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Halting State, The Atrocity Archives, by Charles Stross

I read a lot, but I don’t usually review or comment what I’ve read because, well, I’m quite bad at it (and it’s not just the language). But every now and then, I can make an exception.

I have just finished reading The Atrocity Archives written by Charles Stross and I have read Halting State a few months ago (and I preferred the latter, which may be logical since it is in fact newer), and I enjoyed both. But, I have a hard time convincing myself to recommend any to people around me for the simple fact that this is pure geek literature. If you thought Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon was as geek as it could be, just read those books. It’s not just geeky, it’s also so true (up to a certain point, but that’s the margin required for fiction) that it gave me a kind of déjà vu.

So without a certain knowledge or experience, some parts may be fully obscured, but it is otherwise well written and enjoyable.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 at 20:51 +0000 and is filed under books. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

2 Responses to “Halting State, The Atrocity Archives, by Charles Stross”

  1. wj Says:
    January 27th, 2009 at 21:27 +0000

    ok, but what kind of geek?
    That’s a bit wide… Geek for numbers as Cryptonomicon, (that I liked) or geek as wandering around life, universe, etc…, geek for computers (that i could like, but only a little bit), or geek for… the rest-that-I-can’t-understand-anyway? :)

    Well, to sum up, is it good for me?

  2. Sebastien Tanguy Says:
    January 27th, 2009 at 21:42 +0000

    Ah, my bad! That’s computer geek there. So there’s quite a bit of IT-boy speak but I don’t think you’d be completely lost.

    And then, there’s the genre. The Atrocity Archives is a lovecraft-ian kind, while Halting State is more of a near future thriller.