There are writers who can world build, and there are writers who build worlds. Stross is one of the latter, a writer who can build a world full of characters, places, and ideas. A writer who can then present said world to the reader without an overload of information, and just a pinch of theater.
His newest book, Rule 34 is no exception. For the short review, I can say that the book itself is very well crafted piece, and a very thoroughly enjoyable read.
Set in the same milieu, for lack of a better term, as a previous book Halting State, it's only about 20 down the road and the world has progressed into a technological wonderland, all be it a wonderland in the middle of a economic depression. No, no nanite or technology as magic, just the technology of today, more refined and omnipresent then before. With UAV patrolling for dog shit, and everyone with their own personal HUD or virtual reality overlay. However, you don't have to had read his previous book to be able to read this one, as only one or two characters from the previous really make any sort of appearance, and they are essentially standalone novels.
For the uninitiated, Rule 34 is an internet meme that states, "If it exists, there is porn of it.". In the world of Charles Stross' this becomes more a fact, and sets the stage for discussion on how Internet meme's could affect a future that's not just wired in, but wired to the bone. Where a German cannibal with the ability to manufacture cloned meat, could spawn dinner parties where the guest of honor is the main course. In such a world, how can you then tell the difference between coincidence and horrifying new trend in murder, and how do you stop it? When a trend is international, how would your local police force even cope? For Rule 34, you have the Innovative Crime Investigation Unit. The misfit in a nip Police force, set to patrol the dregs of the Internet and try to stay sane. So when a new murder, with unique twists comes across your desk, what are you going to do?
The biggest trouble I had with the novel was mostly in trying to wrap my head around some of the thick Scottish accents, and how they come across in print. Being not Scottish myself, naturally, the shortened words and adjacent spellings threw a metaphysical monkey wrench in to my thought processes. As this is heaviest in the beginning of the book, I found myself having to pause a lot, and attempt to translate what the characters were saying. Luckily its appear the accents get less hurtful as the book progresses, probably due to both adapting to the writing, and some additional characters who have less full on Scottish-ness.
Beyond the accents, the jumping viewpoint was also slightly disconcerting. That is until you started to grasp that all the different viewpoints are like the old adage about five blind men and an elephant, who could describe what they touched, but until you added in all their view points you didn't know it was an elephant. One the things Stross is really good at in his novels, is that he can weave multiple big ideas in to one coherent story. By this I mean that where a story could serve as a warning on the overabundance of some technology, there is also an idea about internet memes, the rise of fabrication in the home, and national economics. Normally such big ideas can be the sole focus of a novel just by themselves, but Stross likes to use ALL the ideas to craft a story that complex squared.
Which leads to, What the heck genre is this novel? Is it Science Fiction? A Mystery? A Thriller? The short answer is all three. As I have noticed over the last ten years, most books I can tag with what I call a Primary Genre, and then I have to add two or three sub-genres just to label it for people who only read certain things. In this case, I would dub Rule 34's Primary as Science Fiction (non-Space), with a Sub-genre of Mystery/Police Investigation and a sub-sub-genre of Political Thriller. So if you like one of these genres, and don't absolutely hate the others then I'd say dig in and have fun.