"In my younger days, I assumed that it was because I was smarter than everyone else, with no patience for explaining things in short words for mouth-breathers who just didn't get it.
The truth of the matter is, I'm a bright enough guy, but I'm hardly a genius. Especially when it comes to people. Probably comes from Beating The Crowd, never seeing individuals, just the mass - the enemy of expedience."
This is Cory Doctorow's first novel and the first book I read on my Pocket PC (my favorite form of reading books now). Cory offered electronic versions of this novel online for free to anyone who cared to download it. And for that I need to thank Cory. In the end, it was a great story that brought up quite a few interesting issues. This was a science fiction novel that actually could contribute to the phisophical lexicon of post-modern scholarship.
The story is that of Julius. A man who's well over 100 yrs old, appears to be in his thrities, has composed three symphonies, has four doctorates in varying fields of study, and (along with everyone else in existence) has a permanent link to the the 'net in there head.
If you're familiar with the genre of Cyberpunk, these kinds of notions aren't beyond you. And considering that Cory is writing a kind of post-Cyberpunk story (as it all takes place in DisneyWorld) it becomes a kind of amusing look at the philosophical issues involved with fixing any medical issue, from a hang-nail to brain damage, by committing suicide and having a backup of your mind dumped into a fully grown clone that looks exactly like your original body.
If you're unfamiliar with the genre, or have a hard time grasping concepts without having them expicitly detailed out for you, then you'll be disappointed. Cory, many times, doesn't bother to delve into the meaning of some of the more anachronistic concepts that he throws at you. (For instance, it took me about 7 chapters before I realized that a utilidor was a "Utility Corridor".)
Overall, this book was definitely worth the time. It read very quickly and the concepts and issues that were discussed were easily understood. If I were asked I would definitely recommend it.