Book Review: Halting State

Reviewed By: Lynn Harnett

Halting State     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Charles Stross
Class/Genre:   Science Fiction   Mystery   Techno Thriller
Ace, October 2007

While all sci-fi techno-thrillers appeal first to computer gamers, Stross exploits this connection with his gamer-style second-person narration and his game-origin plot.

It’s 2018, but Edinburgh police Sergeant Sue Smith still isn’t quite ready for a major bank robbery – in a game in cyber space. Orcs and dragons accomplished the task, stealing virtual treasure from the virtual safety deposit boxes of millions of real gamers. Gamers need to be rewarded or the game stops being fun, but too much treasure floating around creates inflation, thus the bank, which works sort of like a real bank. And real banks, come to think of it, also have a lot of dealings in cyberspace.

The virtual bank’s owners, Hayek Associates, call in forensic accountant Elaine Barnaby and she calls in a gamer guide, Jack Reed, who teaches her the finer points of avatar acquisition, virtual combat, and cyberspace navigation. As they pool their talents to detect something bigger than an impossible bank robbery, real-world dangers muddy the cyber connections.

The second-person narration alternates between the three main characters, their secrets and their spheres of expertise, which converge as the threat to global economies and political realities looms larger.

Somewhat head-spinning for non-gamers but fast-paced, colorful and all-too plausible.

Lynn Harnett

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Lynn Harnett