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Little Brother

by Cory Doctorow

4.00 · rating details · 10,103 ratings · 2,363 reviews

Marcus, a.k.a “w1n5t0n,” is only seventeen years old, but he figures he already knows how the system works–and how to work the system. Smart, fast, and wise to the ways of the networked world, he has no trouble outwitting his high school’s intrusive but clumsy surveillance systems.

But his whole world changes when he and his friends find themselves caught in the aftermath o...more

Hardcover, 416 pages

Published April 29th 2008 by Tor Books (first published 2008)

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Jun 28, 2008

Krystyn rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Just finished reading the free .pdf version of Cory Doctorow's Little Brother.

The writing is not the tightest I have ever read, nor does it even begin to exude elegance, but it does a decent job of keeping you reading.

I was incredibly put off by the chapter-start bookstore dedications. It felt like a weird meta sort of pandering. This is what you do when you are relentlessly self-promotional. You tell people you like them, and tell everyone in the world their name and where t...moreJust finished reading the free .pdf version of Cory Doctorow's Little Brother.

The writing is not the tightest I have ever read, nor does it even begin to exude elegance, but it does a decent job of keeping you reading.

I was incredibly put off by the chapter-start bookstore dedications. It felt like a weird meta sort of pandering. This is what you do when you are relentlessly self-promotional. You tell people you like them, and tell everyone in the world their name and where they "live." The obligation to the return the favor feels like less of an obligation, so now Doctorow's cultivated a network of bookshops who are probably going to be more amenable to keeping his stuff in stock, perhaps waiting for the day he strolls in (to the brick and mortar businesses, anyway) to sign whatever they've got of his on-hand. I was never allowed to read the book purely for the first several chapters, as I was worried that I might be missing some plot-related element if I skipped the bookstore plugs. After a few chapters, it became obvious that I did not need to read them at all, and became pretty adept at skipping the italicized bits before reading on. The narrative also started to become more relaxed, so it felt easier to read once the main pin of the plot started to act as its hinge.

This novel is pretty heavy-handed. I was cool with the concepts of security theatre and freedoms being slowly, subtly, and needlessly stripped from citizens volunteering them up in the name of 'Freedom,' but I was absolutely NOT down with the 2-dimensional and laughable caricatures painting Rooney and Perfect Haircut and Charles. I don't actually care how 'real' those depictions might actually be, weirdly enough. It was a cheap narrative element, and drew me out of the story so much that I actually began to resent the narrator and the hubris layered over him by the author like thick, crusty calcium deposits. The martyrdom of Marcus is all well and good as a plot device, but other than the concert event and the flash mob, there was never any real sense of the scope of what was happening in the world of the book. It isn't until much later that you actually get some mortality numbers from the book's pivotal event, and honestly, that would've been good to know much, much earlier. It's as if none of this actually occurred to Marcus until he was forced to look at it. He was clueless about the DHS people he encountered, and it only took a few minutes of television-watching to clue him in. It was also frustrating to have him be so careful about getting off the grid when the vans came by, and to make such a huge point of it, but then, when it mattered the most (after he escaped from Masha in the moving truck), when he was keeping the evidence he most needed alive and accessible (Masha's phone), he didn't seem to care much at all about being detected.

I dunno. It's a decent read, but it felt sort of hacked together, more than a little holier-than-thou. Appropriating the "Don't trust anyone over 30" slogan and re-tooling it to "25" thoroughly pissed me off, for obvious reasons. I am not the enemy, and I do not come from a generation that defines the habit of voluntarily giving up one's freedoms. I became a teenager during the Cold War, and I remember what it was like to constantly fear nuclear fallout from an attack, of Ronnie accidentally pushing the wrong button. Maybe that's something Doctorow felt necessary to put into a Young Adult book, but as a teenager, I would've found that a little insulting, especially since Marcus shows plenty of trust in his History teacher and later on, the journalist. It's ridiculous that they are painted as the exception to the rule. What a grim message to send to teenagers, who already might feel disenfranchised by simply being teenagers.

Anyway, I read it. It was intriguing initially because the kids were playing a game they called an ARG (I would have liked to have heard even more about it, but whatever), but the rest of it was, strangely enough, a lot of fear mongering, grandstanding, and a coupla sex scenes. Oh, and I was pretty irritated that Darryl became a footnote, collateral damage, unexplored. What happened to him was pretty interesting, and would have given much more gravitas to the themes of the book, but it was more important to have Marcus and Ange close out the book by sweatily groping each other in a little tiny office with their shiny new hip revolution. Sigh.(less)

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Aug 28, 2008

Michael rated it

Shelves: science-fiction, read-in-2008

In an attempt to win over a new generation of sci-fi readers, Cory Doctorow's "Little Brother" is marketed as a young adult book. However, adult readers shouldn't worry that Doctorow's book will leave them behind or have them feeling juvenile for reading it.

"Little Brother" is a mature, contemporary novel that looks at the issue of security in a near-future that doesn't seem too far from today. When San Francisco is attacked by terrorists, seventeen-year-old hac...moreIn an attempt to win over a new generation of sci-fi readers, Cory Doctorow's "Little Brother" is marketed as a young adult book. However, adult readers shouldn't worry that Doctorow's book will leave them behind or have them feeling juvenile for reading it.

