Halting State

I've just finished reading Halting State by Charles Stross.

It's an enjoyable SciFi whodunit mystery set in the near future involving a robbery in a MMORPG. The book is presented in the second person narrative which is unusual but helps give a sense of the setting. It's set in a recently independent Scotland where technology has progressed slightly beyond it's current point but is pervasive and in the hands of the masses as a matter of routine. This is one of the aspects of the book I really enjoyed as Stross does a very good job of imagining what will happen when everyone has the toys that the geeks currently have. He also does a good job on developing on some of the social trends we have today and predicting what that will mean in a few years.

The book does have a fair number of technical terms in it that betray the authors geek credentials but I don't think it makes the book inaccessible. Technical stuff aside the story is also very enjoyable and keeps you turning the pages. Recommended.