Set sometime in the not too distant future, the garage makers and tinkerers of today, while suffering through what might be the Mother Of All Recessions, spontaneously give birth to the New Works movement. We follow the various trials and tribulations of Perry and Lester as they help kick off this new economic system and ride it to an inevitable collision with Big Business, in this case, Disney.
As with all of Doctorow's stories, ideas are on display here, not so much the characters. The repurposing of technology and just what it means to really own what you buy, when does fandom cross over into copyright infringement, and how much do we like IHOP?
The book is filled with just-around-the-corner technology and predictions. At-home 3D printers, open-source shantytown design, metabolic treatments to end obesity once and for all - at the expense of 10,000 calorie a day diets for life, and equally strange and oddly believable medical tourism in Russia.
There are some negative aspects to the book. It is unnecessarily long for the story, in my opinion. The characters bounce all over the map, Florida, Wisconsin, California, Russia, Boston, to the extent that after a while I just lost interest in who was where, and the passing of time becomes confusing, days, months, years. And Cory Doctorow must really, really hate the TSA. A lot.
But the ideas and concepts drive the book and it has those in abundance. While Makers is probably not his most polished book, overall, it is a fine addition to his collected works.
Jon Evans is a fool to give this away for free. This story is every bit as entertaining as any Harry Potter adventure or modern fiction thriller. Download it. Read it. Print it. Give it to everyone you know.
Alex’s book reviews
As with all of Doctorow's stories, ideas are on display here, not so much the characters. The repurposing of technology and just what it means to really own what you buy, when does fandom cross over into copyright infringement, and how much do we like IHOP?
The book is filled with just-around-the-corner technology and predictions. At-home 3D printers, open-source shantytown design, metabolic treatments to end obesity once and for all - at the expense of 10,000 calorie a day diets for life, and equally strange and oddly believable medical tourism in Russia.
There are some negative aspects to the book. It is unnecessarily long for the story, in my opinion. The characters bounce all over the map, Florida, Wisconsin, California, Russia, Boston, to the extent that after a while I just lost interest in who was where, and the passing of time becomes confusing, days, months, years. And Cory Doctorow must really, really hate the TSA. A lot.
But the ideas and concepts drive the book and it has those in abundance. While Makers is probably not his most polished book, overall, it is a fine addition to his collected works.