"Little Brother" is a mature, contemporary novel that looks at the issue of security in a near-future that doesn't seem too far from today. When San Francisco is attacked by terrorists, seventeen-year-old hacker Marcus and his friends are out playing the latest mission of the most popular game of the day. Because of their proximity to the attack and their background as hackers, Marcus and his friends are detained and questioned by the Department of Homeland Security. Stripped of his rights, Marcus is eventually set free, but finds that new restrictions placed on the Internet and the world under the banner of making his country more safe are having the opposite effect. Marcus sets out to restore his true freedom and take out the oppressive regime of the Homeland Security Officers.

"Little Brother" doesn't shy away from the big questions. While this novel is set in a non-defined near future, Doctorow is clearly commenting on the ways and means used today to keep our country and world "safe" from the next attack. At one point does it go from keeping us safe to denying us our freedoms and is that tradeoff worth it in the long run? Doctorow's story of Marcus and his fight against the larger Big Brother is fascinating and terrifying all at the same time. As you read the story, you may realize just how much of our basic, assumed freedoms have been abridged all in the name of security and safety.

Doctorow also takes this opportunity to provide readers an education of security systems and computer programming. In what easily could have been some of the driest portions of the novel, Doctorow is able to give the reader some insight and knowledge, which may leave you curious to pursue more information on the inventors and security methods.

Doctorow is something of an Internet celebrity, having revolutionized the marketing of his novels through taking advantage of on-line distribution. He's grown as a writer since his debut in "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom" and with "Little Brother," while he's writing for a young adult audience, he's found a new level of mature and assured writing that makes "Little Brother" one of the more remarkable and haunting books I've read this year. (less)

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Jun 23, 2008

Sandi rated it

Recommends it for: Every American over 14 (does contain some graphic material)

Shelves: 2008, books-my-son-liked, top-10, young-adult, california-lit

There is a reason why totalitarian governments ban books. The reason is that books can change the world. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and Frederick Douglass' autobiography opened people's eyes to the evils of slavery; Anne Frank's Diary taught us that genocide kills innocent young girls; "To Kill a Mockingbird" showed us that justice isn't always just and that people should be judged by their character rather than the color of their skin; "The Grapes of Wrath" opened our e...moreThere is a reason why totalitarian governments ban books. The reason is that books can change the world. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and Frederick Douglass' autobiography opened people's eyes to the evils of slavery; Anne Frank's Diary taught us that genocide kills innocent young girls; "To Kill a Mockingbird" showed us that justice isn't always just and that people should be judged by their character rather than the color of their skin; "The Grapes of Wrath" opened our eyes to the plight of migrant farm workers; "1984" warned us about the perils of a nanny state. Now, in 2008, a new book of power has emerged. "Little Brother" is "1984" for the 21st century, but with more impact.

I don't recall that the book ever states what the year is. It really doesn't matter. It takes place post 9/11. Terrorists blow up San Francisco's Bay Bridge and everyone's constitutional rights get trampled in the aftermath. This book is aimed at teens, but every American adult should read it too. Parents should read it with their teens and discuss it with them. (There are a few scenes of teenage drinking and sex, but the overwhelming message of this book is so strong that even this conservative mother is willing to overlook it.)

My daughter was 18 on 9/11. My son is only 4 years away from being the same age as the protagonist. I remember how idealistic I was a teen. I read this book with all that in my experience. I read it as a mother; I read it as an idealistic teen; and I read it as a true believer in our rights as American citizens. I read thI didn't is book with tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat. At 47, I thought I was past the age when a book would have the power to move me and change me as profoundly as "Little Brother." I've read thousands of books in my lifetime. I have very fond memories of so many of them. But, when it comes to real power, "Little Brother" is right up there next to "To Kill a Mockingbird." I'd give it 6 stars if I could. It is that good.

____________________________________________

I do have to add that I gave this to my son to read before I read it. He is almost 13. He loved this book. He wants to read more books like it. I'm going to have to tell him that it's just a unique book. And, he did ask me why I didn't tell him it had "adult situations." I had to tell him that I didn't know. I really recommend that you let your teens read it before you do. They'll be less embarrassed that way. You can use the "adult situations" as a tool to talk about those touchy subjects of sex, drugs and alcohol.(less)

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Jul 02, 2008

Monica Edinger rated it

Shelves: youngadult

I'm feeling totally weird about feeling so unenthusiastic about this book as everyone I know who has read it seems to have loved it. (Just see that it got another star, this one from the Horn Book.) Seems like I'm the only person on earth who didn't. Ah well. (Cory, if you are reading this stop --- I'm clearly alone in my feelings here. Go read all the reviews of people who like it. Forget about mine.)

