a_cubed | Books – Halting State

Again in preparation for reading a sequel, I re-read the first one. Halting State is an interesting mix of elements. It’s written in the second person, like selected chapters of Iain (No M.) Banks’ Complicity. It’s basically mundane SF with only modest extrapolation of current trends in the fiction. In fact, the most unbelievable element is Scottish independence on the time scale he posited (not that it couldn’t happen, he just pushed it in to quick to give a twist to his setting). It includes a variant take on economics 2.0 to the Accelerando first third, and includes some excellent ideas on ARGs and their real world impact. For me, at least, the second person structure didn’t provide a problem. While i wasn’t a big fan of “hoose your own adventure” novels, I read a few of them as a teenager and the second person format was therefore familiar enough (Complicity helped, too) not to be a worry. I’ve seen other reviews where this caused a significant problem for other readers, though.

There’s a lot in this book which cuts across my own work in information ethics. One of the reasons I enjoy conversations with Charlier is that he’s often looking at exploiting in fiction the material I exploit in the real world. In fact, this is one of two books I recommend to my students (the other being Walter Jon Williams’ This Is Not A Game) when setting them coursework on the potential problems with ARGs.

The familiar geographic setting of the book (I lived in St Andrews for six years and so know Edinburgh and Glasgow fairly well) also makes it a comfortable read for me.

The biggest issue I think I have with this book is that perhaps it’s all a little too familiar. As with much of Charlie’s output I’ve heard the ideas from him firsthand before the book is even written (and while it’s being written). The focus is on my area of professional expertise and the geography is a space I know well. So, while for some people I think this may produce some decent sensawunder, for me it’s more like a comfortable well-worn but not worn out leather jacket.

Current Mood: (tired)

tired