For a book that can't decide whether it's a how-to manual or a story,
Little Brother is surprisingly good. I've read some of Doctorow's online writing, but this is the first of his fiction that I've sat down and read; I feel like I've cheated myself. I devoured the entire book in the course of a day (not surprisingly, it is young adult fiction. As I said, though, it is quite good.)
The basic premise is this--
twenty minutes or so into the future a terrorist attack on San Francisco floods the BART tunnels and demolishes the Bay Bridge, killing thousands of people. The main character and his friends are in the wrong place at the wrong time, and are picked up by the Department of Homeland Security. When the main character is finally freed (along with two of the three others,) he swears revenge.
The technology depicted is near-future, as reported by
grinding.be, and the culture is believably constructed. At times, it seems like Doctorow might be using a strawman in the place of the Department of Homeland security, though it is an extremely well-constructed one and it doesn't really hinder the reading. The horrifying thing is that I'm not entirely certain that it's a strawman.
At its core, though, the story is a bit of a morality tale with a pair of good messages: Youth rebellion is healthy and serves an invaluable role when directed at the proper target, and information technology is a powerful tool.
I'd suggest everyone at least glance over it; the book was released on a Creative Commons license, and is available to read both online and for free download.
Free download.