So anyway, I read it on the plane to ALA and had to really push to finish it. So...more

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Jul 06, 2008

Logan rated it

Recommends it for: EVERYONE

Shelves: dystopian-fiction, scifi-fantasy, young_adults, e-book, i_am_in_love

One of the things that I love most about science fiction is its ability to look at trends in contemporary society, extrapolate them to their most extreme ends, and then use those extremes to reveal a fantastic analysis of our world and the directions that we are heading down. Good science fiction is the type that makes you step back when you finish and take a closer look at our own lives. With Little Brother, Cory Doctorow has crafted just such a novel. The fact that this is a book whose int...moreOne of the things that I love most about science fiction is its ability to look at trends in contemporary society, extrapolate them to their most extreme ends, and then use those extremes to reveal a fantastic analysis of our world and the directions that we are heading down. Good science fiction is the type that makes you step back when you finish and take a closer look at our own lives. With Little Brother, Cory Doctorow has crafted just such a novel. The fact that this is a book whose intended audience is young adults makes it all the more powerful.

The story focuses on Marcus Yallow, a technically gifted teenager who, in between rounds of an alternate reality game he plays, finds new and interesting ways of harnessing technology to his needs. At the start of the book this is mostly by getting around the surveillance that his high school has in place for tracking students, ostensibly for their safety. All that changes once terrorists destroy the Bay Bridge and Marcus finds himself captive of the Department of Homeland Security. Tortured and interrogated for the small infraction of demanding a lawyer, Marcus is eventually released and sent home.

The home he returns to bares little resemblance to the one he had initially left. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is busy installing more and more RFID sensors, monitoring the internet, and surveilling everyone that falls outside their very thin definition of normal behavior. Outraged at his treatment at the hands of DHS, Marcus begins throwing monkey wrenches into the system in an attempt to point out to all the ludicrous nature of the surveillance state and its complete ineptness at tracking or catching any real terrorists.

The writing is clear and simple, particularly in the sections where Doctorow is explaining the technical ins and outs of a particular tool that Marcus is using. He offers up some of the most easily understandable descriptions of cryptography and Linux operating systems that I have come across, and does so in a way that makes what could be a dreadfully boring description very interesting and informative.

What really pushed this book over the cusp, for me, is that all of the applications that Marcus and the DHS use in their war against one another already exist. Anyone with some basic knowledge and tools could build a hidden camera locater. Anyone who wanted to could download and install the Linux build that Marcus employs throughout the book. Doctorow makes it even easier by including a Further Reading section at the end of the book where he points readers toward resources they could use to delve further into the worlds opened up in the book.

This is a book with everything. A fun and fast-paced story, realistic teenage characters, technology that piques the reader's interest, and a political message that desperately needs to be imparted to younger generations. The state of American democracy is in their hands and depends very strongly on the lessons that they receive. Unfortunately, I'm not sure whether schools are as dedicated as they should be toward creating free thinking pupils who value the intent of the Constitution over blind dedication to the flag and whoever the current occupant of the White House may be.

Finally, best of all for me, Doctorow is a proponent of Creative Commons copyright. This form of copyrighting has allowed him to make available the text of this book on his website so that anyone who wishes to may download it to read, alter or remix it. So, if you're leery of putting down the cold hard cash for the hardcover edition, you can download it from Doctorow's website to see if it's something you think you may want to read. You can find the link to the download here:
http://craphound.com/littlebrother/

Do yourself a favor and read this book post haste.(less)

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May 05, 2008

Hayden rated it

Shelves: guy-book, teen, sci-fi

Oy, what a disappointment. I kept thinking, right up until the very end, that this book was about to get awesome, but it never did. The premise--a very near future where Homeland Security cracks down on ordinary citizens like a mofo--could be great. But unlike 1984, Little Brother is never able to build any tension, or take advantage of all the possibilities for betrayal and suspicion in a world where the DHS recruits teens to spy on each other.

Instead, Little Brother seems to be ...more

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Dec 18, 2008

Jackie "the Librarian" rated it

Recommends it for: ages 13 and up

Shelves: thriller, teen-books-adults-can-enjoy, youngadult

A worst-case scenario teen thriller of what could happen if our war on terror gave Homeland Security an excuse to wield absolute power and new surveillance technology over our lives to track our every move. Countering this is a teen who knows all about computer systems, security, and various role-playing games. It's an homage to 1984, Little Brother, as opposed to Big Brother, and it reminded me of Harry Harrison's The Stainless Steel Rat. It was all a bit preposterous and over the top, but that...moreA worst-case scenario teen thriller of what could happen if our war on terror gave Homeland Security an excuse to wield absolute power and new surveillance technology over our lives to track our every move. Countering this is a teen who knows all about computer systems, security, and various role-playing games. It's an homage to 1984, Little Brother, as opposed to Big Brother, and it reminded me of Harry Harrison's The Stainless Steel Rat. It was all a bit preposterous and over the top, but that made it fun.

Marcus is out on the streets with his friends playing a kind of computer scavenger hunt game, when terrorists attack his city, San Francisco. In the confusion, one of his friends, Darryl, gets stabbed, and when Marcus tries to flag down help, he comes to the attention of Homeland Security, who arrest them all.

