Halting State

Once you've got over the all to frequent multiple starts with apparently unrelated characters and got in to the story somewhat this turns into an amusing little cyber-punk crime novel. It is a bit overly oriented towards computer game addicts, using jargon that is difficult for the rest of us to decipher and the Scottish dialect is also a little much at times.
The premise that role-playing games, on-line or live-action, are going to become mainstream is utterly fantastical, in my view, detracting from the believability quite considerably. The novel also says nothing new: the idea that your life is controlled by the computer geeks and data-base compilers has been around at least since Zelazny's much more enjoyable, My Name is Legion. Stross has also worn his influences on his sleeve: William Gibson, early Ian Banks, Ken McCleod (oh dear!).
Disappointing but pleasant enough.