Sometimes, it's the little things the break the deal

Like writing your book in second person, such as Charles Stross has done with his latest book, Rule 34. Stross is an author who runs hot and cold with me, so it may be more than just the unusual choice in narrative voice.

Rule 34 follows up on Halting Space, and looks to explore the same near-future head space (current computer technology and online culture) through the eyes of, well, as it's in second person, my eyes taking on whoever the character is in that chapter. I understand where Stross is coming from here, as virtual worlds are supposed to put me in the digital shoes of another person.

But I've always hated second person narratives (and there are reasons why it's used rarely). At the end of the day, I am not the one in the story, and if I were, who is to say I would make the same decisions that the "you" in the narrative would? Instead of making the fictional world richer, it just creates an additional barrier for the oft-busy reader to fight through while absorbing the book.

And while I managed to make it through the first book, Rule 34 left me completely cold after only a few pages. I looked at the shelves heavy with unread books and decided to send the Stross back to the library unfinished.

Is this fair? Probably not, but I've only got so much time to read and forcing myself to read a book with only marginal interest to me isn't high on my priorities. That also has to do with the author. I've enjoyed some of Stross' books considerably (the Lovecraft/IT Laundry books come to mind), but others just haven't tripped any of my triggers. That's all part of the mysterious thing called "personal taste," which may or may not be completed tied to anything rational (see my love of Brian Lumley) but drive anyone's interactions with books, movies and every other kind of art.