Rule 34
by Charles Stross · first published 2011
42% recommend58% neutral
Why HN recommends it
A near-future thriller about an anti-spam AI, police surveillance and the regulation of 3D printing. It explores automation, control and the social effects of technology, written for readers of speculative fiction.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Head of the Rule 34 Squad monitoring the Internet for illegal activities, Detective Inspector Liz Kavanaugh investigates the link between three ex-con spammers who have been murdered.
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2007–2026Halting State
Charles Stross
Recommended by 40 · mentioned by 7140 recommend · 71 mention40 recommend · 7140 recommend
2009–2024The fall revolution
Ken MacLeod
Recommended by 12 · mentioned by 1412 recommend · 14 mention12 recommend · 1412 recommend
2009–2024The Cassini Division
Ken MacLeod
Recommended by 10 · mentioned by 1410 recommend · 14 mention10 recommend · 1410 recommend
2009–2026Glasshouse
Charles Stross
Recommended by 19 · mentioned by 3219 recommend · 32 mention19 recommend · 3219 recommend
2009–2024The Sky Road
Ken MacLeod
Recommended by 6 · mentioned by 66 recommend · 6 mention6 recommend · 66 recommend
2012–2025Rapture of the Nerds
Cory Doctorow, Charles Stross
Recommended by 9 · mentioned by 159 recommend · 15 mention9 recommend · 159 recommend
2012–2024Broken Angels
Richard K. Morgan
Recommended by 5 · mentioned by 85 recommend · 8 mention5 recommend · 85 recommend
2009–2024The Stone Canal
Ken MacLeod
Recommended by 7 · mentioned by 87 recommend · 8 mention7 recommend · 87 recommend
Charles Stross' Rule 34 dealt with this concept: fabricators with DRM that only allowed them to print legitimate items, and a thriving black market of hacked fabricators and illegal or unlicensed designs. Good stuff - futurism,…
on “The Pirate Bay Wants You To Really Download A Car” ↗Also "Rule 34" by Charles Stross is a pretty good novel about some of the consequences of personal 3D printing being pushed underground by regulation.
on “3-D Printing's Legal Morass” ↗I enjoyed these books by Charles Stross, Accelerando, Halting State and the follow up, but not sequel, Rule 34, and of course The Rapture of the Nerds, co-written with Cory Doctorow. Also I've enjoyed his non cyberpunkish books especially The Laundry Files series. I also liked William Hertlings Singularity series,…
on “Neuromancer, 30 years old this month” ↗No code in these two, but lots of problem solving: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_34_%28novel%29 I recently read Rule 34 by HNer Charles Stross. I liked it a lot. Thanks Charles. If you want to go old school, Rendezvous With Rama is great. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rendezvous_with_Rama
on “Ask HN: Sci-Fi Books for Hackers?” ↗Read Charles Stross' Rule 34 for an insightful vision of what technology like this might be like for a policeman to live with daily. Not sure how much I'd like a world in which everything that's said or done is recorded. Where you…
on “Imagining a future dictated by Google Glass” ↗You might find "Rule 34"[1] has some interesting ideas for automation and control. [1] http://www.amazon.com/Rule-34-Charles-Stross/dp/0441020348/c...
on “Spy Kids” ↗…The Caryatids. Sterling has a more instrumental view of AI but I think he does a better job of addressing the social issues of technology than most of the other recommendations here. Halting State, Rule 34, and Glasshouse by Stross might also be up your alley. And Blue Remembered Earth by Alistair Reynolds but probably not the sequels. Oh, and Nexus by Ramez Naam. I'd certainly recommend Ken MacLeod…
on “Ghost in the Shell remains our most challenging film about technology” ↗Have you read Rule 34 by Charles Stross? No I haven't, but I'll check it out as I'm looking for something to read, and that sounds up my alley. Thanks.
on “Microsoft chatbot is taught to swear on Twitter” ↗Well rule 34 by Charlie Stross have some interesting ideas about a non-human, non-conscious intelligece, its just very subtle. Neptune's Brood by the same author is a science fiction book without any humans in it.
on “Good science fiction books about intelligence, AI, artificial life forms, etc.?” ↗…contacting people who participated in certain USENET newsgroups (I was recruited this way). She was successful at finding someone, but she said they had to help relocate the guy's pet lizard. Also: read Rule 34 by Charles Stross. The weirdest thing about this book is that it's written in 2nd person.
on “My Many Girlfriends” ↗Rule 34 by charlie stross. It's a very near future scifi involving ai in a somewhat different way than normal. The author is on hn with the username cstross.
on “Ask HN: Can you think of a sci-fi novel that feels like ChatGPT now?” ↗Check out Rule 34 by Charlie Stross, which is based on exactly that idea. Spoilers, but the basic gist is that an advanced anti-spam AI decides to tackle the problem at the source, so to speak. Recommended reading.
on “Is Gmail killing independent email?” ↗I think of the books by Charles Stross halting state and rule 34 are both better books and give a better 15 minutes into the future feeling. Halting state might be a bit dated but rule 34 absolutely holds up.
on “Accelerando (2005)” ↗Charlie Stross on the topic: http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2014/02/rule-34-... 'For starters, it turns out that 3-11% of Yahoo! webcam traffic involves "undesirable nudity"' "I am still trying to get my head around the implications that the British government's equivalent…
on “GCHQ intercepted webcam images of millions of Yahoo users worldwide” ↗…have some of their earlier titles. And worse yet if the book was part of a series, you would see the latest one or two books but never any of the previous ones. So for example, they might carry Stross' "Rule 34" but not his earlier (and great) "Halting State" and "Accelerando". So what's a SciFi fan to do? Track them down in a used bookstore. I only get to visit Powell's once a year when I visit my parents.…
on “How the shift to ebooks will affect genre categories in fiction” ↗