Marcus doesn't want to unlock his phone for them, or answer questions without an attorney, but Homeland Security isn't playing by the rules, and soon he gives them what they want, and is released with a warning not to tell anyone, or else. But they don't release Darryl, and Marcus decides to fight back.

The whole city is put under stricter and stricter surveillance, and anyone "acting suspiciously" is being brought in for questioning. Marcus uses technology and his web of friends using hacked Xboxes to form a network outside internet surveillance, to scramble the data, but he knows they will track him down eventually. He also gets a girlfriend, roams around town with infinite time and resources while somehow still attending school, and best of all gets about 500 kids to play a LARP (Live Action Role-Playing game) dressed up as vampires at 7 in the morning in front of city hall! Bite bite bite bite bite!!! Hahahahahahaha!!!!!

It becomes a race to the finish as to whether Marcus will be able to get enough information out there to bring down Homeland Security, before he gets caught as the mastermind behind all the scrambling.

Additional material at the end of the book encourages readers to learn more about security, our government, and technology, and I think that's not a bad idea.
National Book Award finalist, teen division.(less)

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May 26, 2008

Sarah rated it

Recommends it for: everyone

Shelves: young-adult, commies, young-activists, speculating

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. okay. so this book rocked pretty hard. if i could write a blurb for the back of the book it would say "cory doctorow: i didn't finish your book because i was too pumped up and freaked out to keep reading so i went out and overthrew the government and incited mass rebellion in the middle of the night."

of course i did finish the book though. it was awesome in a lot of ways. read this book. then give it to everyone you know. i haven't quite worked out how to give it to everyon...moreokay. so this book rocked pretty hard. if i could write a blurb for the back of the book it would say "cory doctorow: i didn't finish your book because i was too pumped up and freaked out to keep reading so i went out and overthrew the government and incited mass rebellion in the middle of the night."

of course i did finish the book though. it was awesome in a lot of ways. read this book. then give it to everyone you know. i haven't quite worked out how to give it to everyone at the same time yet, but Cory Doctorow has it for free download on his website so that should help.

here's the thing though. the book fails the bechdel test abysmally. (for those that don't know, the Bechdel Test measures how women are treated in a particular piece of media. it deliberately sets a really low bar in order for the work to pass the test. all that's necessary is for the work to have 1. two female characters with names 2. who talk to each other 3. about something other than a man. Easy, right? The horrifying thing is that most movies/books/etc fail the Bechdel test. Not only do they fail, they also pass the anti-Bechdel test with flying colors. That means that the proportion of books/movies/whatever that feature men talking to each other about things other than women is WAY out of proportion to the number of books that feature women talking about things other than men). So the book sends awesome messages about not sacrificing your personal freedoms for the sake of security, not letting the government cease to represent you, and defending yourself by refusing to be silent. However, it sends this message in a vehicle that ultimately recreates the same power structures that oppress people who struggle against the same sort of tyrannical governmental policies.

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER!!!

BrownBetty hit it right on when she said that Marcus's success depends on his access to upperclass white privilege. There are few women or people of color in the book. Doctorow clearly has good intentions, but it is not enough to simply have a strong female main character (Ange), it's not enough to have an of-color sidekick who helps critically (Jolu). Imagine the power of a book like this which, instead of being written about a white upperclass boy, was written about a couple of chicana lesbians, or a group of workingclass black people.

Doctorow sort of addresses this issue with Jolu. He says "I hate to say it, but you're white. I'm not. ...White people see cops on the street and feel safer. Brown people see cops on the street and wonder if they're about to get searched. They way the DHS is treating you? The law in this county has always been like that for us" (160). Maybe that's the point. To say to the upperclasswhiteboy, hey this can happen to you too. Not just to brown people who have the "wrong" religion or the wrong "ethnic" name. But the portrayal of women (or rather lack thereof) still makes me uneasy. For a book that's all about challenging authority and social norms, it could push a little harder in challenging the norms in the way it's written.

Maybe this book will have wider appeal because it's protagonist is your typical whiteuppermiddleclassmale. Maybe people wouldn't read the same book if it was about a group of girls, or gay people, or people of color. Am i willing to overlook that for the sake of the overall theme/message of the book? i'm not sure. MLK Jr said "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," I'm not sure that I want to sacrifice some of my views to help spread other of my values. I don't think we really want to get into playing a game of whose issue is "more important."

Damnnit Cory Doctorow. Help me out a little here. Your book rocks hard, really it does, but THINK BIGGER!(less)

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May 20, 2008

Jessica rated it

Shelves: ya

Set in San Francisco in the year 2015, Little Brother follows 17 year old Marcus, an intelligent, techie teen. While skipping school, he's thrown into the middle of a terrorist attack and picked up by the Department of Homeland Security under suspicion of being involved. After his eventual release, Marcus vows to take down the DHS and fight against the newly established police state.

