This month's book of the Month is 'Little Brother' by Cory Doctorow. The sleek, tightly written story of teenager geek/hacker whiz kid Marcus and his friends, the book tells the story of how, when caught in the wrong place at the wrong time following a devastating terrorist attack San Fransisco, he and his friends are picked up by the Department of Homeland Security and brutally interrogated. When Marcus is released, he finds that the DHS has turned San Fransisco into a paranoid police state and he vows to take them down. Rebellion and chaos ensues.
I LOVED this book. It's not a long book and it's an easy read, so you'll probably get through it in a couple of days at least- and if you have all day, you can probably power through the thing in one go. You know how you hear about those books where people tell you that 'they couldn't put it down' or 'it sucks you right in'- this is one book that does exactly that. A more perfect summer read couldn't be easier to find.
The book itself could be seen as a techno-modern update of 1984- with a twist. The technology in the book forces you to think about the internet, how it works and the incredibly potential it has to be abused by the government and used by individuals to resist government oppression. What gives you chills when reading this book is the fact that something like this could actually happen. And this book shows brilliantly how the emerging trends of the internet can be turned into tools for just about anything. Every day, every year that passes the world gets smaller and individuals, thanks to technology are drawn closer to the centers of power. The book couldn't be any better: The writing is taut, Doctorow knows what he's talking about and the characters are perfectly drawn. An incredibly good book.
Tom Says: ****(out of 4)
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