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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/222472.Halting_State?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Halting State" border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51q6jiLzxbL._SL160_.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/222472.Halting_State?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">Halting State</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8794.Charles_Stross">Charles Stross</a><br/><br/>
  <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7289161?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
  rating: 5 of 5 stars<br/>Okay, I really liked this book.  Stross is one of my favorite authors (and I read his blog), but something about the book caught my imagination a bit more vividly than his others.  The plot revolves around a bank robbery committed in 2018 in a three-dimensional immersive mmorpg (online game).  Various characters try to understand what happened, and how it could have taken place, and who might be behind it.  The situation expands rapidly into all sorts of cool ideas, including clandestine LARPs (live action role playing games), cyberwar, quantum computing, and all sorts of cloak and dagger stuff (and a bit of romance).  Stross' tendency to fill pages with rants is reigned in surprisingly well in this book; it's highly focused and entertaining.  I also noticed that he referenced Christopher Brookmyre, and the book is written very much in Brookmyre's style (much of it takes place in Edinburgh), whose writing I love. I think it also resonated so much because he posits the same future that I've been predicting, and his target audience is pretty much me.  My friend Earl says it's too jargony and obscure for most people, but I disagree -- I think he's chosen his audience well, and written directly to them.  Us. You?
  <br/><br/><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/371225?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Rachel's review
rating:
bookshelves: sciencefiction
recommended for: science fiction fans, futurists, information professionals

Okay, I really liked this book. Stross is one of my favorite authors (and I read his blog), but something about the book caught my imagination a bit more vividly than his others. The plot revolves around a bank robbery committed in 2018 in a three-dimensional immersive mmorpg (online game). Various characters try to understand what happened, and how it could have taken place, and who might be behind it. The situation expands rapidly into all sorts of cool ideas, including clandestine LARPs (live action role playing games), cyberwar, quantum computing, and all sorts of cloak and dagger stuff (and a bit of romance). Stross' tendency to fill pages with rants is reigned in surprisingly well in this book; it's highly focused and entertaining. I also noticed that he referenced Christopher Brookmyre, and the book is written very much in Brookmyre's style (much of it takes place in Edinburgh), whose writing I love. I think it also resonated so much because he posits the same future that ...more

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