This book was awesome and definitely worth finishing in a day. Although written for a YA audience, thi...more

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Mar 28, 2008

Jason rated it

Shelves: non-fiction

I'm reading an ARC of Cory Doctorow's new book and it is predictably well written and surprisingly infuriating. It's like a sub rosa training manual for pro-tech pro-civil liberty pro-privacy activists of tomorrow. He extrapolates into the future the tiniest amount but today's greasy fingerprints are all over the dystopic picture he paints of individual freedom. I'm finding myself enraged page after page, which is the whole point, and Doctorow's casual references to easily-kitbashed technolo...more

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Jun 08, 2008

Brendan rated it

What sounds from the description like a fun techno-thriller tinged with lefty politics is instead a didactic bore of a blog entry masquerading as a novel. I agree with the politics of the book; it's the bad writing I have a problem with. It seems Doctorow was so concerned with conveying his Important Message that he forgot that long lectures tend to kill plot momentum. (He also forgot about credible characters and dialogue that sounds like a real human being would actually say it.) A colossal...more

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Jan 08, 2009

Ash rated it

The basis of this story was very interesting, but it has a lot of tech stuff in it and I can barely work a cell phone, so most of the jargon obviously went over my head.
It annoyed me just how political it was, and completely one sided to boot. Some might argue that the dad gave a bit of the other perspective but that was a pretty half-arsed attempt if you ask me. I understand that this was supposed to show what could happen if the government ever gained too much power, but it ended up loo...more

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Jul 06, 2009

Ben Babcock rated it

Shelves: 2009-read, canadian-author, favourites, science-fiction, didactic-fiction, 2009-best10, hugo-nominee, nebula-nominee, owned

I read this book in a single night, which is a pretty good testament to how much I enjoyed it. I won't be the first person to compare Little Brother to 1984 (Doctorow himself does it, alluding to it in the story by giving his protagonist the handle w1n5t0n and through the title of the book itself), but it's a very apt comparison. Little Brother is 1984 updated to take into account September 11th, the Internet, and the Department of Homeland Security. I'm not saying this book supplants 1984; y...more

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Jun 29, 2008

Lee rated it

Recommends it for: people with a good critique

Shelves: kids

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I am totally fascinated by this book. It's lots of fun to read - it reminded me a lot of Daniel Mendelsohn, The Boy from Mars when I was reading it (Daniel Pinkwater - one of my favorites when I was a kid), and sure enough he gives Pinkwater a shout out in the acknowledgements at the end. It has the same kind of rebel attitude, where the kids know right from wrong and know what's esthetically acceptable, and have a good sense of humor, while the adults are clueless, and the kids just have to f...moreI am totally fascinated by this book. It's lots of fun to read - it reminded me a lot of Daniel Mendelsohn, The Boy from Mars when I was reading it (Daniel Pinkwater - one of my favorites when I was a kid), and sure enough he gives Pinkwater a shout out in the acknowledgements at the end. It has the same kind of rebel attitude, where the kids know right from wrong and know what's esthetically acceptable, and have a good sense of humor, while the adults are clueless, and the kids just have to find a way to get around the adults and do what has to be done.

But this book is culturally and politically a really odd blend of left and right wing. It's pretty much a guided tour of libertarian fantasies and paranoias around surveillance and information technology, but set in the San Francisco of Critical Mass bike rides, generator punk shows in the park and old-school leftist muckraking journalists (the Bay Guardian saves the hero's butt by publishing an investigative expose at a crucial moment). The book takes advantage of all these touchstones, and updates them to fill out its fantasy info-rebel underground, but the politics the characters champion is open-mouthed reverence for the Bill of Rights and the Founding Fathers.

When the book ends and the monsters from the Department of Homeland Security are sent back to DC where they came from, the happy ending is that the USA is back to the good old days JUST BEFORE HOMELAND SECURITY TOOK OVER SAN FRANCISCO. Not even before the Patriot Act was passed!

He's appropriating our culture of resistance, which city dwellers have created and defended over many years by making sacrifices and spending plenty of time in jail, to give credibility to his fantasy of digital political resistance, without giving back where it's needed - to the real project of solidarity with the people who were already getting screwed even before 9/11, to housing for homeless people, resistance to male privilege, freedom not only to say what you want on the internet but also to live near your loved ones and see a doctor when you're sick, etc.

Like most online activists, Doctorow needs to know more about the history he's in the middle of.(less)

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Jun 15, 2008

KT rated it

Recommended to KT by: Jonathan

Shelves: best-of-2008

I've been hearing great things about this book for a while now, and I'm happy to say that it really lives up to its hype. It'll keep you on the edge of your seat from the first few pages right through to the end.

Marcus is a 17-year-old hacker in San Francisco who loves playing computer games and subverting his school's online security system to do so. He and his three friends skip school to play a particular type of Japanese computer game that involves going to real places to search ...more

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May 08, 2008

Brownbetty rated it

Recommended to Brownbetty by: Vassilissa

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Here is a book that is clever without being smug, and cynical while standing for something, both of which are all too rare.

Marcus is a smart-alec kid who is slightly too smart for his own good. He casually exploits the system and its loopholes, confident that his ability to do so is all the justification he needs. However, he's basically a decent kid, so this is not too aggravating to read about.

This book actually does believe in things, like the power of citizenry, and...moreHere is a book that is clever without being smug, and cynical while standing for something, both of which are all too rare.

