I see Charles Stross as a hit and miss writer. He usually comes up with great ideas, but I’m not thrilled with some of his stories. His Eschaton series (Iron Sunrise and Singularity Sky) were the first of his books I read and I loved them. But I lost interest after a couple books in his Merchant Princes series and I actively disliked his Bob Howard books. But when I saw he had a new book out that was a “loose” sequel to Halting State (which I loved), then I knew I had to read Rule 34. The title comes from an internet meme (urban dictionary) that generally states: If it exists, there is porn of it. In this book, a police squad that routinely deals with rule 34 figures heavily in the storyline. So, let’s see how the book plays out.

Liz Kavanaugh is a Detective on a sideways career arc (more likely downward) and she’s stuck in the Rule 34 squad of the police department in a near future. In the Rule 34 Squad, her team looks to the dark seedy side of the internet to see what the bad guys might be doing now or next. When a late shift call leads Liz to a possible Rule 34 murder. An ex-spam merchant was killed in a manner reminiscent of the merchandise he used to spam. As additional ironic murders start appearing, the Rule 34 chief might be in over her head.

Hassan is a computer criminal who is having a hard time finding a job since he’s not allowed to do computer work. When an ex-associate comes to him with a proposition that he can become an ambassador to a newly split off Eastern European country, he takes the job. His duties mainly involve passing out basic literature and free samples of what he is told is bread. As the job continues, he starts to realize that his ambassadorship might be more of a risky job than he anticipated.

The toymaker is a fixer. His work with the…organization requires him to set up a new organization since the previous fixer died. When his top picks to lead the new group end up dead and he becomes a person of interest at the scene of one of their deaths, he thinsks that something might be up. And when all his cover identities are named after serial killers, he realizes that he might not have the organizational support he thought.

The plot that Stross sets up is a complicated version of The Producers and deftly mixes politics, crime and high finance in a new and fun manner. The characters are well rounded and interesting. Stross does a great job of mixing them together and creating a fun mixture. There were a couple places where it was a little unclear what the game was, but the speed at which the ideas and plot mutates makes it a fun read with an interesting setting. The characters are well drawn out and you are always aware of what everyone’s motivations are and how they are being played. Overall I enjoyed the book and would love to read the rumored third volume when it comes out. Recommended.