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A review by thelizabeth
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow
5.0
I read this through email on DailyLit in 65 parts, starting September 30. Clearly I enjoyed more than one installment a day.
I'm not even sure why I liked this so much.
I was really surprised by how much the sci-fi details were similar to Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series, Extras in particular. (Westerfeld mentions this book himself here, but not in much depth.) Cosmetic surgery allowing anyone to look like anything and keep in perfect health, the internal computer interfaces operated by small gestures, and the reputation economy. I did start reading this right after I finished that series, but I would be shocked if Westerfeld hadn't read this right before starting it. Cut from very similar cloth.
I had a lot more fun with the language, symbolism, and ideas here. I love "squirting" information at each other's systems with finger guns. I love the succinct, intriguing flashbacks. And the story's main thrust, Julius's willful spiral after being knocked offline, is really moving. I love that it's not a story of man vs. society, an attack on a big-brother dystopia, as much as a person losing all his bearings and finding his utopia can't help him.
I'm not even sure why I liked this so much.
I was really surprised by how much the sci-fi details were similar to Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series, Extras in particular. (Westerfeld mentions this book himself here, but not in much depth.) Cosmetic surgery allowing anyone to look like anything and keep in perfect health, the internal computer interfaces operated by small gestures, and the reputation economy. I did start reading this right after I finished that series, but I would be shocked if Westerfeld hadn't read this right before starting it. Cut from very similar cloth.
I had a lot more fun with the language, symbolism, and ideas here. I love "squirting" information at each other's systems with finger guns. I love the succinct, intriguing flashbacks. And the story's main thrust, Julius's willful spiral after being knocked offline, is really moving. I love that it's not a story of man vs. society, an attack on a big-brother dystopia, as much as a person losing all his bearings and finding his utopia can't help him.