Cory Doctorow: Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom

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Liked It

Rated 4 stars

“This is a great satire on society and an entertaining short novel (compared to others) and very quick reading (206 pages).
In the future a cure is found for death. People can live as long as they want or go into hibernation ("dead-heading") for a few hundred years until something more interesting comes along. Scarcity is eliminated across the globe, so no more need for currency or even a full-time job. People work that want to, composing symphonies or whatever for "whuffie"...”

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Didn’t Like It

Rated 1 stars

“Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom has all the landmarks of a short story: few characters, self-contained, tidy story arc, a twist ending, and the vaguest hint of a much larger canvas. It might have work wonderfully in that format, but as a novel, it comes across as a very short novel that still needs to rely heavily on filler.

The SF elements of the story have some merit, despite being greatly understated: in a future where resources are infinite, money is replaced by 'reputation...”

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Community:

Rated 3.715152 stars

Amazon:

Rated 3.5 stars

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dan g said:

“Doctorow’s sci-fi comedy takes place in the not too distant future when death has been cured. You simply take the last reboot of your system and add it to a clone. And thanks to the work of the Bitchun Society, Whuffie is the currency. Your Whuffie score is based on how well-respected and liked you are. (I guess it’s not much different than how many friends you have on My Space.) So Doctorow takes this futuristic premise and sets it where?

In Disney World.

A group of volunteer ad-hocs had long ago taken over the Magic Kingdom and continue to run it. Julius is out to save the landmark attractions, ensuring they don’t go too hi-tech and, therefore, lose their essence. After he’s shot and killed (his third death), he returns, but things start to go haywire.

If you’re not a regular reader of sci-fi, like me, this is a great entry. It’s short, fast-paced and pretty darn funny. I’d be interested in knowing what dedicated sci-fi readers think about this book.

http://dansdistractions.blogspot.com/”

posted Saturday, April 12 2008 ( | view 1 reply )