Have you ever wondered what it's like to get bitten by a zombie? To live through a bioweapon attack? To have every aspect of your life governed by ...
read full description
reviews
Jul 23, 2009
Logan
rated it: 
Cory Doctorow is a nerd's nerd. As one of the founders of BoingBoing, he has been at the forefront of web culture, meme dispersion, and fair copyright advocacy. In his off-time he also writes some pretty decent science fiction.
His style is a familiar one- adopting netwide themes into stories to help explain these advances to those who spend less time fully immersed in the digital world. I imagine trying to explain the phenomena of gold farming to someone who has never played Wor More...
His style is a familiar one- adopting netwide themes into stories to help explain these advances to those who spend less time fully immersed in the digital world. I imagine trying to explain the phenomena of gold farming to someone who has never played Wor More...
0 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
Dec 17, 2009
Brooke
rated it: 
I run hot and cold on Doctorow, sometimes he's really entertaining, and sometimes he doesn't do enough storytelling to cover up the fact that his books serve as a soapbox for him to share his opinions on technology.
This short-story collection contains 5 stories, and each star in my rating corresponds with each of the stories I liked. There were two I could have done without: "When Sysadmins Ruled The Earth" was too self-indulgent for my tastes, almost like it was fantasy w More...
This short-story collection contains 5 stories, and each star in my rating corresponds with each of the stories I liked. There were two I could have done without: "When Sysadmins Ruled The Earth" was too self-indulgent for my tastes, almost like it was fantasy w More...
0 comments
like
(4 people liked it)
Jun 05, 2011
Balaji
rated it:
When I spotted this book in the library I knew I had to read it given: a. I religiously read BoingBoing everyday and via BB I had already read one of the short stories in this book - "When Sysadmins ruled the earth". While I found that story interesting, it certainly did not qualify as a great story. As it turns out, that story is probably the weakest link in the chain. The final two stories in the book - "I, Row-Boat" and "After The Siege" are easily the highlight
More...
Feb 05, 2009
Overclocked bears witness to Cory Doctorow's strong presence on the Internet and immersion in that subculture. With the stories (all previously published) set in the near future, the collection lends a terrifying "what if" quality to our present. Doctorow's intimate knowledge of the techno-cyberculture gives his stories more credibility than a casual reader might think: it doesn't take a hardcore SF fan to believe that zombies, invisible ants, a 3D-printer world, video-game sweatshops,
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Sep 09, 2011
Krissie
rated it:
I really, really liked this collection of science fiction. I should probably rate it a five-star, but I'm afraid I'll turn into a fiver or something, and give the books I read nothing but ratings of five and four will turn into an insult and that would just make me feel like a fool. Kind of like the way this review is doing. So, about Overclocked: I don't always like sci-fi books; I tend more towards the "fantasy" portion of the (somewhat illogical) "sci-fi/fantasy" genre
More...
Mar 06, 2010
Nikki
rated it:
I spent a lot of time today, once I wandered over there somehow, on Cory Doctorow's site, looking at his opinions and downloading his books and thinking about it all. I decided I'd read Overclocked, since it's short stories and I didn't feel like reading anything long and drawn out. Of course, the short stories added up to more or less the same amount of reading time, but oh well.
There's six of them. I liked the first one, which is more or less microfiction -- I liked the end, anyway More...
There's six of them. I liked the first one, which is more or less microfiction -- I liked the end, anyway More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Sep 24, 2008
I enjoy this so far - one story is if System administrators (Ogre: "NERDDDDS" comes to mind) ruled the world; another is a fun take on the realities of online gaming (poor countries actually hire people to churn boring quests, etc. in a game to get in-game gold, which they in turn sell for real money online) i've only read a few of the stories so far. I like that he purposely copies/parodies other sci-fi titles - his explanation why is very interesting
Jan 09, 2011
Skyler
rated it:
I really enjoyed this collection of stories. I'm not a huge fan of sci-fi. Often, I find it overly technical and rather tedious reading. That was not the case here. Possibly the fact that they are all earthbound possibly near-future based stories helped with the relatability factor. Slightly reminiscent of Phillip K. Dick in tone and subject matter. It contains six short stories, all of which I enjoyed.
#1 PRINTCRIME- very short, only a couple of pages... but very enjoyable. re More...
#1 PRINTCRIME- very short, only a couple of pages... but very enjoyable. re More...
Mar 07, 2010
Raj
rated it:
This is a short collection of just six stories by Doctorow, including the flash piece Printcrime, about a man with a printer and a dream; the quite excellent I, Row-Boat about a sentient row-boat who follows the creed of Asimovism getting along on a post-Singularity Earth with hardly any humans left; and the moving After the Siege about a city under siege in more ways than one.
