Say--if I were to draw on my Eng Lit background and my savvy from at least skimming the trades, even if I didn't have anything good to hawk of mine own, I'd have a pocket list of things superficially not salutory about the latest Stross endeavor. It's in second person voice for one--and your literary-minded student was clearly advised that this is a confusing tone--especially if you have more than one character--try three!--voicing the tale in this "You-ness".
Also--it is known to serious writers currently banging out a line or two--that dialect is a thing to shy away from-don't alienate, er, well, especially your dumb-ass yanks, who won't get it--don't make things more complicated than need be.--Especially one as quaintly phonetically rendered as say, Scottish.
And--if you must write about the future--say, steer clear of the really *near future*, would you? After all, the near future is most exquisitely verifiable--no?
And so we actually hit on all the strengths of Halting State, which is excellent because the author goes ahead and *does* what any other writer might pause at.
To hit the "Never do's" backwards--the story is plausible because even a dumb-ass non-gamer non-programmer who nonetheless does a thing or two with games and such, *gets* the tech, and also gets the "you" thing not just from text--based-ummm, MUDDs and such, but also as a technique to draw the reader in--if I dig it--others more plausably should.
As for the dialect, the main argument against it would come if it were unintelligible, but I say it's safe to pronounce the scottish accent "Not nearly as hard as may be"--possibly less so. The casual reader is possibly familiar with Fat Bastard of the Austin Powers' Cimenatic oevre? Then, so must the Yank confess familiarity with the Scots dialect. (To a wee, pitiful degree.)
All things considered, even if the casual reader were previously acquainted with things regarding style. he or she would have to consider this work on something beyond style alone. I would say the story rests on---duh-story-telling. (Aye--to wit--yea:)
We have three separate and interesting persons, Our ain Detective, Sue Smith, our Ain Haxor, Jack Reed, and Our ain beancounter with a sword--Elaine. These persons intersect about a greivous crime in an artificial world. For to discover the perpetrator of the crime, they enconter twists in their understood reality. One of their twists is obvious--another had me skipping back over the previously written things--just to be sure 'twas so--be prepared for twists--'tis Stross! Sometimes twisted!
I do believe the engaged SF fan will well enjoy this tale.
Also--it is known to serious writers currently banging out a line or two--that dialect is a thing to shy away from-don't alienate, er, well, especially your dumb-ass yanks, who won't get it--don't make things more complicated than need be.--Especially one as quaintly phonetically rendered as say, Scottish.
And--if you must write about the future--say, steer clear of the really *near future*, would you? After all, the near future is most exquisitely verifiable--no?
And so we actually hit on all the strengths of Halting State, which is excellent because the author goes ahead and *does* what any other writer might pause at.
To hit the "Never do's" backwards--the story is plausible because even a dumb-ass non-gamer non-programmer who nonetheless does a thing or two with games and such, *gets* the tech, and also gets the "you" thing not just from text--based-ummm, MUDDs and such, but also as a technique to draw the reader in--if I dig it--others more plausably should.
As for the dialect, the main argument against it would come if it were unintelligible, but I say it's safe to pronounce the scottish accent "Not nearly as hard as may be"--possibly less so. The casual reader is possibly familiar with Fat Bastard of the Austin Powers' Cimenatic oevre? Then, so must the Yank confess familiarity with the Scots dialect. (To a wee, pitiful degree.)
All things considered, even if the casual reader were previously acquainted with things regarding style. he or she would have to consider this work on something beyond style alone. I would say the story rests on---duh-story-telling. (Aye--to wit--yea:)
We have three separate and interesting persons, Our ain Detective, Sue Smith, our Ain Haxor, Jack Reed, and Our ain beancounter with a sword--Elaine. These persons intersect about a greivous crime in an artificial world. For to discover the perpetrator of the crime, they enconter twists in their understood reality. One of their twists is obvious--another had me skipping back over the previously written things--just to be sure 'twas so--be prepared for twists--'tis Stross! Sometimes twisted!
I do believe the engaged SF fan will well enjoy this tale.
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