Customer Reviews

Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This slim, easy-to-read volume won a whole slew of awards upon its debut, and no wonder. It manages what the very best science fiction strives to achieve--it provides a story that is first about people and their human conflicts, and secondly about the setting.

I almost wrote "unfamiliar setting" there, but I caught myself before I could commit it to Amazon archives ... because upon reflection, the most striking thing about Doctorow's future is how even in its established difference, it stays familiar. One reason I tend to avoid modern tales of the future (ha!) is that there is often a jarring cognitive disconnect that distracts me and colors my perception of what's going on. But not DAOITMK. On every page it remains very true, for all its distance from present reality (which is not such a great distance as you might initially suspect).

Anyway, it was good stuff. In fact, it was such good stuff that I immediately dove into Doctorow's second book <i>Eastern Standard Tribe.</i> I'm only about halfway through, but I'm digging it so far and may well come back to review it when I'm finished.

"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.

Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom is a short book. At 204 pages (with large print) its a quick read. It was a fun book, although I didn't really find it as laugh-out-loud funny as some of the other reviewers seemed to. And, I actually expected something better. I didn't close the book thinking it was one of the best books I'd ever read. But I did think it was one of the more thought provoking books I'd read in a while.

Fir all that, Down and Out is a good bit of sci-fi. It brings up some interesting ideas as all good sci-fi should!

The premise of the book is that scarcity and death have both ended. The big concerns of the future are overcrowding and bordem. Under these circumstances where courtesy and interesting ideas would become of paramount importance, the world (or most of it) has transformed into a reputation economy.

The idea of a reputation economy, which we argueably have to some extent today (think credit ratings, time served in jail, where you went to school) is taken to the extreme. You purchase goods, services and experiences not based on how much money you earn but how much Whuffie you have. And you gain Whuffie by being a decent person and by doing cool things that others like. The more Whuffie, the better your life is -- the best restaurants, places to stay, cars, etc. That premise by itself made the book interesting. Imagine living in a world where your behavior is mediated by what people think of it. You can't get rich by swindling others. You have to do it by doing things that people like -- the more people the better.

The other fascinating premised of the book, and certainly one that isn't new, is that no one dies. People backup up their brains regularly and if their bodies dies, they're just restored from backup. I found myself thinking about the ultimate question here. If you're restored from backup are you the same person? Certainly, you think you are. But, is it the same consciousness or did one person die and another one get created?

As I said -- its a fun read and deeper than it looks. Cory Doctrow will have you thinking about the meaning of life and of your life if you let him.

This length of this relatively short novel is both its strength and its weakness. Doctorow covers ground many others have broken before him, while adding little to the "big ideas" underlying contemporary sci-fi. However, what little he does add is a worthy and welcome addition. The plot of this slim volume moves along nicely, and Doctorow's breezy, journalism-inspired style makes for a quick and enjoyable read.

Reading "Down and Out," I was immediately reminded of the Culture universe created by Iain M. Banks in his sci-fi novels. Both authors deal with the questions of the nature of life in a post-scarcity society, when all of mankind's material needs are met. While Banks waxes philosophical, Doctorow has a little more fun, and in his world repuation, or "Wuffie," becomes the new currency. An intersting idea, to be sure, but one that is explored in only the most cursory way.

It is clear that Doctorow knows contemporary web-culture. His ideas about on-line collaboration and "ad-hoc" leadership are a logical extension of the blogosphere and the new norms that exist in the digital community. Again, the length of this novel is both its strength and weakness--I found myself wanting Doctorow to dig a little more deeply into these ideas, but was satisfied that the novel's pace was brisk. But, sadly, this is much the same ground William Gibson explored in his novels, and most recently in "Pattern Recognition."

My main complaint about this novel is that the main character is one of the least interesting characters in the novel. In a world populated by a campus Guru, a power-hungry theme-ride designer, and a 19 year-old in a world of centarians, Doctorow's lead seems, well, too "average Joe."

I look forward to reading Doctorow in the future--he is certainly a talent to watch, though I doubt that he is the second coming of William Gibson. "Down and Out" was entertaining, but if you're looking for something with depth, look elsewhere.

This is a book that you have to sit back and wonder where in all of imagination Doctorow was able to contrive such story. Firstly, let me say that it's a brilliant way to write sci-fi. It captures a lot more than the 'cool futuristic stuff' that most sci-authors wrap their narratives around in this day and age. Doctorow is able contrive a brilliant absurd world in our future, a utopia of sorts where death has been cured, money has been done away with and factions vie for the right to operate Disney World attractions. It's so over the top that you never even question it's logic. All the futuristic technology and lifestyles are just taken for granted as a part of his future and you read for the characters in this book.

Doctorow shows a certain amount of flair first off for setting this novel in Disney World. His themes play out wonderfully here and his allegorical contrivances are all the more poignant coming from the Magical Kingdom. It's truly a great read, one that really makes you care. I tore through this book in a couple of hours, really wanting to know what happens to the main character, my emotions horribly vested in his plight, all the will feeling his dismay and longings.

