a_cubed | Books – Rule 34 (Reply)

So, the sequel for which I re-read Halting State. Again, I knew the plot fairly well, from back when it had a different title. I didn’t like this as much as Halting State, though. Getting right into the head of a villain is a tricky thing to do well, as I’ve mentioned before and I don’t think Charlie managed it properly here. I think the combination of being in the head of a sociopath together with the start of that thread being a different person (member of the same gang, but it was odd to have the thread of a second person narrative named after a “person” shift viewpoint – or should that be target in second person narrative). I know why he did it, but I also felt that it was a bit stereotypical to have a second lesbian policewoman, particularly one who appears in the first but whose sexual orientation wasn’t made clear there (at least it didn’t come over to me). It just felt rather forced (if you’ll pardon the pun).

Again, the topics are right within my area of specialist knowledge and there’s nothing in here that rang untrue, particularly, about the tech or its potential social and economic consequences. I’ll even forgive him the Scottish independence this time as it’s a sequel so the fact that reality has already diverged just makes this an alternative history, now. It somewhat reminded me of his early short story Antibodies, and like Halting State it shows the same desire to really crack algorithmic science fiction. So, while I didn’t like it as much as Halting State, It7s still a pretty good book and a recommended read if you like near-future computing-oriented SF.

Current Mood: (tired)

tired