getting it right

Charles Stross manages to make a book about a not so different world enjoyable. He was a little optimistic about when the virtual world would be here - it has already arrived. Internet warfare, electronic realities, and the crossover of behaviors bringing laws and lawyers to cyberspace. From the 'Atlantic Monthly' cartoon of a dog at the computer saying' "On-line no one knows you are a dog!" to present day reality of people selling clothes and accessories to avatars in 'Second Life'. Turns out that reality in not a crutch, it is what you make of it.