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Review
“Doctorow’s combination of business strategy, brilliant product ideas, and laugh-out-loud moments of insight will keep readers powering through this quick-moving tale.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Appealing characters and extremely interesting ideas that will appeal to his fans and SF aficionados as well as readers interested in cogitating on the social consequences of cybertechnology’s nearexponential growth. Enthusiastically recommended.” — Library Journal, starred review
“This is just one king-hell of a science fiction novel. Nobody in the world but [Doctorow] could have fabricated this amazing thing. It reads like it was written in 800-word van Vogt bursts in between yoga sessions, but man, this is the stuff. It makes twentieth century science fiction read like an antique collection.” —Bruce Sterling
“Appealing characters and extremely interesting ideas that will appeal to his fans and SF aficionados as well as readers interested in cogitating on the social consequences of cybertechnology’s nearexponential growth. Enthusiastically recommended.” — Library Journal, starred review
“This is just one king-hell of a science fiction novel. Nobody in the world but [Doctorow] could have fabricated this amazing thing. It reads like it was written in 800-word van Vogt bursts in between yoga sessions, but man, this is the stuff. It makes twentieth century science fiction read like an antique collection.” —Bruce Sterling
Product Description
Perry and Lester invent things: seashell robots that make toast, Boogie Woogie Elmo dolls that drive cars. They also invent entirely new economic systems. When Kodak and Duracell are broken up for parts by sharp venture capitalists, Perry and Lester help to invent the “New Work,” a New Deal for the technological era. Barefoot bankers cross the nation, microinvesting in high-tech communal mini-startups. Together, they transform the nation and blogger Andrea Fleeks is there to document it.
Then it slides into collapse. The New Work bust puts the dot-bomb to shame. Perry and Lester build a network of interactive rides in abandoned Walmarts across the land. As their rides gain in popularity, a rogue Disney executive engineers a savage attack on the rides by convincing the police that their 3D printers are being used to make AK-47s.
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, which turns him into a sybaritic gigolo.
Then things get really interesting.
Then it slides into collapse. The New Work bust puts the dot-bomb to shame. Perry and Lester build a network of interactive rides in abandoned Walmarts across the land. As their rides gain in popularity, a rogue Disney executive engineers a savage attack on the rides by convincing the police that their 3D printers are being used to make AK-47s.
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, which turns 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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