I enjoyed most of these stories, but Doctorow's politics were always present, and some of them could feel a More...
I enjoyed most of these stories, but Doctorow's politics were always present, and some of them could feel a More...
Sep 12, 2009
Ted
rated it:
Each year, Drexel requires students to read one book together as a campus, and this year's book was Cory Doctorow's Overclocked. I was pleasantly surprised that this year's read was short stories, a fast read, and by someone who has invested a fair amount of time and effort into thinking about intellectual property issues. The stories that stood out to me were "When Sysadmins Rule the Earth," "Anda's Game" and "I, Robot". The latter are interesting because they ar
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jul 09, 2010
Daniel
rated it:
This was my first contact with Doctorow's fiction, and while not being all-out thrilled about it, I did like it and this will certainly not be the last of his books I've read.
"Overclocked" is a collection of five short stories, all of them being not only entertaining but also transporting a clear message that is in most cases relevant to our present societies. For some people this tone might be a little too educational, but personally that's just how I want science fiction to More...
"Overclocked" is a collection of five short stories, all of them being not only entertaining but also transporting a clear message that is in most cases relevant to our present societies. For some people this tone might be a little too educational, but personally that's just how I want science fiction to More...
Jul 02, 2010
Christian
rated it:
The first book by Doctorow I read was Little Brother and I was both intrigued by, and very disappointed with it. So when my sister suggested Overclocked to me I was wary, but since it is a set of short stories I figured I could easily stop reading if I chose.
I was very pleasantly surprised. Doctorow does seem to be too much into Author On Board for my tastes, but I still enjoyed these stories enough to finish all of them within a day.
Due to it being close to my field of More...
I was very pleasantly surprised. Doctorow does seem to be too much into Author On Board for my tastes, but I still enjoyed these stories enough to finish all of them within a day.
Due to it being close to my field of More...
Oct 30, 2009
Chris
rated it:
Printcrime: Almost trivially short, but still strong.
When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth: Incisive.
Anda's Game: Very good ripoff/update of Ender's Game.
I, Robot: Doctorow's standard theme -- the evils of DRM and the inevitable triumph of hackers -- in Asimov's future.
I, Rowboat: It starts off squarely in Asimov's human-derived robot future, and gradually evolves into post-singularity (with multiple resemblances to Scratch Monkey).
After the Siege: Touching and disturbing; More...
When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth: Incisive.
Anda's Game: Very good ripoff/update of Ender's Game.
I, Robot: Doctorow's standard theme -- the evils of DRM and the inevitable triumph of hackers -- in Asimov's future.
I, Rowboat: It starts off squarely in Asimov's human-derived robot future, and gradually evolves into post-singularity (with multiple resemblances to Scratch Monkey).
After the Siege: Touching and disturbing; More...
Mar 15, 2011
Michelle
rated it:
Scifi short story collection with a social conscience. The first two stories in the collection seemed the weakest: "Printcrime" a mere two pages and a bit gimmicky, and "When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth" relied too much on geeky computer jargon, and that's saying something coming from someone who loves her geeky computer jargon. The rest of the stories were each better than the last, building to a brutal finish in "After the Siege" based on the author's grandmother'
More...
Apr 07, 2011
Rachel
rated it:
This collection of short stories contains many of the aspects of Cory Doctorow's writing that made Little Brother such an engrossing story for me. His settings are contemporary or near-future (I love his "future present" descriptor) and contain all those aspects of our lives that are familiar and disconcerting.
Among the most memorable are Anda's Game (yes it's a reference to the Orson Scott Card novel) about a video game playing teen girl who learns the real world conseque More...
Among the most memorable are Anda's Game (yes it's a reference to the Orson Scott Card novel) about a video game playing teen girl who learns the real world conseque More...
Mar 12, 2009
Jesse
rated it: 
This is an amazing book of short stories. Its interesting and never boring, its thoughtful and intelligent, and it really makes a statement both about the present and the future to come.
Nanotechnology, Robotics, AI's, copy right control(maybe greed is a better word), online worker's rights, and personal health are all themes you will see in these stories.
My two favorite stories in the collection of 6 are "Anda's Game" and "After the Seige".
More...
Nanotechnology, Robotics, AI's, copy right control(maybe greed is a better word), online worker's rights, and personal health are all themes you will see in these stories.
My two favorite stories in the collection of 6 are "Anda's Game" and "After the Seige".
More...
Dec 01, 2007
Trish
rated it:
Cory Doctorow's stories generally have a message, a techno-moral. Something about open-source software, or digital file sharing. This collection is not without strong opinions, but it mixes in more full developed characters and more layered plots.
"When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth": When global disaster strikes, some of the last people left alive are the sysadmins who were called from their beds in the middle of the night to tend the global nodes off the Net. What will they d More...
