Just finished Cory Doctorow's Makers, which was serialized on TOR.com and is also on his blog. I read it in the serialized form, with a rather long break.
The book has some of his best characters yet--tinkerers, bloggers, evil corporate functionaries. And some really interesting ideas on where work is going. An entire way of working travels the hype curve. The storytelling is powerful and hits hard. I really enjoyed this one.
The only thing that wears a little thin is his thing with Disney rides. Doctorow has a complicated love affair with Disney. The theme of people obsessing over an amusement park ride was the focus of Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom. I think he's pretty much done that.
For all that, it's a great ride. I recommend downloading off the blog site for reading, since some of the links in the tor.com serialization are messed up. But the comments on the serialized version are entertaining, and the commenters correct the bad links, so it might be worth a look.
Showing posts with label Doctorow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Doctorow. Show all posts
Friday, April 9, 2010
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Favorites: When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth, by Cory Doctorow
Cory Doctorow is perhaps the foremost champion of free literature on the internet, and I've read most all SF he's published. When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth is probably my favorite story of his. It presents a very interesting picture of how system administrators, behind their negative-pressure secure doors, might survive a societal breakdown and help to rebuild. The geeks-rule sensibility has much appeal for me, and it's quite well told. Read it and go hug a programmer.
Reads of the Day
Emma Bull is one of my favorite authors, so when Free SF Online picked up several new postings by her and Will Shetterly, I bookmarked several for reading. Today I read What Used To Be Good Still Is, a nice little story about a girl preserving the spirit of a mined mountain. The story touches lightly on the effects of copper mining, but doesn't have nearly the punch of, say, Paulo Bacigalupi's The People of Sand and Slag. Probably didn't intend to. A nice diversion, but that's all. 2 stars.
Also read an early piece by Greg Egan, Neighborhood Watch. Egan started his career writing horror, but it is as well crafted as his later hard SF. But I'm not a huge horror fan, so I only give it 2 stars
Reads of the Day
Emma Bull is one of my favorite authors, so when Free SF Online picked up several new postings by her and Will Shetterly, I bookmarked several for reading. Today I read What Used To Be Good Still Is, a nice little story about a girl preserving the spirit of a mined mountain. The story touches lightly on the effects of copper mining, but doesn't have nearly the punch of, say, Paulo Bacigalupi's The People of Sand and Slag. Probably didn't intend to. A nice diversion, but that's all. 2 stars.
Also read an early piece by Greg Egan, Neighborhood Watch. Egan started his career writing horror, but it is as well crafted as his later hard SF. But I'm not a huge horror fan, so I only give it 2 stars
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