- Hardcover: 416 pages
- Publisher: Tor Books; First Edition edition (Oct 27 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0765312794
- ISBN-13: 978-0765312792
- Product Dimensions: 26.1 x 14.6 x 3.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 590 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #45,901 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
“I know many science fiction writers engaged in the cyber-world, but Cory Doctorow is a native. We should all hope and trust that our culture has the guts and moxie to follow this guy. He’s got a lot to tell us.” —Bruce Sterling
“A rousing tale of techno-geek rebellion—as necessary and dangerous as file sharing, free speech, and bottled water on a plane.” —Scott Westerfeld on Little Brother
“A terrific read…. It claims a place in the tradition of polemical science-fiction novels like 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 (with a dash of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington).”
—The New York Times Book Review on Little Brother “Enthralling…. One of the year’s most important books.” —Chicago Tribune on Little Brother
Product Description
From the New York Times bestselling author of Little Brother, a major novel of the booms, busts, and further booms in store for America
Perry and Lester invent things—seashell robots that make toast, Boogie Woogie Elmo dolls that drive cars. They also invent entirely new economic systems, like the “New Work,” a New Deal for the technological era. Barefoot bankers cross the nation, microinvesting in high-tech communal mini-startups like Perry and Lester’s. Together, they transform the country, and Andrea Fleeks, a journo-turned-blogger, is there to document it.
Then it slides into collapse. The New Work bust puts the dot.combomb to shame. Perry and Lester build a network of interactive rides in abandoned Wal-Marts across the land. As their rides, which commemorate the New Work’s glory days, gain in popularity, a rogue Disney executive grows jealous, and convinces the police that Perry and Lester’s 3D printers are being used to run off AK-47s.
Hordes of goths descend on the shantytown built by the New Workers, joining the cult. Lawsuits multiply as venture capitalists take on a new investment strategy: backing litigation against companies like Disney. Lester and Perry’s friendship falls to pieces when Lester gets the ‘fatkins’ treatment, turning him into a sybaritic gigolo.
Then things get really interesting.
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Makers is a roller coaster ride,
By Jemerritt (Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Makers (Hardcover)
Cory Doctorow's book Markers is a roller coaster ride (reference intended) of the ups and downs of the "New Work" era and beyond.The main characters Lester Banks and Perry Gibbons have an infectious energy for the future and the creative process that is energizing and Suzanne Church's chronicles of Lester's and Perry's adventures gives this story an uncanny raised hair on the back of the neck vision of what our own future could hold. Although the book is a SF novel, I often found myself thinking, this isn't science fiction, this is just around the corner technology. I personally loved the laser translator. Imagine getting the job on the merits of your skills and talent rather than language requirements. And the earbuds, snitch-tags and the self-modifying robots were pretty mind-blowing too. The story moves at a fast clip and when the characters crash, you crash right along with them, and when they pick themselves up, you dust yourself off too and move forward. The only disturbing aspect of the story is the biotechnology angle. Oh, I hope that as a society we don't go down that path, but the temptation for some to become fatkins may just be too strong. I enjoyed Markers thoroughly and recommend the book highly.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Heartily recommended.,
By
This review is from: Makers (Hardcover)
I heartily recommend this book from a person who usually puts a book down after chapter two. Mr.Doctorow's near future premise and eclectic characters drew me in from the first few sentences and didn't let me go. A thoroughly enjoyable trip into the world of Makers. It's not just for SciFi fans at all. Thanks.
4.0 out of 5 stars
The future is here,
By
This review is from: Makers (Paperback)
Art Matters: The Art of Knowledge/The Knowledge of ArtAs a previous reviewer said, this is a roller coaster of a book. In the near future when the economy is a mess various ideas are tried. The New Work projects should work but as its financier says, Wall Street does not know how to value such work so the enterprise collapses. But Perry and Lester use their ingenuity to create these virtual rides which then catch on. The problem at the centre of the book is the relationship with Disney. Some of the things that Perry and Lester use were developed by Disney. But as we later find out, Disney uses some of Perry and Lester's stuff as well. All kinds of law suits and counter suits go on. This part of the book is important because it shows how fossilized corporate structures are, especially in the light of technological developments on the net where everyone has access to information. This is an important book and should be read by everyone interested in how technology impacts the economy and how ingenuity and creativity are killed by large structures. In a way this book, tough a novel, reminds me of Alvin Toffler's Future Shock. The future is here but we deal with the future by trying to compress it into models from the past.
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