Point of View

Rule 34 by Charles Stross is written in the second-person narrative, where the author employs the personal pronoun 'you' to the characters when addressing them. This style is not as common a writing style as a first-person narrative of a third-person format. In fact, second-person narratives are often reserved for self-help books or do-it-yourself manuals.

The point of view changes from character to character with each chapter or segment change. The reader thus becomes each character introduced, and is intimately aware of each character's thoughts and feelings. The first character introduced is the main character, Liz, and throughout the story the reader is intimately introduced to both antagonists and protagonists alike. Second-person narratives are not as common as first person or third-person narratives, and lend a unique style to the story. As the story unfolds, the reader is given an intimate look into the motivation of each...