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paneerakbari's review
challenging
hopeful
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Cory Doctorow's best writing so far. It's a wide-ranging narrative that interlaces hamburger Ponzi schemes, for-profit prison abuses, and record label financial chicanery in Doctorow's inimitable fashion. The story ricochets through its beats to produce an exciting, informative, and sometimes enraging tale that is memorable and thought-provoking.
This book is not politically-neutral; there is no sympathy or silence here for neo-liberal and conservative politics. The author is an avowed leftist with bona fides for advancing the causes of social justice and individual privacy. Doctorow's protagonists usually give a voice to his own opinions.
Marty Hench, the protagonist, is a forensic accountant living in San Francisco through the late '90s up to the late '10s. As such, the book often diverts in long passages detailing one or another technical aspect of information forensics, personal technology, and legal theory. It's all relevant - if not obviously so - to the plot, but some readers may not appreciate that aspect.
The story concludes abruptly and eschews happily-ever-after for a satisfyingly real end to this chapter in Marty Hench's life.
This book is not politically-neutral; there is no sympathy or silence here for neo-liberal and conservative politics. The author is an avowed leftist with bona fides for advancing the causes of social justice and individual privacy. Doctorow's protagonists usually give a voice to his own opinions.
Marty Hench, the protagonist, is a forensic accountant living in San Francisco through the late '90s up to the late '10s. As such, the book often diverts in long passages detailing one or another technical aspect of information forensics, personal technology, and legal theory. It's all relevant - if not obviously so - to the plot, but some readers may not appreciate that aspect.
The story concludes abruptly and eschews happily-ever-after for a satisfyingly real end to this chapter in Marty Hench's life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Alcohol, and Police brutality
Moderate: Suicide and Suicide attempt
milliebot_reads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
5.0
bfrederick's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
deeparcher's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
overlap's review against another edition
4.5
if you weren't a huge fan of the first book in the series give this a try! I enjoyed it a lot more funnily enough :]
w1ngard1um's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5