"When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth": When global disaster strikes, some of the last people left alive are the sysadmins who were called from their beds in the middle of the night to tend the global nodes off the Net. What will they d More...
Jul 05, 2007
Justin
rated it:
This is actually a book of "short" stories by the same author. I picked it up because a) the title was geeky, and b) the title of one story is "When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth." Each story also has an intro by the author which gives a nice perspective into the thoughts behind the stories. I'll write a little about each story as I read it:
"Printcrime"
This was a very short story that had an interesting
concept. 3D "printing" tha More...
"Printcrime"
This was a very short story that had an interesting
concept. 3D "printing" tha More...
Sep 04, 2011
The first short story is one of my favorites ever, and the second stayed with me for weeks. The third depressed me and I finished the book by dent of will. All the stories are good, Doctorow is a brilliant writer, but the collection is deeply pessimistic and without the sense of humor his novels have. Which is fine and right for each individual story but makes for a grim book.
May 07, 2009
Lia
rated it:
Strong collection of impressive stories. I thought "Little Brother" was a little weak, as much as I wanted to love it, but this book shows Doctorow's talent to better advantage. Looking forward to reading more of his work.
This is my kind of sci-fi. Socially relevant, on-target values, entertaining tales, inventive imagination, and enough detail to feel the nuances of character and place. I'll be buying this for sure.
Still chuckling over "I, Row Boat".
This is my kind of sci-fi. Socially relevant, on-target values, entertaining tales, inventive imagination, and enough detail to feel the nuances of character and place. I'll be buying this for sure.
Still chuckling over "I, Row Boat".
Mar 20, 2011
Stephanie
rated it:
Cory Doctorow is something else. He pays tribute to science fiction's rich history, but his stories are unlike anything I've ever read, using just the right vocabulary to manifest the implications of just-around-the-bend technology. These stories hit you right in that uncomfortable zone where you find yourself wondering, "So just how impossible is this?"
Jul 19, 2011
Matthew
rated it:
Cory Doctrow is an excellent writer, addressing and occasionally satizing hacker and nerd culture. I particularly enjoyed his story "When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth", a story about how computer systems administrators would cope with apocalyptic situations. Doctrow's book is humorous and easy to read, even for non-nerds.
Mar 12, 2011
Nicole
rated it:
Like many short story collections, this one was a mixed bag. Anda's Game was very convincing. I wanted to like After the Siege. Parts of it were really well-done and I can, on an intellectual level, see some interesting messages in it, but I'm not a fan of zombie stories.
Jan 25, 2012
Another case where I've read the stories individually at some point (see A Place So Foreign and Eight More) but not necessarily as the collection.
Aug 04, 2009
I've kind of half read this. I listened to When Sysadmins Ruled the World and Anda's Game audiobooks and they were both great! Really love his essays and the fact that in 100 years people will wear goggles and a cape and proclaim DO NOT FEAR! I AM FROM THE INTERNET!
Apr 26, 2010
Rob
rated it:
This is a great collection of short stories of the geeky variety. Docktorow does a great job of pulling themes from tomorrow's tech news and weaving them into a fine tale. I especially enjoyed "Anda's Game" for its mix of gamer lore with the morality of a sweatshop. I also liked the 1984ish spin of "After the Seige."
Well worth a read!
Well worth a read!
Sep 09, 2011
Tom
rated it:
I'm a fiend for short fiction, and Doctorow's Overclocked: Stories of the Future Present is a thought-provoking collection of stories, often focused on intellectual property issues (it's more fun than it sounds).
I, Row-Boat and After the Siege were two favorites, though all the stories have something to recommend them.
My only complaint is that Doctorow is sometimes so eager to prove a point that he occasionally short-changes the story itself, or crosses that fine line b More...
I, Row-Boat and After the Siege were two favorites, though all the stories have something to recommend them.
My only complaint is that Doctorow is sometimes so eager to prove a point that he occasionally short-changes the story itself, or crosses that fine line b More...
Jun 04, 2010
Adam
rated it:
Doctorow is imaginative and has a very clear style. His stuff is invariably not just science fiction, but didactic fiction as well. His stories are almost always out to make some point; though there was no shortage of playfulness as well.
All in all a solid collection.
All in all a solid collection.
Jun 22, 2009
Mykl
rated it:
A series of short stories that pay homage to sci fi writers of the past while looking at the role of technology in a variety of forms. For those of us not tech informed the stories on selling video game items/levels on ebay is a real eye opener.
Nov 07, 2009
Nick
rated it:
I am a longtime reader of boingboing.net and decided to see what Cory Doctorow did in his non-internet time. Apparently, it is writing delightful science fiction. This book of short stories made me want to read more of his work.
