From the Bookshelf of The Sword and Laser…

Rule 34 (Halting State, #2)

Charles Stross

Start date: January 7, 2012

Finish date: February 13, 2012

Discussion: 2012 Reads

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2012 Reads

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What Members Thought

Jan 07, 2012 Veronica Belmont rated it liked it

Shelves: sword-and-laser

Rule 34 is interesting in many ways: it deals with a subject matter that is deeply interesting to me (artificial intelligence and what that means for society), is ripe with memes that any internet savvy reader would find amusing, and uses a unique second-person narrative style that takes some getting used to.

The first half of the book is something of a slog: you're introduced to the "main" character (at least in my mind) Liz, and we get an info dump on the world we're going to be visiting for th ...more

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Apr 15, 2012 Eoghann Irving rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction

A loose follow up to the excellent Halting State, Rule 34 features some of the secondary characters from that book and the same setting. But don't let that put you off. It could easily be read before reading Halting State. The connections aren't even clearly stated until about halfway through the book.

It also has a lot of the elements that made Halting State so enjoyable for me to read. Not least of which naturally is the Edinburgh setting and the refusal to dumb it down for people who won't get ...more

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Mar 24, 2012 Dana rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery, science-fiction

One of the few works I've ever read with successful second person narration. The beginning is kind of slow and hard to tell where things are going, but the story certainly picks up, and the end makes it all worthwhile. Stross also manages to build an incredibly believable vision of a not-too-far-away future. Not light reading, but recommended for people looking for some harder sci-fi more in the vein of cyberpunk. ...more

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Jan 08, 2014 Tanvir Muntasim rated it liked it · review of another edition

Not an easy book to read, but the pay off at the end is enormous. Smart, sophisticated and intelligent, this one takes a piercing look at the future that is frighteningly possible, in the worst possible way. Stross makes fun of the Holmesian myth of the single lonely but brilliant detective, even the conventional understanding of artificial intelligence. He cooks up a story full of coincidences which will make your head shake disbelievingly and then he will give you such a plausible explanation ...more

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Feb 14, 2012 Tensy (bookdoyen) rated it did not like it

Shelves: science-fiction, did-not-finish

I am usually a huge fan of Charles Gross, but I could not get past the first few chapters. The Scottish brogue, as presented in this novel, is worse than deciphering a novel in a foreign language (and I am bi-lingual). I could barely figure out what the heck was going on. He should have kept it in normative English if he wanted readers to enjoy the book.

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