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Halting State

Halting State
Halting State(1stEd).jpg
Cover of first edition (hardcover)
Author Charles Stross
Country United Kingdom & United States
Language English
Genre Science fiction
Publisher Orbit (UK), Ace (US)
Publication date
2 October 2007
Media type Print (hardcover)
Pages 368 pp
ISBN
OCLC 123232449
823/.92 22
LC Class PR6119.T79 H36 2007

Halting State is a novel by Charles Stross, published in the United States on 2 October 2007 and in the United Kingdom in January 2008. Stross has said that it is "a thriller set in the software houses that write multiplayer games". The plot centres on a bank robbery in a virtual world. It features speculative technologies, including Specs and virtual server networks over mobile phones. The book is on its second printing in the United States. The novel was nominated for both the Hugo and Locus Awards in 2008.

The main story is split between three main protagonists, Sue, Elaine, and Jack, respectively, whose sections are always in the second person, with italicised thoughts in first person during each character's respective chapter. Each chapter is followed in sequential trilogies (Sue, Elaine, Jack) for the duration of the novel. This pattern excepts only the prologue and epilogue of the novel, which both contain faux email to supporting characters.

A sequel to Halting State entitled Rule 34 (previously '419') was released in mid-2011.

The plot opens with a faux email addressed to Nigel MacDonald, listing a job offer. It is later learned that this email is for a work-at-home programmer position at Hayek Associates PLC.

It is then learned that a cybercrime has been committed in the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) Avalon Four. A robbery of several thousand euros worth of "prestige items" occurs in the game's central bank, led by a band of orcs and a "dragon for fire support." It is later noticed that this seemingly simple incident has deep implications – both financial (Hayek stock price) and logistical (compromised cryptographic keys), which sets the stage for the latter half of the novel.


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