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Original Essays | April 26, 2012

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When I set out to write a book about the natural history of breasts, I knew I'd have to answer some awkward questions about my book topic. At a... Continue »
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3 Burnside Science Fiction and Fantasy- A to Z

This title in other editions

eBook editions

Halting State

by Charles Stross

Halting State Cover

ISBN13: 9780441014989
ISBN10: 0441014984
Condition: Standard
Dustjacket: Standard
All Product Details

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Awards

2008 Hugo Award nominee — Best Novel
2008 Locus Award nominee
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

In the year 2018, Sergeant Sue Smith of the Edinburgh constabulary is called in on a special case. The investigation seems pointless, but she soon realizes that the virtual world may have a devastating effect in the real one — and that someone is about to launch an attack upon both.

Review:

"This brilliantly conceived techno-crime thriller spreads a black humor frosting over the grim prospect of the year 2012, when China, India and the European System are struggling for world economic domination in an 'infowar,' and the U.S. faces bankruptcy over its failing infrastructure. Sgt. Sue Smith of Edinburgh's finest, London insurance accountant Elaine Barnaby and hapless secret-ridden programmer Jack Reed peel back layer after layer of a scheme to siphon vast assets from Hayek Associates, a firm whose tentacles spread into international economies. The theft is routed through Avalon Four, a virtual reality world complete with supposedly robbery-proof banks. As an electronic intelligence agency trains innocent gamers to do its dirty work, Elaine sets Jack to catch the poacher. Hugo-winner Stross (Glasshouse) creates a deeply immersive story, writing all three perspectives in the authoritative second-person style of video game instructions and gleefully spiking the intrigue with virtual Orcs, dragons and swordplay. The effortless transformation of today's technological frustrations into tomorrow's nightmare realities is all too real for comfort." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Review:

"[A] fast-paced, skillfully constructed computational mirror-maze." Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

Review:

"Hugo Award winner Stross's fast-paced sf techno-thriller shows promise as a series opener and belongs in most libraries." Library Journal

Review:

"Stross again displays his genius for envisioning a complex future society that appears all-too-inevitable." Booklist

Review:

"This is his tightest-plotted novel to date, a detective story with a million perfectly meshed moving parts, and a hundred magnificent surprises that had me gasping and shouting YES (to the general alarm of the guy in the next seat on my airplane)....[A] book that will change the way you see the way the world works." Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing

Review:

"[A]nother winner for Charles Stross, a writer who has more than ably grabbed the high-tech baton from last century's forebears...and is still running laps with it, without any sign of tiring." SFReviews.net
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About the Author

Charles Stross is a full-time writer who was born in Leeds, England in 1964.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
pdxread, April 2, 2008 (view all comments by pdxread)
Wow. Crime, computers, role-playing games -- all set in a future that may not be any more appealing than our current version but seems distinctly plausible.

The narrative is in second person — very much like game instructions — and point of view switches from a sergeant, to a contract programmer, to a forensic accountant trying to unravel the problem. Separately, together, in real life, and inside the game they try to decode the puzzles and in the process give us a look at what everyday life may be like in a couple of decades.

This book is intelligent, interesting, and intricate -- and you won't be able to stop reading it.
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jennifer morris, January 16, 2008 (view all comments by jennifer morris)
This is a rollercoaster of a ride through the near future, set in the indepedent country of Scotland and told from the point of view of 3 quirky characters. The set up is that a bank located within a Massive(ly) multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) has been robbed by orcs. Who cares? Well, the stolen items are worth millions in the real world . . . then the story really starts cracking along.

Don't let the second person perspective put you off, after a few chapters it is just part of the fun! I'm a big fan of Charlie Stross and for my money this is the best he's written yet.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780441014989
Author:
Stross, Charles
Publisher:
Ace Hardcover
Subject:
Science Fiction - High Tech
Subject:
Virtual Reality
Subject:
Computer games
Subject:
Science / High Tech
Subject:
Science fiction
Subject:
Edinburgh (scotland)
Copyright:
2007
Publication Date:
20071002
Binding:
Hardback
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
368
Dimensions:
9.22x6.40x1.19 in. 1.26 lbs.
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Related Subjects

Fiction and Poetry » Science Fiction and Fantasy » A to Z

Halting State Used Hardcover
0 stars - 0 reviews
$12.95 In Stock
Product details 368 pages Ace Books - English 9780441014989 Reviews:
"Publishers Weekly Review" by , "This brilliantly conceived techno-crime thriller spreads a black humor frosting over the grim prospect of the year 2012, when China, India and the European System are struggling for world economic domination in an 'infowar,' and the U.S. faces bankruptcy over its failing infrastructure. Sgt. Sue Smith of Edinburgh's finest, London insurance accountant Elaine Barnaby and hapless secret-ridden programmer Jack Reed peel back layer after layer of a scheme to siphon vast assets from Hayek Associates, a firm whose tentacles spread into international economies. The theft is routed through Avalon Four, a virtual reality world complete with supposedly robbery-proof banks. As an electronic intelligence agency trains innocent gamers to do its dirty work, Elaine sets Jack to catch the poacher. Hugo-winner Stross (Glasshouse) creates a deeply immersive story, writing all three perspectives in the authoritative second-person style of video game instructions and gleefully spiking the intrigue with virtual Orcs, dragons and swordplay. The effortless transformation of today's technological frustrations into tomorrow's nightmare realities is all too real for comfort." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
"Review" by , "[A] fast-paced, skillfully constructed computational mirror-maze."
"Review" by , "Hugo Award winner Stross's fast-paced sf techno-thriller shows promise as a series opener and belongs in most libraries."
"Review" by , "Stross again displays his genius for envisioning a complex future society that appears all-too-inevitable."
"Review" by , "This is his tightest-plotted novel to date, a detective story with a million perfectly meshed moving parts, and a hundred magnificent surprises that had me gasping and shouting YES (to the general alarm of the guy in the next seat on my airplane)....[A] book that will change the way you see the way the world works."
"Review" by , "[A]nother winner for Charles Stross, a writer who has more than ably grabbed the high-tech baton from last century's forebears...and is still running laps with it, without any sign of tiring."
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