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, 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 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.
““You have an evil mind!”
“And this is a bad thing how, exactly?””
Source: Halting State (2007), Chapter 28, “Jack: Sex Offender” (p. 235)
Source: Halting State (2007), Chapter 33, “Elaine: Gentlemen and Players” (p. 274)
“Never trust a man who thinks his religion gives him all the answers.”
Source: Halting State (2007), Chapter 33, “Elaine: Gentlemen and Players” (p. 275)
Source: Halting State (2007), Chapter 6, “Elaine: Death or Coffee” (p. 42)
Source: Halting State (2007), Chapter 13, “Jack: In Hell” (p. 96)
Source: Halting State (2007), Chapter 33, “Elaine: Gentlemen and Players” (p. 272)
“Liz isn’t simply not going by the book, she’s just about throwing it in the shredder.”
Source: Halting State (2007), Chapter 32, “Sue: Civil Contingencies” (p. 263)
