You may not have heard of Charles Stross or his new book Halting State. I know I hadn't heard of either until I read this review.
However, after reading the premise, I just ordered it online. It sounds like a good read for speculative fiction fans...especially those that prefer near-future fiction like me. Admittedly, my book Darwin's Orphans is in this very same genre, but Stross' book sounds intriguing.
For example, RFID tags tracking people's locations is already a possibility...just not in practice (or at least we don't think it is). Cars are getting close to driving themselves, so the unmanned taxi scenario described in the book is also a reasonable expectation for our near future.
There are a couple of influences here requiring full disclosure. First off, this book is being recommended by an Aussie. I've got family from north of Sydney and they've turned me on to some good books. Secondly, there's a passage in the review that echoes a concept that I featured in my own book:
- A 15-year-old caught kissing a 16-year-old on CCTV is forever labelled with a "pedophile caution" in the EU's police database.
My story Darwin's Orphans features social labeling whereby a database lists folks with violent tendencies.
It sounds like Stross had much of the same fun I did in writing his thriller. When you consider where society and technology are heading, folding it into a story can be an enjoyable exercise. I know it was for me. Hopefully, Stross had a good time as well.
After I finish reading the book, expect a bit of follow up commentary.
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