Marcus is a smart-alec kid who is slightly too smart for his own good. He casually exploits the system and its loopholes, confident that his ability to do so is all the justification he needs. However, he's basically a decent kid, so this is not too aggravating to read about.

This book actually does believe in things, like the power of citizenry, and human rights, and, because it's written by Doctorow, open source, and the magic of things that have an on-switch.

One thing I appreciated was that this book knows how the internet works. It knows how social networking works, and how it doesn't, and at one point annoying lj quiz-memes are actually a critical plot-point. I assume anyone reading this review will be in a position to appreciate that in a book.

I am not sure how geeky one has to be to read this book. I definitely found myself geeky enough, but I'm wondering at what point all the unfamiliar references would start to become so much chaff to be winnowed through. On the other hand, I suppose if you don't know how to do an md5checksum, it's essentially a magic incantation and can be treated as such for the purposes of the plot, an approach with which SF readers are very familiar.

If you have a certain baseline level of knowledge, though, you will find the book quite educational; it's not too lecture-ful, but it does set out to teach one things, much like a Heinlein juvenile. I would like to point out that the rfid neutralization method in the book is needlessly high-tech, and leaves traces of tampering: instead, hit it with a hammer.

If you enjoy books about clever people who get in trouble, and then get out of it again by being clever, this is definitely for you. If you don't enjoy those books, though, you may still want to give this a try: this is one of those books which really could only have been written by a white man. It has that touching faith in the adequacy of cleverness and nerve to meet any situation, and that casual acceptance of the recognition of his peers. However, and here is why it may be worth giving it a shot even if you find that tremendously aggravating, this book knows that it could only have been written by a white man.

Marcus doesn't have an easy time of it, but the book does acknowledge that it could be so much worse-- without his parents connections, without their money, without being white while mouthing off to cops, this book would be about a kid who is sentenced to jail and never gets out because he can't quite make himself shut up.

One thing which detracted from my enjoyment of the book: SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER STOP READING NOW.

In the end, it turned out that ninety percent of the things that Marcus did to defeat the department of homeland security were immaterial, and the solution lay in, you guessed it, privilege: contacts of his parents, a certain amount of credibility, and a deus ex cellphone.
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May 01, 2008

Angela rated it

Shelves: sf

The other day, editor Patrick Nielsen Hayden posted up on Making Light that he had several dozen ARCs of Cory Doctorow's forthcoming novel Little Brother to hand out to any readers of the blog willing to immediately read it and talk about it. He announced a specific email address you could contact to ask for one of the books, and all you had to do was provide an address to which they could send it.

I was one of those fortunate enough to get in an email before they ran out of copies, a...moreThe other day, editor Patrick Nielsen Hayden posted up on Making Light that he had several dozen ARCs of Cory Doctorow's forthcoming novel Little Brother to hand out to any readers of the blog willing to immediately read it and talk about it. He announced a specific email address you could contact to ask for one of the books, and all you had to do was provide an address to which they could send it.

I was one of those fortunate enough to get in an email before they ran out of copies, and mine arrived in the mail yesterday. Pretty nifty; I've never gotten an ARC before. And this was a hell of a novel to get in such a form. I feel privileged to have gotten an advance look at it.

Little Brother is simultaneously profoundly depressing and vitalizing. It's depressing because it paints an all-too-real picture of what could happen if another terrorist strike ever happens on American soil, and the terrifying part comes in not just with the thousands who die in San Francisco in the story, but also with the transformation of the city into a police state. And it's vitalizing, because it challenges the reader with the concept that if you feel that what your government is doing is wrong, you don't have to take it lying down. You can take steps to make it right again. You can act.

Marcus, a.k.a. w1n5t0n, a.k.a. M1k3y, is a seventeen-year-old high school student caught in the wrong place at the wrong time during the attack on the city. He and his friends are detained by the Department of Homeland Security and questioned for days; one of them isn't even released. The whole experience moves Marcus to found the XNet, through which he and thousands of other young people across the city begin to fight back against the brutal surveillance tactics imposed upon their city in the name of fighting terrorism.

There's some deeply disturbing scenes of a crowd of young protestors being gassed, and some even more disturbing ones later where Marcus is interrogated and, yes, tortured. Most disturbing of all is the ultimate government reaction to the entire crisis, furious attempts to sweep everything under the rug. But even then, Marcus and those who come to believe in his actions, both of his own generation and older, don't let it lie. The book does end on a note of hope.

Keep that thought of hope in mind as you read this book. Because you should read it, especially if you fall into the same generation as Marcus and his compatriots; the story's talking directly to you. For everyone else, if you happen to agree with its politics, it may depress the hell out of you for the realism of the story it tells. If you don't agree with its politics, you may wind up wanting to throw the book across the room. But it's a story that needs reading, and arguing about, and acting upon--as do each and every one of the points its story raises.

Little Brother's formal release date is this Tuesday, April 29th. I encourage you all to check it out. It'll probably be available for free download on Doctorow's site by then, as is his custom for his works; check it out that way if you wish. If you find though that this book does speak to you, buy a copy.

