Reviews
In the future, it's a time of endless luxury and transhumanism reigns. Everyone is wired, their personalities are backed up, and death is a choice. If your current body dies, you can simply grow a new cloned one and program it with your backup consciousness/personality. And Whuffie scores - are constantly updated as a means of how much respect should be afforded to you. Whuffie works like money, in that it’s easier to get stuff if you have a lot of it, and people also judge you based on your Whuffie. And yet, in this dystopic future of cyborg extremes, we can't escape the grasp of nostalgia - and the vice-like grip Disney in particular has had on America and the world. Disney World remains a primary tourist attraction, and its most ardent supporter is clueless protagonist Jules, who works there with girlfriend Lil. When a new team of engineers plan to remake the old-school Disney attractions like the Hall of Presidents and the Haunted Mansion into virtual reality all-sensory assaults, Jules feels strangely protective. Is his nostalgia clouding his judgement? He’s already died and been rebooted three times, so it’s not that big a deal, but when Jules’s competitors have him shot and killed, it’s still irritating. Meanwhile, Jules is trying to help out his suicidal friend Greg and also wondering why he shouldn’t just do like more and more of the bored population and simply deadhead—go intro cryogenic sleep until the world gets more interesting. Jule's needs to find out who killed him, and find a way stop the ad-hoc group from destroying something precious before he decides to deadhead. Can he figure the mystery out while navigating his love life and helping his friend Greg? You must read to find out. Cory Doctorow's Down and Out in the Magic Kindgom is packed full of intriguing and disturbing ideas, and sizzles and pops with a frenetic speed and some fun language. This sci-fi thriller is reminiscent of John Scalzi, Andy Weir, Philip K. Dick, and Black Crouch, so if you like those authors, you'll dig this. I found the ending to be a bit rushed and the solution to the mystery to be a bit obvious/unsatisfactory. However, this book is very fun to read and the ideas presented within (such as choosing your time to die, the uploading of consciousness, new sources for currency, the nostalgia for "old technology" versus new technology), are all thought provoking ideas. The novel explores the inherent problems with immortality, and the approaches that people might have to it in the real-world. It explores how a purer meritocracy might differ from our current capitalist society (spoiler: not much) and the potential weaknesses of that system. And yet, it's basic storyline misses the landing. I enjoyed this quite a lot but you can tell that this is an early Doctorow novel. It's full of great ideas, but the ending execution is lacking. It just lands rather quickly. But still, this is a minor complaint for me. The storyline isn't necessarily complex, because it acts simply a device for exploring the strengths and weaknesses of this (potentially) utopian future. And I found that to be intriguing. Come for the fascinating exploration of ideas.
I really like the idea behind this book and its general plot but Doctorow tries to introduce so many concepts and ideas that it gets all too confusing. The book is quite short but it becomes boring rather quickly and the unlikeable characters certainly don't help. I think this would have worked much better as a short story. It is certainly disappointing as a novel.
A quick, and fairly interesting read. Some slightly veiled ideas about agile methodologies and corporate management set within an odd story of a future where the Magic Kingdom is one of the most prestigious places on earth.
