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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
i actually ended up enjoying this book a lot more than i expected to—the friendships are really beautiful and well done, and the topics explored are relevant and powerful. i feel like this book taught me a lot about data and its power, though i’m sure that i’m too dumb for most of what was explained lmao. the issue that lowered the rating for me is that i find it hard to really empathize with teen girls written by men—it’s so hard for me to get out of my head when i’m hearing their personalities develop and the pieces just don’t totally fit. but in terms of plot and subject, i found this book fascinating, especially as a standalone novel.
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 Stars
I like the linear through line. With this, he writes more like the Classic Science Fiction writers of yesteryear...while populating the text with current tech and near future technology (just out of sight, but nearing the horizon). Also, painting a picture that is frightening (if I am to be totally honest.
I use computers, but so am NOT a techie. My first computer was a Tandy Radio Shack TRS-80 Model I (came with 4 K RAM), Casset loading for programs. Eventually had 5 1/4 inch Floppy disks. Games were all text based by Scott Adams (and were wonderful for the imagination).
The tech of today is incredible. The use by me is for one thing, but the use for other more nefarious people is really scary. What will it be like in 10-20 years.
Marsha is a sympathetic character, but the story meanders a little too much IMO. It was fun, but I wish the plot was a little tighter, with a more impactful third act.
Good read and addition to the Little Brother series. I will read it again, some day.
I like the linear through line. With this, he writes more like the Classic Science Fiction writers of yesteryear...while populating the text with current tech and near future technology (just out of sight, but nearing the horizon). Also, painting a picture that is frightening (if I am to be totally honest.
I use computers, but so am NOT a techie. My first computer was a Tandy Radio Shack TRS-80 Model I (came with 4 K RAM), Casset loading for programs. Eventually had 5 1/4 inch Floppy disks. Games were all text based by Scott Adams (and were wonderful for the imagination).
The tech of today is incredible. The use by me is for one thing, but the use for other more nefarious people is really scary. What will it be like in 10-20 years.
Marsha is a sympathetic character, but the story meanders a little too much IMO. It was fun, but I wish the plot was a little tighter, with a more impactful third act.
Good read and addition to the Little Brother series. I will read it again, some day.
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Beyond enjoying the tech details that Cory brings to the narrative, it is refreshing to have a story showing both the difficulty of sticking to ones ideals in some cases, but simultaneously be unwavering in the need to so at all costs
Doctorow, Cory. Attack Surface. Little Brother No. 3. Tor, 2020.
Cory Doctorow must be the love child of William Gibson and Kim Stanley Robinson. Attack Surface, a loose sequel to Little Brother and Homeland, has the a near-future tech glitter that makes our everyday world seem as surreally Kafkaesque as Gibson’s Sprawl. It also has obsessive attention to detail and earnest tone of prophetic warning that we see in Robinson’s ecological science fiction. Doctorow is worried that when we put most of our lives in the cloud, we risk creating a tyrannical corporate surveillance state. Our protagonist, Masha Maximow, whom we met in the earlier books, is a hacker/analyst who has spent her life working for morally dubious government and corporate organizations, but she has also occasionally helped some well-meaning protesters. Her life has been one round of rationalizing cognitive dissonance after another. She has dealt with the potential for crippling guilt by compartmentalizing (her term) the things she doesn’t want to think about. Her morally challenged, self-aware character elevates Attack Surface above Doctorow’s already impressive body of work. Highly recommended.
Cory Doctorow must be the love child of William Gibson and Kim Stanley Robinson. Attack Surface, a loose sequel to Little Brother and Homeland, has the a near-future tech glitter that makes our everyday world seem as surreally Kafkaesque as Gibson’s Sprawl. It also has obsessive attention to detail and earnest tone of prophetic warning that we see in Robinson’s ecological science fiction. Doctorow is worried that when we put most of our lives in the cloud, we risk creating a tyrannical corporate surveillance state. Our protagonist, Masha Maximow, whom we met in the earlier books, is a hacker/analyst who has spent her life working for morally dubious government and corporate organizations, but she has also occasionally helped some well-meaning protesters. Her life has been one round of rationalizing cognitive dissonance after another. She has dealt with the potential for crippling guilt by compartmentalizing (her term) the things she doesn’t want to think about. Her morally challenged, self-aware character elevates Attack Surface above Doctorow’s already impressive body of work. Highly recommended.