For what will undoubtedly be the most challenging thing I'll have read this entire year, five stars.(less)

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Jun 05, 2008

Jennifer rated it

Shelves: young-adult, read-in-2008, general-fiction, fiction

Like many books, this one started with a lot of promise and quickly fizzled. I followed through until the end, however, hoping for some redeeming factor. I wanted to like the book - I really did. Some aspects were good but too many others felt contrived and the entire thing felt too much like a thinly veiled political statement. Subtlety has no place in this book. It was well written and coherent, the pacing was decent. I think the plot was just ... meh. The overtly political leanings really tur...more

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May 04, 2008

Emily rated it

17-year-old hacker, tinkerer, and gamer Marcus finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time when he skips school and gets caught in the worst incident of terrorism in the U.S. He gets separated from his friends, detained by Homeland Security.

As the government starts encroaching more and more on civil liberties, Marcus is determined to get back at DHS, stop the questioning and detainment of innocent civilians, and generally take back the government from the law-and-order-at-all-...more17-year-old hacker, tinkerer, and gamer Marcus finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time when he skips school and gets caught in the worst incident of terrorism in the U.S. He gets separated from his friends, detained by Homeland Security.

As the government starts encroaching more and more on civil liberties, Marcus is determined to get back at DHS, stop the questioning and detainment of innocent civilians, and generally take back the government from the law-and-order-at-all-costs brigade. Tall order for a junior in high school.

This is not a far-future dystopia. It is about the world now. (Based on Marcus having a Sega Dreamcast when he was seven, and discussions of the upcoming midterm elections, I'd put the date at 2010. I'm not sure if the technology is there yet, but certainly Doctorow would know more about that than I would!) It is, specifically, about the situation in the U.S. in the present day, not some handwavy analogy of a dystopia. It is also a manual to do exactly what Marcus does. Mind you, it's not filled with lines of code and technical detail. (You can look up all that stuff on Wikipedia). It's just enough to make you go, "Oh, cool!" - or else, "Oh, no!"... and to inspire you to take a few pages from Marcus's playbook.

Which makes it a really important book.

But it's something else again that makes it a whole lot of fun. Doctorow - well, he named his daughter Poesy Emmeline Fibonacci Nautilus. That just about says it all. It's a fast-paced technothriller packed with offhand nifty ideas and references and in-jokes. If you're at all familiar with Scrotumgate from last year, you'll know why this was my favorite:

"Did she use the scrotum line on you? I hate it when she does that. She just loves the word 'scrotum,' you know. It's nothing personal."

I'm thrilled when I read a boy book that's filled with information and technology and the things that guys will voluntarily read about if they won't voluntarily read about things like feelings, and is also plenty good on its own literary merits. It's icing on the cake when that book is also politically conscious, socially relevant, and smart as all get-out. (Of course, that's not to say that girls shouldn't read it too!)

In short: it's made of awesome. (less)

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Jan 18, 2009

Wendy rated it

Torn between two and three stars. I enjoyed reading this; the plot was interesting, and all the informative parts were pretty accessible (well, the computer/crypto stuff was done much, much better than the history). But I thought the writing was pretty bad--it got increasingly melodramatic as the book went along. I kept waiting for Marcus to say to one of his friends "But down here, it's our time! It's our time down here!". I never bought his voice as that of an American kid--ther...more

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Nov 29, 2010

Dan rated it

Shelves: literature, read-in-2010, e-book

First let me say that Little Brother is the first novel/book that I have read from cover to cover as an ebook. I read it on my ipad and I must say that I found it a rather pleasant experience. Despite this pleasantness I don't see ebooks replacing my beloved print editions anytime soon. Now on to the book. Little Brother is considered a young adult novel but don't let that designation fool you, as it is an excellent read for all ages. Doctorow tells us a tale set in the aftermath of a terrorist ...more

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May 25, 2009

Arlene rated it

Shelves: read-2009, young-adult

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow is a great read! This is one of those books that makes you think and start to question the world we live in. I was captivated by the first page and could not put it down.

The book is about Marcus Yallow, a technically savvy ‘geek’, who finds himself along with his friends targeted as a suspected terrorist by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) immediately after the bombing of the San Francisco Bay Bridge. Prior to the bombing, Marcus was a norma...moreLittle Brother by Cory Doctorow is a great read! This is one of those books that makes you think and start to question the world we live in. I was captivated by the first page and could not put it down.

The book is about Marcus Yallow, a technically savvy ‘geek’, who finds himself along with his friends targeted as a suspected terrorist by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) immediately after the bombing of the San Francisco Bay Bridge. Prior to the bombing, Marcus was a normal teenager who would put pebbles in his shoes to trip gait surveillance cameras at school, download software to his school distributed laptop to block monitoring programs that track his usage, and chat anonymously online using a homemade computer. After being targeted and mistreated by the DHS, Marcus begins a movement with some fellow xNetters in an attempt to send a message that the tactics of the DHS are unconstitutional. They begin to trip up monitoring devises set up throughout the city to track peoples’ movements and behavior patterns.

There was a passage in the book that really makes you think about what our government should and shouldn’t be allowed to do:

“Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it and institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.” The Declaration of Independence.

