From the Bookshelf of Apocalypse Whenever…

Little Brother (Little Brother #1)

Cory Doctorow

Why we're reading this: Marcus, a.k.a “w1n5t0n,” is only seventeen years old, but he figures he already knows how the system work…more
[close] 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 of a major terrorist attack on San Francisco. In the wrong place at the wrong time, Marcus and his crew are apprehended by the Department of Homeland Security and whisked away to a secret prison where they’re mercilessly interrogated for days.

When the DHS finally releases them, Marcus discovers that his city has become a police state where every citizen is treated like a potential terrorist. He knows that no one will believe his story, which leaves him only one option: to take down the DHS himself.

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Apr 28, 2008 Christy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction-and-fantasy, young-adult

This is a fantastic political YA novel. Doctorow's protagonist, Marcus, is a believably smart, funny, and sometimes impulsive 17-year-old and, given that the book is written in his voice, this is a huge point in its favor. I laughed out loud many times at Marcus's (and his friends') references, jokes, and style.

The plot, exploring what happens after a 9/11-style attack on San Francisco when the Department of Homeland Security comes in and begins trying to catch terrorists by themselves terroriz ...more

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Oct 24, 2008 Lucy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: teen

Marcus isn’t exactly what you’d call a good student, but he’s not a bad kid, either. What he is is a hacker, a damn good one. He knows how to hack the security settings on his school-issued laptop, and he knows how to get around the gait-recognition cameras that surveil the hallways of his school. That’s how he and his three best friends end up playing hooky, chasing after a clue in an ARG, during a massive terror attack.

It’s a case of wrong place at the wrong time, but Marcus and his friends a Marcus isn’t exactly what you’d call a good student, but he’s not a bad kid, either. What he is is a hacker, a damn good one. He knows how to hack the security settings on his school-issued laptop, and he knows how to get around the gait-recognition cameras that surveil the hallways of his school. That’s how he and his three best friends end up playing hooky, chasing after a clue in an ARG, during a massive terror attack.

It’s a case of wrong place at the wrong time, but Marcus and his friends are seized by the Department of Homeland Security. They’re held for days, questioned and harassed. When DHS finally lets them go, they emerge into a changed San Francisco—into what is virtually a police state.

Marcus is shaken and terrified, but he’s not having it. He knows that what’s happening to his world is wrong, and he knows that if no one stands up against it, then it will steamroll into an unstoppable force. Fighting the Department of Homeland Security—the government—is a huge, daunting task. But Marcus is a damn good hacker. He’s smart, and talented, and very, very determined. One way or another, Marcus is going to take his America back—or die trying.

I read this book a few days ago, and I’m still turning it over in my mind, mulling it. It’s a thoughtful book. In introducing Spider Robinson’s short story Melancholy Elephants in a Nebula anthology, Isaac Asimov called it a “dense” story. Dense, meaning packed with ideas, information. The kind of story that makes you think, that gives you something to chew on. Melancholy Elephants (http://www.spiderrobinson.com/melanch...) was unquestionably such a story—years later I still can’t get it out of my mind. I suspect the same will be true for Little Brother.

The other book this reminds me of is Jo Walton’s chilling and brilliant Farthing. Farthing is the sort of book that shows us how easy it would be—how easy it is—to let our freedoms slip away from us, and to give up the liberties we claim to hold so dear. Walton’s book showed us how that could happen in an alternate history. Little Brother is even more chilling, because it shows the same thing—in a very near future.

Little Brother feels real. I’m not a hacker, so I can’t swear that everything that Marcus does is doable right here and now, but it certainly feels that way. There’s hardly any technology that isn’t either available now or will probably be available soon.

It’s terrifying. It's a dystopian novel that takes place in fifteen years. It brings the message home and hits you where it hurts. It makes you take a long, hard look around your world and sit up and pay attention. It’s the kind of book that makes you want to stand up and be counted, to make your voice heard. I’m glad that this book exists, if only to ensure that the future it describes never comes to pass.

I want to stress something else. This isn’t just An Important Book—it’s also a good one. Marcus and his friends are great characters. It’s never not fun to read about the little guy striking out against the Goliath—and making an impact. It’s a really good, entertaining read—and if it scares you along the way, that just means that it’s doing the job of a really good book—changing the minds of people who can change the world.
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Dec 04, 2014 Amanda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Cory Doctrow, is above all things, a journalist and activist. Sadly, the passion for this subject is the book's biggest failings -- we sacrifice character and plot a bit for huge dumps of information that slow and clog. Having met the man, spoken with him -- I hear Marcus speak with his voice and that's the major failing of the book. I hear Cory in every page. His journalistic background injures him here, because the author is supposed to vanish into the page, to not be a character themselves.

I Cory Doctrow, is above all things, a journalist and activist. Sadly, the passion for this subject is the book's biggest failings -- we sacrifice character and plot a bit for huge dumps of information that slow and clog. Having met the man, spoken with him -- I hear Marcus speak with his voice and that's the major failing of the book. I hear Cory in every page. His journalistic background injures him here, because the author is supposed to vanish into the page, to not be a character themselves.

I'm going to forgive that, though. I'm going to forgive that Marcus doesn't sound quite like any teenager I know or knew, I'm going to ignore that sometimes we got bogged down in technical details or historical details instead of moving plot or developing character a little further, because this is the book that every post-9/11 kid should be reading. This is the book that reminds of what we were before, what we are now, and what tools both we and the enemy have to sway us in the direction of both freedom and tyranny.

I'm going to buy a copy for my niece and nephew. (I might even give him my signed, paper copy!) I want them to know how important this is. How important Marcus's fight is, because it's the fight they're inheriting from adults that failed to protect their liberties. I want them to remember they're young, but they're capable of creating great change. I want them to be able to hope again. I want them to get mad at the idea of Marcus being shipped off shore to Syria or wherever else torture is being outsourced. I want them to feel the same passionate rage I did when Severe Haircut Woman escapes real punishment. I want them to be able to draw parallels between real world events and the fiction used to teach them about it.

I want them to think, and for all the flaws this book has -- this will make them think. So I highly recommend it for anyone with young relatives, anyone who wants to remember just how much power a single citizen can have, and just how bad it got and how could it could be again.

So: Little Brother, 4 out of 5 - a must read not for it's skill or artistry, but because it's a damned important book for our times. ...more

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Jun 14, 2016 Brook rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: could-not-finish

Couldn't finish it, despite what other adult reviewers have said.

This is a YA novel supposedly also suitable for adults. I disagree (at least for this adult). However, I agree with both amateur and professional reviewers that this book would do a great job getting middle and high-schoolers into sci-fi, and more importantly into computer sciences. Switching to "High School Reader" brain for a few pages, I saw how this would be captivating. Just like the kid of my generation who got their hands on ...more

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Jun 16, 2008 bsc rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2008, science-fiction, dystopian, young-adult, fiction

Wow, I did not envision myself giving this book two stars. I've heard so much good stuff, and I'm usually pretty in tune with the masses.

The book starts off well enough. The world appears interesting and then the bombs go off and chaos ensues. Then, it immediately goes downhill and never recovers. This is where it gets very heavy-handed...sort of like late-Heinlein, but without the skill to make it interesting. Doctorow gets very preachy, and his writing starts to feel like a blogger who had a c ...more

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Jan 02, 2010 Cindywho rated it liked it · review of another edition

I read this one on my palm - which was kind of annoying. I should've just gotten the book from the library! Anyway, it was an entertaining YA adventure created to expound on the author's interests - right to privacy vs. government abuses and some hacking. The characters were a little flat, but the story was fun and interesting. ...more

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