This is a brilliant science-fiction novel, and a just plain wonderful story as a whole. A must read.

Cory Doctorow made a pretty big splash with this book (well, at least in some of the circles I travel in), because he released the content for free on his website, craphound.com, at the same time the bound version (the "dead tree" version, as the cool kids say) came out. It also probably didn't hurt that he works for the EFF and is a frequent contributor to Boing Boing, a popular blog.

There was a lot of hype about this book that really didn't have anything to do with the subject matter or the writing, is what I guess I'm trying to say. And because of that hype, I sort of shied away from reading it -- thinking that it would probably be underwhelming, relative to the hype. Doctorow has a second novel out now, _Eastern Standard Tribe_, and it's getting some of the same hype, because he's still using the "free online or buy the book" model -- but it's also getting good reviews because of the content. So, when I was in $BIG_CHAIN_BOOKSTORE recently, and saw _Down and Out_ in a trade paperback version, I said, "what the hell", and grabbed a copy. I figured that even if the book wasn't that great, supporting the business model was a good thing (because I like the idea of lots of freely available web content).

That's a long-winded way of saying that finding out that the book was really quite good was a bit of a happy surprise. The story Doctorow weaves is of the "Bitchun society" -- what Western capitalism turns into when scarcity -- energy scarcity, material scarcity, even death -- is eliminated. The Bitchun society is in many ways on the other side of Vinge's Singularity from our current world -- it's a bit hard to imagine the motivations of characters when death is about as damaging as pushing the "reset" button while playing a video game -- but Doctorow makes the story work, mainly because he's just applying another coat of paint to a classic story of betrayal, confusion, and loss.

The story is of Jules, who works at Disney World as part of the "ad-hoc" that runs the Hall of Presidents. An "ad-hoc" is a, well, ad-hoc autonomous collective -- a group of people, operating by consensus. When Jules's assassination paves the way for a new ad-hoc to seize control of the running of the Hall of Presidents, he becomes obsessed with convincing people that the leader of the upstart ad-hoc is up to no good. His obsession leads him further and further afield, until finally... Well, no giving up plot points, but I will say that this is one of those books where the "can't wait to turn the page" factor ratchets up and further up the closer you get to the end.

This is a fairly short look into a dystopic future focusing on the Magic Kingdom that has been taken over by, well, futuristic squatters. This is an undying society not based on money or personal accomplishment but on clone technology and 'Whuffie', a sort of cool factor based on what other people think. The thought of a society based these things is not overly far fetched and because it took place where it did, it left me feeling depressed. No lessons to be learned were presented and no new takes on our current society were presented either, something that makes dystopic novels stand out. Normally I would have enjoyed a novel like this but I just didn't find the writing or the story to be overly striking, just average, hence the 3 star rating.

You dive into it but by the third chapter the first person staccato nature of it leaves you asking a lot of questions:

Why do I feel like I am reading a diary of repetitive thought?

Where is the slow information release I need to keep me interested in this?

Why is the dialogue so terrible, so unnatural, so simplistic?

I was really disappointed when I settled down to read this.

I bought this book because I read an article in the LA Weekly that he was a figure in online blogging history. Even up for a Hugo award!

After I finished it (which didn't take all that long), I felt like I had read the story about a person who regretted losing their high school sweetheart, and tried to frame it as some sort of cyberpunk genre piece.

There was no brutal honesty or street credibility in the work.

All the characters: Jules, Dan, the settings... Disney, the Hall, the immature views on politics and the way he views relationships between male and female...

It seems the modern SF writers circle is shrinking into being dependent on the old Rudy RUcker, the even older Philip K. Dick, with a dash of Ellison, and not EVER expanding those boundaries.

I shudder at the thought my beloved SF genre is heading if this it the to be held up as an example of the modern SF novel.

Returned it at a discount within 24 hours.

Jules is just a typical guy. He's a century old, has written three symphonies, died and been revived into a clone twice and is in a relationship with a woman 15% his age. His world takes place in a future that has no death and no scarcity and is run by the Bitchun Society. The currency of the day is Whuffie...or self respect/esteem. Jules finds himself in the Magic Kingdom in Orlando being a castmemeber who faithfully maintains the rides at the park at their original status. His life takes a turn for the worse when an ad-hoc committee moves in and threatens to "improve" the park ride by ride by making them more current and less retro. We watch as the story unfolds and Jules goes from a guy high on whuffie to a whuffie nobody. The setting is unique but the story is same old....guy in search of his meaning finds that life is really never what it seems but what you make of it yourself... It had many interesting concepts but non were fully developed. It left me wanting for explanations and expansions to have a more fully developed plot. I liked the book it was short and original but it was no science fiction masterpiece.

sea-floor, sea-floor, sea-floor, down by the sea-shore, sea-floor!

"Down and Out..." is a short novel that depicts a future void of scarcity, where "money as you know it" is obsolete. The only measure of wealth is human capital (r-e-s-p-e-c-t), which can be monitored and traded freely. Simply put, Doctorow's passion leaps off the pages --> intravenously flowing --> straight into your heart and mind.