I'm not overly paranoid about someone (government, companies, etc.) I take precautions but maybe could be more cautious. Reading this book makes me a lot more paranoid and also feeling that enough paranoia is not enough.
Well written with interesting characters, lots of technology, lots to think about. Cory Doctorow does not disappoint.
Well written with interesting characters, lots of technology, lots to think about. Cory Doctorow does not disappoint.
I don’t know if this is a dystopia technological thriller or a fictionalise depiction of the world we’re living in, I just know it’s a very interesting and quite terrifying story. It’s hard to read and think “this is fiction” and assume you are reading about a parallel world where technology is used as a mean to control people behaviour and to repress dissent.
I work in high tech and I know what are the technologies being developed or already existing. All the technologies in this book are already existing and some cases when they were used to control political opponents appeared on papers in recent times.
But this is also the story of Masha, of her friend and of hope that comes from people joining forces and fighting for a better world.
Masha isn’t a likeable character and I found hard to warm up to her. She works for security companies that use the technology to monitor people. She’s an excellent technician but she’s also a damage person who must compartmentalize her life in order to survive.
I met some people like her, people who work to develop technologies that can be in a moral grey area. It’s not hard to see how they are considering their activities as business as usual and avoiding to reflect on the moral implication.
Even if I think it’s a bit unreal that a highly specialised tech guy have a Damascus moment and decides to take side with the good guy it was also a moment I loved because it was hope in quite bleak story.
There are good guys and there are bad guys in this story. At the end of the day all the main characters are women. They are brave and they fight and even Masha, who is morally grey, is able to change and grow.
The technical aspect is interesting and Doctorow did an excellent job in explaining the different technologies and helping people to understand what are the implications and how they can be used.
The plot is quite gripping even if it drags sometimes. It’s not heartwarming and I’m still quite terrified by what I read. I’m a bit paranoid about connected devices and this story did affected me as it made me wish to go back to a very simple phone with no internet connection.
There’s hope at the end to this story but there’s also the message that the power can affect the persons and the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
I don’t know if my review is logical or what else, I just know that this book should be read by a lot of persons as we need to know how technologies can be used to manipulate and control us.
I strongly recommend it because, even if it’s not a perfect book, it’s important to know.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
I work in high tech and I know what are the technologies being developed or already existing. All the technologies in this book are already existing and some cases when they were used to control political opponents appeared on papers in recent times.
But this is also the story of Masha, of her friend and of hope that comes from people joining forces and fighting for a better world.
Masha isn’t a likeable character and I found hard to warm up to her. She works for security companies that use the technology to monitor people. She’s an excellent technician but she’s also a damage person who must compartmentalize her life in order to survive.
I met some people like her, people who work to develop technologies that can be in a moral grey area. It’s not hard to see how they are considering their activities as business as usual and avoiding to reflect on the moral implication.
Even if I think it’s a bit unreal that a highly specialised tech guy have a Damascus moment and decides to take side with the good guy it was also a moment I loved because it was hope in quite bleak story.
There are good guys and there are bad guys in this story. At the end of the day all the main characters are women. They are brave and they fight and even Masha, who is morally grey, is able to change and grow.
The technical aspect is interesting and Doctorow did an excellent job in explaining the different technologies and helping people to understand what are the implications and how they can be used.
The plot is quite gripping even if it drags sometimes. It’s not heartwarming and I’m still quite terrified by what I read. I’m a bit paranoid about connected devices and this story did affected me as it made me wish to go back to a very simple phone with no internet connection.
There’s hope at the end to this story but there’s also the message that the power can affect the persons and the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
I don’t know if my review is logical or what else, I just know that this book should be read by a lot of persons as we need to know how technologies can be used to manipulate and control us.
I strongly recommend it because, even if it’s not a perfect book, it’s important to know.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine