Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom
 

Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom

by Cory Doctorow

On The Skids In The Transhuman FutureJules is a young man barely a century old. He's lived long enough to see the cure for death and the end of scarcity, to learn ten languages and compose three symphonies...and to realize his boyhood dream of taking up residence in Disney World.Disney World! The greatest artistic achievement of the long-ago twentieth century. Now in the keeping of a... (read more)

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Other Reviews

Amazon Reviews (5)
 

Most Helpful Reviews

Liked It

Neil Hollands
  • Rated 4 stars

I liked this quite a lot, although much of that may have to do with what a Disney park fan I used to be. Doctorow's writing reminds me of Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash or Charles Stross's Halting State: interesting future with pyrotechnic style that sometimes impresses, sometimes shows off a bit too much. The ending is a bit rushed, but all-in-all, a great quick read.

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Didn’t Like It

Daniel Roy
  • 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 3.794643 stars
Amazon:
  • Rated 4 stars
 

Newest Comments

  • Dan G

    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 )
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