This passage is included in the book to prove a point that at times, the government makes choices and acts in ways that the American people do not agree with, and it is not treacherous to rebel against the tactics of the government; it is within our rights as Americans.

The book makes you question, many things, including:
How much freedom are you willing to forego for safety?
Does the government have the right to take away or restrict our privacy and freedom in the name of protection and safety?
Does the government have the right to treat everyone like suspected terrorists?
If the terrorists' main goal is to bring terror among people , then the tactics of the government is helping them accomplish that by making people suspicious of each other, turning people against each other, calling dissenters traitors, etc.

In the end, one must ponder, if it is worth it to trade privacy for security... A passage in the book summed it up quite nicely for me:
“...no matter how unpredictable the future may be, we can’t accomplish freedom through security systems, crypto technology, interrogations and spot searches. We accomplish freedom by having the courage and the conviction to live every day freely and to act as a free society, no matter how great the threats are on the horizon...”

Great, thought-provoking book! Give it a try, so worth it!
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Jun 12, 2008

Not rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. SPOILER ALERT (in case the little checkbox I clicked below is not adequate warning that this review contains spoilers).

After all the hype, I expected more, so maybe I'm grading somewhat harshly. Still, a nicely put together primer on security and security theatre, although I suspect very few of the explanations Cory includes about how things work are needed on my friendslist (not entirely true: I did not, for instance, know how to make a hidden-camera detector out of a toilet paper ...more

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May 25, 2008

Rachel rated it

Recommends it for: everyone

Recommended to Rachel by: neil gaiman

Shelves: war, dystopian, ya

after I finished: READ THIS BOOK. Read it. Read it and then send it to your friends and make them read it.

I think I found this via a link from Neil Gaiman's blog. Which means I should have read it posthaste, but hey, I'm only human and I had sparkly vampire braincandy to read. Now I'm ready to be serious again.

The intro alone made me fall in love.

end of chapter 2: Dude, it's like Neal Stephenson decided to hang out with high-schoolers. This ki...more

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Jun 08, 2008

Jamil Thomas rated it

Recommends it for: sonic, cyber, disaffected, angry, dangerous youth

Shelves: teenage-kicks, summer-reading, science-fiction, san-francisco, best-2008, geek-love

Everybody's talking 'bout the stormy weather
And what's a man do to but work out whether it's true?
Looking for a man with a focus and a temper
Who can open up a map and see between one and two

Time to get it
Before you let it
Get to you

Here he comes now
Stick to your guns
And let him through

Everybody's coming from the winter vacation
Taking in the sun in a exaltation to you
You come running in on platform shoes
...more

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May 10, 2008

Carter rated it

Shelves: young-adult, sci-fi, guy-reads, autographed

What a fantastic book! There were a few issues I had with it, but the story quickly outweighs my concerns.

It seems that there are a number of books that have been coming out lately where the male protagonist is brilliant, young, and unflappably brave in the face of danger: Evil Genius, Artemis Foul, and The Mysterious Benedict Society, H.I.V.E., are just a few that come to mind. But what we have with Marcus is a reluctant hero who is at times brilliant and incredibly brave, but c...more

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Jun 30, 2008

Chad rated it

I really wanted to like this book, but am a bit baffled at all the acclaim it's getting. I can see what Doctorow is trying to do, but he gets too preachy far too often and that kills any point he was trying to make for me. Marcus is too talented, too perfect at everything that needs to be done to be a legitimate portrayal of a teenager. I've seen other reviews say that he reads like Doctorow created a version of what he wished he was like at that age, and I agree completely. Throw in the mos...more

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Jun 28, 2008

J.D. rated it

Excellent, scarily plausible vision of just how brutal and insane American life could get if we give in to fear and surrender our minds to the fear of terrorist attack. The Department of Homeland Security responds to a major terrorist incident in San Franciso by turning everyone, especially computer savvy kids, into presumptive criminals. One kid fights back with the tools at his disposal and pays some terrible dues.

I'm not sure I totally buy the ending, but this book is a must-rea...more

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Sep 06, 2008

Meghan rated it

Shelves: ya

Hits you over the head with its message at times, which can be annoying if typical of the YA genre. But it is what they call 'gripping' and keeps up with adrenaline and a fast pace. There is a bibliography at the back with a lot of great suggestions for further reading, including some of Cory Doctorow's favorite books - one of which is one of my favorite books, Alan Mendelsohn and the Boy from Mars by Daniel Pinkwater.

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Dec 01, 2008

Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* rated it

It was good. Funny, intriguing, believable ... I liked it. It was a little cliché, maybe. And some of the scenes were a bit ... awkward. But over all, pretty good. Kinda reminded me of Scott Westerfeld's So Yesterday. Definitely some Westerfeld influence in this book, only it was more PG-13 rated. Ahem.

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About Cory Doctorow

Canadian blogger, journalist and science fiction author who serves as co-editor of the blog Boing Boing.

He is an activist in favor of liberalizing copyright laws and a proponent of the Creative Commons organization, using some of their licenses for his books.

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